Ibanez MMM1 Mike Mushok Baritone

Made in Korea, it has 2 Humbuckers nice and shiney with a 3 way selector. 28" scale but it can go longer if you adjust the bridge.

Sounds great, play this with a marshall tube amp and you'll get taht CRUNCH that Mike Mushok got.

When I first got it, it was smaller than I thought it would be. Really the thing is that the strings almost go all the way end of the guitar and thats how it has a 28" scale.

The wood is really good, you won't scratch with a pick, like some people say. You can scatch it if you have a tool, but thats really the only way. if you do scratch it it won't really leave a mark just a "dent".

When you tuned the top sting of the guitar to Ab. It will buzz a little bit, to take care of this problem you need a set of small allen wrench to adjust the bridge. There are 2 holes in the bridge. Every string uses the first hole. Unscrew that and put it in the second hole. And tune it back, this will give it a longer scale and put more tension on the string. Like I said you can adjust it a little bit, I don't think you can put thicker strings on it uses a 74 gauge and the holes for the tuner fits very very tight, I don't know but this is what it looks like.

28" scale neck, string thru, awesome bridge, nice pickups, neck thru body,

sounds excellent, downtunes incredibly low without buzzing or getting muddy

action was set too high, but that can be fixed, neck was comfortable, has a beautiful wood grain finish

seems rock solid

not neccasery

this is the best baritone guitar i have ever played, not that thats saying much

Very quickly here are the features...

string-through, neck-through, 28" baritone scale, mahogany body, 22 jumbo frets, and a kick-ass gibraltar bridge.

I bought mine used and it was refinished darker than the original light mahogany. I prefer the darker finish so I was okay with that. Also, the Super 58 pickups were replaced by a duncan distortion in the bridge position and a duncan jazz pickup in the neck position. This combination is great because I can use the distortion for my overdrive and when I want to dial back the signal a bit and get a great clean signal, i just use either a combo of the two pickups or just the neck pickup. Also, on the back of the neck near the headstock is a heel that is a subtle feature that makes playing some open chords a bit more comfortable.

I play a variety of styles including doom metal, drone/ambient, and black metal. I used to use a Gibson SG tuned down to A and the strings had absolutely no tension on them and there was a considerable amount of buzz. Now with the increased tension from the 28" scale length, I can tune to A standard, Open A, G Standard, or even an octave down from the normal EADGBE when I want to sit halfway between a bass and a normally tuned guitar...

I plug straight into a Sunn Model T Reissue into a Sunn 4x12 and let's just say the neighbors aren't very happy about that. If you're searching for the brown note, this guitar is a good starting point. I can get a very clean tone (although the sunn's clean channel is nastier than most other amps overdrive channels) by using the neck pickup into my clean channel. Or I can turn on the bridge pickup and switch on the overdrive to get some of the creamiest, ballsy, baritone distortion I've heard in a while. The neck-through design makes every note ring out forever. I've also tried plugging it straight into my boss br600 digital 8 track and it sounds beautiful through some compressors, choruses, reverb, delay, and other modulation effects. I love this guitar, its exactly the guitar I needed for my doom/drone project.

I bought it used, but the action is perfect for me. The scale is long enough for me to tune down to G if I want to while still maintaining enough tension for me to get perfect pinch harmonics and intonation throughout the scale. It stays in tune very well. The finish on this guitar is note very forgiving as we all know. It scratches and dents easily, so if you're looking for a guitar to beat on, don't expect it to look new for very long... Eventually I may replace the volume/tone knobs and pots because they occasionally make some noise.

This guitar was someone's backup before I took it off his hands. I imagine he used it during a few gigs and even though it has the expected amount of dings and scratches for the wood finish, it still looks great. The bridge, tuners, and all other hardware looks like it should last the life of the guitar. The strap buttons probably need to be replaced, but that's something i'm used to... I would use it without a backup.

n/a

I've been playing for over 10 years. In the past i've played through an ibanez rg470dx, a fender 60's reissue stratocaster, a gibson SG, and a 6 string fretless bass. This guitar puts all the others to shame. When I brought it home, the first thing I did was tune it up, warm my amp up, and turn it to almost full volume to see what kind of volume I could produce. Everyone in the room's jaw dropped when I started playing. This thing is low and loud, the perfect guitar for anyone who wants to play some downtuned metal or jazz. For live settings, I plan on splitting the signal and playing through the sunn model t and a soldano lucky 13 each into its respective 4x12. I will have to invest in some earplugs before then...

If it were stolen, I'd find whoever did it, cut their eyelids off, cover them in honey, and bury them up to their necks in a red ant pile somewhere. Then I'd kick their head in.

My favorite features are the neck through/string through design, the nice bridge, and the way the heavy wood makes the important bass notes ring out for as long as possible. Again, this guitar is perfect for ultra high-gain situations, harmonics and controlled feedback sound better than ever...

I'm just going to say that I have no opinion about what "features" this instrument comes factory equipped with. What initially drew me to this instrument when I was researching baritones online is the simple basics of it. No bells & whistles, no gnarly paint scheme or goofy death metal graphics. Just a normal, tunable, adjustable, one pot o'volume & one pot o'tone, easy-to-find-without-looking 3-position switch-equipped 28" scale baritone guitar.

I've had this little red headed beauty for about 3 years now. And even though I own a couple of big $$$ acoustics (Goodall, Collings) It's become my primary gigging and recording guitar. I was in the market for a baritone but couldn't afford the $5-6,000 a high-end acoustic normally runs, so I took my measly $2k and went shopping. I can't tell you how many music stores with hundreds of guitars hanging on the walls where I would stroll up to the counter and ask if they had any baritone guitars, only to be answered with a "huh? wha?" I actually had one guy who works at a major retailer tell me that there was no such thing as a baritone guitar. I was fortunate that I found a store where someone had ordered the Ibanez thinking that it would sound like a Danelectro (he was looking for a Angelo Badalamenti-like sound, but the store didn't have access to Danelectro and sold him the Ibanez on special order).

It was exactly what I was looking for. I know that it was primarily designed from the jig out for metal application, but it really works surprisingly well for my jazz/folk/new age pieces. My style is primarily chord-based arpeggiation and I have no problem reproducing tone clarity across all six strings. After trying different string sets and sizes, I discovered that (for me) D'Addario XL157's work just fine. It was set up perfectly at the factory, and I haven't had to touch the intonation yet, and I live a half mile from the ocean.

