RG270DX Review

24 fret, h/s/h, rosewood fretboard, satin top, strat style body, floyd rose locking tremolo, thin neck, 5 way selector.

Features:	9.3
Sound:	9
Action:	8.6
Reliability:	8.3
Impression:	8.6
Overall rating:	8.8
Users rating:	8.2
Comments:	13

overall: 6.8

Featured review by: UG Team, on july 16, 2003

Purchased from: Guitarworks in Calgary, Alberta

Features: 24 fret, h/s/h, rosewood fretboard, satin top, Strat style body, floyd rose locking tremolo, thin neck, 5 way selector. // 10

Sound: I play lots of metal but like to play softer stuff too, I love the crunchy sound I get out of the guitar I will play it over my Fender Strat (american made) for rock ANYDAY. Im running it to a Boss ME-30 then to a crybaby to my Fender ultimate chorus amp. the single coil pickup hums like there is no tomorrow. It is near useless there is so much feedback especially with distortion. I know they are supposed to hum but its really bad. The humbuckers are killer. Low end crunch just pounds through on the palm muting and it shreds nicely at the high end of the fretboard with clarity. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The action was WAY too high from the factory. I lowered it a while after I bought it and like it so much more now. Noisy pickup selector when switching to the single coil (mid travel of the toggle Switch).

Everything else was good and in perfect working order. // 6

Reliability & Durability: The guitar plays well as long as I keep it off the middle Switch which I happen to like the sound of that pickup selection. The hard ware is good, except the floyd rose tremolo is junk. It has been useless since after 3 months of use. When the bar is depressed there is "freeplay" in the bar and I get weird clicking sounds, when I try for a bomb or even some tremolo I get clunking sounds and then the sounds quickly fades into feedback. The reason I bought the guitar was for the floyd rose (I traded in me Gibson SG becasue I wanted a floyd rose so bad) and I cant believe the crap I got. I went to the shop and they said it cant be fixed. Good quality hardware my @$$! the strap bold on the body side broke off too. And no I dont jump around with my guitar. I would play it on stage, but would not attempt to use the tremolo as it goes out of tune with one wiggle of the bar (nice locking system :(. Other than the tremolo I am happy with everything else. // 4

Impression: If you are looking for a guitar with tremolo dont even look at this thing. Might as well get a normal fastened bridge cuz this one is useless. Works for a good couple months then the plastic washer loses its grip in the back and will never hold tight again. I love the sound but hate the hum of the single ciol pickup and the fact that the locking system doesnt keep it in tune, my Fender Strat holds in tune better with it's tremolo. Compared to a lot of guitars I've played, the sound and quality (other than the listed things above) is exceptional. Sounds great now I dont use the tremolo and it meets all of my needs. Dont reccomend it to someone wanting a tremolo at all. Good sound. // 6

Reviewed by: unregistered, on march 23, 2005

Purchased from: Long & McQuade

Features: Made in 2002/2003ish in the country of Korea. It has 24 frets but I couldent tell you what size. It's a solid top and its probably basswood body and a mohagony fretgoard. I can't say for sure but thats my best guess. RG body with a Floyd Rose bridge. It's got a volume a tone and a 5-way selector Switch. Locking tuners and the lightning fast wizard II neck. All I got with it was an allen key and a whammy bar. It's got HSH pickup setup. The floyd rose and the bad input jack will put this down to a 4. // 8

Sound: My style is hard rock and a bit of classic rock and this guitar is great for both. The distortion on this beast is great. I can also bet the cleaner classic rock sound out of this thing nicely. I haven't really tried it with blues or country so I can't really say much about that. It's pretty hard to get the twangy western sound out of it but it's possible. It's medium in the noisy factor and it's got a good full sound. With a bit of treble and switched onto single coil it has a nice bright sound. I'd say this guitar has lots of range as far as sound goes. I'm using a Brand X 25 watt which helps give me a really nice classic rock sound. One thing I would do is put in some nicer pickups and it would be perfect. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: I got it used and the previous owner seems to have done an awsome job with it. The only little problem with it is the pickups had a little rust on the surface. The finish is rock solid on this thing. I've bumped and dropped it a fair amount of time and all I have is a hairline crack on the tip of the lower point. The input also seemed to like to crackle so I resodered it and it hasent bothered me since. If you don't like the action on this guitar it will take you 2 minutes to adjust using an allen key. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I have total faith in this guitar if it came to gigging. I would have a backup just incase I broke a string. Strap buttons are rock solid. The only thing I would worry about is if your using tremalo with new strings you may snap the high E. // 10

