Ibanez AX320H

Manufactured Korea 1999. Satin finished SG styled double cutaway mohogany body, 22 fret mohogany set-in neck w/ rosewood fretboard. 2x Tone & 2x volume controls + 3-way switch. H/H pickup configuration as; INF1 neck & INF2 bridge (manufactured by Ibanez) connected passive circuitry. Classic style "Full tune II" bridge. Non-locking Gotoh Tuners w/ hipshot grover 2 step detuner. Included accessories; shithouse cable, 2 x hex keys.

I play soft/melodic to punk/heavy, it does the job alright, handling the punk alright, but not so well with the lower/meatier stuff.
I use a Peavey Transtube Bandit 112 80W Combo.
Quite alot of gain from bridge pickup, need to set the tone control to 3/4 full. Bright/rich sound with INF1 neck p/u on clean setting. Crunchy mid's & highs with INF2 bridge p/u on overdrive.
Quite a wide variety of sounds.

Initial set-up; absolute s**t.
pickup adjustment; ordinary
bridge adjustment; ordinary
Flaws; sus fretwire, and glue marks on fretboard.

Live playing; it has held up alright.
Hardware quality; quite good.
Finish; sound.
strap buttons: okay.
Depend on it?: unsure.
On a gig with no backup: no.

Never dealt with ibanez directly, have no intention to.
Never tried for a repair.
1 year limited warranty.

I have been playing for 3 years.
I wanted to know where it was manufactured before buying, Is it made in korea?
If stolen or lost, I would bother tracking one down.
What I love; It is a good overall package for beginners, although quality was lacking.
What I hate; korean made.
I compared it to a pre '99 model turquoise Ibanez RG470 Japan made with a coloured coded headstock, 2nd hand for AUD$600. <- This guitar was perfect except for the floyd rose trem.
I chose AX320H guitar because it the stats and description looked excellent on paper, but unfortunately I didn't get the oppurtunity for a test play. Thanks to all parties for f*&king me over with this piece of shite.

I think this axe was made in 99 in Japan, but i'm not too sure on this. 22 Frets, Black Pearl finish (charcoal with a speckled kinda look), 2 Volume/2 Tone controls the Ibanez INF1 (bridge) and INF2 (neck) Infinity Passive Humbuckers, Tune-O-Matic Stoptail bridge, SG styled body with smoother cutaways, Gotoh Tuners with a Gotoh D-Tuner on the E String (uses a lever action to drop the E string down to a D, or which ever note you set it to), nice fast neck. I give it a 10 because it has just enough features - I hate floyd rose bridges, and heaps of useless options on a guitar. Just enough to be a brutal piece of machinary.

I'm running the AX320 into a Vox V847 reissue wah, Boss MT2 Metalzone distortion, DOD 7 Band EQ, Ibanez Tonelok Delay/Echo, volume pedal, and into a Fender Stage 112SE. I love the tone of this thing, and i'm VERY protective of the whole setup. The bridge pickup is nice and cutting, and still has thick body to it. Puts alot of balls into thrash and deathmetal licks. The neck is nice and warm, gives alot more body to the sound. I still haven't fully explored the neck pickup, but i've been using it alot lately because it seems to draw back from the spotlight alot more for rhythm guitar, fits nicely with a band. This is a very versatile guitar, and for it's mid-range price it definitely performs. I play everything from the heaviest of metals to rock, folk and country, and it fits perfectly in all. My next guitar (if not an AX) will have to completely blow this guitar away, or I won't be buying. I'm mainly a rhythm player, as for rhythm it falls away slightly, but I still like the balance it gives - you won't be made out a wanker when you flick to the bridge and let loose, it doesn't start screaming like a girl. I also use alot of feedback, it's very controllable with my setup, doesn't start screaming on a dime.

I bought this new from CJ's Christchurch (New Zealand), there was fretbuzz when I played it in the shop, but I cannot say whether this was the company's fault or not. After that was fixed, everything played beautifully. My only complaint is the hardware - the screws all round are getting rusted, and i'll be looking to replace them soon. The finish is tough, i've had more than a few bumps with it and I can't see any damage to speak of. There's a slightly revealing grain on the underside of the guitar where there may not have been enough finishing work done, but other than this I was very happy with the setup.