The one piece of gear you will have to get is an EQ pedal, especially if you go direct to the board of a PA system. And beware of sound men. It is their natural instinct to try to remove all the bottom end out of the guitar signal. They can't help themselves. Tell them to set the guitar line(s) (I send a stereo signal out of my reverb) to -0/0+ on the channels you're plugged into and use the pedal or a rackmount EQ to control your tone.

I'm an old geezer and can't haul amps around anymore (it will happen to you, too), so I've re-tooled my traveling rig down to just:
Alesis Midiverb4
Boss ME-50
Boss EQ-20
Boss RC-20

With the inclusion of a pair of Danelectro 8" bass amps where amplification of only the guitar is required. (I play a few art openings, etc.)

I was concerned that the tuners would be El Mondo Cheapoz and I'd wind up having to swap them out for a set of Schallers, but someone at Ibanez did their homework and the stock tuners work just fine for the set gauges I string the guitar in. They also paid attention to the instrument requiring jumbo frets. I would imagine that anything thinner would wear down to the fingerboard in no time, depending on how much Stevie Ray Vaughn you're playing.

Look. The instrument is a one piece, neck-through mass manufactured hunk of redwood for under $1000, so expecting it to have no variations in the fit and finish is foolish to expect. I bought an $800 guitar. I got what I paid for. You will hear no squeaking out of me about how it could be better.

(tip to the folks having trouble stringing it...tilt the guitar up on it's side and look through the hole as you are passing the string from the back to the front. Sight along the string and you will see the exit point on the other side. Easy breezy.

As I don't use my instruments to customize the mic stands or antique speaker cabinets during performance, I would expect this instrument to suffer the same rate of unavoidable doinks and bruising that my more delicate Goodall and Collings suffer every time I take them out of the case.

One of the most attractive things about this instrument is the esthetic simplicity of it's finish. Being primarily an acoustic player, I'm a big fan of seeing the lumber on my instruments and the lack of any lacquering on this guitar just adds to its uniqueness.

I have never had any appreciable anxiety about wondering if that when I take it out of the case, plug it in and open up the volume pedal, that it won't be there for me, in tune and ready to sing.

Ah...I earnestly tried to get someone at Ibanez to give me some information about what the string set size and manufacture it came factory equipped with, as the customer who ordered it before I took it away from him had the store change the strings to a set he thought would give him the idiosyncratic sound he was looking for, only to discover that the instrument did not particularly enjoy being strung with them.
No one at Ibanez bothered to return my numerous emails and/or snail mail correspondence. I'm sure they're very helpful folk if you can ever manage to get their attention.

I solved my string problem only by buying every stock set of baritone strings available and trying them one set at a time.

For my style, D'Addario XL157s work just peachy. .014, .018, .026, .044, .056, .068.

I bought my first guitar, a Guild D-40 dreadnought in 1963. I picked up a banjo shortly thereafter, and slowly worked my way through every "folk" instrument there was, but found that the guitar was the only instrument that gave me the kind of variety of voicing that my developing "style" required. As I got older and more proficient, I tried to expand my palate by going electric, but I didn't like the way the fingerboards felt. I play chord-based finger-style guitar and most electrics I bought, were eventually sold simply because I didn't like the way they felt in my hands. Even the big jazz archtops felt clumsy and didn't lend themselves to helping me make a smooth transition and I inevitably gravitated back to an electrified standard acoustic guitar because it was comfortable and familiar.

This baritone and I negotiated for about a month before my right hand finally figured out how the instrument wanted to be addressed and we began to have a real dialog between us.

There are few things in this world that are worth the money you pay for them. This instrument is one of the rare exceptions to this. If I lost it, I would buy another as quickly as it could be ordered. If you are in the market for a baritone guitar, no matter what style you play, you owe it to yourself to seriously consider this one.

Finish: made in Korea (don't remember the year); solid mahogany body wings with a mahogany/wenge neck-thru ("wenge" is an african mahogany). All in a "mahogany oil finish" wich is invisible and makes wood grain shine through. Unfortunately this is the weak point, because this finish gradually elapses.
Body style: Ibanez SZ body (see Marty Friedman's guitar)
Neck: 28" baritone scale mahogany/wenge neck-thru with 22 jumbo frets and no inlays along the rosewood fretboard.
Tuners: chrome Schaller-type tuners. The 6th and the 5th tuner pots are larger than the other four to accomodate massive string gauges.
Bridge style: Ibanez Gibraltar Custom bridge (similar to the Gibson's Tune-O-Matic but stronger and with more settings available) with a stainless steel block, under the bridge saddles, that goes straight into the wood for a longer sustain. Strings run through the body and the string holes can accomodate bass strings with large ball ends. So you can put strings from 0.09 plain to 0.80 wound.
PickUps: two Super 58 Custom humbucker pickups; one in the bridge, one in neck position (medium/low output)
Three controls: 1 volume, 1 tone, one 3-way selector (bridge/both pickups/neck)
The one I bought came with a hardshell case. But i think that now they will give you only a gigbag.

I play modern jazz, rock, metal and funky. I've bought this guitar just for my pleasure and not for my needs. But this babe rocks.
I've tuned it Bb Eb Ab Db F Bb (Low to High) and the first time I 've used with my band was very difficult to transpose. But this improves your creativity and now the other guitarist and me we have two different instruments while playing the same song.
It suits rock, metal, country, modern jazz (that doesn't require an archtop).
I've used it with my Yamaha Dg60-112 (1x12 combo) and Fender FM210 (2x10 combo) in stereo mode and it's great. But the best is using it straight into a Mesa/Boogie Single Rectifier head and Marshall 1960 4x12 cabinet.
The sound is BIG,FAT and full of harmonics. No much variety in sounds but there is just what you need for the music styles above. For example you can't use it for pop songs that require a typical strat sound (obviously).
But you can play a lot of jazz stuff with it. Imagine that you are a saxophonist that changes from Alto to Tenor sax for two songs and then come back to Alto; same way you can change from electric (or semi-hollow) guitar to a baritone for some songs and come back to original.
There is nothing I dislike on that monster. The only recommendation is: use it in the right music context and you'll be satisfied.

Horrible set-up from the factory: high action, low pickups.
But no flaws. No noise from the pick ups or the selector.

I've made the set-up by myself. If you are a little experienced you can do it easily in half an hour. Now has a mid/low action (as I prefer) and perfect intonation. The Gibraltar Custom bridge is made for professional set-ups. String gauges: custom set 0.14pl/0.18pl/0.30w/0.44w/0.56w/0.68w tuned Bb Eb Ab Db F Bb (Low to High).
Two points off for the poor factory set up.