Impression: If your playing metal, classic rock, or hard rock this guitar is what your looking for. Plays well for both lead and rythem. I've been playing 10 months and this was my first electric guitar. I played the other guitars in my price range, such as Epiphone, Squire, Yamaha, and used fenders and gibsons but this baby was best for my style. I probably would buy an Iceman if I lost this one. I don't really need the tremalo and I love the body style of the Iceman. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: r3r3r3, on july 19, 2008

Price paid: $ 700

Features: It was made in the year 2000 I belive in Korea as an alternative model for korean rock players. It has 24 jumbo frets, the neck is very confortable. It's a black one with passive picjups. Humbbucker in the brodge and in the neck and a single coilk in the middle. Licenced Floyd Rose, tone and volume and the pickup selector with 5 pisitions. // 10

Sound: It souits me perfectly with my music styles. I think this is one of very few guitars that suits all the music. I play Metallica, Megadeth, Yngwie Malmsteen and Impellitteri principally. I used to use a Metal Zone, but switched to a Zoom 3000 and boom! There's no noise, any problems at all. The sound is not bright. It's full of low frecuencies. I like it! I can use almost all the sounds and it suits perfectly to all I play. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: Being a licenced Floyd Rose, I streched so mucho the locking tremolo and screwed the locks with the allen wrench. So I bought a new locking system. Also one string tunner blowed. I tried to wrench the string and it dodn´t work. So I had to bought a new seven tunners. Well, it's been a lot of time with me. The pickups are perfectly, and good looking. I've worked so much with this guitar to learn how to give it maintainence. And I learned so many things. So, I'm in love with her. There's no oxidation, no wiring problems, no nothing. So, perfect for me. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I've played live and, despite being a licenced Floyd Rose, it works perfect. No detunning. The hardware seems strong and I depend on it more that any other guitars I played from friends, people I know. I will definately use it without a backup guitar It's very confortable and it´s not heavy at all. // 10

Impression: I play Megadeth, Metallica, Yngwie Malmsteen and Impellitteri. And it suits to all of those styles. I've been playing for 14 years. With this guitar almost 10 years. Besides I have an odd Krafter, I belive a Beretta, a Crafter electroacustic and an Ovation electroacustic. And many others acustic guitars. There wero no questions to ask before purchasing my guitar. I fulfilled all my doubts. And yes, if it was stolen, I will definetely but an Ibanez. The same pickups, the same Floyd Rose no matters if it´s not an original Floyd Rose but a Licenced Floyd Rose, the same Heavy Metal style form. Ilove about her the form, the color, the sound and all the time it´s been with me. It's been a good company. I hate the way that one time it fell off from the guitar support and tone piece of paint ran off. Careless me. I repair it with all I could and it looks good now. My favorite feature is the Floyd Rose that makes her looks awesome and imponent. I don't have the mind and the punch to compare it with other products. I chose it because I draw it in my mind, and, when I saw it, I knew that was my dreams guitar!:D I wish it had Quad Rails or more good looking pickups. Just the way for looking. Because it sounds great and I´m very happy with it. // 10

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: tucker3, on september 01, 2008

Price paid: A$ 400

Purchased from: eBay

Features: This particular RG was made in 2000, I think, but don't quote me on it cos I have no idea, and was made in Korea (well mine was anyway). It has 24 jumbo frets, a maple neck and a bound rosewood fretboard with sharktooth inlays and the body is a super Strat design made of basswood with a black finish. It has a liscenced Floyd Rose floating tremolo and a lucking nut with an all access neck joint. It has H/S/H configuration with no name electronics, a master volume, master tone and 5 way selector switch. // 10

Sound: I play mainly metal and hard rock and this suits it perfectly, I play it through a crappy Silvertone practise amp with a Boss DS-1 and it kicks ass. I mainly have it on the neck humbucker but you can get a variety of sounds from this guitar if you fiddle around with it a bit. If you put it on the single coil it screams hell bad so I don't really use it much. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: I didn't get this guitar stright from a factory or dealer so I have no idea what it was like fresh of the production line but what action the guy before me had it on was perfect I didn't have to alter anything, dunno if he did though. I have no problems with this guitar, I know lots of people say that the tremolo is terrible but mine is just fine I can go ape shit with it and it still stays in tune. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I have gigged with this guitar a few times and have no problems with it I would definetly use it without a backup. Everything with this guitar can withstand gigging. I have even knocked it a couple of times and it still doesn't have a scratch on it. I don't see why people say that the trem or locking nut suck on this guitar because they stay in perfect tuning no matter how spaz I go with the whammy. // 10

