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Hatsubai « New Iceman »
Published on 09/06/11 at 13:41Ibanez recently decided to bring back the Iceman, and they released it with a reversed headstock, as well as 24 frets. It's similar to the older ones, but I find that it kinda lacks the mojo the older ones had. The guitar features a mahogany body, a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, 24 extra jumbo frets, sharkfin inlays, a hard tail bridge, two humbuckers, one volume, one tone and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
This model is pretty good considering the other Iceman iterations that have occurred. The first thing you'll notice is that the guitar has a reverse headstock, and this actually creates a slightly different tension on the low strings. It has a very cool vibe. The inlays are nicely done, and there weren't any heavy fillers that I noticed. The fretwork is pretty good, although I've seen better from this factory. It was definitely workable. The nut was cut correctly, so there was no issues with tuning stability or anything like that. All in all, a pretty decent guitar overall.
SOUNDS
The guitar had some stock Ibanez pickups installed in it, and you could tell they weren't really meant for this guitar. They had a lot of low end, but they lacked the clarity that I was looking for. This is pretty much the same with every other Ibanez pickup out there. They all seem to be very bland and forgettable. I would recommend you replace it with something of high quality from the DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan lineup. That would be one of the best upgrades for this guitar. Don't forget to replace the pots and switches as well as they're fairly low quality.
OVERALL OPINION
The guitar is pretty good, and given the features that it comes with and what you can get it for on the used market, it's a pretty good buy. That said, you'll probably want to play a few before buying it. Besides the actually odd shape, there can be some inconsistencies with the fretwork and nut. On top of that, the pickups suck in this, so you'll want to replace those.
UTILIZATION
This model is pretty good considering the other Iceman iterations that have occurred. The first thing you'll notice is that the guitar has a reverse headstock, and this actually creates a slightly different tension on the low strings. It has a very cool vibe. The inlays are nicely done, and there weren't any heavy fillers that I noticed. The fretwork is pretty good, although I've seen better from this factory. It was definitely workable. The nut was cut correctly, so there was no issues with tuning stability or anything like that. All in all, a pretty decent guitar overall.
SOUNDS
The guitar had some stock Ibanez pickups installed in it, and you could tell they weren't really meant for this guitar. They had a lot of low end, but they lacked the clarity that I was looking for. This is pretty much the same with every other Ibanez pickup out there. They all seem to be very bland and forgettable. I would recommend you replace it with something of high quality from the DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan lineup. That would be one of the best upgrades for this guitar. Don't forget to replace the pots and switches as well as they're fairly low quality.
OVERALL OPINION
The guitar is pretty good, and given the features that it comes with and what you can get it for on the used market, it's a pretty good buy. That said, you'll probably want to play a few before buying it. Besides the actually odd shape, there can be some inconsistencies with the fretwork and nut. On top of that, the pickups suck in this, so you'll want to replace those.