This guitar it's a tank. You don't need a backup 'cause you are playing downtuned bass strings. I haven't changed them in one year and I use it for studying and giggin'. The only thing you have to do is cleaning well the strings and the guitar after every use. This will make them last for a long time.

And now the two weak points: strap buttons and volume/tone pots cover.
Replace them as soon as you can.

Tuners seem like cheap stuff but they aren't. Strings stay in tune for weeks. After a gig they loose only a 1/4 step.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 18 years. I've owned Ibanez, Fender, PRS, Gibson, Squier, Washburn.
This is the best baritone on the market. If you prefer a higher output simply raise the gain knob. Don't change the pickups. The EMGs have destroying output but no personality. When you hear someone famous using them don't forget that probably he has a great amplifier that warm the original cold sound of an active pickup.
Super 58s are great for any kind of music. You just have to work on EQ parameters and find the tone right for you and for the style you're playing.

Blah...blah...blah...the specs for this guitar are as listed by others on this page as well as the Ibanez website. While it's kinda subjective to talk about "features", what this guitar has as far a compenents is pretty damn good, functional and works well. With that said, I give the MMM1 a 10 for what it has...no extra unnecessary shit. For those of you who are checking out this page to gather more information before you take the dive from your "regular" standard guitar to a baritone, yes...do it. This guitar is from the ground up all baritone, so you won't be dealing with the crap that you are from simply detuning your standard guitar to that of a baritone. In other words, no slnky rubberband sounding chords/notes when you play them...the longer neck on this guitar takes care of that by basically taking up the slack of the lower tuned strings. The tuners have more "torque" to them, and yes...this guitar will stay in tune. As you've already read, the MMM1 has specially wound pickups that accommodate the lower notes...a big plus over your standard guitar. Again, everything about the MMM1 is pure baritone. Strap on a pair and do the right thing. If you're going to detuned your guitar completely as opposed to drop tuning 1 or 2 strings, do it the right way..buy this guitar.

One more thing. If you're under the assumption about "If I want neck and back problems, get a Les Paul", forget about it. For some reason, there are a lot of people that think Mahogany is an extremely heavy wood in regards to weight. Constructed of mahogany, this guitar isn't heavy.

I own 2 of these guitars...1 in stock form and the other with EMG actives. They obviously have different sounds. I'll typically use the EMG loaded one for heavier stuff since it has an edgier grind to it and the cleans are an entity unto itself (not necessarily a good thing). Sound quality is subjective...I personally love them through MY setup.

In any event, the combination of wood and being neckthru make for a beautifully resonant and sweet sounding guitar...very full...amazing. The stock pickups suit it well and between the neck and bridge, they're very nicely distinct. You can go from very warm to buzzsaw.

(Another note for people doing research: No, your floating bridge with the notes vibrating through the springs isn't resonant.)

For a guitar made of mahogany, the wood seems to be VERY soft. I play the shit out of my guitars and don't baby them...they're begining to look like Seal.

My gear has been paired down from multiple Triple Rectifiers to:
Bogner Uberschall + Mesa Rectifier 4x12 cab (Std)
Mesa RecPre + 2:100 Recto Stereo
Line 6 POD Pro
TC Electronic G-Major
BBE 882i

*Extras*
GCX + Ground Control Pro
Monster Power MP Pro 2500
Korg DTR-2000

No info on the setup from the factory since I had it reset at the store. The only thing I've really done on my number one MMM1 (the one with the stock pickups) was drop the neck and raised the bridge pickups. The string gauges have been changed from stock sizes.

I like the raw wood look on this guitar. Again, my one scrap is the softness/hardness of the wood.

The hardware is solid as hell and it stays in tune for me. I punish the guitars, but they stay true to form. Finish of the guitar? Yeah, right. If you want a guitar that has umpteen layers of protective coating to protect the graphics, you need to get yourself a Daisy Rock guitar. If you play a guitar like a real musician, it'll definitely show. I take each dent I've made with a grain of salt and convince myself that it adds to the guitars character. Face it, it's going to happen.

Although I have two of these things, they're setup as two different guitars. As for having backups...not necessary it all. My experience is that they're constructed well and will survive whatever you throw at them.

Strap buttons. What's the point. I have Dimarzio clips on all of my guitars.

n/a

I've been playing for over 20 years and have gone through a lot of gear...a lot of which people assume are elite pieces of equipment. I've found that you should try different things since a so-called "non-exotic" piece of gear might suit you best. A good example is Eventide Harmonizers. I owned one and sold if off...I never used a fraction of what it could do and was just money in a rack.

I had a few Triples just because. What a waste of money. While i LOVE Mesa stuff, the Triples were overkill. My gear has been pared down with a little more thought and usefulness:

-Rack Setup-
Monster Power MP Pro 2500
Korg DTR-2000
Mesa Recording Rectifier Preamp
Mesa 2:100 Stereo
Line 6 POD Pro
TC Electronic G-Major
BBE 882i
DMC GCX
DMC Ground Control Pro

-Head-
Bogner Uberschall

-Cabs-
2 Mesa Rectfiers 4x12 (Std)

korean made 2003 neck thru baritone
one volume, one tone, three way toggle
super 58 pickups, gibraltar custom bridge
nothing fancy really

this guitar...it rules all other baritones ive owned and played. its tone is very warm and natural, and sounds great. i play rock in drop b with this guitars through a mesa triple rec w/el34s and use a 4x12 trace elliot bass cab inve converted into a guitar cab(older vintage solid wood cabinet, cloth grill) with two gt12-75's and two vintage 30's wired in mono. this setup sounds exactly how i want it two, very beefy and clean, and through the distortion channel it sounds out of this world. the only guitar mods ive done are sperzel tunes and a locking strap. this guitar sounds completely different from any other baritone, given its very natural tone. simply irresistable.

the guitar was set too low from the factory, and the strings were a little big for my tuning. i raised the action, dropped some d'adario 13-68 baritone strings, and its great. the custom bridge/ string through assembly makes this guitar stand above rest, although one huge complaint* the string through gromets or whatever where the string goes through, is a huge pain the get through the hole and kills me every time i restring. the finish is beantiful, but very weak, you can scratch it with your finger nail and leve permanent dents. ive gigged many shows with jmine, and its pretty ripped up already. still my favorite guitar ive played to date.

the hardware is great, the finish is the only thing that seems it wont hold up, although i belive the finish has a lot to do with this guitars amazing tone, so its worth it.

i tried ordering some of the 58's for my other baritones, but ran into tons of problems. the techs told me there was no difference in the 58's winding from the origals, and i think due to the techs laziness in the local store, they talked me into a seymour 59 which sounds horrible in a baritone les paul.

overall, this guitar is kind of a preference guitar, not jsut a guitar to jam on. although its is my preference, and i will have ibanez be building me my own model in the near future hopefully, although that can be spendy. i love this guitar, ive been a gibson man since i started playing, but this guitar is a truly supereior guitar to others in its price range.

