RG321MH Review

Wizard II neck. 3-piece maple neck. Mahogany body. 24 jumbo frets. 25-1/2" scale. Bound rosewood fingerboard. Fixed bridge. IBZ INF3 (H) Neck PU. IBZ INF4 (H) Bridge PU. Pearl dot inlay.

Features:	8.5
Sound:	8.9
Action:	8.2
Reliability:	8.7
Impression:	9
Overall rating:	8.7
Users rating:	8.4
Comments:	30

overall: 7.8

Featured review by: kingpenguin, on july 31, 2008

Price paid: £ 300

Purchased from: Wembely Guitar Centre

Features: This guitar was made in indonesia, I have no idea what year. It has 24 jumbo frets. The body is mahogany, the neck is maple and the fingerboard is rosewood. It is finished in "weatherd black" which basicaly means you can still see the grain of the wood. It has a string through body, passive pickups, and has one volume, and one tone control, it has a 5-way selector for the twin humbuckers. It has non-locking no-name Ibanez pickups and came with a Kustom 10 watt amp, a soft gig bag, a lead a strap, and three picks. // 8

Sound: This guitar was designed for metal, I should have known this when the guy in the shop said it could easilly be tuned to drop D. Although I do not play much metal I have found that this guitar is very adaptable to different styles of music, I have played acoustic, blues, alternative, and metal with this guitar among others, and while it stands out as an awesome guitar for metal it is also passable for many other genres. I played this through the Kustom 10 watt amp it came with and the sound was good, there was a lot of variety. I now play through a Boss MD-2 Pedal and a Rowland Cube30 and the sound is amazing, it has a very good distorted sound, although the sound is not very bright (that may be because I use nickel plated steel 10 gauge strings). // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: I'm not an expert on the set up of guitars, but the action seemed fine to me, not too high or low. The pickups were way too far away from the strings when I got this guitar, but that was easy to fix. The chrome was oxidised at places but this doesnt't really bother me. When collected the guitar was in good working order. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I have never played Live with this guitar but would happily do so. The strap buttons seem solid but I would get strap locks if I was playing Live with this guitar. I have had minor issues with the lead input, the nut works loose over time, meaning unless you tighten it every so often it comes loose. I would gig with this without backup, but then again, I don't have any other guitars. It has a few scrates and dints, but it has not had an easy life! The paintwork has been lost in two places, but this is more my fault that that of the guitar. // 7

Impression: I play a lot of differnt genres of music, and this guitar is versitle enough to allow for this. I have only been playing for a year and would recomend this as a good starter guitar as it is simple, although I find you have to push hard on the strings, maybe I need to adjust my bridge. I did not do much research into guitars before buying, and so am very pleased with the guitar. If it was stolen I would probably spend a bit more money and get something better, perhaps a Gibson or a Fender, but I am glad I started with this guitar. I compared it with another Ibanez, which had a baswood body, but was not fixed bridge, I don't know the model, I chose this one because of the superior soud of the mahogany body and the simplicity of fixed bridge. I do wish it had a locks on the tuners, I could install this myself, but am frankly too lazy. Overall it was a very good buy as a first guitar. // 9

overall: 8.4

Reviewed by: smokin_joe, on november 22, 2007

Price paid: $ 292.6

Purchased from: Jam Studios

Features: This guitar was made in 2006, in Indonesia. It has 24 Jumbo frets, with a mahogany body, Wizard II maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. It has a supoer-Strat body style, with a weathered black finish. It has a fixed string thru body bridge, two volume knobs (which are wired in series, meaning you might as well have only one) a 5 way selector, passsive pickups with INF3 in the neck position, and INF4 in the bridge position. No name Ibanez tuners. It came with a hard case, strap, picks and a lead. // 8

Sound: This has a great simple metal feel that most of my other guitars lack, and because it has not single coil in the middle, it's great for rhythm work. Plus, the neck pickup is crunchy and plays most kinds of metal with ease. While it's not a lot compared to my other RG, its simplicity is a virtue in this case. It has very little feedback, with a crunchy tone, and through my DigiTech pedal, it's a monster. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The action could have been lower. Much lower. And the strings were much too heavy a gauge to be playable when it comes to EADGBE lead playing. other than that, the black chrome finish was wearing off on the hardware, there was a minor tilt to the bridge pickup and the strings were rusted. Other than these things, everything else is solid. // 7

Reliability & Durability: Its very durable, and has become my backup guitar (over a PRS 513, which isn't a mean feat) in my metal band. I fling it around and headbang all day, and there's no dents. But on the other hand, the weathered paint job means that the paint is removed easily. Other than that, the strap buttons are solid, but it is always advisable to use strap locks if you intend on playing Live. I would't use any guitar without a backup, and this is no exception. // 9

