Ibanez RG470

Pawnshop special. I was looking for an inexpensive but good starter electric guitar, and I think I got one (with a few caveats).
Made in Japan (1992).Humbucker/single-coil/humbucker pickups (V7/S1/V8), with 5-way switch. Floyd Rose-type tremolo. Locking tuners at neck. Dual cutaway body. Gotoh tuners. One volume knob, one tone knob. Passive electronics. Basswood body, bolt-on maple neck, rosewood fretboard, 24 frets with dot inlays. Neck is very comfortable. Had an experienced guitar-playing friend (but with no Ibanez axes) try it out before purchasing. He was favorably impressed with the features and playability.

I wanted a clean sound. My daughter has an Ibanez RG270DX that sounds and feels great. I especially like the smooth "jazz" tone it has with the neck pickup. So I naively thought, "Hey, this RG470 will be even better! Its a more expensive model (new), and it has better "vintage" pickups (V7/V8)." I got it home, cleaned it up, wiped dust from it, oiled the screws, attempted to tune it. I got the local luthier to change strings, check the setup, etc. I couldn't get it tuned afterwards, so I took it back to him, and he installed a fourth tremolo spring. I took it home to play, and was sorely disappointed by the tones. Yeah, I know this is a "hard-rock/heavy-metal" guitar (which is NOT what I want to play, or to listen to), but I thought it was versatile enough to give me a smooth sound from the neck pickup, like the RG270 does. I think it would have been great for rock-lead, or distorted sounds, but that is not what I wanted. I did some research, then had the luthier replace the neck humbucker with a Seymour Duncan Jazz pickup, and the single-coil with an Alnico Pro 2. Now it has the the sound I want. Smooth melodies from the neck pickup, nice rhythm/blues tones from the middle pickup (or combined pickups), and rock tones from the bridge pickup. Like other reviewers, I figured new pickups are justifiable, since the price of the guitar was so low. The bridge pickup is very loud compared to the Seymour Duncans, especially the single-coil. Maybe adjusting the pickups' heights can normalize their volumes. Turning the tone knob "down" makes the tones "muddy" or muffled, in my opinion. I expected to get a dark, but still resonant sound. No dice. That's the only serious complaint I have with the sound now. I just keep the tone knob turned toward the "bright" end.

I don't know what this guitar has been doing for the last 8 years. It seems very sound, but in need of some TLC. It has a couple of nicks in the headpiece, so I touched up the paint job with black fingernail polish. The pickups did not seem adjusted correctly, but they are now replaced. The metallic blue finish is missing three small chips along the edges; I'll use touch-up paint on the light-colored wood, once I find a near-match, to make it easy to ignore. All the metal hardware seems sound. I replaced the lock-down screws (on the nut), since their heads were getting stripped. Bottom line: I believe the original fit/action was good, since it still is; the chipped shell on the body makes me think that it was not such good quality. The tremolo, which plugs-in, flops loosely. Until I find way to tighten it, I'll leave it off. With the back plates off, it is evident that an additional grounding wire was soldered on, so it probably had a hum problem at one time.

I expect the reliability/durability to be good. Only time will tell. Strap buttons are solid.

Purchased used. No warranty.

I have not been playing very long. My previous guitar playing was limited to acoustics (steel-string and classical), and I've been away from it for a few years. This is my first foray into electrics. I chose it because I liked the body style, and it felt and sounded good, and was inexpensive (the dealer had a higher price marked, but accepted my offer). Since I didn't have much money to spend, it was either a pawn shop special, or a beginner electric guitar at the music store. I'm very fond of this guitar, after setup and new pickups. Since I intentionally bought it as a cheap-but-good learning guitar, I'm satisfied. I've already gained a lot of experience and knowledge, and I enjoy playing it. I've been told that Ibanez guitars are very good values on the used market (for the buyer), since they don't tend to hold their resale value as well as many other brands (that's obviously not true for their high-end models). That worked to my advantage this time, as long as I don't wish to sell it. Now that I'm wiser (I hope), I intend to be much more discriminating in the future. When that time comes, this puppy can be my backup guitar. If it were lost or stolen, I'd probably replace it with a jazz-style or a nice acoustic/electric, since I've found that my playing interests lie mainly in the jazz/blues/folk directions. I'm also not crazy about the Floyd Rose-style tremolo, or the lock-down nut. I'll look for other styles next time, or do without tremolo. I recently purchased a gorgeous korean-made semi-hollow-body guitar (ES335 style), so, along with my old steel-string acoustic, I've got an excellent and economical selection of instruments.

made in korea i believe, 24 frets, one vol one tone h/s/h pickup config. pickups are v7/s1/emg81? floyd rose tremelo

well it took me a while to adjust my fender princetone chorus to sound good with this guitar but now that i've got it it's pretty solid. the emg sounds great with distortion but on clean it's not really to my liking. i plan on putting in a new neck humbucker because i just can't get the sound i like out of the stock one. sounds great for hard rock.

i got it used so i need to take it in to get adjusted cause i know nothing about floyd rose so i don't want to break it.

it has withstanded playing live and worked quite nicely i had no backup or anything and i had no problems

i got it used so i don't know

i've been playing for five years now and this has been my third electric and i must say i am quite satisfied with it. i've also had a strat and an epiphone sg and that guitar sucks never buy one. i really am used to the strat feel so this guitar fit me nicely. if it were stolen i think i'd save up and buy an american strat instead just because ilove the feel and sound of strats but i would miss this one. i love the colour on this guitar and have never seen one this colour so that makes it rise above your avereage rg470. it's a nice dark blue that i love. overall i'm satified for the low price.

The guitar is just total bad ass. The dimazio pick ups are a dream. The warm sound it gives off is excellent and so clean. The wizard neck is sooooooo easy to play as well. This guitar is truly awsome!

I play all sorts of music from funk to metal and my ibanez keeps up all the way. Also with the 24 frets it adds a little extra notes for solos etc. Notes are also clear as a bell at the top end of the guitar as well as at the bottom.

