White Ibanez RG350DX for Heavy Rockers

June 29, 2007 by Jo Minor 


The white Ibanez RG350DX is a sharp looking electric guitar suited to playing all sorts of heavy rock. It has two humbucking pickups and one single coil pickup, so it’s capable of making a wide variety of sounds. It retails for around $530.

In 1900, a little known division of the Japanese Hoshino book company began selling musical instruments. It was to eventually evolve into the manufacturers of Ibanez guitars. They bought the name Ibanez from a Spanish guitar company and began making acoustic Spanish style guitars. This was in about the late 1930’s.

In the mid sixties, they moved to America because “made in Japan” was a synonym for low quality at that time. Of course, we know now that some of the items produced in Japan are the best you can get anywhere. Be that as it may, in 1965, you wanted your guitar made in America.

Ibanez got into some trouble in the 1970s because they were mostly producing guitars that were copies of those made by Fender, Gibson, and Rickenbacker. They were good quality but low priced, so they started crowding into the market for those higher dollar brands. The result was a lawsuit which was eventually settled out of court. Ibanez began designing their own styles of guitars, both acoustic and electric, and have come to be thought of as quite a good brand of guitar in their own right. Many pros use Ibanez guitars, including jazz great, George Benson.

The Ibanez RG series has been around for about 20 years, and are favorites with rockers everywhere. According to the Ibanez website, they are the “unquestioned monarchs of metal guitars.” This designation comes because these guitars have the right pickup placement and flat, fast necks. The strikingly attractive white Ibanez RG350DX has been produced since the early part of the 21st century. It is made in Indonesia. In other words, the company began in Japan, took up a Spanish name, moved to the US, and now makes this angelic white axe in Indonesia. . . I guess you could call this a guitar with a global perspective, couldn’t you?

Advantages: The neck of the White Ibanez RG350DX is thin, flat and fast. The three pickups give you a lot of options. The neck humbucker pickup is good for rhythm and distorted playing, while the bridge pickup is better for playing clean. All in all, it’s a really good sounding guitar for heavy rockers, especially those who are beginners or intermediates. The price is reasonable, making it a good value. Of course, the white finish makes the Ibanez RG350DX a real beauty that stands out in a crowd. In addition to the white exterior, the sharks tooth inlays are very hot-looking.

This white guitar has solid strap buttons and is very durable in the way it’s put together. It’s easy to play because it has low action and jumbo frets. It holds its tuning well. The rosewood neck is good for warmth in the tone and for easy pick attack.

The Floyd Rose style locking bridge system allows you to lock your guitar in tune at both the bridge and the nut, so that you might get by with only tuning your white Ibanez RG350DX about once a week.

Disadvantages: Since it has a whammy bar and locking tuning nuts, you might have to be shown how to tune it. The action might need to be adjusted when you first bring the guitar home. It’s so low that some of the frets buzz. Some say the locking system doesn’t work well.

Specs:

  • Basswood solid body in white
  • Body shape similar to a super-Strat with more pointed horns
  • Wizard II Three piece maple neck
  • Width at the last fret is 56 mm.
  • Thickness at the first fret is 19 mm.
  • Thickness at the 12th fret is 21 mm.
  • 400 mm. radius
  • Low profile fine tuners
  • Bound rosewood fretboard
  • Sharktooth shaped inlays
  • 25.5 inch scale
  • 24 jumbo frets
  • 3 pickups
  • IBZ INF3 Humbucker pickup at the neck (dynamic sound suitable for chords and rhythm)
  • IBZ INFS3 AL magnet, single coil pickup in the middle (traditional sound, high output)
  • IBZ INF4 Humbucker pickup at the bridge (suitable for warm, lead sounds)
  • Whammy bar
  • 1 black tone control
  • black 5-way pickup volume control
  • Edge III tremelo bridge (Floyd Rose style)

Here’s a Wikipedia article about the way bridges on stringed instruments work. Scroll down a bit, and you can read all about the locking tremelo bridge, if you are a bit unfamiliar with the term.

Here’s a much more in depth treatment of the same topic in a blog that has other information about guitars and how they work.

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