Impression: On this guitar, I play mostly metal and hardcore. it's a perfect match, and doesnt't let the Ibanez family down. I own a Taylor 910, a PRS 513, a PRS Paul Allender Signature, a Gretsch White Falcon, an Ibanez RG1520G, a Taylor OMC16WE, and a Maton EM225C, and it's the pure rock simplicity that I needed. I wish I had asked if they would throw in some strings for free, but oh well. The only thing I hate about it is the wearing off black chrome finish. I compared it to a Cort Evl (cant remember the model number), and this was he better guitar. The Cort had EMGs, but it didn't have the simplicity I was looking for. If this guitar was stolen, I might make a bit more of an investment and buy a guitar with EMGs and a Floyd Rose, but this suits my needs just as well. A great buy. // 8

Reviewed by: unregistered, on september 08, 2009

Price paid: £ 250

Purchased from: GM Music Cardiff

Features: Black Finish, 24 Jumbo Frets, Non locking tuners, Ibanez' INF3 NPU and INF4 BPU Passive, 5 way selector, 1 Volume, 1 Tone, Thin wizard II neck. Mahogany body which is what the "MH" is for. String thru body and Bolt on neck but cut down so suitable for shredding those lead notes. // 9

Sound: The sound is good but not excellent, you can still get a good sound out of them. I play mostly metal and blues. Pretty good for both and has some quite good bright clean tones in it. I am running it through a Line 6 Spider 3 30 watt, not the best amp in the world but it suits the Ibanez, not with the preset Insane tone though, if you want this guitar with the Line 6 change the Insane preset if your going to run it through that, But personally I play through the clean with a Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, and with my customized tone with that it sounds great. However I am changing the pickups for a EMG 81/60 set. Simply because I want that better tone, but if your a beginner then the Inifinty pickups should get you by for the time being. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: I bought this guitar from a shop so I don't really know what the factory set up was like as I made them set it up in the shop for no extra cost, they set it up perfectly but somehow couldnt tune it into Standard which I found quite amusing. So if your buying from the internet I can't help you. Bolt on neck // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar can with stand Live playing, but if your going to be playing the guitar for a long time standing up I suggest swapping the strap buttons as mine has fallen as I've been playing live, much to the amusement of my band. This thing stays in tune very well, even when de-tuned to the max. So i am very pleased with that as my previous Jackson kept slipping out of tune ALL THE TIME. // 8

Impression: Good match for Metal but the guitar is a bit versatile so could play otherstyles but I'd advise buying this if your mainly a metal player with other genres taking 2nd place. Been playing for almost 6 years, Not the best guitar I've played but still very good for the value of money, If it was stolen I probablly wouldn't buy it again, because their are many other guitars out there that I'd love to have a go at. I love the Mahogany body as its very light unlike my jacksons, and the fact it stays in tune very well. Don't really like the pickups which is why I'm changing for the EMG 81/60. I would compare this to Say the Jackson JS30DK and Ibanez RGR321EX, I chose this basically because of the weight and suitable for my shredding style.

Overall pretty good guitar, suitable for Beginngers to intermediate. // 9

overall: 9.2

Reviewed by: alecs90, on august 20, 2009

Purchased from: M&C Musical Instruments

Features: The guitar is built, assembled and set in Indonesia, in 2007 or 2008. The body is made out of solid mahogany; the bolt-on D-shape neck can be considered rather fat, considerably wider than a Fender Tele/Strat neck, is made of maple (Ibanez 3 piece Wizard II neck that’s on many of their guitars) with a flat rosewood fret board (400 mmR radius), it has 24 jumbo frets, Dot inlays, 648 mm scale length with 43 mm wide nut. I’ve got the weathered black version which consists of a matt black finish that makes the actual grain and texture of the wood visible and has a distinct natural feel. All hardware is plated chrome fume; the neck has a soft, glossy finish that leaves the wood natural. The head-stock has a shiny black finish and features a 6-0 in-one-line Fender style tuner arrangement; it has the typical back tilted Shark-tooth shape. The body is a thin super-Strat shaped Ibanez body, very ergonomic and comfortable, with deep cutaways and straight non-rounded edges. It has a fixed string-thru bridge that is bolted onto the body with individual screw and spring fixed string saddles, similar to a Fender Telecaster. The guitar has stock passive humbucking pickups mounted in a open H-H configuration, the neck pickup is an Ibanez Infinity 3 whilst the bridge pickup is an Ibanez Infinity 4; each pickup has 12 hex-head pole pieces (6 on each magnet) that can be raised/lowered at will. The guitar has one volume knob, one tone knob and a five-way rail pickup selector: first position – neck pickup, second position – neck pickup in parallel connection, third position – both pickups, fourth position – both pickups with coil tap and fifth position – bridge pickup. The tuners are Standard Ibanez electric guitar sealed-oil-chamber tuners, non-locking. The ¼ inch input jack is placed on the side of the instrument. The instrument came with two hex shaped inbus keys (for the truss rod and for the saddles, not for the pickup poles) and with the usual crap, short instrument cable that I use when tuning. // 9

