Ibanez 2010 midi controller/guitar

I had been hunting for one of these for a while today, and the wait paid off big way. Some privileged kid turned a married man last month, so (probably induced by his new newly wed mindset) decided to get rid of the scrap daddy gave him when he was in his teens... including an UNPLAYED Ibanez 2010 X-ING! (guess it was kinda tricky to learn to play with). One hundred per cent mint! Honest! No excuses! Immaculate case, MC1 Midi Controller, IFC60 ?intelligent? original pedalboard, all cabling, manuals, invoices even mummified original rubber bands for the cables. To complete my journey back to 1986, the Ibanez dealer here also helped me to get an unwrapped Ibanez DUE 400, forgotten by everyone on the face of the earth ?excluding myself-, multieffects and an E-MU Proteus 1, everything for the price of a cheesy Korean guitar. Being an 80?s freak myself I?m living in guitar heaven ever since.

Electronics, roughly, are as follows: 2 Ibanez brand humbuckers, Ibanez HEX pickup, Master volume, Master tone, balancer, sensivity, velocity, control change, traditional 3 way toggle switch and guitar/mix/synth selector. An interesting side note on the pickups should be to state that, even when this guitar was one of the most expensive items during the decade, Hoshino used at the time the very same pickup for both guitars and basses, so it?s no surprise that this plastic covered ?EMG? like, passive humbuckers could be spotted here and there. Both proprietary out (including guitar signal) and the traditional 1/4 "phone plug" output are supported. Individual calibration for each HEX pickup pole is supported on the back of the guitar, an interesting concept left behind since that era.

Body, made out of maple, presents a radical looking "Sharkfin" proprietary style, which was (and somewhat still is), combined with its headless neck, far ahead of its time. Color on mine is SP (Silver Pearl), although this model was also available in black finish (in my opinion subtracting something from its ?radical-death-gun-from-the-future? appearance. Neck is also maple, 1 piece with GFRP stabilizer bar, required for impeccable balance, thus good MIDI response. Fingerboard is Ebony, with 22 medium jumbo frets (no fret wear whatsoever on mine!) and traditional ?dot? markers.

The 2010 is an interesting concept. Even while the tracking is noticeable slower that the modern standard, the Roland GK-2A, the IMC1/HEX combination, when properly calibrated (including the common calibration procedures and the "hexaphonic" individual fine tuning from the back of the guitar), is a fine, usable, accurate, fast MIDI controller. The fact that the IMC1 includes a state of the art effect loop and the capability to "input" the synth signal and mix it with the original (or internally processed) guitar signal, offering a "mixed" output (15 years ago!) easily reachable on the body of the guitar (making the swap as easy as toggling pickups) is an inspiring concept. After 5 minutes, I was ready to go, driving an Ensoniq EPS sampler and an EMU Proteus 1 and/or Yamaha DX7 (catching the original spirit) with both MIDI outs... Oh baby, the joys of MIDI! It is worth to mention that even when the MC1 controller has two MIDI outs, it replicates signal, to the MIDI data is identical on both output regardless.

This guitar (which was no more than a dream at the time of its introduction, since its price was prohibitive -as you can tell by its specs, even judged under today's standards-) is capable of producing interesting tones, even when it's somewhat mild for my playing style. The fact that the Ibanez humbuckers rescue some sort of ?single coil? tonal response forbids me to go beyond MIDI and use this fine instrument as a standalone guitar. Strapping on, its sleek body became second nature in no time, and the ebony fretboard is nothing but pleasure. When given the chance to experiment with "forward thinking" concepts of this era (the "tremolo" baseplate reads "Technology for the Future of Music") is difficult to understand why some extraordinary concepts were discarded as times goes by; being this innovative tuning system a perfect example. The guitar?s "tremolo" is not a mechanical vibrato system, hence produces no effect on the strings, but a MIDI continuous controller instead. As a result, you cannot "whammy" the guitar, but you CAN "whammy" the synths, even beyond the mechanically possible!. After tweaking some knobs and sliders on my MIDI rig, I was "dive bombing" away more than 5 octaves!. I continued experimenting in controlling depth, celeste, layers and other MIDI controllers with the bar until my brain boggled out of my skull.

The original hardware (combining plastic and metal ?and remember there?s no machine heads-) is correct and professional. Still have no opinion, since did not have the chance to play beyond just a couple of weeks (as usual with me, never under extreme conditions) the guitar felt like it will be with me for a long, long time. I'm certain that I found one of my future favorites in this guitar. Although, I?m in an unparalleled position to judge if it?s instrument could survive the test of time, at least regarding wear and tear within controlled conditions. The finish remained intact, and wear on the metal knobs is far less than expected.

