Ibanez 540 Power Two

I was lookin' for a Metal Axe and when I saw the 540 PII in one of my local music instruments store, I knew it was made for me...
It looks great, black with a metal pickguard, 3 way selector and one knob.
I bought it without trying it out. No regrets it was and it's still a great guitar. The 4 principal assets:
- the Ibanez (under Floyd Rose License) tremolo is absolutely incredible. Just for this point I will never sell the guitar.
- the neck is perfect, slim an fast
- the aggressive shape of the body
- the weight, it's a light guitar.
I bought a gator case which fits perfectly to the 540 PII.

Replace the original Dimarzio by an EMG81, and for my taste the guitar sounds better, not so much disto. but perfectly straight and linear.
I play mostly trash riffs. I use a Peavey 5150, Marshall Cabinets and a Rocktron Taboo Artist.
No noise with the EMG81 and the Rocktron, however the 5150 is really noisy not the 540 PII.
The sound is good.

Bought it used. I love used guitars because I treat guitars badly, guitars are instruments no jewels.

I've replaced the original strap buttons by Shaller strap locks. I won't use it with out a backup, I won't use any guitar without a backup!

Don't need it.

I play guitar for 20 years. I play an Ibanez Iceman, an Epiphone les Paul Baritone and an ESP FB200 Baritone.
Recently I bought my baritone guitars, it was necessary cause me and my band play an open tuning that is very low ( 6th is a G+ while the rest of the strings are tune on a A+)
The 540 PII can't reach so far low. So I can't use it no more and it's such a shame. I've already said what I love about this guitar. I've just got one regret; I would love it just a little bigger. (It's a light and small one)
If you play rock or metal, and if you've got the occasion to buy a 540PII, no hesitation, for the price this guitar is awesome. I ain't gonna sell mine, even if I don't use it for now.

made some time around 1989, japan i think
black with pearlywhite pickguard,
24 frets with sharpteeth inlays,
two humbuckers, 3-way switch and only a volume-poti.
ibanez tremolo.
the tremolo really rocked on this one, i never could get this baby out of tune, regardless how mean the tremolo was used.
the only odd thing about it was that the screws really were crap and showed rust film really fast. though this guitar was extensively used at live shows, so this wasnt a surprise after all

i used it mainly for really hard stuff, somewhere between napalm death and neurosis. but also played clean the sound wasnt that bad. i never modded the guitar, pickups were original and it sounded really fat. i played it through a yamaha t100 head, no effects between. killer combination. so the choice to kick the tone-poti and only leave one with just a volume-poti wasn't the baddest choice of ibanez.

no showstoppers at all. was set up very neatly right from the start.

this guitar will withstand live playing! i used it at about 200 shows, treated it sometimes very badly and this wasnt no problem at all. even one time the neck got hurt really bad, it would never leave me alone and after some surgery it was back on top :)

this guitar really did a great job! even though my style completely changed and im more into ambient meets country now, i still would use this guitar if not some bastard would have stolen it from me. i always dubbed it as my "sports guitar" because of the very wide and thin neck. compared to my '78 Gibson SG, which has a neck that could fit the hands of a child, the ibanez was amazingly easy to play too. a very fast neck, absolutely recommended for hard fast playing. a really well balanced instrument all in all.

I'll keep this simple without too many details..mine is a 1988 model, cherry red, stock edition, Floyd Rose, DiMarzio IBZ, etc..

I play this through a Crate Taxi (practice) amp and Peavy (Classic) Deuce tube amp with vintage Black Widow speakers. The sound is crisp and perfect. I play through DOD rack sustain and Tubeworks and/or Bad Monkey overdrive into a Boss ME 50 and finally a Boss 10 band equalizer...this my friends is the sound I have searched the millenia for. Don't spend all your money on an overrated guitar until you've spent some dineros on effects.

No major flaws. Gutiar built like a work horse. I have read about flaws in the neck/body after use so I am trying to be careful when purchasing another used one...

I hesitantly replaced strap buttons with Dunlop locking straps.

Beats me.

Playing for 16 years...I have evolved from Harmony (Sears) guitar, to Telecaster Custom Deluxe to Hamer Special and now this, albeit I purchased it used 10 years after its prime. This guitar feels like a vintage instrument perfected like a Stradivarious. I can tell why other artists like Joe Satriani picked up on this model. The neck is extremely thin and wide and has the feel of an SG or Les Paul, yet the body is hardly there and surpasses the comfortablility of a Strat...it is the best of both worlds. I am not even really interested in playing my other guitars...kind of a shame. I do not care to share too many of the virtues of this guitar with too many people. If I found this on ebay or anywhere else for a fair price, I would buy it.., I would experiemnt with customizing. Made in Bensalem, Pa. This guitar sings like a masterpiece and I plays like a Stradivarious. I cannot "live" without this model. It has to be an 88. Like Angus owns an SG and Jimi owned a Strat, I "have to" have this guitar.
I live in Nashville and if I don't make it with this sound I don't care to "make it" at all. In other words, I love this guitar...my wife complains I don't spend enough time with her...(that's another issue). If you are a professional and live in the Nashville area, I would like to share my skills and sound production with you. Better yet, Joe Satriani or anyone else, e-mail me with your input, please.