Sound: I mainly play metal (old school, thrash, doom/stoner, death and prig), classic/hard rock and blues but dabble in other things as well and the guitar suits these entire well. First and foremost let me say a few words about the tonal qualities of the wood: the guitar is very well balanced in terms of natural tone mainly because of the great wood combination; the mahogany body gives a good low end and middle frequency response with a warm feeling while the maple neck enriches the treble spectrum; to get an overall idea, the guitar has almost a Spanish nylon string guitar sound when it is played unplugged. Because of the mahogany body, fixed bridge and simple construction, the guitar has a lot of sustain, tons of it in fact! The pickups are fairly high-output, especially for stock pickups, they do their job really well for the price of it. The guitar, as others have added, is made for metal, when using the bridge pickup and high gain, it turns into a ferocious beast! The neck pickup is a bit muddy and dull for my taste when using distortion but works good on clean and when playing the blues. The neck pickup in parallel position is not too impressive, it takes some of the output away but the tone is exactly the same, just like it would happen if you would backup your volume from the guitar. Using both pickups creates a very rich, full tone, good for clean passages and for using modulation effects such as chorus. With both pickups on coil tap the overall feeling changes, the sound cleans up a lot if you are using overdrive/distortion just like it would happen when using single coils; also the tap version is excellent for strumming. In the electronics section things are double edged: when you take a look inside things are rather messy and it seems like everything is done in a hurry; the soldering is a bit untidy and there is no wood insulation, also the potentiometers look cheap but they do their job in a fair way: the volume is quite dynamic, it’s just that it looses response after you turn it down about 4/5; the tone has roughly three main positions, full and bright on one end, deep and rather dull on the other and with some tweaking you can achieve something in between; it kind of looses response after about 2/3 of a turn. They both move in a smooth way, not too easy, not too hard. The pickup selector is very stiff and makes a lot of noise and vibration when switching that amplifies because of the body, a lot of this passes through the pickups and can be heard quite well on high gain settings; also the sound is cut briefly when changing pickups. I use it with my Vex AD15VT amp and the sounds that you get are above my expectations, no matter what channel or effect I use it is always a pleasure to play; and I practice at night using a Vex Am plug Metal, again the sound is good. Also I’ve had the chance to plug it into a Fender Front man 25R, a Kong processor and a Marshall JCM100 watt head! The sound was quite impressive each time, it has never disappointed me. It suits me very well indeed! // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar wasn’t set right when I bought it: the action was too high even for my taste (I play Acoustic as well and I keep my strings in a similar way on both guitars); if you set the action very low things will work fine for soloing and shredding but fret buzz appears when playing chords on the first and second fret. The intonation was horrible (not to mention that the guitar was completely out of tune) so I had to work on that and also the truss rod was a bit too stiff; anyway the hardware does the job as it should, everything is of good quality. The pickups were set way too low and the strings were quite oxidized; also the volume and tone pots had the chrome fume finish worn of a bit and the guitar was all covered in a thick layer of dust, it looked like it stood in the shop in one place for ages and that the guys around didn’t take care of it. I managed to fix these minor problems with ease by myself at home. The finish makes the instrument easy to clean and it is scratch proof but looks like it could be easily pierced and dented, watch out for sharp corners. Also it becomes shiny in places where your body touches the guitar and seems to get thinner and thinner on the edges as time passes. The saddles and pickup frames oxidize in time because of moisture, sweat and grease from the hands. The neck, headstock and fret board are very well finished, everything is in good shape and seems like it would last forever, some frets are a bit sharp on the edges but all have been filled and polished correctly. Overall the guitar doesn’t have any major flaws here at all. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This instrument is very solid built and, except for the finish, looks like it will last for many decades. I have never played Live with it, didn’t have the occasion and don’t think I intend to either but I think the guitar can withstand that honorably; the strap buttons are of good quality and are solidly screwed in, if you don’t thrash yourself too much I think you could even play Live without strap-locks. Personally, I play pretty hard sometimes and do a lot of bends and I have never had a broken string, it’s true I use D’addario strings and fairly heavy gauge ones too, they are really good, resistant strings. The input jack is screwed tightly and is very stiff, so your plug won’t come out no matter what. The neck is a pleasure to play; it feels very natural especially for someone Who is an Acoustic player as well. The tuners do their job just great, the guitar rarely gets out of tune, even after hard plucking and long bending. I think she can withstand live playing without a backup, although I’m really not a good source here, the closest experience to Live playing I’ve had is jamming with drums, bass and other guitars. The finish will wear off eventually if you play a lot but I don’t see that as a problem. // 9