The action is just a dream. The pick ups are very powerful and deliever an excellent sound even through the worst of amps. The guitar come straight out of the box perfectly. I have owned it for 6 months now and have never had a problem with it.

I have giged this guitar and it lived up to the performance. This guitar could withstand an atom bomb. The strap buttons have to be removed by screw driver. No need for strap locks here baby.

Ever since i have picked up this guitar there has never been another guitar for me. My guitar is just un-touchable.

mine was made in 1999, ordered 2 of them from ibanez, brand new. black and violet. 24 frets, 5 way selector, h/s/h. basswood body, jumbo frets, perfect neck for me. i hate fat tree trunk necks and prefer the jackson feel of a really thin neck. this one is perfect! it's thin, and yet, enough to hold onto. it's so easy to play fast on this neck. i have owned a lot of guitars and this one is awesome! nothing really flashy about it. it just looks like your typical metal guitar, what a metal guitar should look like. body style is killer. nice shape.

sounds very good turned up loud with a good tube amp! very tight bottom end pickups. metallica or thrash metal sound is easy to get! not really noisy. very rich full sound with a punchy bottom end with the stock pickups. this is good for jazz, rock, but mainly metal. the only thing is that i wish the body was routed out a little more like a jem so pulling back on the bar wouldn't be such a hassle. a deeper routed cavity would have been nice.

guitar was setup ok at the factory. had to lower the strings a bit.

all i can say is that i have owned a lot of guitars and for me this guitar is perfect. it's like it was made for me. i loved it so much when i tried it out that i had to buy/order 2 of them right there. it's great for me. remember the most important thing; no guitar is perfect! and also, buy what is right for you. if you just love the feel of a $300 guitar when everyone else says you must buy a $5000 PRS...SCREW THAT! I have bought guitars that were $$$ cuz i thought they would sound cool or whatever and guess where they are now....someone else's house being played...all sold. buy what you love and what feels right.

ibanez is a mystery...they can't be contacted unless you're steve vai.

been playing 15 years now. own all ibanez and a jackson and a peavey guitar. have had jem guitars and now i'm down to one jem... the jem77dbk, which i highly highly highly recommend as well. this RG is awesome and i can play very well on it. it's just perfect for me.

2000 Japan made Rosewood board. Picked it up as a Blem model on line. In the mid 80's I had a Roadstar and loved that thing to death. SO I had to go back to an Ibanez for the neck and low locking floyd rose trem. I still Love the thin neck but after 4 months of play the trem droped or some thing and I'm getting som fret buzz.

It dose not fit my musical style it is more a heavy guitar, sort of cold sound. Not the bright warm Psycadelic stuff i attempt to create. Because of the longer neck "24 frets" the lower e string gets alot of rumble when picked open and if playing a clean chanel is is realy anoying becuse it sustains more that the higher strings. I'm using it with a simple Pevey blazer. But when I add my big muff I do get a great smashing pumpkins sound from it. After playiung it for 4-5 monts without using the trem. I'm now getting alot of fret buzz also.

Out o fthe box it was tuned and good to go. since I did not use the Trem I did not have to adjust it at all for 2 months. I bought it as a blem so I got a good deal but it had a dent next to the guitar strap hook on the bottem.

I plan on keeping this guitar I think it would be a good live guitar for some more over driven music. It sems solid but I've added a few dings to it already. But I know that it will hold a tune. I think it would sound beter with 250 Ohm pots and a different campasitor bridging to the tone pot to cut down on the bass sound.

N/A

I've been Playing for 7-8 yesrs on and off and only resently got serious again and decided to buy a new guitar as I was geting sick of the HUge neck on the 60's silver tone holow body guitar I had. I previously had a roadstar and I remembered I liked it for the thin neck. I did not remember that most Ibanez RG / roadstar guitars are more metal driven set ups. I'ld problably not buy this guitar if it was stolen I'd take the Insurance cash and go shopping for something else.

It's 2000 Japan made modelwith 24 frets.
it has h/s/h pickup configuration(v7,s1,v8).
basswood body,body style is kinda pointy viking style strat very cool
actually.floyd rose and locking tuners are included.
I believe that these jumbo frets.I think that this is more than
enough.

Well, I listen to DIO,JUDAS PRIEST,BLACK SABBATH,BLIND GUARDIAN and I
play that stuff in a band. I can compare my lead style to van halen and randy rhoads and I think does pretty descent job.
I am using it thru Marshall JCM 2000 I'm not very happy with the sound of my amp
but it'll sound better when I get some effects. however clean tones are great, excellent for jazz,blues...
but in overall this is a metal lead guitar

The guitar was set properly only that I screwed it up when I replaced the strings. That floyd rose is really fucked up.
finish is shiny but the paint on nuts and tremolo keeps falling off that is my biggest dislike on this guitar.

I allready played three times with it and it generally stays in tune.
finish is ok but it really gets dirty very fast.
I dont need a backup for this guitar neither i have it.

never dealt them

I've been playing long enough to tell what's a good guitar and what's a bad guitar and trust me this is a very good guitar especially for the money. I owned before an Ibanez Blazer and comparing to RG470
it sounds like a peace of junk. I wish it had just a bit better pickups but you can always replace them it's no problem these days.

I bought it last year. It is black model, made in Korea, with
Infinity pickups.

It sounds fairly nice, but the pickups don't have enough definition.
That problem can be solved with new pickups. Changing pickup positions
can change the sound dramaticly. The 2nd and 4th postions are great strat imitations, cool if you want some nice clean sounds.

Action: excelent.

Finish: When I bought it, it looked amazing but after a warm
summer the finish on Floyd started to wear off. Now the screws on
Floyd are silver instead of black. I have no idea why. That is
really big fault because guitar looks like it's 3 years old.

Would go without backup.

I play guitar for 4 years now, and this is my second electic. The
first one was a cheap strat copy. RG470 is a 3 light years away from it. A excelent instrument for the money. Floyd is very stabile. But that problem with the finish is annoying, maybe it's because it is
made in Korea. The Japanese model is certanly better, but what the hell.