Impression: as I said before I play mainly metal and hard rock and it suits it perfectly, but as Ibanez say the RG was made for metal so. I have been playing for 3 years now and have a Jackson RRV, a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul Custom and this guitar can stand up to all of them. If it was stolen I would hunt the guy Who took it and kindly ask for it back, then murder HIM. But seriously. if it were stolen I would cry and go and get a new one. I wish this guitar had DiMarzios factory Standard but I'll just go and get some. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on december 10, 2007

Price paid: $ 252

Features: This was my second guitar I bought, I did not know anything about guitars at the time and just went for a cool looking guitar that wasn't too expensive. It was made in korea in 2001, I think I also bought it that year. It has 24 jumbo frets and a wizzard II neck with rosewood. It comes with a Floyd Rose Tremelo wich is great but not for beginners I would say. It has nice sharktooth inlays on the neck wich make it look mean. For looks and playability I have to give this one a 9 for the price range of this guitar. Even though the pickups suck (powersound) for a beginners guitar in this price range it has a lot of cool features. // 9

Sound: Ok sound, if I would rate it now with my 8 year experience, I would say it's really bad. The powersound pickups are muddy and make a lot of noise. the more you play it they worst they start to sound. I would suggest getting other pickups for this guitar but then again, the new pickups (good ones) would cost you more than this guitar. But if you look at this guitar as a beginners guitar, it is pretty solid sounding. Again, keep in mind the price. I would give it an 7 based on my first 2 years with this thing. The bridge pickup has been broke for almost 2 years now, but from what I remember it was pretty decent wehn played with distrotion. I have used this mostly for Metallica sounds and it was great for that. The neck pickup makes a nice warm sound, can be used for solo's and some bluesy stuff maybe. The single coil pickup is good if you want a Strat sound, sounds bright but lacks sustain and will buzz a lot. // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: Factory settings were perfect. However, when you are new to guitars and you start to mess around with a Floyd Rose you will end up in deep shit. If you don't know much about tuning and the guitar goes out of tune. you have to go to a guitar shop because it can get really complicated. Especially if you do not have the right tools for the job. The tremelo has come off after 2 years. I used it a lot for solos and it is not build for heavy use. I wanted to play some hammet style solo's and did what hammett does on stage with his guitars, like dive bombing and such. Well if you do it, do it with great care because it will break if you psuh it to the max too many times. One other thing I need to mention is the hardware gets rusty pretty fast, but then again, looking at it's price you can't have it all for just $200. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I would say this is a perfect guitar if you are just starting out and want to play metal, good for gigs but when you and your band start to get better, maybe you wanna upgrade because I would not rely on this guitar too much when performing live. It also takes a day or 2 before your strings stay in tune after you put new strings on it. Even with the toplock on it, the strings need some stretching and the bridge has to find the right position. // 7

Impression: Overall, pretty good guitar for it's price. Don't pay more than $200 for it. And if you are looking for your 2nd guitar and have some experience. Maybe save up a few months and go for a RG prestige series if you like these guitars, they offer much more quality. Or maybe look for an LTD guitar (cheap ESP guitars), they are also pretty good for metal (especially Metallica) and are not very expensive. // 7

Reviewed by: unregistered, on november 16, 2006

Price paid: $ 236.07

Purchased from: Sounds Great

Features: // 7

Sound: When jamming, warming up or just having some fun I am an ecclectic player. Be it Death Metal, Blues, Neo-Classical/Shred, Thrash or just straight chord strumming this guitar has a pleasant and flexible tone. However, I fitted it with a Seymour Duncan "Dimebucker" on the bridge and know it sounds almighty. This pickup, I must add, is exclusively for metal as it is of extremely high output which dosn't bode well with a clean sound. The standard Ibanez pickup on the bridge is ideal and provides a very clean distortion which is great for tapping, legato and sweep picking but is not so good for artificial harmonics (I leave them down to Dime). String it right and you have a great sounding, studio worthy guitar. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: Despite the reputation of this axe's country of origin, it is a surprisingly well made instrument. It's thin neck is very accessable, it's slim body is confortable stood up or down. The action is adjustable (thanks to our friend Floyd). When I purchased it, second hand, the action was too high. After taking the back plate off and adjusting the screws that alter Vibrato angle and adjusting the level of the bridge I acheived a satisfactory action. The only notable flaw in construction is that fact that the mechanics of the output socket rattle around. This is fixable, but it's not an issue that requires immediate attention. // 7

