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Ibanez RG 1570

 

Review of the Ibanez RG 1570 by The Man in the Jar

Features of the Ibanez RG 1570

Tuners - Sealed Gotohs which are finished in a sexy polished chrome. Small knobs make for quick easy tuning action. 

Headstock - Pointy, scalpel-like profile common to much of the Ibanez range. The black face bears the logo "Prestige Ibanez". 

Nut - Standard locking nut arrangement with three units that lock the strings in pairs (once the Floyd is set up and the tuning is stabilised). On this model the strings dive under a bar on their way to the tuning capstans. This adds useful tension over the nut whilst setting the guitar up but is of course redundant once the nut is fully locked.   

Neck - This three-piece maple bolt-on neck is astonishingly thin. So much so that Ibanez have moulded in a protruding heel on the back of the neck directly behind the nut to add strength at this vital junction. This has to be the thinnest and fastest neck I've come across in a long time. Ibanez really do seem to be the manufacturer to beat when it comes to superbly playable necks.  

Fretboard - The rosewood fingerboard has a good grain and quite small dot markers.

Frets - Large rounded frets that are well polished for really easy bending. The size of the fret-wire does make the available rosewood a trifle cramped up at the 24th fret - fat fingers beware!

Action - Not as low from the box as I've seen on other Ibanez models, but the extreme slimness of the neck makes it very playable despite this. Do some tweaks to the string height down at the bridge and you'll get yourself a veritable shred-monster.

Body - The ultra-pointy-horned slab body is made from basswood. This makes for a nice light body that feels very comfortable on the strap. The contouring on the back and the face mimic the contouring found on any Strat-style guitar. The finish is an intriguing effect which looks like millions of tiny wire clippings encapsulated under the lacquer. This gives a kind of fuzzy or furry look when the light catches it. 

Bridge - This is the Ibanez version of the Floyd in all its engineered scariness. Your first encounter with a Floyd can an intimidating experience. Read our article on how to set up a Floyd Rose trem and you should be alright.

Pickups - Here we've got a Humbucker - Single Coil - Humbucker combination which promises a lot of flexibility. Even the Humbuckers are differing types (Ibanez V7 and Ibanez V8) although both are open-coil. 

Controls - One volume and one tone. The five way pickup selector gives the following options:

Position 1: Bridge humbucker;
Position 2: Bridge humbucker tapped plus middle single coil (ie two single coils are live);
Position 3: Middle single coil;
Position 4: Neck humbucker tapped plus middle single coil (ie two single coils are live);
Position 5: Neck Humbucker.

Strap-buttons - Great big dinner-plates of strap buttons set in the top horn and the bottom of the body. Safe as houses!

Output Jack - Set in the lower edge of the body, nicely countersunk in its own circular retaining nut.

Finish - The colouring of this guitar is quite unique, I've certainly never seen anything like it. Despite my rather lurid description it is quite a discreet effect which looks like a solid colour from a distance. The standard of finish overall is excellent.

 

Sound of the Ibanez RG 1570 

Position 1: The bridge humbucker delivers a full throaty rock sound which screams and sustains for lead runs and crunches beautifully for rhythm playing;
Position 2: Quite a middly sound full of satisfying chunkiness for rhythm playing;
Position 3: A surprisingly tense middle sound that responds beautifully to palm-muted chops;
Position 4: Here we find Strat-like tones that are almost Tele-esque in their crispness;
Position 5: This is darker humbucker territory where the overdriven metal-heads will spend most of their drop-tuned time. 

 

Overall Impressions of the Ibanez RG 1570 

The palette of voices available from this guitar is quite astounding. I can't imagine needing anything more for rock, metal or even funk and disco guitar sounds. The Floyd works like a charm (as always) so shredders will find everything they need in this instrument, especially that slinky slim neck that challenges you to do your best cuts that little bit faster. 

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