I bought it last year. It is black model, made in Korea, with
Infinity pickups.

It sounds fairly nice, but the pickups don't have enough definition.
That problem can be solved with new pickups. Changing pickup positions
can change the sound dramaticly. The 2nd and 4th postions are great strat imitations, cool if you want some nice clean sounds.

Action: excelent.

Finish: When I bought it, it looked amazing but after a warm
summer the finish on Floyd started to wear off. Now the screws on
Floyd are silver instead of black. I have no idea why. That is
really big fault because guitar looks like it's 3 years old.

Would go without backup.

I play guitar for 4 years now, and this is my second electic. The
first one was a cheap strat copy. RG470 is a 3 light years away from it. A excelent instrument for the money. Floyd is very stabile. But that problem with the finish is annoying, maybe it's because it is
made in Korea. The Japanese model is certanly better, but what the hell.

I bought it in new in 99' but it was made in 98 in korea. It came with inf pickups (stock) floyd rose fender styl bridges suck it is green every chick that has seen it fell in love. HSH pickup config, 5 way switch volume and tone.

I play the good stuff ozzy, motley crue yngwie malmsteen and steve vai. The stock pickups are good for what they are good overall tone. I dont dislike any thing about it except that its not a jackson. it is made of the same wood as any other high end guitar the only difference is the pickups. replace them with seymour duncans and you'll have a very very good guitar.

No guitar is well setup in the factory except custom shop guitars, but you cab lower the action close to the fretboard without buzz. My guitar contained no flaws. it is very tight.

I have had no problems with it, it can stand live playing it is a good quality guitar.

Never had to consult them. dont know about the warranty.

I have been playing for four years now, I play it through a marshall stack it can kick ass. if it were stolen I would buy a jackson, when i was shopping for a guitar I was originally looking for a jackson but this incredibly hot chick i was with loved she thought it was sexy thats why i bought it didnt get me laid but im glad i did.

This is the year 2000 model, born in japan and raised in the uk. Its a 24-fret, rosewood fretboard and maple necked guitar, strapped to a basswood body.

Mine is in black and came installed with a PAF Pro (neck) and Evolution (bridge) pickup. Anyway, since you are obviously interested in this guitar (otherwise you wouldnt be reading it, right?), im sure you know all this :o)

Personally, I think its the requirement for a metal guitar to have
a. 24 frets
b. a floyd rose trem (or tunomatic for riff guitars)
c. at least two humbuckers
d. decent pickups
e. A pointy body (to any extreme)

This guitar has all of the above, so top marks!

I bought this guitar so I could get some really smooth leads and rhythms, while having really sweet clean sounds. The PAF Pro and Evolution manage this VERY well. Im not a Steve Vai nut, but I know this sound is top class. The evolution provides very high end screaming solos and really coherant rhythms. Couple that with shimmering clean sounds and you're there.

The PAF Pro i use if I want dirtier rhythms, darker cleans or lower end solos (eg backround solos, or harmonies with a second guitarist).

The hardware is not noisy at all, but then again it is on 6 months old...

The single coil in the middle I rarely use as it is still stock. However as the sc is significantly lower output than the humbuckers, it gives interesting results when mixed! Although, some adjustment is requred on your amp volume as there is a sharp drop. All positions sound very good clean.

If anyone can reccommend a decent single coil to replace this with, i would really like to hear from you!

Gets a 9 for the pants single coil

NB: I cannot comment on the original humbuckers as i never even played them. They came straight out as soon as i got the guitar!

The finish seems quite rugged. Thats one thing about all ibanez i've found is that the finish doesnt come off easily.

The pickups were installed by me, but the single coil only had slight adjustments.

The tremolo came bang out of tune and the strings used were total shit! I basically ripped them off, reset the trem and slapped on some new ernie ball 9's. The truss rod needed no work and the trem stays in tune very well. It didnt need a total overhaul, but some attention to string height was required.

The trem, as i said, survives even the most vai'ist of maniac solos and still returns in tune!

A - 1

This guitar loves live playing. The tone pot is coming a little loose sometimes, but its no biggy! The hardware seems like it will stand the test of time and i actually see it still in use years down the line.

Strap button seem good, but I always fix straplock on to all my guitars - its just common sense. No use crying after the shocking meeting between guitar and hard stage.

Customer what?

This is the uk!

I've been playing for going on 10 years and I have owned many guitars. This is one of the best ive owned and used. Its your stereotypical metal guitar, and thats all it should be! If you hate strat shapes, then go away. If you wanna be like vai, trey azagthoth (i know for a _FACT_ he uses this setup on his rg) then try one of these babies out!

Have fun BYE

1992? something like that I bought it new with zero percent financing...a musicians dream! 24 fret, 1 tone, 1 volume. The pickups are stock for now, but I'm going to replace them with some Duncans. Deep red finish with black hardware and looks nice. Very nice thin neck with good low action. It is pretty versitile sounding but the pickups are a little noisey on a tube amp, ok with solid state.

It suits my style ok. I bought a PRS Swamp ash special so this is my backup now. I leave it drop tuned when not giging and it plays metal well, I still think the pickups are noisey, definately not good for the studio, but fine to crank and shread! I play a crate gx-40c for practice amp adn gig with a mesa heartbreaker. MESA ROCKS!

Good action and easy to play thin neck. I really noticed how nice the neck was after going to the SAS because that guitar has the fattest neck I've ever pleayed.

In the early days of it's existance it giged w/o a backup. Probably not a good idea cause if you bust a string it takes a while to get your axe in tune again. Lucky for me it never happened that way.

N/A

I've been playing since the late 80's. I wish I would have bought an american made axe but this one was cheaper. It really is a good beginner guitar, and they will probably laugh when I bring it to the open jam this week cause my PRS is in the shop getting siome TLC!