Reliability & Durability: I am confident in this guitar for Live performance. It's sleak body, as mentioned earlier, allows full maneouverability. When playing standing up I like to, for un-protenteous reasons, adjust the position of the guitar (i.e. hold it so the neck is vertical or leaning back so the top of the body sticks out) as so I can nail them tricky riffs, which are more than acheivable in a sitting position. The strap buttons are solid. The finish is excellent due to it's rhobustness and it is yet to recieve a scratch. This is also due to carefullness, but a quality finish is instrumental (pardon the pun) in keeping a guitar "scratch free" in the first place. // 7

Impression: In my band, Misanthropic Butchery, I play technical groove death metal. This a progressive style of metal with brutal elements. As you can imagine this entails insane endurance and speed. Our solo's are partly classic Shred influenced (Gilbert, Malmsteen, Angelo) and our riffs are influenced by more comtempory guitarists(Suicmez, Romeo, Waters). I have been playing for seven years and this is the only axe I own, and it seriously does the trick. It is easy and fun to play. Sadly, there is something about this guitar that prevents me from giving it an ten. I can describe it only by saying this, it is not a smooth guitar to play. When you see MAB or Mike Romeo shredding, their guitars work with them and their playing is fluid. This is, odviously, down to practise but also due to a sick as hell guitar. The RG is not sick as hell. It is satisfactory, but better than most of similar price. I have been playing it for maybe 2 1/2 months and have already outgrown it. For Beginner to Intermediate it is excellent. For advanced/progressive players it is good, not awesome. // 6

overall: 9.2

Reviewed by: metalkid86, on march 15, 2004

Price paid: $ 250

Purchased from: Local music Store

Features: Features 24 frets, slash inlay instead of dots, floyd rose system. 2 Humbuckers and 1 single coil inbetween. // 10

Sound: I Play alot of metal/thrash and punk rock so I found this guitar to work extremly well with both genres. I also started working on my clean/acoustic sound. I thought this guitar was great for both. The Humbuckers add that punch that I have always looked for. It works extremly well with speed. If you like to play Pantera, Black label Society or any other band that uses a speed style palm mute, this is your guitar. Im curently running it through a Digitech metal master and a 150 watt Crate Amplifier which I think works very well for my playing style. It also generates an awsome pinch harmonic. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was set up nice in my view. I recieved this as a Christmas present and the only problem i had was with the floyd rose. I had to have it reset after 3 months, but ever since it hasnt caused me any problems. Another small flaw is my volume nob, sometimes if you tap it the wrong way it tends to cut out but can be fixed just by tapping it again. Other than that it has been put together fairly nice. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is very reliable. I have been in 2 different bands so far with this guitar and it hasn't failed me in creating a sound that was needed. THis guitar has almost become my best fried for doing shows. But, I would recommend taking another guitar to a gig for those "Just in case" reasons. // 8

Impression: This guitar rocks. If you're not a rocker/metal head you probabbly wont want this guitar. I tihnk it was desighned to kick ass, not for the sit down player that likes to play more calm types of music. But for the rockers, you should definitly check this one out. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: J0NNYBRAV0, on october 28, 2004

Purchased from: eBay

Features: I assume it was made in 2004 but I can't be sure. It's brand new though. On the back of the headstock it says made is Korea. It has 24 frets, a super thin Wizard II neck thats incredibly fast and most importantly, an officially licensed floyd rose tremelo system. It black, has a 5 way selector between a neck humbucker, and bridge humbucker and a central single coil. Oh and its got a locking nut which is key to keeping this guitar in tune whilst using the wammy bar. All in all, this guitar has everything I need and more. // 10

Sound: Holy crap where do I begin. This guitar sounds amazing. I play every kind of style from heavy rock like Pantera, Tool, Metallica and Megadeth to soft clean tone stuff like the Chili Peppers, Led Zeppelin, Steve Ray Vaughan and everything in between. And let me tell you, it sounds great no matter what I play. I guess its aimed towards the heavier type of soungs, considering the double humbuckers on here, but it sounds great with a clean tone or with low gain on that middle pickup. Sweet. I have a Roland Cube 30 and I messed around with all the amp types from acoustic to heavy distortion and threw in some flanger, phaser, chorus, delay, reverb. You name it it all sounds crisp and clear. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: Out of the box the action was a little low by the thinner strings but I adjusted that quickly with the tools they supplied. Then I realized I had set it too high for my liking so I lowered it again. Kinda pointless. The pickups were a good height, a little low now that I look at it, but I can raise them no problem in order for longer sustain. It can in excellent condition but I was perplexed to see that the headstock was attatched to the neck with a totally seperate peice of wood. I have no idea why that is, but it doesn't pose any threat right now but I would feel better knowing that it were one solid peice of wood. The finish is nicely polished, strings are nice and clean. A little bit of dust on it I guess, but that usless information. It's plays awesome and thats what counts. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I haven't "gigged" with this guitar yet but I dont see why I wouldn't. Everything seems reliable on here. I don't know why everyone complains about the floyd rose tremelo system and this type of bridge. It never goes out of tune when I slam on that wammy bar. I bend it until the strings are like cooked spaghetti and they bounce right back into shape. Either those people didnt bother to read the instructions (which tells you how to lock the strings down so they dont go out of tune!) or they have a faulty nut lock. but I doubt that the latter is true. I only bring one pen to an exam worth 35% of my mark, so why would I bring another guitar to a gig? I trust it without a doubt. // 10