Impression: This guitar is designed for metal but it can handle other genres in an honorable fashion too. It fits me as a player extremely well: I am mostly a rhythm player, I have been playing guitar for a bit over a year (yes, I am a beginner), electric since January 2009. I took lessons for a couple of months; I dabble in heavy stuff but play in Standard tuning and I use a Vox AD15VT amp without any other pedals/processors, the gear that I own is more than satisfactory considering my overall skill; I meddle with leads/solos sometimes too and the guitar handles everything perfectly, I don’t feel the absence of a whammy bar at all. I’m not into shredding but the guitar is good for that too. This guitar is excellent for a beginner (even for an intermediate level player) who wants to play anything except maybe jazz and country, metal on the other hand is the perfect road to take with this instrument. The fact that the hardware and body finish wears of is a nice thing for me because it makes every guitar unique. With some electronics and pickup upgrades it can become a near pro level guitar (… and I’m not the only one Who thinks so)! For the price, this is one of the best guitars that you can find! // 10

overall: 8

Reviewed by: Jammez, on july 31, 2008

Price paid: A$ 450

Purchased from: Kosmic Sound

Features: The RG321MH is a siiiik guitar. It's a Strat copy body but with that Ibanez gem and classic RG style, with 24 jumbo frets. Nice for metal and shredding, sweeet tone. The nck is smooth as, nicer than almost every other mid range or cheapo guitar around, and just as good as some of the more expensive models. really nice to play on the thin nck, sweet for technical passages and shit. Fixed Bridge with two infinity Ibanez pickups (inf3 and inf 4). It's got a 5 way selector for the pickups, and delivers a great versatility in tone. All settings are usable and everything is reasonable for the price. One thing tho is that the volume control was a bit a wobbly with mine, but that's just cos my circuit board was kinda screwed when I bought it, so I had to fix it up myself. Everything else was in great condition, even tho I got a pretty bunged up display model. The fixed bridge may be an annoyance for some, but the guitar's tone and it's tendency to stay in tune (very rarely does it go out of tune) makes it alrite. The finish on mine is nice, real smooth and even, even tho I hat the color (it's a crap gold/silver colour better to stick with the black or sumthin). Great for playing metal, though hard rock, punk and heavier blues go well with it too. Personally I play metal and punk, and both give great tone (when I run it thru my Roland Cube 30X, tho with this combo it's obvious the metal sounds a bit better). Besides, rgs are made for metal neway, so wat r you doing playin anythin else? But really, I gess this guitar doesn't have that much variety, but when you play to it's strengths, sitcking to straight riffing, shredding o wateva, it gives sweet functionality and playability. // 7

Sound: It really suits metal, tho it can do punk and heavier music styles. Personally, I stick to punk, metal and hard rock, and it rocks at all three.I run it thru my Roland Cube 30X and occasionally thru a DigiTech wah and some Zoom multi fx pedals, and the sound produced is always top notch. Very little feedback I've found, tho if you treat it too ruff youl probly damage the wires and shit and break up the sound, resulting in huge feedbak like wat happened to mine a wile ago. Got it fixed tho, and it's as good as new! just treat it like a classy guitar and it'll give you classy sound. I find it gives a really rich, full tone with the bass and middle turned right up, tho the treble can get a bit too clangy when it's turned up high. Without gain, the sound can be a bit weak, without much kick, especially noticeable when you care it to somethjing quality like a Fender or Gibson. But even so, it don't really matter because with an RG you should stick to the heavier stuff anyway, they all play that kind of thing better, and when you play to this guitar's strengths, it gives an absolutely sweet sound. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: The set up was alright, everything in reasonable condition, nothing too dodgy. I've had to do a couple of fix up jobs, but all the essentials, the finish, the hardware, etc. wrere in place. Just don't expect any awesome quality here. Everything on the guitar was positioned correctly, and definitey nothing was even close to fallin apart, but still, could've been better. // 7