Japanese-made, 1998 model in Cherry Fudge finish (dark reddish-purple metal-flake color, looks nice!) Neck looks like a multi-piece maple, with a 24-fret rosewood fingerboard. Basswood body is very light and very resonant. One volume, one tone, 5-way selector. H/S/H Ibanez pickups: neck is a V8, middle is a single coil S1, bridge is a V7. Rose-licensed Lo-TRS double-locking trem system. Gotoh tuners. Thin, fast Wizard II neck. Bought it used and very cheap, so I didn't mind not getting the tools with it.

Sounds pretty good clean, which is how I usually play it. This is a rockin' guitar, which I have pressed into service as a praise and worship band instrument. It fits the bill surprisingly well. The neck pup is a little higher output than the others, and works great for fingerstyle playing; the sound is full and noiseless. The single coil is a little hummy, but sounds good for strumming. The bridge pup really quacks, and reminds me of a Tele playing with both singles on. My favorite setting combines the single with one coil from the neck. Very clean and quiet. I don't play it much with drive or distortion, but it sounded fine the times I did.

The axe was setup at the shop where I bought it used. I need to have it adjusted for some buzz when I strum hard. It came with 9 gauge Elixirs, and I would recommend those strings, as they sound great and last forever. Action is fast and low, maybe a little too low given the buzzing. The Wizard II neck is great! I love a thin neck, and this is the thinnest I've ever played. The jumbo frets are probably better for fast rock solos, but work okay for my church music. Have to be really light-fingered when playing open chords near the nut with these frets, though, as it has a tendency to go sharp really easily on the G and B strings down low. Factory fit and finish looks really clean. Haven't seen any flaws in the finish, or any loose hardware, or anything. Seems solid structurally. Stays in tune forever with the Lo-TRS trem system.

I play it live all the time, and don't use a backup. But, then, my style of play doesn't lend itself to breaking strings, or smashing guitars, so I probably don't need a backup. If you ever do break a string, you're done until you can get it replaced and re-adjust the Floyd, so if you're a shredder, you better have another axe at the gig with you. All the hardware seems really solid so far. I haven't had any trouble with the strap buttons.

My only concern is the durability of the finish. It had several chips along the edges when I got it, and I've put a couple of more in it since I've had it. I'm not hard on guitars, and it has not had any really hard knocks while in my possession, so I think maybe the finish just isn't as tough as it could be. I was surprised to read other reviews here about guys who drop their 470's and have things fall on them, with no scars or chips. That would not likely be the case with mine, based on my experience so far. Still, I'd rather have the finish chip and the hardware last, than vice versa.

Downgrades this category, though, because of the chips.

Haven't dealt with Ibanez. Pretty cool website, though

I've been playing off and on for over thirty years. This is my only electric. I own a couple of steel string acoustics, and a cheap, mile-high-action classical. If the RG went astray, I would look for something that didn't have a Floyd Rose, because I just don't need it, and it makes changing strings a real pain.

I really like the sounds it makes, though. And the basswood body is really light, so it doesn't drag me down during a long set. The color is really cool, but I wish it didn't chip so easy. I do wish it had a little more tone control. Two tone knobs would really be nice.

Before I bought it, I played Strats and Teles and LP's and clones of those. For the money (under two hundred bucks US), it was too good a deal to pass up.

Japanese-made, 1998 model in Cherry Fudge finish (dark reddish-purple metal-flake color, looks nice!) Neck looks like a multi-piece maple, with a 24-fret rosewood fingerboard. Basswood body is very light and very resonant. One volume, one tone, 5-way selector. H/S/H Ibanez pickups: neck is a V8, middle is a single coil S1, bridge is a V7. Rose-licensed Lo-TRS double-locking trem system. Gotoh tuners. Thin, fast Wizard II neck. Bought it used and very cheap, so I didn't mind not getting the tools with it.

Sounds pretty good clean, which is how I usually play it. This is a rockin' guitar, which I have pressed into service as a praise and worship band instrument. It fits the bill surprisingly well. The neck pup is a little higher output than the others, and works great for fingerstyle playing; the sound is full and noiseless. The single coil is a little hummy, but sounds good for strumming. The bridge pup really quacks, and reminds me of a Tele playing with both singles on. My favorite setting combines the single with one coil from the neck. Very clean and quiet. I don't play it much with drive or distortion, but it sounded fine the times I did.

The axe was setup at the shop where I bought it used. I need to have it adjusted for some buzz when I strum hard. It came with 9 gauge Elixirs, and I would recommend those strings, as they sound great and last forever. Action is fast and low, maybe a little too low given the buzzing. The Wizard II neck is great! I love a thin neck, and this is the thinnest I've ever played. The jumbo frets are probably better for fast rock solos, but work okay for my church music. Have to be really light-fingered when playing open chords near the nut with these frets, though, as it has a tendency to go sharp really easily on the G and B strings down low. Factory fit and finish looks really clean. Haven't seen any flaws in the finish, or any loose hardware, or anything. Seems solid structurally. Stays in tune forever with the Lo-TRS trem system.

I play it live all the time, and don't use a backup. But, then, my style of play doesn't lend itself to breaking strings, or smashing guitars, so I probably don't need a backup. If you ever do break a string, you're done until you can get it replaced and re-adjust the Floyd, so if you're a shredder, you better have another axe at the gig with you. All the hardware seems really solid so far. I haven't had any trouble with the strap buttons.

My only concern is the durability of the finish. It had several chips along the edges when I got it, and I've put a couple of more in it since I've had it. I'm not hard on guitars, and it has not had any really hard knocks while in my possession, so I think maybe the finish just isn't as tough as it could be. I was surprised to read other reviews here about guys who drop their 470's and have things fall on them, with no scars or chips. That would not likely be the case with mine, based on my experience so far. Still, I'd rather have the finish chip and the hardware last, than vice versa.

Downgrades this category, though, because of the chips.

Haven't dealt with Ibanez. Pretty cool website, though

2000 RG470, made in Japan I believe. 24 frets, 1 vol knob, 1 tone knob, 5-way selector. V7 S1 V8 pickups. Basswood body, kickass body shape (very aggressive, fits my personality perfectly). The colour is amazing, the NewPenny matches the black hardware like a dream, this is a beautiful guitar!

