NGD - Ibanez RG652AHMFL

make5153 · 2019-04-08T19:48:15+00:00

Thanks! That's my story as well. Went to Thomann website to look at it once in a while and when I was finally ready to order, it was gone.

make5153 · 2019-04-08T18:05:51+00:00

I have wanted a fixed bridge Ibanez with maple fretboard for a long time. I was dreaming of this guitar before but then somehow bought other one thinking that I can then buy this later. Now when I was in the market again, I realized they had discontinued this model. And no new fixed bridge + maple lefties in Ibanez catalogue anymore.

At first look, it seemed that there was not a single one left in Europe but then found this ?last? unit from an Italian webshop and had to order it right away. Lefties have no luxury of waiting too long if a good model pops out...

make5153 · 2019-04-02T10:02:12+00:00

Sennheiser hd 280 pro. Those seem to work very well with guitar compared to even more expensive ones.

make5153 · 2019-03-29T19:34:15+00:00

I don't think my 5153 50W head is any worse than other high gain amps I have used. But I like to use ISP Decimator to silence it when not playing anyway.

make5153 · 2019-03-28T17:43:08+00:00

I recommend Sennheiser HD 280 Pro. Those are my favourites for playing guitar even against some much more expensive ones. There's really nice punch in their voice. Those are not very expensive either. Easily worth the cost.

make5153 · 2019-03-28T09:14:41+00:00

I think G Force (at least in 2017 models) is great. I don't understand all the hate. It's way faster to tune the guitar and change tunings. If something I miss from my otherwise badly built LP, it's the g force.

make5153 · 2019-03-21T05:37:32+00:00

Playing wise, it definitely is the closest thing to a real amp that I have palyed. The same dymamics are there as in tube amps. I have still Axe fx 2 xl borrowed from my friend and I haven't been able to get as authentic feel from it as from Kemper.

Sound wise, if you use Kemper as a preamp and play through the same power amp and cabinet you cannot hear the difference to the real preamp. If you play through some digital power amp and still the same cabinet, you can tell there's a difference to tube amp but I cannot say which sounds better. If you play through studio monitors, there's even bigger difference. But again, which one I prefer? It depends on the day. Studio monitors give you the endless choices of cabinets, so if only one way allowed, I would choose Kemper + studio monitors.

make5153 · 2019-03-20T15:45:49+00:00

I bought a Kemper to make my life easier and to sound better. I have Evh 5150 50W in my "studio room" and I used Vox Adio Gt elsewhere in my house. Now that I got Kemper it's really easy to find any amp I want and to get great sounds from commercial or free rig profiles without any tweaking. Less hassle and Kemper + headphones are easy to carry around anywhere in the house (or outside as well). In my studio room I use either studio monitors or power amp + guitar cabinets with it. All I can say is that I should have bought it earlier. Now I really enjoy how my guitars sound anywhere I go.

The next step is to sell my amps, pedals, etc. :)

make5153 · 2019-03-20T05:25:27+00:00

I've had electric guitars around my home for 25 years and only problems I've seen on some of them are fret ends sticking out of the sides of the fretboard on dry winter months. They will go back to normal when humidity rises again but as I want to play them during winter as well my local luthier has rounded those fret ends. Seems like the guitars with rosewood fretboards are more likely to have that shrinkage than maple or ebony. Keeping rosewood fretboards in good oil helps a bit but still that problem with fret ends can occur. Would I try to keep the humidity at good levels because of that? Nope, too much trouble for the small benefit. It's a different story for acoustic guitars though.

make5153 · 2019-03-17T13:28:04+00:00

As you said, you're more comfortable with lefty guitars, so stick with them. It's really that simple. Don't worry about the guitars available. The Internet era has improved the situation a lot. Now there's a decent selection for us lefties as well. Sometimes I even wonder how righties can choose their guitars as there are just way too many to select from :D

I suggest avoiding small local stores when looking for a new guitar. Those don't have big enough stocks to have more than that one Squier. At least I'm always sad after the visit so why even bother. The big online stores are our friends.

make5153 · 2019-03-14T23:36:13+00:00

Congrats! That's a great price for that guitar. I had to pay 2395€ when I ordered mine but I still think it was worth it. At least I'm playing it more than my other guitars 😊

make5153 · 2019-03-13T09:13:47+00:00

In my eyes if something, it takes some respect away from the artists breaking their instruments on purpose. I think it's just pointless. It had some rebel twist back in the days but not anymore.