Reliability & Durability: Live playing should be fine, as long as you don't ding it up onstage. And don't expect anyone to be wowed by the guitar, it's just not quality enough yeah? But for what it's worth, it gives a hell of a lot more than other guitar models, and gives an unexpectedly smooth tone and preformance, as long as you stick to playing what it's made for, and don't miss the whammy too much. The strap buttons are solid, and it hasn't conked out on me yet when I've used it at gigs, and all in all it makes a solid Live guitar. // 8

Impression: To be honest, only get this guitar if you're a beginner or intermediate guitar player, aren't interested in all the psycho whammy shit by the likes of satriani, but just want to play some straight blues, punk, rock or metal. especially metal. Definitely metal. In fact, if your on a budget and love metal, this is the only real option. Who gives a shit about the loss of a whammy when you trade it for playability, tone, style and dependability like this! This is a rocking guitar, I love it even with all its faults. Hell, even when I get round to buyin my very first Jem (it'll happen) I'm sure I'll look back on this with fond memories. it's just that good. // 9

overall: 9

Reviewed by: fretmunky, on may 12, 2008

Price paid: $ 420.9

Purchased from: Read Franklin and Heywood

Features: This guitar has pretty Standard stuff but it's good. 2 Standard Ibanez double humbuckers, Standard Ibanez fixed bridge (string-thru body), and Standard Ibanez tuners. The neck is a Wizard 2; it's thin, wide, fast and has 24 jumbo frets; great for shredding on. As for controls, there's a 5-way pickup selector, a volume knob and a tone knob. I got the guitar with a gig bag, strap and cables. // 8

Sound: For the price, this guitar sounds f--king great. I've compared it with 900 quid guitars and it's blown them out of the water. I've played this guitar through Marshall solid-states as well as Valves, Line-6's, Rolands, Peaveys and some beastly amp once of which I didn't have a clue what it was. I also run it through a Line-6 Uber Metal Pedal sometimes. Anyway, the guitar sounds great on all sorts of equipment and settings. You can get great crunchy sounds, heavily overdriven and even nice acoustic sounds. It's a real overall performer but without a doubt does better playing the heavy stuff with lots of low-end and distortion. A great guitar for someone like me Who some days will thrash out some All Shall Perish and others be bopping along to Kings Of Leon. As a fixed-bridge, string-thru, it's tone is suburb and isn't at all noisy. Though of course, changing the pickups from the Standard Nez ones would do wonders. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: The 321 I have currently is my second. Unfortunately when I first bought the guitar the pickups were loose as the fixings had been damaged and the guitar had to be replaced. This however was a problem with THAT guitar, the one I have now is fine. There was no problems with the factory setup, though I did lower the action very slightly but that was probably just a personal preference. The finish is "weathered black", it has silver hardware and looks mighty cool. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This guitar has been constantly bashed around like you wouldn't believe for around 18 months. The neck has been twatted into assorts of things; fence posts, door frames, and god knows what else. It's been dropped, stood on and generally abused to be honest. Despite all this, it still works perfectly and all the hardware and controls are intact. The only damage to it is some minor dints and scratches in the body. Oh and a cross threaded nut on the input, but that was my mate f--king about. Anyway, this guitar is solid, I'd gig with it without a backup with no fear of it breaking what-so-ever. // 10

Impression: For a guitar as cheap as this it's simply brilliant. At the time of buying, I compared it to many other guitars around the same price and this defiantly was the best. It even out performs friends guitars I've played which cost them over three times the price, though I'm not going to drop names. The thing I love about this guitar is it's tone, looks and simplicity. The only thing I'd change is the pickups, the Standard ones are good but a couple of EMGs in there would make it amazing. // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on september 15, 2007

Price paid: $ 402.6

Purchased from: Turnkey, London

Features: I got this beast less than a year ago and already it's my guitar of choice for Live work! The finish is basic, no frills and it's easy to keep clean. The neck is wide and flat and easy to play and I'm a fan of the 'Strat' style fixed bridges. The tuners are easy to us and the tuning is very stable, even after 40-minutes thrashing at a gig! The pickup selection is a bit odd and to be honest I only really use the bridge humbucker and occasionally the tapped single at the bridge. They're Ibanez INF pickups and they are the most awesome things I've heard! I swear they're more powerful than the EMG-81 on my Jackson! // 9

