Ibanez 440R Radius Series

I bought this in 1993. Ibanez has since then discontinued the line and has made the body shabe completely exclusive to Joe Satriani.

Japanese made, very very solid construction. They've laxed in QC since then.

22 Frets. After 8 years of handling, the frets are starting to wear out. I need to get them replaced.

SSH passive Configuration. Stock pickups not too hot, so I changed them: DiMarzio Fast Track I (Neck), DiMarzio Tone Zone (Bridge)

Alder Body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Fretboard.

Initially transparent blue finish - Has been stripped and resprayed to something I haven't decided on yet... :)

Body style - Strat, but with extremely rounded edges. very comfortable to play...

Bridge - Ibanez Edge. Very stable, very hardy... DOES NOT GO OUT OF TUNE!!!

43mm radius neck. very comfortable. Same feel as my JPM 90.

I'm using the Dimarzio Cliplok strap with this... very strong, and comfortable. But this did not come with the guitar. The point is that the guitar is light enough to warrant this strap.

Very bright tone. yet due to the Fast Track, can produce an extremely rounded and muddy tone. I play Prog Rock, and this does give a vintage enough tone when required...

It's noisy with the single coil usage, but that's normal. Nothing a good grounding can't fix.

The only thing about the tone I don't like its the clarity in the clean tone. It's not very clear. But I guess the pickups also have a part to play in this.

nice low action... I've had it adjusted so long ago, I can't remember the factory settings. But This thing is quite well built for an Ibanez. The only thing I question is the bridge. It came with some corrosion marks that just won't go away with cleaning. But that doesn't matter, because it doesn't affect the playing or tone. The knobs are also very well fitted as they don't come loose... not even after 8 years.

This guitar will withstand anything I can think of, save running it over with anything... It's built very solidly, and will outlast any other guitars I've come across... even my JPM.

I wouldn't gig with this without a backup though, because strings can snap when you least expect it. But if I have to, then I'd still do it... one hell of a guitar when you're refering to construction.

I've never dealt with Ibanez.

I own this, a JPM and used to have a few others, including a headless guitar made by Hohner. This is definately one of my favs. I just wish it had a HH configuration instead, and a piezo pickup... :)