Ibanez Edge Zero

[lydian_sel]

Hey All!

I'm in the market for a new guitar and have mostly been looking for hard tails and string-through's because my current launch model Ibanez 1527 was manhandled by some villainous guitar store clerks and isn't in such great shape any more. Living with this thing has been a heartbreaking ordeal like when your spouse starts beating you and I was almost certain that I'd never bother with any sort of floyd rose or locking trem system again.

It was recommended to me that I check out Ibanez models featuring the Edge-Zero bridge with Zero Point System as they come with the ability to block themselves and thus be able to adjust the tuning more readily without having to fool around with tension and alike.

I'm looking for feedback on how these things work and if they're worthwhile from anybody who's tried one.

Thanks!

[Crunch]

They're lovely once they're set up, but a pain in the ass to get right.
Personally, the only tremolos I would ever intentionally  have on a guitar, again, are the Parker and PRS trems- mainly for tonal reasons, followed shortly by stability.
Something I've always hated about the majority of floating tremolos is the obvious "floated" tone- that it simply doesn't transfer enough sound into the wood.
The Edge Zero is no exception (good, though, it may be).

[lydian_sel]

Thanks

It was pretty unlikely that I was going to go back down that road but it was getting pretty hard to find guitars in my price range that didn't have some sort of trem system and I thought if I absolutely had to go with one then the Edge-Pro seemed like the option with the least amount of hassle and drama.

[Crunch]

I would talk to the people at Jemsite and sevenstring about Ibanez tremolos, if you want the best responses.
I have a decent amount of experience, but I can't talk details with you. They could tell you exactly which trems to get worked up over and which ones to avoid for raw fact reasons.
If I remember, correctly, the Edge Pro is the way to go, but there are certain years to avoid due to poor quality alloys. I could be incredibly wrong, however.

[Transcend]

With ibanez models as well ive noticed lately they have done a hardtail version with a gibralter standard/pro on also.

And the gibralter bridges are awesome.

Check it out a lot are US models only though so you may need to import

[lydian_sel]

I have looked at a lot of imports as well as trying to find older 2nd hand models that have always been said to be reliable. I do live in Australia where it's very hard to find anything locally and ordering something of this magnitude from overseas makes me a little uncomfortable. The thought of some careless baggage handler throwing it off a gantry makes me cringe.

For a while I was looking at a cheaper RGA series with a gibralter standard bridge and that thing really felt great with my playing motion, but it didn't sounded muddy & came with one of those mid-scoop eq toggles & I have no idea what do to with that thing when the stock active pups get switched out for cold sweats or whatever I eventually go with.

A lot of the higher end hard tails they've released recently have a new bridge called the Tight-End which is supposedly made to be unobtrusive to the way you play by being very smooth and flat but something about it just doesn't feel right.

I'll probably end up going for something with this as I'm the type of player who changes tunings all the time & a locking system feels like an anchor to me in some weird way, I'm just trying to be as thorough as possible and not rule out any guitars just because they feature a trem.

[Transcend]

Well i own one of the RGA42FMs and i must say it is an awesome guitar.

The stock pickups were terrible but putting  a miracle man in the bridge and a mississippi queen in the neck it can cover a lot of ground and sounds divine.

The gibralter bridge on it too is quite possible the best and most natural feeling bridge i have ever played on.

I like it so much im ordering a RGD321 because it has it even though i already have a RGD320 with a trem.

[lydian_sel]

The model I played was the RGA72qm http://ibanez.wikia.com/wiki/RGA72QM which seems identical to the RGA42fm except that it's a set neck instead of a bolt-on.

Did you end up keeping the EQ switch when you replaced the pickups? I can't imagine it'd work all that well without the active stock pups.

How do the RGD's play? I've always loved the look of their bodies & was really keen on getting an RGD7321 but I believe they're exclusive to the US.

[Transcend]

I replaced it with a spdt toggle and a cap & a resistor that just cuts the signal below 90hz to tighten the sound up in general.

The RGDs are fantastic i find the 26.5" scale to feel a lot more natural and the spacing is just generally more comfortable for me.

I never really got on with the 27"+ guitars as they felt weird but 25.5 & 24.75 also felt a bit weird but not as much. Then i played the RGD and it just felt right for me