Sound: It's perfect for my music, which is mainly rock and metal. I use it with various overdrive/distortion pedals through a Crate head and 4X12 cab and I get a monster sound! There's no nasty noises, feedback at loud volumes is fairl good, but I use feedback a bit in my songs anyway, so it's easy to control. It's got a quite bright sound, rather than fat and warm, but the sound is consistent and clear. You can get some lovely ringing chords using an overdrive, which are clear and bright. However, for full on riffage and power chords, you can't beat it! // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: This one of only two of my guitars (I have 6) that came perfectly set up from the shop! The action is perfect for my style and everything feels right. I think I tweaked the intonation a little, but apart from that, all I do is change strings and then play! It's a comfortable guitar to play and looks the business! The binding on the neck is great and I love the 'grainy' finish of the body! The only slight problem on the whole guitar is the volume pot. It works, but it isn't a gradual drop in volume. It drops off a bit, then goes completely quiet, with a gradual decrease. But, I've got used to it and that alone will not stop it being my main live guitar! // 9

Reliability & Durability: I use it all the time Live, as I've said. It's dependable and reliable. I've had to tighten up the nut on the jack socket and the volume pot, as they came a bit loose, but that's not bad considering the use it gets! I always take a backup guitar to gigs, mainly so I can swap over if I break a string. Nothing else I own comes close though, apart from maybe my PRS, but I've tuned that down to Drop C! But the pickups are more powerful than any of my other guitars! // 8

Impression: Basically, I love this guitar! It's given me a great overall impression of Ibanez as a whole and I'd definitely buy more from themif I had the money. I saw this guitar on-line before I bought it and fell in love with the style and looks, but tried it out in the shop, just bashing out riffs for about 30 minutes, before haggling the price! I think you can get these for £180 now! That's unbelievable! Now I wish thay made the same guitar with just one humbucker then I'd get one of them! Basically, you've gotta get an RG321MH. I'll try the 7-string model next. // 9

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: leviticus_22953, on march 20, 2008

Price paid: $ 375

Purchased from: Audiophile Components (Philippines)

Features: My Ibanez RG321MH was made in Indonesia in 2007. It has 25 jumbo frets and a 25.5" scale. It has a mahogany body with weathered black finish. It has a bolt-on 3 pc. Wizard II neck. The fixed bridge adds tuning stability. The RG321MH has INF3 (neck) and INF4 (bridge) pickups, which sound good either clean and distorted, with a 5-way selection. It has with no name Ibanez non-locking tuners. It came with a strap, manual and some tools. // 10

Sound: I play mostly rock, sometimes a little bit of metal and it suits my style perfectly. I plug it in a Marshall MG50DFX and it sounds great. I love the combination of the Marshall MG and my Ibanez RG. I use mostly the overdrive channel on my amp and sometimes the clean and effects. On the clean channel, I get a really clean bright sound in the bridge position of my pickup, although I prefer the bassy sound of the neck pickup. On the overdrive channel, I get a fat crunchy sound in the bridge pickup. It has a really good sustain and I can do a lot of pinch harmonics. It is very versatile for me because it sounds good on clean and better on overdrive. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: When I bought it at the shop, is was properly set up. the action was alright but I told the guitar technician to lower it. The neck was in perfect condition, including the fret wires. The fret wires were filed perfectly with no sharp edges. The pickup height is okay and I haven't adjusted it up to now. No tuners were loose. No scratches or dents when I bought it. The finish was sweet! I love the weathered black finish. I chose this guitar over the other Ibanez guitars because of the finish. The only downside of the guitar is that the hardware has tarnished and the bridge pickup is not properly aligned. Other than that, everything else was perfect. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This guitar would definitely withstand Live playing. I have gigged it for a couple of times and it is my main guitar up to now. The hardware will last but I suggest replacing the tuners with locking tuners for tuning stability. I bought this guitar for its finish, although it is pretty easy to wear off with lots of playing. I've had this guitar for nearly a year and the finish has started to wear off in the edges. The worn finish gives it a somewhat Vintage look. The strap buttons are solid. I have no plans of putting strap locks in it. The good hardware and nice finish will definitely withstand Live playing. // 10