Since my music style has not yet been defined (because I love all sorts of music, and I have only been playing for a couple of years) this guitar is great. I find it to be very versatile. I only have a very crappy Fender Frontman 15G and I use no effects, but this guitar still sounds a hell of alot better than my old crappy Squier. I did, however, bring it to my guitar teacher's studio and used it on some re-built 1970's Fender amp and I almost killed myself. It was amazing, I was using a Danelectro Fab Tone and I couldn't believe the quality of sound and the low amounts of feedback (I am used to the feedback beeing as loud as the music with my Squier and Frontman).

Great...but only one problem, my 15th fret was set in to low so when I went to hit it the string touched the 16th fret making it impossible to hit that note...but this will easily be fixed for no charge sometime soon when I take it back where I bought it.

Since I have never played live and I have only owned the guitar for a week I can't judge very well. But everything seems great and looks like it will last.

Never dealt with them yet.

Used it for a week and I can't get enough of it...the New Penny colour is the coolest thing I have ever seen. If it were stolen I would be screwed because I can barely afford this guitar in the first place...but I would hunt him down and beat him, and take it back.

I actually use this Ibanez guitar, this is a made in Japan guitar as all the good Ibanez guitars, basswood body with a maple neck and a rosewood fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets and V7 S1 and V8 pickups. This is a standard black finish guitar with a Lo-TRS floyd rose and Gotoh tuners. The hardware finish is kinda chrome with a light touch of nickel making it very special.

It suits my style so good cause I play Joe Satriani and Steve Vai stuff, generally. I play it with the next effects following the signal prossecing: Digitech XP300 Space Station, Boss CS-2, Digitech XP100 Whammy Wah, Boss PH-2, Boss MT-2, Boss DD-3 and a Marshall JCM 900.
This guitar is not noisy enough but I found a little bit of ground sound in the bridge (V8) pickup, a little bit of more noise than the neck pickup you know, almost like a single coil pickup, but I think that is a polarization problem in the place that I practice cause in gigs there's no problem, but I'll change the pickups one of those days anyway, cause I need better pickups to get the sound that I like, V7 and V8 are good but I found 'em good for rhythm playing and I generally use The V7 and S1 for clean sounds as well as the S1 and V8 but I'm looking for a cool Dimarzio pickups like the Evo's, cause this stock pickups doesn't help me to get the pinch harmonics so good.
Stock pickups aren't so good.

I'm using that kind of guitars since three years ago and I'm very, very fucking careful in the floyd rose adjustment principally( it need to be parallel with the body and with an apropiate height for a comfortable and fast playing).I already knew that this guitar was made with high quality materials for example the wood, but I didn't pay to much atention in that and I'm so special in the adjustment I don't use to play with disajusted guitars (when I bought this guitar I thought: Hmmmmmm well, it's so fucking pretty but it needs a lot of adjustments man) I just get home and took my screwdriver and work. Actually this guitar works the best you know, i'm in love with her.

Just play it, clean it and take it away in this way you won't have problems. Ohhhhhh I forgot, adjust is very important to a great service.
OHHHH shit!!!!! remember: Don't borrow it, IF YOU DON'T TAKE CARE OF YOUR INSTRUMENT, WHO IN THE HELL IS GONNA BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF IT.

I had some problems with them in my last buying.

I have been playing since 7 years ago and I just always identificate me with this kind of guitar and I own an RG270 too. Those body and headstock shapes looks versatile, professional and agressive. YOUR GUITAR MEANS YOUR PERSONALITY, love it like your girlfriend, it won't give you love but if you play it with love and feeling it will belong to you all your life.

Black, made in 1999, its got everything i look for in a guitar- 24 frets, 5- way selection, gourgeous look (sharp curves), you can reach any fret on the fretboard easily, the floyd rose lo- trs is great (changing strings is a nightmare though), great thin wizard II neck, easy to play. ive been playing for about 3 years and this guitar has all the greatest features (especially for such a decent price) i was looking for. keep in mind that my review is only a comparison to other guitars in the same price range. you cant really compare it to the JEM series or PRS guitars.

i play mostly blues, metal, and classical, and this guitar fits them all beautifully. i use a peavy bandit 112 with it and its got a decent sound. id change the pickups though, im not crazy about them, a little too bright and not so clear as id like. the guitar makes a wide variety of sounds, the floyd rose is great. i recommend it to anyone- ive played on a million guitars and for the price, this is the one id buy.

The guitar is set up beautifully, the pickups are adjusted great a single coil in the middle, two humbuckers on either side of it. i havent seen one flaw in the guitar yet. ive dropped it a few times when i was really tired, and the guitar plays just the same as the day i bought it. the bridge again is great, ive only had one string break on me and ive played on it for at least a few hours a day for over a year. changing strings, again, is a bitch, i did it once and totally messed up the bridge and had to bring it to the shop to get strings put on again. if you dont know how to change the stings, dont attempt to make it up as you're going along cause itll suck in the long run.

this guitar couldnt be more reliable. ive put this guitar through so much and the hardware remains perfect. i play the crap out of the thing- it will definitely withstand live playing. the strap buttons never gave me any problem (the strap never came loose, and i have a really cheap strap), and you dont need a backup at all for it, its totally dependable. the tone and volume knobs are still the same as the day i bought the guitar too, never came loose or off.

The warranty was for a year i think, but ive never had to use it and ive never dealt with the company (since ive never had a problem with the guitar) so i wouldnt know how good the customer support is.

Ive been playing for about 3 years now and this is my favorite guitar for the price range. ive had it for over a year (since april of '99) and ive never even considered buying a different guitar. if you want the big sound, all the greatest features, for a relatively low price, this is the guitar for you. if youve got the money though, id prefer one of the JEM guitars, but its hard to compare the 2 cause they are in different universes. and the tone cant match a les paul or anything, but its definitely more than decent. if it were stolen i wouldnt even think twice about buying a new one. maybe id save up to buy a more expensive model but i doubt id go with any other guitar than this one. I love pretty much everything about it, except again, id change the pickups if i could afford it. id maybe get a pair of EMG 81 pickups, but you'll definitely live fine with the V7, V8, and S1. Remember again, the 10 rating is against those guitars in the same price range, it cant be compared to the really expensive guitars.