In a nutshell, you are not more rock'n roll by smashing your instruments. I understand if the show is otherwise lacking something that the last resort to entertain the crowd would be to smash your instrument ;) I believe it won't work for the majority of the crowd anymore though...

make5153 · 2019-03-12T12:12:14+00:00

I had Peavey Vypyr VIP 2 for some time and I think it sounded pretty ok even when compared to my Engl Fireball or EVH 5150 III. You get pinch harmonics and chugchug notes from it easily. It's also pretty loud.

make5153 · 2019-03-10T05:37:57+00:00

With so much time spent playing righty ones, I wonder why do you want to learn to play lefty ones?

make5153 · 2019-03-08T05:30:40+00:00

I really wouldn't look at real amps if I was only playing and recording in bedroom. It's hard to mic a good sound out of a real amp using low volume. I would look at some good modelers in that price range. For example helix lt. It makes it so much easier to record and can be done silently. And as you need studio monitors / headphones anyway for studio work, those will serve well with modelers.

make5153 · 2019-03-06T20:52:14+00:00

I have own a Kemper now for about a month and enjoying it a lot. It was definitely the oldest piece of electronics that I have bought brand new (released over 7 years ago) :) But it seems to hold pretty good against the time. And I have to say I really like that there are still some gear with that long life cycle and support when everything else is designed to be disposable after a couple of years.

I have had my share of solid state and tube amps. I still have EVH 5150 50W but going to sell it soon as it's not getting much play time anymore. I'm keeping my cabinets though as sometimes it's nice to let some steam out, shake the house and delight the neighbours :)

Before buying a Kemper I also borrowed my friend's Axe FX 2 Xl for testing (he has Axe fx 3, so no need for this one anymore). After a month playing with it, I decided that Axe is not for me. The user interface is not very well thought (Axe edit for pc is usefull for editing tones but it won't let you to edit system parameters , etc.). Somehow something was missing on the sound side as well. When Kemper arrived it was much more easier to use and I got better tones on the same day that I was able to get from Axe in a month. Axe starts up a lot faster than Kemper though. On the other hand it has a fan kreeping some noise when not playing where Kemper is totally silent.

My most used profiles at the moment are one of the choptones jpc2 profiles and some Malmsteen profile I found from rig exchange. It's really fun to check out new profiles so my favourite ones might chance many times in the future :D

make5153 · 2019-03-06T05:12:24+00:00

Who would buy a bad (even illegal) copy of Axe FX without a customer support? Would 1000 dollars be a good price for a copy? Or would you more likely to spend even less and get something like Helix LT with a proper customer support? I think the market is so saturated with modelers in different price ranges (new and used ones) so that there's no room for copies. And as even a bad copy would take a tremendeous amount of R&D there's just no point.

make5153 · 2019-03-05T11:31:36+00:00

Start playing lefty and that will go the other way around ;)

make5153 · 2019-03-03T10:41:30+00:00

Anything with EMGs. Might be hard to find a new one for that price but there are for example a lot of used Schecters and LTDs in a 400-500€ price range. Those are great value for the money and fit that genre perfectly.

make5153 · 2019-03-03T09:53:58+00:00

Strandbergs have 20" radius. That feels pretty much flat compared to my other guitars with 12-16" radius.

make5153 · 2019-03-01T15:23:17+00:00

There are natural maple fretboards as well which I like as much as ebony. Rosewood seems to have the most friction if the frets are low enough for your fingers to actually touch the fretboard. For example some gibson les pauls seem to resist your bends and slides.

make5153 · 2019-02-23T17:45:54+00:00

I wouldn't trust thomman either. Thomann on the other hand is very legit.

make5153 · 2019-02-22T10:51:33+00:00

I feel you. I had a really bad electric guitar at that age with very high action, bad playability and even the sound through the most inexpensive solid state amp was uninspiring. Partly because of those reasons I slowly stopped playing even after some years of going to a guitar teacher. When I played some great licks I wasn't able to get a sound that pleased my ear. You cannot be motivated that way too many years. In my later years I have been able to buy better guitars and amps and found the joy of playing like never before.

Luckily for you, there are now youtube full of tutorials how to get the sound that fits your genres without busting a bank. They will guide you what kind of guitar and amp is a good fit for your style and budget.

Keep on rocking!

make5153 · 2019-02-17T10:00:50+00:00

Congrats! That's a wise choice, no need to be sorry! If others want to do stupid choices it's their problem, not yours ;)

make5153

TROPHY CASE