Impression: My main genre is rock and this guitar is a great match for it. I have been playing for about 3 years and this guitar fits my style. I have a Marshall MG50DFX, Fernando GX-20R, Ibanez AEG8NT, and a Fernando electric guitar (Jackson copy). My Ibanez beats my Fernando in terms of sound quality, workmanship, playability and sustain. I want a guitar to be simple yet aggressive and the RG321MH fits the description.I love the pickups especially the INF3 neck pickup. I love it's weathered finish and Wizard II neck. The only thing I hate are the tuners. I think I'll replace it with locking tuners sometime this year. I chose this over the Ibanez RG370DX and the GRG270 because of the simplicity of the fixed bridge and the weathered finish. I definitely recommend this guitar. If it were lost, I would definitely fall to pieces and buy another one. If it were stolen, I would hunt down the thief and beat the hell out of him. Over-all, a very great guitar. // 10

overall: 9.2

Reviewed by: ibryant0915, on september 14, 2007

Price paid: $ 249.99

Purchased from: Guitar Source

Features: The first thing I love about this guitar, 34 frets. I just can't Live with 22 frets, it's impossible. The frets are "jumbo" although I've never had otherwise, so I cannot compare them to the other style. The neck is a Wizard II made of Rosewood, which has great playability because your fretting hand is able to move and slide quite easily. The body of this guitar is made of mahogany. I absolutely adore this. This makes the guitar extremely light, and gives it a very resonate sound. The RG321MH is Strat-styled with a fixed bridge. The body is sting-thru, which I'm used to but some people might not like. There are two knobs (one for volume, one for tone) that are just plain silver, with no big abnoxious numbers, which I enjoy, but others might find a hassle to find where they had their tone set. It compensates with a 5-way selector, with each selection sounding much different from the next. The guitar has humbuckers with an INF3 Neck Pickup, and INF4 Bridge. No included accessories. // 9

Sound: I generally play metal and blues-styled songs. It fits both of these amazingly. I've always been extremely pleased with the flexibility of Ibanez guitars. The 5-way selector adds even more to this. The bridge pickup works perfectly for rectified or blues if you turn down the tone a bit. The neck the setting one away from bridge increases pinch harmonics without you even trying. It's great. I run it through a Roland Cube 30 and sometimes through a DigiTech RP100 straight through my speakers or computer. It is never noisy in the wrong ways. Limited feedback, almost no fret buzz. Nearly perfect. The sound is rich and full if you want it to be. Can be a bit weak when the tone is turned down but, that makes sense. Extremely bright sound on the bridge pickup. That pickup is hot. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: This guitar was set up great at the factory, however the pickups I received had a little bit of rust on them. I have no idea if that was the store I bought them from or Ibanez. The pickups were fine. Not too low, not too high. I didn't have to touch 'em. No flaws on this guitar except for the rust and after I hit it on my friend's metal screen door, then there was a minor dent. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This guitar will definitely withstand Live playing. I've given this guitar hell and nothing wrong with it yet. The hardware seems sturdy and doesn't budge. Strap buttons have never given me problems, perfectly in place. I can absolutely depend on it and would go without a backup to a gig or show. The finish will last, in fact it's one of my favorite parts of it. Unlike the cheaper Ibanez models (GRX20, great guitar, cheap finish) the finish will last. // 10

Impression: Amazing for the price. 9/10, and only for the slight rusted pickups. // 9

overall: 7.8

Reviewed by: Blood-stained, on may 23, 2008

Price paid: $ 250

Purchased from: Danny D's

Features: I'm not sure what year it was made in, but, based off the "Inspected by M.J. Kim" sticker on the back plate, I'll assume it's Korean. Regardless of origin, the neck has 24 jumbo frets and is made of maple with a rosewood fretboard. The mahogany body's finish is more of a stain than anything else, leaving the guitar with a smooth natural feel. It's cut in a cutaway fashion. The bride is a Telecaster-esque string-through body. Tuners are non-locking. The electronics are wired through two Standard humbuckers with a five-way selector and two knobs, volume and tone respectively. // 8

Sound: This guitar was designed to play anything heavy, and it's well suited for the purpose (see mahogany body and dual humbuckers), though the RG will also allow for softer styles. I'm hesitant to suggest you use one for jazz, however. I use it mostly with my Behringer V-Amp LX210 through a Boss MT-2, but recently I've managed to play through a Bandit 112 without the Boss, and it sounds wonderful with the latter set-up. Through the Boss everything's noisy (same with the Bandit in the High Gain/Lead position), so I'm not entirely certain what to say here. But I will say that you can alternate between annoyingly bright and fuller, smoother tones just through the selector. Avoid annoyingly bright. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The action is good. Not low enough to buzz (or for blindly-fast playing), but not too high, either. I know nothing about pickup adjustment, so I'll say naught. Notable flaws: top strap button consistently comes loose, and so does the cable connection, though I may not have them tight enough. I think, though, that the strap button is more problematic than that (see below). // 7