I'd play this without any backups. Actually, I do. It's a very straightforward guitar, no floyd rose to setup, the Gotoh D-Tuner is a breeze to setup (a small fingerscrew at the back adjusts how far it will release to). Tuners are all good. Only 2 complaints here. I still haven't found a guitar company that puts care into all of their guitars' strap pegs. As with my last guitar, this one has a problem with the pegs getting loosened by strap tension, which I'll need to fix by replugging the hole and putting in a bigger screw. The other thing is the input jack socket, another universal problem. I've just had to resolder the socket into the body after the jack's loosening on the socket caused it to break. These are minor issues for anyone with a little bit of repair knowledge, and are the only flaw technically. It'd be nice to see the Neutrik Locking Jack made standard in all guitars, as it has in the Ibanez BTB bass series. This might be a possible upgrade for mine soon.

Haven't had to deal with them yet. Guitar came with a 1 year warranty which has expired. I get any work on my gear done by a friend in the music store here.

I've been playing for 5 years now, and this is the most important part of my tone. Haven't had any major problems yet, only the few minor flaws which are easily fixed. To make this axe invincible, replace the input jack with a Neutrik Locking jack, put larger screws into the strap pegs before they become a problem, and worry not. I love this guitar, and I would be devastated if it were stolen. I'd definitely replace it if possible, but I haven't ever seen the same model before, and I presume they are out of production.

Manufactured 1999 only-mine is the only one i have ever seen.
All mahogany double cutaway body, bound, set 22 fret neck, 2 ibanez infinity humbuckers,Les paul style stop tailpeice, 3way switching, 2 volume and 2 tone controls, and a hipshot drop d tuner on the low e string.

This guitar is ballsy!! Any type of music i attempt to play on this thing i seem to get away with. I plug it into a hughes and kettner tube 50 head, usually no effects. On the clean channel the bridge pickup is clear and toothy, and the neck pickup is just butter. My only gripe is maybe a coil tap in the mid position for a glassier stratty type sound.(I guess thats really not a stock LP type sound anyway.) When ran through distortion this thing RULES!!!!! The bridge is cutting and powerful while the neck is creamy and violin like above the 7th fret.

This guitar played pretty good out of the box. It came with .009 strings stock, and i later changed these to .010's. When i did this the g string would go flat every time i bent it. All i had to do was widen the nut slots a hair and everything is now A-OK. One more thing however- The even double cutaway design lends itself to being REALLY headstock heavy. The choice of having the strap button placed on the treble side horn was a poor one. I moved the button to the heel of the neck and it balances much much better.(Ibanez!!! please make this an alteration to the rest of this line-ax120, gax70 etc.It makes a HUGE difference.)

This guitar has been pretty much steady as a rock since the day i got it. I havent even broken a string! (and thats 2 or so hours a day for a year solid!)It has needed only 2 or 3 minor adjustments(neck relief) since i got it.

I have been playing 3 years and this is the third ibanez i have owned, and i have to say this is the best of the lot(grx40, GR320).If i were to lose this guitar i would have to look long and hard to find another(and i have looked, i work now at the store i bought it from and there is nothing even remotely close to it in it's price point.) If any of you have the chance to pick one of these up DO IT!! even if you have to pay full retail price this axe is a toughie to beat.

This guitar is Korean made, I believe in '99. It is the AX style solid mahogany body. The finish looks to me like a glossy charcoal gray with metallic flake, but Ibanez calls it black pearl. It has a one piece, maple, set-in neck painted to match the rest of the guitar with white binding at the edges of the fretboard. The fretboard is rosewood with a 12" radius and 22 medium frets. The electronics consist of an Infinity 1 passive humbucker at the neck and an Infinity 2 passive humbucker at the bridge, 2 tone and 2 volume knobs, and a 3 way toggle. It also has Grover style tuners with a Grover Hipshot D tuner. It also came with an allen wrench to adjust the truss rod and a cheap 6' cable. I give it an 8 because it's got great features, I just wish it had an active pickup at the bridge (I'll explain that later).

