specification of ibanez RG350DX

Ibanez RG350DX

an ideal beginner guitar with heavy potential

The Ibanez RG350DX is part of the large and great RG family. Since 20 years RG guitars have influenced metal like no other guitars. Today you have the RG350DX - Ibanez' mid-range option of their high quality guitars.

Are you a beginner and want to rock hard? Then the RG350DX would be a great choice that lasts for much more than just a few months.

If you're busy read this short summary...

- The Ibanez RG350DX has a basswood body, a maple neck and a rosewood fingerboard. Two humbuckers and a single coil and the great Edge III bridge with locking vibrato system are the other most important features.

- Coming in a white finish with black hardware and the typical RG body shape it looks amazing.

- For metal playing this guitar sounds quite cool. Even clean sounds are partly great.

- The feel of the neck is excellent, the whammy bar works properly and tuning is stable.

- Reliability and durability are alright, there's nothing to worry about.

- The RG350DX is definitely worth the money! The retail prize is about $400.

Features

The body of the Ibanez RG350DX is made of basswood - a solid wood that gives the guitar a comfortable contour and good sustain. Due to it's pretty thin body shape the weight of the guitar is low.

The Wizard II neck is bolted onto the body and consists of three pieces of maple. Meanwhile the fretboard is made of rosewood. On it are 24 jumbo frets and nice shark tooth inlays. Like all Wizard necks it is specially designed by Ibanez, has the typical thin D-shape and a flat fingerboard.

The hottest feature on this guitar is the Edge III bridge. It's a high quality locking vibrato system with a low profile. With the support of the locking nut this bridge is just perfect for wild metal playing. On the other side of the coin tuning and restringing can be tricky. When you're a beginner, let a pro show you how to manage this.

How about the pickups? You've got two humbuckers, one in the neck and one in the bridge position and a single coil in the middle. All pickups are Ibanez brand pickups. There are common volume and tone knobs and a five-way pickup selector switch. One position for each pickup alone and two positions for the single coil working with a split humbucker.

For detailed information about the Ibanez RG350DX's features click here.

Look

The Ibanez RG350DX has the absolute killer look - quite aggressive with its sharp cutaways and the dynamically shaped body. But it also has a very balanced look that will fit in every rock or metal band.

The guitar comes in a stark white finish with a matching white glossed pickguard. In contrast to that you have the black hardware and pickup finish which gives this guitar an eye catching look.

Sound

Generally speaking the Ibanez RG350DX is a metal axe. Therefore its sound is conceived for metal and hardrock. Through a high gain channel the pickups provide a very fat distortion. The bridge pickup is just perfect for heavy riffs due to the cutting tone. On the other side of the pickup selector switch the neck humbucker is ideally suited for sustaining lead sounds.

Playing clean the RG350DX surprises in a very positive way and proves that there's more in it than just metal shred sound. The neck pickup gives you a warm bluesy tone. When playing without a plec it does its job very well. The single coil and the bridge humbucker are ideal for nicely defined chordings.

Well there are also some weak spots. In opposite to the humbuckers the single coil has a vintage sound. Like the split positions it sounds rather thin and weak. Unfortunately the neck pickup can get pretty muddy when heavily overdriven.

Playability, Finish

The biggest plus of the Ibanez RG350DX is definitely the playability! The neck feels just perfectly comfortable. The low action combined with the jumbo frets makes the strings on this guitar feel so natural. If you intend to become a shred master then the RG350DX would be the perfect tool for you.

The hole guitar is in a very good balance and real lightweight. So, long playing sessions are no problem. Playing with the whammy bar is a real treat. Even crank divebombing won't affect the tuning - the locking system works great.

Thanks to the bigger fingerboard width chord playing is very smoothly. The deep cutaways allow you to easily access all 24 frets. You like metal or hard rock and you're searching for the right axe? Then the Ibanez RG350DX would be an excellent choice to begin with.

Reliability/Durability

Ibanez is known as a manufacturer with high quality standards. The RG350DX is is definitely a reliable instrument and won't abandon you. Since restringing ain't as easy as on a guitar without a locking vibrato system, a backup guitar is always a good idea when playing on stage.

Even tough the RG350DX is manufactured in Indonesia the finish is very proper. Therefore this guitar is also quite durable. As long as you treat this guitar nicely it will be a fast friend.

Worth for your money

The retail prize for the Ibanez RG350DX is about $400. Compared to all the benefits and qualities of this guitar the prize is excellent. Hot look, some good heavy sounds and an excellent feel - that's amazing.

Especially when you want to rock hard but you're not absolutely sure if a metal guitar is the right thing, the RG350DX is a great option.

Overall rating and final words

The Ibanez RG350DX is an amazing guitar for the prize but it's also more. When you're a beginner and you're more into metal stuff this guitar is just perfect. Playability as the most important feature of a beginner guitar is really great.

When you're looking for a metal guitar that should last for a long time then the RG350DX is still a good option. And with some improvements (e.g pickup replacement) this guitar can become a pro's tool.