The Ibanez RG470. 1999 version.
-24 frets on a wizard neck
-5 way selector for an HSH pickup configuration. V7, S1, V8, respectively
-basswood body, pointystrat style
-floyd rose bridge tremolo system, lo-trs.

The neck is nice and flat. Thin from top to bottom, making it very easy to play, given you have fairly big hands. Less muting and fumbling as a Fender Strat might give you. This is probably due to the rise of the 7-string, so Ibanez is investing in making flatter fretboards. I can dig it. Came with all the appropriate tools and them some. I payed separate for the case, but I'm not complaining.

Keep in mind a rating of 5 is AVERAGE for me. Your random-picked guitar shop axe. 10 is Parker kind of rating. Top o' the line. Thus, I'm giving it a 7 because It's my favorite pick-up array and I love the neck. It loses some points due to somewhat weak pickups.

This is where the Ibanez shines. I love the sound. I kick the neck humbucker all the time. It's good, high output, punchy sound. This is a very dark-sounding guitar. Not muddy, but nice and warm and dark. The bridge humbucker makes the popular quack sound. I hate it. But it loses no points because that's diversity. The single coil is a loose, bright, strumming-type pickup.

I'm using this guitar on a Fender Twin Reverb amp and a Zoom 505 pedal. The amp and guitar compliment each other very well. The combination uses its zany tag-team action to actually make the 505 sound GOOD. *gasp!*

I might add that the Floyd Rose is as much fun as a boy band caught with a kilo of cocaine. String changing is a pain in the ass, though. Oh well. Even Hendrix said we have to make sacrifices.

If I cared enough, I would change the bridge pickup to suit my style, but this is more due to personal preference. I play experimental, thick, groove, surfy sort of music. Eclectic. I like thick lows, clear highs, and scooped mids. This guitar can do that over-reverbed Dick Dale thing, but can lay out superheavy riffs like...Well, like something damn good! I give it another 7 because the sound is very good, but not perfect.

Action was perfect, haven't made any adjustments. The pickups dropped from their screwed in position. This dampened the sound, but I had a friendly guitarist pop them back into place. No problems in that area since. Thanks, Noah!

I give it an 9.

The only complaint here is the finish. I love the color, called Cherry Fudge, but it's thin as hell. Small bumps have chipped the paint. I nearly cried. But it adds character, and decreases the weight. Image is nothing.

The strap buttons come a little loose occasionly, but nothing a Phillips head won't fix with a quick twist. No demotion there. I don't think it's very wise to gig without a backup [you never ever ever know], but I could rely on this baby. Gets an 7 for the finish problem

Never talked to Ibanez, never had to. Is this a blessing or a curse? More at 11.

No opinion because there is no example to form one on.

This guitar is like a tough Chevy pickup truck. Effecient, useful, and gets the job done until you get that Cadillac convertible with fins. I've had it for about year now. It's nice, and I congratulate Ibanez for making such a kick-face guitar for as cheap as they did. You could really take this one on the road. For what it's built for, this guitar really gives in 100%.

The only thing I hate is changing strings. See above. Considering this is my main guitar, I would hire a PI to find it were it stolen. Otherwise, I'd be gigging with the Lotus L680. See that review. Overall, a happy 7. I'm very tempted to give it an 8, but considering the wonderful things that are done with guitars these days, a 7 is what it gets.

The Superstrat style RG470 appears to come preety well equipped to deal with a fairly advanced standard of playing,on my japanese manufacture standard model features include Floyd Rose locking Trem (LO-trs system),INF pick ups (s/s/h), sturdy looking tone,vol and 5way selector switch, 22frets on a reasonably thin/fluid rosewood neck and a fairly well balanced laminated top body.

I purchased the RG470 as I thought it could cope with a range of sounds/styles. The neck pickup provides fairly creamy possibilities opening up the Jazz side of things.Combo of middle and neck single coils give a brave effort on funk sounds but look preety limp and flacid next to the beef of a Stratocaster. The humbucker(bridge)pickup sans effects always makes me laugh in sick dismay. Trying to deliver an accurate tone that doesn't merge high tempo lead work into an Oasis type mess of a guitar sound is painfully frustrating. Saying that I must admit that I have got some satisfactory sounds out of the RG470's factory fit setup over the last 2yrs. In some situations it will provide. By the way I would never consider using this guitar without compression and EQ in varying amounts. It's direct sound is always on thin ice when it comes to quality. I have used this guitar through GallienKreuger, Marshall and Fender Amps. If you're a raw bluesman/woman don't consider plugging that freak of a humbucker straight into your amp. The imbalance of frequency deliverance will give you more than just the blues....

The guitar received a setup at the shop before I took it home. Action was a smooth compromise and the neck felt just fine. The two most appealing features. I didn't notice any great faults at the time of purchase , but maybe I should have been more scrutinous...(more to come)