Japanese made guitar, Upside down style body.
24 Frets. Shark Tooth inlays.
One Humbucker, one single coil ( forgotten the models, USA something something), one volume knob and 3 way toggle.
Ibanez Edge Trem. Maple Neck, Rosewood fingerboard...forgotten the body ( it's a three piece though). Ulta thin, bound neck. I think it had Jumbo frets.
I had it set up for .009's.
There were some models with 2 Humbuckers - I think Skolnick used those. I still think of it as an Alex Skolnik Model, even though tecnically it's not ( see previous review ).

Awesome Metal/Rock/Fusion - anything guitar.......depends on the player really. I used it with a variety of amps, sounded great with them all...also D.I. Wicked single coil sound, really glassy,great clean tones or overdriven. The Humbucker was fantastic on this guitar, clear voicings yet powerful and could be ultra heavy if required. Both P/ups were Ibanez USA standard issue. No tone nob, it was unnecessary on this guitar.....not that kind of animal.

I bought it 2nd hand. Needed a real set-up. The colour was seriously 80's glam, so I stripped the fluro-orange paint off the body, stained it a nice Jarrah stain with a satin finish. I only undid the strings at the saddle clamps, left 'em on the neck and unbolted it. When the body was finished, I re-bolted the neck, re-clamped the strings and played an open E. It was almost in tune !!! That was impressive. It was a well manufactured guitar, especially at this price point.

A very tough, road - worthy guitar. All Ibanez hardware is cheap mild steel though, you have to be a little careful. The front strap button was in a bad spot, it could come loose. I'd never feel right playing without a back-up.

N/A

I've been playing for 16 years. I stopped using it after I bought a Parker Fly Deluxe. It was my main guitar for 11 years. I am really sorry I sold it but it was no use sitting in the case so I sold it to a student. A far superior guitar to what you could get for twice the money there days. Although small in numbers produced, I feel that this was one of the 80's Ibanez winners. Tried SO many different models, this one slayed 'em all. I had to spend a lot of money to beat the 540 P.2. If you like 'em, want one and can find one, grab it, get it set up and enjoy !!
Don't let my honest ratings dissuede you. You get what you pay for in this game !!!!!!!!

This guitar was bitch to identify even though I bought it new at American Music in Bellevue WA in 1991, they only put the serial number on my receipt. Ibanez will identify Guitars through pictures sent to them, but I have no time for that. It is assumed that it is a Alex Skolnick model because he did the ads for this model back in 1991. I e-mailed Alex and this is what he said."Hi Jon- The 540P is a great guitar, but I can't claim it as the "Alex Skolnick" model. I did a couple ads with it, so people associate it with me,
but it's just called a 540P as far as I remember. Good luck!"
Alex Skolnick
Made at 1726 Winchester Rd. Bensalem PA 19020 U.S.A., 22 frets, solid basswood body, 3 way Ibanez switch "stock", two humbuckers ie: H/H Ibanez F2 neck, Ibanez F3 bridge, passive electronics, Basswood body, Ash neck with that dark brown wood on the fingerboard which I cannot remember the name of right now, Shark tooth inlays. Finish is a beautifull Trans Cerise/Red sparkle finish. 3/4 size reverse "flip-flop" strat-style contoured body. Floyd Rose Licensed locking tremelo, with fine tuners. The string tuners dont have a manufactuars name on them, but I think they are Gotohs "made in japan" is all they say.
Way thin line neck, perfect for my small hands, very fast setup.

My style is anything from AC/DC covers to All out Jazz/Fusion/Metal/Progressive. I have used it through a 1969 Marshall Plexi 100 watt bass 1/2 stack , Mesa Boogie SOB, Roland JC-120, Laney AOR 50 watt half stack, Marshall 1984 JCM 800 1/2 stack, Marshall 1979 JMP 1/2 stack, Rockmans, POD line 6 version 1.0, Marshall 1984 silver anniversary 100 watt half stack, "currently using" Roland CS-2 compression/sustainer into a Morley power wah, into my POD line 6 1.0, into two Rockman 12 band instrument equalizers "stereo", into a Art Multiverb II, into a Behringer T-1954 tube ultrafex, into a Alesis RA-300 stereo power amp, into a Peavey 5150 stereo 4x12. All controlled via a ART X-11 midi master control. THIS GUITAR IS MY BABY, I HAVE USED IT AT SHOWS THROUGHOUT THE SEATTLE AND PORTLAND AREAS. ALSO USED ON NUMEROUS STUDIO/HOME RECORDING SITUATION'S, INCLUDING STEINBERG INWIRE.COM, MUSICIAN.COM "ONLINE RECORDING".LONDON BRIDGE STUDIOS, TRIANGLE STUDIOS, THE MUSIC SOURCE "ALL IN SEATTLE". MCGUIVER PRODUCTIONS, PORTLAND OREGON. KNAPSAK STUDIOS, BURIEN WASH. FULL TILT PRODUCTIONS, DES MOINES WASH,
ETC. ETC. ETC. I almost feel like this guitar is my child/soulmate after all of the horrendous roadtrips and situations that we have been placed in. This guitar can make any sound I want it to.

Perfect!

The only bitch here was the Ibanez 3 way switch,"what a piece of crap". I replaced it with a Switchcraft 3 way toggle. It took me 5 months to figure out how to rewire this puppy for that switch. Ibanez was no help, neither was the internet. If anybody out there needs help rewiring a Ibanez go ahead and e-mail me. I will try lessen the pain that I underwent.

Impossible really to tell!

I have been playing for 28 years. Everything else about this beauty I have already said.