- 2003 (if I'm interpreting the serial number right) made in Korea
- 28" scale neck through with mahogany body wings, bound rosewood fretboard with no inlays (I LOVE that), and a mahogany neck that has what Ibanez calls "purplewood" down the middle. This wood is actually called "Purpleheart"
- Passive electronics
- 2 custom Super 58 humbuckers tailored to the low-end
- 1 volume, 1 tone, 1 3-way pickup selector switch
- Custom Gibraltar bridge
- Through-body string installation
- Chrome hardware
- Oil finish
- Mike Mushok's signature in the control cavity cover

All in all, a nice set of features. It pretty much gives you what you need, nothing you don't. I just wish it had coil splitters, that's about it.

This axe delivers the goods in abundant chunky spades. It is incredibly crunchy, yet defined, when you kick in the overdrive, and the clean tone is nice and full, but still clear and is also well-defined. If you want to play hard and low, this is the way to go. Mike Mushok's tag line in the Ibanez catalog is exactly right - this thing goes to 11.

I have to say, this thing was well-built. The guitar came set up pretty well from the factory. The action was a little TOO low, and made for a tiny bit of buzzing, not really too much of a problem. Chalk that one up to the fact that 1.) it probably sat in the warehouse for quite a while, and 2.) The UPS guy left it on my doorstep in 110 degree Phoenix heat, and shortly thereafter it proceeded to rain for about 15 minutes (as it tends to do during our monsoon season). I think it's a testament to how solid this baritone is to withstand that so well!

Overall, this instrument will withstand punishment. Unfortunately, the finish will not. As has been previously stated, it does tend to rub off with playing. This is kind of to be expected for an oil finish, but tung oil would stay put a lot better than whatever they used. A tinted sealer coat someone else said, and I think they're right. I'd use it without a backup, because string breakage is the ONLY thing you'd have to worry about with this beast. It's a tank!

Never dealt with Ibanez directly. I'm not sure what the warranty period is, but I doubt I'll need it anyway.

I've been playing off and on for over 12 years now, and I've played all sorts of gear in that time. I wish I could say I've OWNED more gear though, hehe! In addition to guitar, and now baritone, I also play bass, 4, 5, and 6-string in fretted and fretless varieties. I can't really say that there is anything I hate about my new baritone, just wish that they'd have used tung oil for the finish and added coil-splitters. I do, however, LOVE the tone, playability, and looks of it. When I took it into Guitar Center, the staff and other customers (even the bass players) were practically falling over themselves to check it out, seeing as how no one has them in stock - it's pretty much special order only locally, or get it from a place like Musician's Friend. A nice touch is the fact that they inlaid the Ibanez logo into the headstock instead of just slapping a decal on. Another one is the fact that Mike Mushok wanted his signature so obscured on the instrument; it's black writing on the black control cavity cover, something no one will see while it's being played. The man's not an ego-freak, and I really respect that. Wanting the price kept down is another admirable thing. This is a solid instrument, for a reasonable price.

Same features as stated in other entries - all are same. Must say it is a good bargain for a signature model guitar at a retail price of arournd $800. Not a lot a variety in sounds, but does offer some good variations in tone with 3-way selector and dual humbuckers, which are stock Ibanez customs. Should sound even better with some hotter pickups, but these are fairly high-output.
For a baritone, this really plays well - close to a standard 6-string, but with much "beefier" strings.

If your looking for that "Nu-Metal" or "Alt-Metal" tone, but don't want to change over to the 7-string (and almost re-learn how to play with that extra string), this will give you "the sound" - provided you have a decent amp. I currently use it through a Peavey XXL head with matching cab, and on the Modern setting (Boogie Rectifier sound) it kicks! Granted this rig is not the ideal pro setup, it's not a cheap modeling combo either. It's fairly quite even with high distortion, and gives a good bottom heavy sound with lots of thump and clarity. This guitar does what it was designed to do, and does it very well. And for that, I must say I like it.

This is where I had a small problem. I ordered mine through a Sam Ash Music Retail Store. I traded a Gibson Les Paul Studio (which I loved) for this because the band I'm now in played extremely low tuned (drop A), and the Paul couldn't pull it off without major modifications. Anyway, after waiting for 3 weeks, it finely came directly from the Ibanez factory. I was in the store when they brought it in from the warehouse - still wrapped and all. They opened it for me right on the spot and began to inspect it. On first glance it is a beautiful finish and some fine craftsmanship (for an import). But after checking it out for about 3 seconds, we found a small but very noticeable dent in the front under the tone knob. What made it worse was it looked like they had tried to fill in the dent with superglue(?) and then buff it out, creating a light spot in the finish about the size of a quarter! What the!!?? I can't believe Ibanez would allow such a screw up to pass right by their "inspection" - especially on a special order direct from their factory! On the bright side, the action and other details were superb. But this flaw really knocked Ibanez a few notches down on my list for craftsmanship - I mean I paid retail for this ($800) so I could have it new!!!
I must say that the salesman at Sam Ash made it cool by getting me $50 knocked off of the difference.

This guitar does seem to be reliable for live playing, but shouldn't just about any guitar? I'm not sure how well the finish will hold up after very many live shows, but guitars were made to be played in my opinion (unless you have some rare '63 Paul or Fender or something...) and this one should last for a while. My only other complaint here is that you would think some higher priced guitars would come with strap-locks or something because you definitely don't want this thing falling off and hitting the ground. My complaint here comes from the fact that I bought strap locks for this, but the strap button screws are huge on this thing, and the ones with the strap locks are too small to fit - so I'll probably have to fill in the holes with wood filler or something just so I can use them.
Other than that, I'm sure I could depend on this guitar in a live situation, but would still have a backup just in case of string breakage...

Ibanez support may be very good - I don't know. Haven't dealt specifically with them, but my past experiences with customer support for musical instruments has been pretty below par at best. I guess I'm saying I wouldn't expect much better from them, seeing as how they sent a defective guitar straight from the factory after signing off on an inspection with an obvious flaw on the body!

I've been playing for over 16 years - mostly in metal and hard rock bands. I've owned several guitars - Gibson, Jackson, Charvel, Epiphone, Peavey and some others I can't remember, alone with a couple of others by Ibanez. I've been in some serious bands and feel like I know something about guitars by now, and would give this one a mostly positive review. In all fairness, I really couldn't say much bad about it if it weren't for the obvious flaw in the body that was poorly "repaired" at the factory. I would buy another one if it were damaged or stolen and must say I recommend it to those looking for the nu-metal tone, but dont want to go the 7-string route.