Impression: I've been playing for 7 months but dont let that be a factor in this review. I learned quickly and can play pretty much anything I set my mind to, and I know guitars. I've played many kinds from the lowly squire to the allmighty Gibson Les Paul (which I dont care for much). I also own a Jackson guitar but this Ibanez sounds so sweet compared to it. I played my friends Ibanez 570 as well, and it sounds almost identical, but I'm sure the 570 is more durable or something like that since it costs alot more. I'm sure I don't have to waste time comparing it to my Squire Strat. Overall, I love any Ibanez guitar, especially the RG series. I prefer them over anything and everything. I will eventually buy a Jem when I play for a while longer, but I can see this guitar lasting until then and past that. This guitar is a great buy and I recommend it to anyone, from the newbie to the pro. I know its just a RG270DX, but I've played really good "high end" guitars and this is just as good in my opinion. Go buy it now. Anyone want a Jackson guitar? I'm selling mine now. No need for it. // 10

Comments

[one_way_mule2]

I also Had trouble with rust on the pickups. is there any way of getting rid of it without damaging them, and replacing them? please let me know. i also agree with it going out of tune easily, but it is fun just to play around with it!!!

[cheames]

i know a guy who put EMGs on his...sounds mean...do it!

[Xo0phoenix0oX]

I owned one of these and hated it. The dumbed down floyd roses they put on these things are impossible and not reliable at all. But hey, it's a low end guitar, what do you really want? Ibanez makes good guitars, but as with anything, you get what you pay for I suppose.

[noblin_the_gobl]

Shouldn't worry about the rusty pu, its normal and doesnt affect the tone. I have had no problems with it going out of tune, but I have modified mine fairly heavily. To fix most problems with tuning/intonation/string snapping, try changing to carbon saddles (pricey and wear out quick but much more reliable), and have the thing set up by a pro. A quick fret re-dress and skilled trem set up make this a world class instrument, I've put EMG-81's in mine as well to seal the deal. This great guitar proves you don't need to spend thousands to get a quality instrument, you just need the sense to have it set up right.

[Pischlar]

After the proper adjustments are made, this guitar plays well - shredding is definitely possible.

The stock humbuckers are utter garbage. I found that they have limited clarity. I replaced the bridge pickup with a Dimarzio X2N and the neck pickup with a Dimarzio Evolution.

Similar to other users, I've had problems with the guitar going out of tune easily. Changing the nut locks solved this problem, I suggest others to do the same.

[FearBefore]

I have this guitar, only not the DX. My floyd is a pain, i ended up jamming some little blocks of wood into the back so it acts as a fixed bridge and removed the lock nuts. CAn't fault the guitar now really, except the pickups, maybe one day i'll change them. The pure beauty of this guitar is the neck. It's insanely fast and a perfect fit (for me at least) My guitar was set up by a pro, and has insanely low action with no buzz. I wouldn't sell this for the world now. Great guitar.

[roksta101]

"The stock humbuckers are utter garbage. I found that they have limited clarity. I replaced the bridge pickup with a Dimarzio X2N and the neck pickup with a Dimarzio Evolution."

i agree...i have had this guitar for a year and a bit...the pickups arent great at all...cant get sustain on pinched harmonics and so on....and the bridge gave me few probs aswell..
anyway it is my first electric so its good enough for me! i love it!

[joyc]

nice one!

[EmuChicken]

You can get the rust out by using some cotton buds with some "scratch remover" or whatever.. I got the paste from a music shop and you just rub the rust right off

[ShredBane]

would you say the RG321MH is better than this?

[UnDistortion]

hey everyone, i bought an rg270dx USED, however, the man had installed emg 81 Sa 85 pickups and i can promise you it is really worth it, the pickups are great and suit any style you would play on the rg270, even clean, and also my tremolo has never had problems but i can't say he didn't fix it or change it because i never asked, great guitar!

[Mis4Mathew]

Play it at my mates house. The bridge pickup is dimarzio. Kicks ass

[The_Stonerz0.o]

Nice review by tucker3