NAMM 2010 Ibanez news part two: electric guitars and basses
| Posted in Music Technology
While the launch of new signature guitars such as the JSA10 Joe Satriani electro-acoustic (as featured in part one of this article) is set to keep the Ibanez booth buzzing at the 2010 NAMM show later this week, the manufacturer also has a giant selection of new electric guitars and bass guitars to unveil.
Included is the Ibanez S420 in Weathered Black, a mid-range, slim-line Mahogany six string fitted with a ZR Tremolo boasting the ZPS2 zero point system to provide stability. The 24-fret guitar also boasts a three piece Wizard II Maple neck, a Rosewood fretboard, INF1 and INF2 pickups, and black hardware.
Elsewhere, metal fans and superstrat lovers are about to meet a new, budget-friendly white addition to the GRGR121EX range, with a Basswood body adorned with black hardware, a Maple CRG1 neck, a Rosewood fingerboard, and PSND3 and PSND4 pickups.
Also in white is the DN500, though its colour is about all that the two guitars have in common. The 22-fret DN500 has two humbuckers, a Sapele body and set-in neck, a Rosewood fingerboard, and black and white pearl rectangle block inlays plus a tight-tune tailpiece. Chrome hardware finishes the design off. Bringing a similar specification meanwhile is the DN520K, which boasts a brooding finish named Dark Violet Night. Teamed with Cosmo Black hardware, it makes for a guitar aimed at the more furrow-browed player. In contrast, the DN600 is likely to appeal to flamboyant performers with its Shattered Mirror finish and chrome hardware.
Fans of Singlecut-style models will embrace the 22-fret ART320, which offers a Mahogany body, a Flamed Maple top, a one piece Mahogany set-in neck, a Rosewood fingerboard with Pearl Diamond inlays and of course a pair of humbuckers. Also included in the design is a Gibraltar III bridge with a Quik Change III tailpiece, while the guitar is finished in Blue Burst.
Boasting HSH pickups is the 24-fret RG14515 in Plaster White, with a Basswood body, a five-piece Maple/Walnut neck, a Rosewood fretboard with pearl dot inlays, and a tight-end fixed bridge. From the same family comes the RGA32 in white, with an arched body, active HH pickups and a three-piece Wizard II Maple neck, plus a Mahogany body, a Rosewood fingerboard and Cosmo Black hardware.
The RGA42T, finished in black, offers an arched top, a three-piece Wizard II Maple thru-neck and a Rosewood fingerboard alongside an Edge III tremolo, 24 jumbo frets with pearl dot inlays. Players wanting to add a little glamour to their performance meanwhile might turn to the RGA72QM which is finished in Transparent Lavender Burst. As well as looking rather good, the guitar offers a Mahogany body, a three-piece Wizard II Maple neck and a Rosewood fingerboard including shark-fin inlays.
Bass Players are set to be just as busy as their six-string strumming cousins on the NAMM Ibanez booth, with three new bass guitars being launched. The most affordable (and arguably the prettiest) of the quartet is the 22-fret, white JTKB300 - the first bass guitar to join the pleasingly retro Jet King range.
Fittingly, the bass has three vintage rocker switches plus a Mahogany body, a three-piece JTKB4 Maple neck, a Rosewood fingerboard, a JTB10 bridge, and three PSJ pickups at the neck, middle and bridge.
Slipping forward a few decades in design ethos meanwhile is the BTB700DX in either Burgundy Wine Flat or Trans Black Flat. The 22-fret four string boasts an Ash body, a five-piece BTB4 Maple/Bubinga thru-neck, a Rosewood fingerboard with Abalone dots and an MR-2 bridge plus two EMG40DC pickups. Also onboard the bass is a Vari-Mid III three-band EQ. Finally, the BTB705DX takes the same design as the BTB700DX but adds a fifth string.
Read about the new acoustic and electro-acoustic guitars being launched by Ibanez in part three of this report.
About Barney Jameson
A contributor, editor and in some cases creator of more music and pro audio magazines than he cares to remember, Barney Jameson is a veteran of writing about gear, and a pretty keen singer songwriter to boot.
Having started his musical education reading old copies of the Melody Maker while riding the tube to University in the mid-nineties, Barney once sang in a band called Sugarstone, troubling record company chequebooks not quite enough to make it a career option. Instead, he achieved his goal of starting a music magazine of his own when he founded Playmusic in the early noughties. Later on, having exploited VIP access to as many festivals as possible, he wrote about the pro audio industry throughout Europe and the Middle East, travelling to far-flung destinations such as Dubai, Doha and Muscat (nice mountains).
As the latest addition to the DV247 team, Barney has big plans. But when he’s not plotting online domination of the musical instrument world, he keeps himself busy writing songs on a battered old acoustic guitar and playing them to audiences in his home town.
Tags: Ibanez bass guitars, Ibanez guitars, Ibanez Namm 2010, Jet King