Hah,the section I've been waiting for - Ibanez hang your head in shame you cowboys.
Reliability/durability, may I be so bold to presume?, are preeety important characteristics and if this is the crux of the guitar's rating, how dare you charge anything like #350 bucks for this thing.
Setup after setup was no panecea to my rapidly failing Ibanez. With this guitar should have come a stitched on care label saying something like,`if you're a player who likes to practice a lot, gig even a fair amount, have a reliable recording instrument, find new sounds in your guitar, hell - even if you just like playing your instrument, you must by no means use this guitar.(Oh yeah, and piXX off if you think you're getting ya money back, bastXrd)'.
After 2-3mths of use at a semi-professional level I started to notice niggling things like quickly oxidising hardware, strap buttons relaxing and unwinding, dodgy scratchy lines in the locking nuts, hairline fractures in the wood around the nut and in the laquer at the body/neck join and very cheap sounding pots. The greatest pain in the arsehole is the pseudo-biodegradable trem. system. What an unbelievable piece of shiX. No word of a lie after 3mths the System started to perish; it won't hold tune. If you dip the bar then it will return around a quarter of a tone low, raise it and it's a quarter higher. This makes recording/dubbing with this bastad a nightmare. I know this problem has afflicted other pursuers of Floyd Rose supremacy but there is no excuse, especially after 3mths for cripes sake!
If there are those who cry neglicence on my behalf let be known that I had regular setup's from tech's with the highest recommendations in London I could afford (even couldn't afford). Despite being very anal (slightly uncomfortable word)with my guitar care and listening to my guitar tech's saying, `Be right as rain in a jiffy guv'ner.Sixty-Quid' I couldn't polish over the rickety reality that is the Ibanez RG470.
No, you can't think of this guitar as dependable, heaven forbid a workhorse. Using a Floyd Rose based guitar at a gig w/out a backup is a big gamble, lose a string and your in a very slack sounding hell. Try to re-string it there w/out the proper experience/knowledge and you may never tune it before you have to pay the bar bill.
Now to use this guitar at gig has a sweet innocence stupity to it. Use this guitar at a gig w/out a backup and I expect you to be babbling something like `lifes a box of choclates...etc'

Customer support? don't make me laugh. It might just be my neck of the woods (London) but the support thing just weren't happenin'. Who?,What? and shine your shoes? are amongst the most common response given to those in search of Ibanez customer care. `Don't know nuffin' mate' is the most common.

Perhaps I expected too much from the RG470. At it's price it can still wear the hat of the Budget Guitar but, masquerades as a semi-pro possibility. I have been playing for around 9yrs now and was gigging in London pubs when I was an underage nipper. I have been slogging out as many projects as I can find and I often practice in excess of 6hrs a day. After the 470 let me down I thought I'd give a second hand, very low mileage RG570 a whirl from a friend. I refuse to review that as I've had it up to the neck with the RG's. Both RG's now sit in a very lonley corner and only get touched in those moments of insanity when I think `they can't be that bad can they, I payed a fair bit of money for them?' I suppose the abusive relationship is sustained by memory of that sweet fluid neck and the belief that,`no,no it won't do it again, it told me it's changed forever'. My prefered instrument is essentially a second hand squire stratocaster chucked together from some unknown mix of parts. It is an absolute workhorse and has never let me down in anyway. It sounds great through my GallienKreuger backline and Fender stage 185 amps. The Marshall JCM900 is a tired sound for me now but is still great with this particular squire.
I have 2 bastardised Ibanez's, a Fender Stratocaster, a Squire Stratocaster, my first guitar/love an Ariapro Mad Axe and a clutch of acoustics.
Sometimes I wish that the Ibanez's had been stolen. I can just remember the look of anxiety on the faces of musicians I gigged with when I unsheathed the RG470. They knew that when I started wailing away I would be riding the edge between guitar god and utter shit. Sometimes a bad workman blames his tools but, that's not always fair. Bad equipment can have effects on your all too precious reputation as well.

2000 Model. Great guitar. Has a very versatile H-S-H configuration. Great Floyd Rose Tremelo. Locking tuners are top-of-the-line. And finally, a damn good output jack in an under $700 guitar. Got tools with it. Body's Basswood. 24 jumbo frets. volume and tone controls.

Extremely versatile pickup configuration. At the neck, the V7 give great lead and distorted tone, and a very clean clean tone. This pickup alone would be able to satisfy most guitarists. The middle pickup is the S1. It's a decent pickup that makes strat sounds.
Makes a variety of sounds when mixed with neck or bridge pickup. The bridge pickup, the V8, is a bright lead pickup. Good for solos or trebly chording. On clean, good for fast punk-ska and anything where you don't want clean or dirty. My only problem would be you can't mix v7 and v8 together,

everythingf in these categories was top-notch, except for a crumb-sized ding on the back of the guitar (i didn't notice it until 3 weeks after I bought it, maybe it was me). AND the strap pin nearest the neck ripped out of the body during an energetic band practise (I was jumping and swinging it around, but it should've taken it). I assume it was just a bad piece of the wood that happened to be in the worst spot. However, for 2 gigs, I used duct tape for my strap, and then I took it back to victoria where it was fixed with ebony. A small, pinky-nail sized black piece of wood, not noticable, but still takes a little away from the guitar.

Again, the strap button issue. It's fine now though. I play it live without a back up, and I'm in a punk band with a shit load of downstrokes involved. Strings might break after 4 weeks of play, but you can just unwind it twice and use it again, that's another good thing about Floyd Rose trem. Very solid live. Excellent output jack.

good, Ibanez reinversed Guitars Plus to fix it, but they couldn't get the paint here within 4 weeks, so I said screw it.

I like it, I love it. I stare at it and it says play me. so i do, and I love every minute of it. I've been playing for 2.5 years and I've had a Samick pawn shop junker, an Ibanez GAX70 and this. I had a 700 dollar budget and I was choosing between this and a Fender. Fender gives you half the value for your money. This is a kickass mid-range guitar. Always shop around, but keep in mind that this a great guitar.

1997 made in Korea. basswood body, dark green. Lo-trsII floyd rose style trem. Good all around trem system I think. Good enough for all but the most demanding wammy bar users. Wizzard II neck. Some people mentioned that you could only use #9 strings with this trem. Not the case. I have used 8's, 9's, and 10's. You just have to adjust the spring tension inside the trem cavity.

Well despite everyone downing the inf series pickups that come with the guitar, I think their ok. They're not amazing, but their not crap either. Lots of dynamics, maybe a little thin sounding. They have more output than the ones in my gibson sg. They don't sound as good, but they are higher output. You can get a good variety of sounds with the 5 way selector switch.
I'm planning to change the pickups to some sort of Dimarzio probably "the breed".

The guitar was setup well from the factory. I've changed the setup somewhat to suit my playing style. No real flaws to mention

Seems like a very reliable guitar. I've had mine for about 4 years. It's like new. I have to tighten the strap buttons now and then.