I traded in my Ibanez RGT 42FM for this guitar with $85 as the balance. The guitar was originally $550

2003 made in Korea

Electronics cavity plate has Mike Mushoks signature on it

Mahogany neck and body with a strip of purple heart in the center

22 fret bound rosewood fretboard

1 volume, 1 tone, 3 way selector switch

string thru bridge

baritone scale

pretty basic, but it's worth the money.

It has a thick, warm sound. This guitar sounds great for all the different genres I play.

The action was great considering the guitar was sitting in the music store I got it from for 2 years, but after I tuned it down to A (it was originally tuned to B), the first fret of the 5th string started to buzz. I fixed that after getting it set up.

This guitar stays in tune great and would most likely be able to withstand live playing without a back up. The only thing I don't like about it is the body dents easily because of the oil finish.

never delt with them

I have been playing for 8 years and I have never owned a better sounding guitar. My current guitars are: '84 B.C. Rich NJ Warlock, 2005 Ovation Celebrity, '80's B.C. Rich NJ Eagle Bass. I would definitely buy it again if it was stolen or lost.

Mine is made in Korea 2003

Mahogany body which heavy like a morta !!! Long scale 28" and use very bid strings that is very strange for me

Very beautiful finishing .....

Pups are custom from Ibanez which not bad.

Neck is quite thick compare to another Ibanez Model

Sound is very rich. Alot of bass tone. It broke down my speaker !!! BE CAREFUL !!! :-)

Action is quite high ......

I don't use it much, because it is too heavy and I have no songs to play with. ( jamming with CD )

Good Looking, but I don't use it so much. Stay always in a case ;-) If you want to buy please contact me. I could sell him, because I want it goes with the person who can use 100 percent ability from him.

The electronics are kind of generic for a guitar in this price range, in my opinion. However, the body and neck are very nice quality. Very solid.

Sounds great if you swap out the pickups. I put a DropSonic in the bridge and a SuperII in the neck. I'm using it with a Line 6 HD147 head and custom cabs and it kills...if you are into metal, that is!

I bought it used, so I have no idea about the factory setup. I'm going to have to either have the bridge block milled down a bit, or remove some wood from the bridge cavity so I can lower the strings a bit more. It's not drastic, but I can't get the strings low enough to suit my taste. As for the finish, here's a tip: sand it off and apply many coats of quality tung oil. Tung oil will make the mahogany body and neck look much better..the factory finish turns "muddy" over time. tung oil is easy to repair, easy to apply and is inexpensive to purchase. Another tip: If you get dings and gouges on the body, take a damp cloth, put it over the damaged area, and hold a hot clothes iron on it for a few seconds..let it steam up a bit. That will raise the grain and "pull" the dents out. You will have to lightly sand after that to knock the surrounding grain back down, then re-oil it until it matches up with the surrounding finish. I removed buckle rash and deep pick gouges from the one I just bought with this method and it worked like a charm.

The factory finish won't take much abuse. No oil finish will withstand a lot of abuse, but the tung oil is at least better than the factory finish. I'd use the guitar without a backup, it is solid other than the things I mentioned above

Never had to deal with it

I've been playing for 20+ years. This isn't the first baritone I've owned, I had an ESP LTD HD300 for a while. I think this one is nicer and I'd get another one if this one were lost or stolen. One thing I wish it had was position markers on the fretboard, and different finish options and hardware finish options, like black chrome. If you decide to change the chrome hardware out, you're stuck with the massive chrome bridge since it's not a standard bridge.

Most of the features are already covered in the other reviews above.
It's Korean made with the typical Korean-style aluminum box truss rod. 3 layer laminate neck thru body constuction.
No name tuners, plastic nut, and jumbo frets. Beefy bridge.

Does the low tuned metal thing pretty good. Pickups are OK, but nothing extraordinary. Not sure why the pickups are not coil tappable, it would have added an extra dimension to the tonal palette of the guitar. It would have been nice to have a coil tap and get the twangy Dano-style tic-tac bass sound.
Mine seems to be a little noisy, not sure if it is a ground problem, or just a fault of the cheesy import electronics.

Guitar seems solidly built. Most metal parts are of average quality. The pickup bezels are not angled correctly, so the pickups do not sit under the strings level with the strings. That can be fixed inexpensively.
Of course it has the typical super cheesy electronics that most far east import guitars have. I plan to replace the pots and switch with CTS pots, heavier guage wire, and a megaswitch, along with some 4 conductor Seymour Duncans so I can increase the flexability and get some different tones.
Fret work is average, not crowned very well with some rough spots.
I'll probably end up refretting it because I like my frets glued in for maximum tonal transfer (most imports do not have thier frets glued in ala PRS, Gibson, etc...)
I need to remove some wood below the bridge so I can lower it a tad, it is at the minimum setting right now on the plain string side, and it could go a touch lower.

Haven't owned it long enough to give an honest opinion of long term reliability.

My experience with import electronics has not been good, so I do not expect them to hold up with a lot of abuse.

The finish seems pretty cheesy, though. Mine has arm wear and and picking wear thru already. A tung oil finish would have been much better, and could have been re-oiled.

The hardware is of average quality.

Could use strap locks if gigging.

No experience.

I give the guitar a solid 7 out of 10. It's a cool guitar, but not a perfect guitar and it has some issues. I've been doing guitar repairs for over 15 years, and have owned hundreds of guitars, so I know of what I speak.

Construction-wise it is solidy built, but electronics-wise it isn't there. The flimsy electronics are not up to pro level. It can be fixed up with higher grade components but that also costs money. The cheesy finish is pretty weak. It would have been better if they would have just oiled the wood instead of spraying a thin coat of tinted sealer over it. If the guitar new were street priced in the mid $400, that would have been about right. Seems a little high street priced around $600 for what you get. Buying used is the best bet.

The upside is that the unit has a lot of potential. I plan to use mine for low tuned heavy metal stuff, plus reworking the electronics to use it for twangy spagetti-western type clean stuff as well. I wish Ibanez or the Staind guy would have thought of this. Seems like a lot more studly guitar than the Danelectro baritone guitars, plus the Danos won't work good for heavy metal.