I play mostly hard rock, and heavy metal from the '80's and blues. I use a Fender Champion 110 amplifier and my effects consist of a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, a Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer, an Ibanez TK999US Tube King, a Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, a Proel volume pedal and a Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble. This guitar is best suited for all styles of rock and I find it's sound is particularly well suited for rhythm guitar. The neck pickup has a very warm, full humbucker tone is similar to a stock Les Paul. The bridge pickup has a little more output and sounds the individual notes more distinctly, making it a good hard rock and heavy metal pickup. Another thing worth mentioning is that it has great sustain. Without any effects I can get a good clean jazz/blues sound from this guitar and amp combo. With the above effects I can also get anything from overdriven classic rock tones to hard-core thrash metal rhythm guitar. For thrash and shredder lead guitar work I think this axe falls a little short because the pickups sound a little too vintage. But with a set of EMG's or a Seymour Duncan LiveWire Metal at the bridge I have no doubt that this guitar would perform admirably. For blues it's an adequate guitar, but I prefer a Stratocaster for this style of music. I give it an 9 because it is an exellent guitar for my needs (rock and metal rhythm guitar), but if I were playing lead I would prefer a little more output from the bridge pickup.

Overall the guitar was in good shape when I got it. The action, intonation and pickup height were good when I got the guitar and the finish only had one minor blemish. The neck required a very slight adjustment, the tuning machines and output jack retaining nuts had to be tightened, and there was a depression in the wood beneath the finish just below the tailpiece that was about the size of a small button. But it only shows up when the light hits it just right and you can't feel it when you run your finger across it. I've also noticed similar flaws on a couple of other Ibanez products I looked at when buying this. Perhaps their quality control is getting a little lax? The white binding on the neck adds a nice bit of finish that makes the guitar look like a higher priced model. I would give it an 8 because the hardware and finish are very good but with the blemish on the front of the guitar I can only give it a 7.

I am a klutz and tend to be a little rough on my guitars as a result. But the mahogany body on this guitar has held up very well despite being bumped into more than a few cabinet corners and getting knocked over by my cats, guitar stand and all. The finish, chrome plating and electronics all seem to be high quality. The solder joints are good, the controls are noise free and the finish seems like it will last. I did replace the original strap buttons with strap locks although the originals would probably be adequate for most people. I think this guitar is very gig-worthy and could be used without a backup as long as you aren't a chronic string breaker. I give it a 9 in this category (I don't give 10's unless something is trully exceptional)because it has withstood my abuse for several months now without a sigle problem.

I've never has a reason to call their customer support and when I got the guitar it didn't have any information about a warranty.

I've been playing off-and-on for fourteen years and have owned an Epiphone Flying-V, a Fender Standard Stratocaster and an Ibanez Roadstar. This is definitely the best guitar I have had. If it were lost or stolen I would be sickened, but I would replace it if I could find another (mine is the only one I've ever seen). I really like the Hipshot, which allows me to quickly tune down to drop-D for Creed or some of Rob Zombies' stuff and the come back to standard E tuning. Overall I'm pleased with the sound too. Although the bridge pickup doesn't have as much output as I would like it still meets my needs. When I picked it out I compared it with an Epiphone Les Paul Slash & G-400, an Ibanez RG 470 & RG 350, a DeArmond M75, a Fender Tornado, A Jackson PS4 and a couple of Peaveys. Ultimately it came down to this guitar based on features, appearance, price and most of all sound. I would recommend this guitar to anyone looking for a mid-to-high end Korean-made rock guitar. I Give it an 8 because it is sounds good and is capable of a wide variety of rock sounds from vintage classic rock to and all but the heaviest metal lead guitar work. It's reasonably priced, very attractive, appears to be solidly built with quality components and workmanship. It also has several nice features like separate tone and volume controls for each pickup and a Hipshot tuner.