Don't know about customer support

I've been playing all my life I own an old fender, an SG, a Yari-Gaki, a Simon & Patrick. Lost or stolen I would replace it with something a little different. I wonder if you can get an RG with a mahogany body and a fixed bridge? That would be cool. I've played tons of guitars, if you are into heavy metal of any kind,you'll like this guitar. Oncew you get used to the wizzard neck it's hard to back to anything else.

mine is ythe new 2000 model, 24 frets. H/S/H pickup config.
5-way pickup selector, volume and tone dials. basswood body.
double-locking nut, floyd-rose trem.

trem is great and it stays in tune for ages - very light too, maybe it could do with nother tone dial??

i play lots of different styles on it and it sounds great. blues, rock, metal
it sounds good clean too, i play through a fender princeton 60 watt amp and a zoom 707 pedal (which sucks)
the pickups arent very noisy, i'mcomparing all this to my old guitar, a squier strat so it all seems great to me!

the action was perfect, there were no flaws at all in the initial set up. pickup selector is silent, which is amazing after the moise my squier made.
finish is great, although it isnt really my colour - midnight blue i think it's called...

the finish looks fine and i dont see why it wouldnt last. the guitar as a whole seems very tough and very hard to knock out of tune, although it can be a bitch to tune in the first place. (and it wont stay in tune for long if you tune down a step etc)
strap buttons are good, very big and meaty.

n/a

i boght this guitar because i'm going to music college this year and i knew my squier start couldnt hack it. i tried lots of other guitars before i chose this one and i'm happy with my choice.

It was made in 1999. It was made in Korea. It has 24 frets. Theres 1 volume, 1 tone ,a 5 way selector, and a kill button. It came with sucky v7, v8, and s1 pickups but i put in an emg 81 and 85. Active electronics. its made out of wood. black finish. a floyd rose. locking
gotoh tuners.

it plays any music. im using a jmc2000 stack amp and tons of effects.
it has full sound and wiked heavy.

the setup was perfect on the guitar. the action is great.

its great for live play, the hardwares great

iv never needed to use customer support.but ibanez people are mean. i have a lifetime warenty

I bought a nice 2000 model, Has 2 humbuckers and a coil in the middle, A Floyd Rose bridge (which is a bitch to tune, but very smooth when you use the whammy bar)its got a neat 5-way selector, i think the body is basswood, tremolo lock (so it stays in tune very long)\

This guitar is made for thrashing. Im play Korn, Deftones, RATM, and Metallica, and HardRock sounds great on this guitar. The bridge humbucker sounds great with distortion, the single coil is ok but a little weak, and the neck humbucker is kinda crappy too, but still playable and can sound pretty good. So overall, this guitar can play clean well, but can rock GREAT.

The guitar wasn't in tune when i got it but no guitar ever is. The fretwire was almost perfect so the strings didn't rumble. The only thing i had to do was tune it, and screw in the whammy bar.

This guitar is tough, I've dropped it many times, and the thing is scratchless. Very dependable and will last a while.

I havent had to deal with them...

I've been playing for 5 years, and this is one of the best guitars I've played, although the pickups are kinda bad, you can easily solve that with new seymour duncan's. This thing sounds great in a Mesa/Boogie Rectifier and it even sounds great in my 10 year old 30 watt Fender Sidekick, this is definetly a guitar to try out.

Basswood body, hum single hum pickup configuration, volume and tone and 5 way switch. Locking lo trs trem. SUPER NECK; very thin wizzard style.on the light side as far as weight goes.

Nice sound. From Sreamin' to chimes to that woody type tone. I use it through a Marshall vs102r and a Galien-Kruger 250 ml and direct with a Shultz rockman. Live I use a Korg a4 pedal board and a crybaby. I must say the pickups are ok. Not the greates, but not the worsrt either. The weakness shoews when recording I think...but not too bad over all.

I bought it online from AIRPORT MUSIC. Service was fine. The action was a little low and there were a few buzzes. I played it for a week or so and brought to a LUTHIER, not a music store hack. Two days later
I had the best playing guitar I've ever had. It just comes alive in your hands.

This guitar seems fragile. It's no Strat in that it could fall a few stories and be fine. The neck will flex when when playing a chording style that requires your thumb. The neck is no bat, thats for shure. This I don't view as a fault.Its just its nature. The finish chiped down to the wood from a good ding along the edge.
Just take care of it and it will be fine.

I never delt with Ibanez.

Ive been playing a long time 20 years or so. Ive had a Les Paul, an SG
, 3 Strats and a few junkers and this guitar has a character that brings out somthing in my playing that none of the other ever did.I t inspires me and feels great to play. I would buy anther if it was stolen or maybe move up in the RG series, maybe a 570. Its a very good guitar for the money. Plays great, Sounds good.

Standard factory issue. Intonated prior to purchase. Single volume and tone knobs. 5-way pickup selection. Black finish. Floyd Rose tuning system. 24 frets.

Sounds beautiful on any music that feeds on distortion and harmonics. The neck and bridge pickups have a little noise during dead space when combined with rough distortion. I have never played a guitar that allows for easier pinch harmonics. When clean, the sound can be thick and mellow or bright and sharp, depending upon your preference. Wonderful sound all around for any metal or alternative enthusiast.

The action was a little low from the factory, but the saleperson fixed it free of charge. When properly set-up, plays like a dream. The narrow neck allows for easy leads on those lower strings for players with smaller fingers. The black finish still shines like new. Rating is lowered from 10 strictly because the store set it up prior to purchase.

I could play an entire set with this guitar, provided retuning isn't necessary. The guitar can get smashed against furniture or hardware and stay in tune and keep its luster. Tough as 70's Cadillac.

No opinion because of no problems.

For my five years of playing (not much by many standards), I've played different styles from classic rock to alternative/metal to jazz and musicals. I honestly feel that this guitar is capable of playing all of the above, given the correct effects unit. I fell in love with it when I started rocking out to ZZ Top in the store, complete with all of the harmonics in leads that I just couldn't get with my Strat. Metal-mongers gather 'round... this one's for you, especially for the money.