Ibanez Review: RG1570

History:

Purchase: I bought this guitar at Sam Ash for $550. I've had a Fender Strat for a while because it was my first guitar and I held on to it for a while, but it was horrible for playing metal riffs so I had to upgrade.

What I Like About This Ibanez RG1570: First of all the looks are amazing. I have the guitar in silver and with the black pickups and dark fretboard it looks absolutely amazing. It truly is a beautiful guitar and the fact that it is primarily a hard rock/metal guitar makes it even better. Once you get everything about the guitar set to your liking,(there are alot of customizations you can make along the lines of bridge positioning, pickup height, etc.) it feels great in your hands. For fast palm muting and straight metal riffage I recommend raising the left side of the bridge, so the low E string doesn't rattle, and lowering the right side, for fast soloing. It comes with the Ibanez Wizard neck which is so thin you might not feel it when you're playing, which is good. Also the stock pickups are good for metal tones.(I have mine hooked up to a Boss Metal Zone and it sounds great.)

What I Do NOT Like About The Ibanez RG1570: When I took it out of the box I wasn't aware that you could tweak everything about the guitar using allen wrenches, so when I played it for the first time the low E string had a horible rattle and I got really pissed, wondering how a metal guitar could have a bad low E string. But after reading the manual, I realized that I could raise the bridge, so problem solved. The bridge is also really sensitive to palming so if you are a beginner to metal style playing, take it easy on the bridge and don't push too hard with your palm or your root notes will raise in pitch and sound really bad (I think this can also be tweaked but I haven't tried it yet.) Other than that its a smooth ride.

Ibanez RG1570 Quality Rating: The quality is incredible. It feels like a professional guitar and just holding it made me want to be a better guitarist. The customization options, while seeming complicated at first, really give you the chance to set up the axe the way you like, which is great for a more experienced guitarist. Great sound as well.

Review Summary: The bottom line is this: if you are a more experienced guitarist and are looking for a great metal axe (and have $550 laying around) go for this right away. The looks, customization and sound are all you'll need to shred for years. If you are a beginner, but still looking for a good metal guitar, go for a cheaper ibanez model, like the rg370.

Rating of this Ibanez product: 5

This Ibanez RG1570 Electric Guitars Review Submitted By: Joe Blazer

Review Date: 2004-01-30