Ibanez RGA220Z

Ibanez has decided to rejuvenate the RGA line up with three new models. This model is the regular model with some new active pickups and the brand new Edge Zero tremolo. The guitar has a mahogany arch top body, a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, 24 jumbo frets, dot inlays, an Edge Zero tremolo, two active humbuckers, one volume, one special shaping knob and a three way switch.

UTILIZATION

The guitar is pretty good in terms of build quality. The fretwork is nicely done, and it's not as bad as some of the others I've seen. The guitar, feature wise, is slightly lacking, but it's not that bad considering some of the other guitars that Ibanez has released. The Edge Zero is the newest addition in this line up, and it is a pretty cool bridge. They brought back the locking studs, although they're not nearly as good as the older locking studs. The routing on the bridge is a bit larger than other ones, but that's for the built-in intonation tool to have enough room to allow you to adjust it. All in all, pretty solid, although I recommend disabling the ZPS system if you're a traditional floyd user.

SOUNDS

The guitar has these new active pickups that Ibanez has decided to throw in these. They're decent, but they're not the best things in the world. The bridge is powerful, and you can get some grinding metal tones going on. It's fairly clear, but I can't help but think the EMG 81 would blow it out of the water if it were installed in this guitar. The neck pickup is much the same, and I found it to be a bit too bright. The active EQ knob on this guitar helps really shape the sound on these to give you some versatility, but it's not exactly my favorite sound in the world. It kinda reminds me of the active controls on basses.

OVERALL OPINION

The guitar is pretty good, and the new Edge Zero system is definitely up there in terms of quality. While there are a few things that I'd personally change on this model, it's still worth checking out. I'm glad they brought back the RGA series because that's one of the few guitars I really missed.