Reliability & Durability: I have played with her Live, and she held up very well. Recommended. Since I am for the most part unfamiliar with electronic hardware durability, I'll pass. The top strap button was bored incorrectly and keeps wanting to fall out. I have to keep a screwdriver in the case. She loses points for this one. I have used her in a gig without a backup, and it probably won't happen again. Murphy's Law can only be dodged so many times. The finish will last. It's worn thin in a few places, but some circumstances have not been kind. // 8

Impression: I'll play anything, from "Adagio for Strings" and Jack Johnson to Opeth and Living Sacrifice. This guitar does most everything, whether designed for it or not, and does it at least passably. I've been playing for almost four years now and got this guitar last year as a first electric. I have a couple of acoustics besides. My only regret about my double-purchase is the amp. I love my guitar. If stolen, I would hunt the bastard down and sue HIM for everything he's worth, then sell HIM to African warlords as a Diamond miner. If lost I'd sacrifice a kitten to heathen gods for its safe return. Favorite feature? This guitar attracts women. The natural-looking wood finish awakens a female's natural appreciation of earthy mahogany (er, wood?). // 8

Comments

[raggamuffin19]

nice review dawg

[White Pony]

"The first thing I love about this guitar, 34 frets"
Yeah that would be a nice guitar... :P
Otherwise good review^^

[corruptjustice]

34 frets! hahahaha

[geluidsterroris]

The first thing I love about this guitar, 34 frets. I just can't Live with 22 frets, it's impossible.

[ISM]

I've got a RG370DX but the tremelo is giving me hell so I'm gonna get this; seems cool - I want a RGT6EXFX but thats loadsa money lol.

MVL.

[gconry18]

I got this guitar 2 months ago and i love it !!!!

[gconry18]

Strange that mine only has 24 frets thought... who did u sleep with to get the extra 10? lol. Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park also uses this guitar.

[ibryant0915]

yeah I noticed that right after I posted it but... apparently there's no way to edit a review.

[Whiskky]

Just a little question, that may actually newbish...

If I change pickups, I will still be able to use all the 5 pickup switches, right?

[Whiskky]

*that may actually sound newbish

[ISM]

Mine should be coming next week!

MVL.

[LLink]

It is really good guitar!!!

[Runow]

I guess i have changed my mind. I'll get this one instead of a GRG. It's not much more expensive than it and this review sounds really promising...

[Cog]

Whiskky wrote:
If I change pickups, I will still be able to use all the 5 pickup switches, right?

as long as the new pickups are wired in exactly the same way as the originals, because this guitar has coil taps you will need to make sure you buy replacement pickups that have a four conductor wire

[rayq78]

dude thats an alien guitar!!MIB 34 frets!!

[Blood-stained]

To be honest, I first bought this one for the finish.

[Cog]

two volume knobs (which are wired in series, meaning you might as well have only one)

one of them is a tone knob, not volume

[sebaluengo]

i'm thinking in buy this guitar but this has a fixed bridge so i'm thinking to buy an grg370 fm what do you think about the edge 3 bridge?

greetings

[hauntthesky]

I bought one loved it, sold it in time of need.
now im going to buy another!

this guitar is ****ing exellent.

[smokin_joe]

Cog wrote:


one of them is a tone knob, not volume

The wiring was screwed on mine.

[leviticus_22953]

i own one. great for the money. i got it as a graduation gift and it is my main guitar up to now. i love the fixed bridge since it stays in tune, unlike my other guitar with a tremolo.the infinity pickups are great. the only thing i don't like is the tarnished chrome hardware...anyway, its a great guitar..

[leviticus_22953]

i own one. great for the money. i got it as a graduation gift and it is my main guitar up to now. i love the fixed bridge since it stays in tune, unlike my other guitar with a tremolo.the infinity pickups are great. the only thing i don't like is the tarnished chrome hardware...anyway, its a great guitar..

[Mickydoos]

Stupid question, which is better the rg321mh or the rgr321ex?

im considering both, but seeing as one is mahoghany and the other is basswood as well as the pickup difference.

Just wanna know if anyone has played both and got an opinion? =D

cheers

[drol_52]

i've got one and it's awesome-glad i got it and not anything else. looks amazing aswell!

[Skillful Kai]

It's a great guitar

[Jammez]

yay my first reviews here

[ShredBane]

does anybody's chrome guarding the pickups oxidise (change to a darker colour) in places? cos my bridge one is lol

[bokma]

I bought one of thise used...

Rusty pick-ups
Damaged scratched up finish

I LOVE IT

[alecs90]

Ah, that was really quick! Good job UG. If anyone wants to know I meant progressive metal there and the guitar was 250 euros

[alecs90]

oh, yeah, it,s Korg not Kong and Vox not Vex; how the hell did these mistakes get here?!...