A collector's item nowadays, standard rules of stamina just not apply. If you have one, take good care of it and keep it as standard as possible.

I did contact them in 5 countries, with random results. The Manny?s Music guys in Argentina (National Ibanez Dealer) are just GREAT!. Got to start saying that I have no valuable opinion on factory setup, since mine was purchased used. From there on, it?s no surprise (with regard to the original price tag) that the original packaging and preparation was top notch, I can tell by the remains. To estimate this comment, remember that the previous owner had no chance as to be extremely careful, hence the guitar is as brand new.

As expressed, this is a very forward thinking and classy instrument. Don't be fooled if you?re looking for a standard MIDI controller though, this is something entirely different from that. Considering it under its own terms, the 2010 is a very good choice for any collector, having each and all characteristics of desirability. Check the Blue Book (cover page on the Ibanez, Page 467 of last edition) for more juice on this one. I?m a very happy man with my guitar folks!. For PICTURES and further detail you?re always welcome to my website, HTTP://ELECTRICGUITAR.50MEGS.COM

i must say, i love this guitar! uhm, features, well,=
it has two humbuckers and one hex pickup built within the guitar to translate the guitar notes to midi
maple neck 1 piece with 22 frets and maple body
ebony fingerboard
harware: string lock on headstock (no headstock actually, like a steinberger)
control:eight nobs, maste volume, tone, sensitivity, velocity,control change electronic arm bend "whammy bar"
it has one input for the guitar and a midi pin input next to it.
the two outputs going from the guitar can be played at the same time and or seperate with the control change toggle switch.

this guitar also comes with its coinciding rack unit. the rack unit has two midi outs so you can play two synths at once or switch them as you wish. the rack also has a jack for the optional intelligent foot controller that does not come with the unit. also has jacks for the guitar signal, return for effects, mix, hold pedal, two synth input jacks.
god this is going to sound confusing!

it is actually extremely easy to work with. i totally think that the features on this thing are great compared to the other midi controllers out there. not only is it a midi controller but also is a guitar which you can play at the same time. i have searched up and down for something that could provide me with an option of being able to play syths and keyboards as well as i do guitars. the only draw back is the attack response. the attack response is great but isnt perfect. tremelo picking is not to much of an option. it will pick up a few random notes but you really have to adjust the settings to be able to allow it to connect with your playing style.
it is a hell of alot better than alot of the synth guitar pedals.
i give it a ten only because of its cost and its age.

i love its sound. i have played with a boss syb-3 synth pedal and have been let down. unlike most others it plays your true notes in true time. the attack translation through the rack unit is in synch with you. if anyone is have problems with it picking up ghost notes and have tried adjusting the controls on the rack, try adjusting your bridge. that is crucial for bot you and its performance. as far as noise, it has none. very slight to almost nothing. i play industrial/punk/ whatever you might want to pigeonhole it in and it works great. i could see someone using it for any style. it is extremely versatile.i give it a 9 in sound because it is true to its tone but is not perfect. i want to be able to tremelo pick :)

the action on this thing is easy to adjust. the guitar itself has no headstock. actually it has the little curved spike that you see on the end of most ibanez guitars headstocks at the top of the neck. it is set up like a steinberger. i bought this thing used and i got it too work in five minutes. as you can tell by my review here i am an idiot so even you could work it.
the body is crazy. i cant even describe it really. i will probably send a pic to the webmaster. the internal electronic on this guitar are almost noisless, including the toggle switches. it is heavy as hell though. and i wish the midi pin cable was longer.

uhm, i just got this thing so i will probably post an update on the reliability part as time passes. it seems sturdyt and definitely able to take a beating on stage as long as you dont run to far with it from the rack. (midi cable)

their guitars rock. their pedals are nice. their site sucks. never really dealt with them.

i would kill anyone who touched any of my equipment. i love this thing. it is beautiful. it has opened so many doors of creativity for me at an inexspensive price. it is extremely hard to find anything out about this guitar. i didnt even know what it looked like until ups dropped it off. i have searched far and wide for info on it and found nothing except the midi guitar page they have a link to here on hc. this is the first review anyone will probably read about this guitar. i love this thing and want to find it some siblings.
if you see one for sale dont buy it, let me know.........