Basic: Neck-thru construction, Mahogany body, Mahogany and
Purpleheart neck, Rosewood fretboard, Chrome Hardware, 22
Jumbo frets, 28" scale
Electronics: 2 Custom Wound Super 58 humbuckers, 1 vol, 1 tone,
3 way selector, Shielded electronics caivty
Nothing special... but thats the beauty of it

This guitar is absolutely perfect for my style. I'm playin' through a Marshall Valvestate half stack right now using an Ibanez Smash Box and Phaser. I can get pretty any kind of sound I want to play Nu-Metal and other hard rock stuff that I play. It has great clarity even when I'm playing complex chords and using distortion. The clean sound is pretty good, too. It's pretty quiet except if I decide to not use the void switch on the smash box.

I got this guitar used (kind of abused) and found that it had been terribly set up. I had to readjust the action and intonation significantly. I also found the oil finish to not be very durable. After a few months of play, I had already rubbed off the finish on part of the body with my pick and worn the finish a little on the back of the neck. It's being refinished right now. Also a few of the screws on the bridge are rusting a little.

Though the finish on this guitar is pretty much crap, I would definately use this in a show without a backup. I recently dropped it on the floor and picked it back up finding that one string was out of tune. The strap buttons seem slightly bigger than normal, but I still might get strap locks sometime.

Never dealeed with it...

I've been playin guitar for a little over two years and right now I have three main guitars. My Takamine EAN 10-C, my Epiphone Les Paul Standard, and my Ibanez. The Ibanez is by far my favorite electric I've ever played. The action is a little high, but thats a small sacrifice to make for the sound I love.

You all know the specs for this, if not go to the ibanez website to find out, The features suit me perfectly I like its simplicity.

It sounds awesome, I can play anything I want to with it. I've been playing Jazz, Metal, Reggae and everything in between. My musical style is what I like to call Unreal Metal no comforting to any norms total lawlessness. I send it straight into a Yamaha DG130Ha head (very superb amp by the way, brutal brutal distortions, crystal clear cleans) I use the amps built in effects which are awesome too. I use an avatar 212 cab with eminence V12 speakers. Man my tone is now perfect. So clean so crunchy so brutal.

I bought it from drumcityguitarland.com they set it up for me for free. All I did when I got it was raised the action a tiny bit. This one was flawless baby.

Good god this thing is solid. Man I cant wait to buy another one for 540 its a steal. I would definately withstand live playing, the hardware it solid as hell. I can more than depend on it.

Never dealt with Ibanez customer support

I have been playing for 4 years now I am 25 yes I know I started late but people make music not age, this is the best guitar I own. Hell I am getting another one soon, hell yeah I would replace it if someone stole it. I love everthing about it price solid wood and hardware. Go out and buy two if you can, they are really great guitars. Good luck.

Its all been said all ready.


Not many features but thats how I like it.

Great sounding Baritone. It would be hard to find a better sounding Baritone at any cost. The Super 58s have a great warm tone with lots of sustain. Great for Charlie Hunter riffs. I play Jazz,R&B and easy listing with this Baritone. I know it was made for Hard Rock but its great for any style of music. I use this with a BOSS ME-50 and a Roland JC-120 and its got a great tone. I've never played a better Baritone and I've played Fender,ESP,Conklin and Novax.

Great setup

built very well.

I've been playing 9 years and have worked in music stores and studios. I own lots of other guitars including Fender Starats,PRS Custom 22 with the Artist Package,Gibson Les Pauls and others. But I dont play them now that I have my new MMM1. If it was stolen I would buy another as soon as possible.

2003 model

2 custom wound "super 58" pickups (all right sounding i thought)

neck through construct

1 vol, 1 tone, 3-way switch

chrome hardware

28' baritone scale

i tune mine ADGCEA

and im not sure about this feature, but mine came with an autographed electronics cavity cover. mike mushok sighned it and there was a little piece of tape covering it. not sure if this is a stock feature or a special thing (some promotion for musicians friend maybe?)

i play a lot of nu-metal and other (manson, SOAD, coal chamber, tool, APC) and it works fine. i run it through a marshall valvestat VS100 right now, and its great. the pickups are great, they nail the staind distortion perfectly, and arent to muddy or bassy like i almost expected on stock pickups. theres no noise what so ever, even when the guitar is right in front of my speaker, it takes a while to feedback.

set-up was top notch, it was mostly in tune when i got it, just some minor adjustments, and i was ready to go. its an extremely light guitar, offering almost NO stress on the shoulders neck and back like a les paul would. there was one minor flaw in the back of it, a dent about as long as my pinky, but i think its a flaw in the wood myself, not the guitar. dont matter really, guitars are meant to be played, not babied.

i think this guitar is a beast. its light, but durable. they put a nice sized chunk of wood right where the headstock meets the neck, so headstock breakage shouldnt be an issue (less you pull a steve vai move and swing it around yer shoulder and hit something!). i would use it without a backup, cept for maybe string breaks, but the string through body bridge should make string changing a snap. i would call it dependable.

i didnt get it from ibanez themselves, rather from musicians friend. overall id say their support is rather hit or miss. sometimes theyll be your best friends and go to the ends of the world to make YOU, THE CUSTOMER, happy, but other times its more like "hey, what do you expect US to do?"

if it were stolen i think that person would wish they werent born when i get ahold of them. its my only baritone, and i love it to death. i am an avid collector and player of guitars. i own gibsons, ibanezs, jacksons, fenders, and epiphones. i have to say i love this one the most. if it were gone, i would DEFINATELY get another one.

-2003 Ibanez MMM1 Mike Mushok baritone (Korean made)
-22 jumbo frets
-28" scale neck
-1v1t 3 way selector switch
-H/H pu configuration
-Custom wound Super 58 pickups (passive)
-Mahogany body
-3 piece Mahogany and purplewood neck
-Custom MM bridge
-Neck thru construction (awesome sustain)
-Thru-body stringing
-No inlays on the rosewood fretboard
-bound neck and headstock (does have side markers)

I play mostly nu-metal, and I'm really into Staind, so I'm in love with this guitar. It obviously perfect for Staind, but it's also great for any other heavy stuff (i.e. Chevelle, SOAD, Taproot) and even seven string stuff like KoRn. I'm running it through a Marshall MG100DFX head and a Marshall 4x12 cabinet. I can any kind of sound out of this axe, clean or on distortion, it does damned near everything. I love everything about it, wouldn't change a thing.

Straight from Musician's Friend this guitar was set up to play. Pickups were balanced excellently. I was amazed at the high quality of the wood and of the construction. Everything was tight and ready to go straight out of the box.

This guitar is built like a fricking rock. The body seems incredibly solid, as does the bridge and all the hardware. The raw wood finish is great and looks beautiful. I did find that oiling it every couple of weeks seems to help it keep it's shine. If there was one guitar that I could depend on for a gig, this one would be it. Though I don't think I'd ever gig w/o a backup, this definitely gets a 10 for reliability.

Never had to deal with them. If they're anywhere near as reliable as the MMM1, then I look forward to it!

I've only been playing for about a year and a half, but I own a few other axes. I have a Ibanez s470, PRS Santana SE w/ Tremonti pu's, Fender Mexican Strat, an Ibanez acoustic, and I also have a Ibanez SR500 bass running through a Behringer 30 watt. Of all these, the MMM1 is definitely my favorite. If it were stolen, I would track down the person who stole it, tie them to a chair, and proceed to castrate them, making a milkshake with their severed genitalia and force it down their throat.
Of course, you could pack in more features into this guitar, but what would be the point? The beauty in the design is the simplicity of its construction. One thing I love is that there is no need to go changing pickups, the stock ones kick ass!
I would like to say that I have a lot of respect for Mike Mushok, both as a musician, but also as a person, as it was because of him that this guitar was made so affordable. I mean, neck-thru, string-thru, mahogany body, bound neck, these are all features on a $1000+ guitar. But at under $700, it's a fricking steal. Don't just buy one, buy several, you won't regret it!!!

2003 Ibanez Mike Mushok Signiture Baritone Guitar.
Made In Korea
22 frets
28" scale neck
3 way selector with two Ibanez Custom 58 Pickups wound for the lower range of the guitar. 1 volume and 1 tone knob.
3 piece bound mahogany/purplewood neck with neck through construction, two piece mahogany body with a transparent oil finish.
Custom Bridge, string-thru.
No neck inlays, though it does have side makers.

This guitar doesn't have a ton of features, but the features it does have make it an excellent quality guitar. Comes equiped with heavier guage strings (not sure on the exact guages, but I would guess about .11-.74). This guitar is excellent for lower tunnings. The longer neck scale and thicker strings, along with the custom bridge give it great tunning stability, even when tuning dwn to the depths of hell. The neck thru construction greatly compliments the lower tunning by giving it excellent sustain and the mahogany body gives the guitar a deep, rich sound, but more on that later.
My only initial gripe with this guitar was it's lack of neck inlays, as it can be difficult to navigate the fretboard without a refference, though the side markings more than make up for this. I've grown acostomed to the guitar without them, and I think inlays would ruin the overal look of the guitar, which has a very simple, but ellagant appearance. I give it a 10 for features because it has all the features to do exactly what it was designed to do. It won't open cans and feed your cat, but it is an excellent baritone guitar.

This guitar is perfectly suited for my musical style, which is heavy rock, metal, and nu-metal. Being the Mike Mushok signiture model, it nails Staind's sound perfectly. The pickups are excellent. No noise and very clear. They don't muddy up, even with the lower tunning. I run it straight into my Marshall JCM 900 half stack and have no trouble getting an excellent sound. I can get full, rich distortion, and clear, crisp cleans. It does take a little messing with occaisionaly to get the exact right sound I want, but other than that, perfect.

This guitar was set up perfectly when I went into the store and played it. The action and intunation were perfect. The pickups were balanced with each other and the finish was in excellent condition. All in all, a top notch job.

This guitar seems like it's built like a tank. The mahogany body is strong, and the hardwear seems solid. The chrome finish doesn't seem like it will wear off, and the light oil stain on the body seems like it will last. IT would definately withstand live playing and I anticipate this guitar being in good conditions years down the road. The only problem I could forsee would be the possibility of the neck breaking. There isn't a greater possibility of that happening with this guitar, but the fact that it is neck thru means that if it happens you are screwed. There shouldn't be any problems with that, as long as you don't drop it. The stap buttons seem solid, but I'd get a set of strap locks for this baby just in case. I'd never gig without a backup for any guitar, but I'd feel more comfortable doing it with this guitar than with any other.

Haven't had to deal with them, so I have no comment.

I own four other guitars. An acoustic (my first), a mexican strat (my first electric), an Ibanez S-520, and an Ibanez RG-7420(I think that is the model number. It's a 7-string with a 27.5" scale neck). This is the highest quality guitar I own. I am absolutely in love with it. I love the extended neck scale, the solid body, the neck thru construction, the look, everything about it. As soon as I saw an ad for this in a guitar magazine, I knew I had to have it. I'm a big Staind fan, and I've always had nightmares with using lower tunnings(not just for playing staind covers). Not anymore. No I can tune low and get that deep, rich, sound I've been looking for. If I lost it, I would get Dumbass tatooed on my forehead, and if someone stole it, I would hunt the motherf-er down and take it back. If that didn't work, I would definately buy another. If you're searching for something new to inspire you, definately get this. The lower and somewhat odd tunning will cause you to write some crazy stuff with a completely different sound. Excellent value. You get more than what you pay for with this one.

My MMM1 is a 2003 hot out of the factory. From what I understand, these are special order only, so I didn't get to play one til I bought it. Thankfully, I am very satisfied with the quality and sound of this Ibanez. Made in Korea and I have no problem with that as some do.

It is solid mahoghany and is NECK THROUGH. The Ibanez site didn't give any specs on neck size, so I am happy with the neck design chosen. It is a very fat neck and unfinished. This is exactly how I like it. If it had come finished, I would have sanded it off immediately. This thing is solid.

The pickups are Ibanez humbuckers, supposedly Ibanez pickups, which I believe are built by DiMarzio. They are full sounding and have tons of punch. They aren't muddy like some pickups, very crisp. I'm surprised that they didn't include coil tapping. The bridge pickup is 4-wire, so I'll probably have someone wire a coil tap for some nice single coil sounds.

Body style and hardware look classy. Just a very good looking guitar

This is pretty much a rock geared guitar, which is what I bought it for. Maybe with the coil tapping it might be nice for doing some chords on a clean setting. It sounds great. I'm sending it through 2 different rigs depending on the gig. My main rig has an ADA MP-1, Eventide and a marshall power amp into 2 carvin cabs. It sounds killer.

The pickups are Ibanez humbuckers, supposedly Ibanez pickups, which I believe are built by DiMarzio. They are full sounding and have tons of punch. They aren't muddy like some pickups, very crisp.

I'm surprised that they didn't include coil tapping. The bridge pickup is 4-wire, so I'll probably have someone wire a coil tap for some nice single coil sounds. That would have provided a little more variety, but more people will use this with distortion only I'm sure.

No flaws at all. A very solid product. I may mess with the bridge a bit and try to lower the action.

I will definitely use this live. I have to write some songs that will be better suited to this guitar.

This guitar doesn't need a backup. Everything seems solid and well constructed.

I emailed Ibanez with questions about the MMM1 and they were quick to respond every time. I bought it brand new, but it didn't come with any warranty cards, which is odd. I'm going to contact the dealer and see what to do about that.

I've been playing 17 years and a baritone guitar is a nice change of pace. I have 4 Ibanezes, 3 of which are signature models. They definitely put more care into the signature models.

Overall, I really dig the guitar and look forward to using it live. The only thing I don't like is the lack of coil tapping on the pickups. I have an Ibanez JS6 which is a very similar guitar (2 humbuckers, solid mahoghany). It came with coil tapping. Oh well.

For the price, this guitar is a GREAT deal. I paid $550 + $100 for the case/shipping. Great deal.

The CRUNCHIEST Baritone I have ever played and I've owned many.

TONE on this is incredible, easily the best sounding baritone as compared to all these others that I have owned:
- Schec Scorp gloss black
- Schec Scorp flat black (these 2 have Scorps have different pups)
- Schec A-5X 5-string (this does have good pups btw)
- ESP Viper VB-300 (EMG HZ's flat out suck, but the afterburner kicks ass and can be left in there when you upgrade pups, I put in Iommis and now my Viper kicks; but still the Mushok's tone is better).

Note: I've OWNED all those, (still own 2 Vipers), not just played them in a store, and IMO the Mushok has better sound than any of them even after the pup upgrade to Iommis in one Viper (other Viper I put EMG81s, yes it sounds good but it's tonally #3 of these 3 baritones I now own).

(shaking my head, wtf) I cannot believe that tone/sound is the one thing the other reviewer whined about; I guess he just uses a really crappy amp(?)

Features:

I won't bore you with what you can read online; what I found when getting the guitar that wasn't clear from online specs is this:

- toggle is a 3-way, I prefer this over 5-ways which are difficult to "land" on the right position mid-song.

- this bridge seems like a cool design; haven't messed with it; this guitar actually came from Mus.Frnd completely intonated, truss-adjusted, etc. all in good playing setup/shape, all I did was tune up just a bit.

- no case but the price is SO low for the quality of the guitar (more on that later), the important thing to know is despite being a long neck, the neck is set into the body further than a Strat --this means the overall length of the guitar is the same as a Strat and this Mushok fits in any standard rectangular Strat case (I've tried it).

- neck binding(!), I personally always want this feature and hate to do without it.

- with the almost non-finish finish (I guess it's just an oil stain?) you can clearly see all pieces of wood in the guitar, and there are only 5: 2 flanks, and a 3-piece neck-thru.



If you are doing Staind covers (we do about 4) then this guitar is obviously perfect for that; if you don't get this guitar but are playing Staind then I suggest you use it's tuning,
low to high: A-D-A-D-G-B.
guages: .074, .056, .040, .030, .017, .014


The odd tuning causes you to automatically start writing new riffs, whether this guitar or not you should really try some odd tunings to cause you to write new stuff.



I hate this harmony-central field for features numeric rating because a "10" = "tons of features" and that's not what it's about IMO,
to me the question is does this item have the RIGHT features for what it's intended purpose is;
for that reason I give it a 10, this excels on exactly what it's aimed at doing, and its simplicity (just like a Telecaster) is part of what makes it exactly right for it's purpose.

The crunchiest baritone I've ever played, the sound is excellent everywhere from mild OD to heavy fuzz and all points inbetween. Palm mute your ass off with this guitar!

Neck & bridge pups are far apart, I am convinced this creates much better tone for middle-toggle positions; look at a Strat vs. a Tele and you'll see why a Tele has such a special tone. Look at a Les Paul vs. many 24-fret 2-humbeed guitars and you'll see why the LP sounds better, the 24fret guitars get no good sound in the middle because they pushed the neck pup too close to the bridge in order to accommodate 24frets, and thus ruin the middle and neck tones.

The pups in this Mushok are something SPECIAL(!!). They nail Staind to a tee; they also nail several other low-tuned bands like Deftones, SOAD's crunch which is some of the best crunch out there, and other bands.

Excellent! and surprisingly well setup for a mail-order purchase. Everything on the guitar is tight and well-put-together.

seems built like a rock.

dunno, all my Ibanez gear has never failed, I've never contacted support in using their stuff since 1980.

At a time when many other "rock stars" are setting their sig guitars at prices over 3 grand (Iommi, the newer JoePerry, even the Ibanez Scofield, etc. etc.) I think very highly of Mike Mushok because I read he insisted the price of this guitar be in-line with what a younger person can afford.

A sincere THANK YOU to Mike Mushok for this.

This guitar in terms of quality & tone is worth a lot more than it costs. If you only buy 1 baritone I highly recommend this one; if you buy 2 I'd recommend the ESP VB-300 2ndly but you will need to upgrade pups -- I put Iommis in mine and kept the afterburner and that rocks. But the Mushok's tone is better still, and the 28" scale totally kicks for such low tunings. (we keep the VB tuned up, C-to-C, for Soad and Godsmack).

Brand new off the line, this just hit stores this week I think. 22 frets, mahogany body with neck-through, 28 inch scale for low tunings, volume, tone, 2 humbuckers w/ 3 way selector, string-through body, matte finish.
I gave a 9 because I like the simplicity of the features.

In my band I play a sort of modern rock I guess, Dave Matthews meets U2 with big guitars. At church I play contemporary Gospel and rock. I play it through a Line 6 Flextone III, 60watt 1x12. I also play a Parker Fly Classic. Let's just say you pay for tone! I can plug my Parker into almost anything and dial in a good tone in seconds. I am having to work harder at getting the tone I like with the Ibanez. But nonetheless it is possible to get great tone out of it, you just have to sit in front of your amp for a while. Also, the pickup selector doesn't seem to give a wide variety of tones. Hence the 7.

The action is a little high, but that's an easy fix. Everything else seems to be pretty tight and smooth. The matte finish and the overall look of the guitar is why I bought it, it's really cool!

This thing is a tank. Compared to my Parker it is a brick around my neck! Although I've only had it a short while, I can't imagine anything going wrong. Very solid heavy wood, and tightly constructed.

Haven't dealt with Ibanez.

So far I love this guitar, although the baritone tuning takes some getting used to. I'm not into the whole nu-metal thing, so I'm trying to avoid using this to pound out power chords for the teenagers. I'm using it to do more melodic single note stuff and a few huge chords here and there. This guitar is worth it just to set up in my room and look at.