December 23rd, 2008 by Andres Gallo

$125

Design

Pure genius. Well, if those two words described my entire review, I would not be too far from the truth. This amp is in my opinion probably the best practice amp for most guitarists who like to have a simple, but decent setup for home use where volume is kept constrained to avoid having “killer” neighbors.
Growing up I always wanted a big tube amp even though it would be used in my “lonesome bedroom gigs”. Turns out, for low volumes, it is better to avoid tube amps, especially huge loud ones. Tube amps will sound very tinny and fizzy at low volumes, which is why I feel this solid state amp is the greatest bedroom amp I have tried so far. For this application, the design is almost flawless. This Roland is really small, it’s built like a tank, has various effects already built in, and performs rather well. This Roland also runs batteries which makes ideal for small jams out in the park with some friends, especially if they got the same amp.

Sound

While not the best sounding amp I have ever heard, nor anywhere close, this amp sounds very very good. The amp is very small, yet it has plenty of volume for the bedroom practice application, and yet more. While I feel this amp would probably sound much more powerful with a bigger speaker, I feel the size of it is such an important feature that I feel I can’t take points away for not having a bigger speaker. With it’s small speaker unfortunately the sound lacks warmth, sounds bright, but maintains a pretty decent amount of clarity which is what I like about it.
Being a modeling amp you can get various tones with it all which may be completely different. You can go all the way from clean, to overdriven tones, to metal distortion. It also has some effects built in, which makes it a great amp for the usual bedroom guitarist who is just starting to experiment with effects. I personally think the effects are good, but lack control of their tone. I wish there was some kind of tap tempo button for the delay for example. That is just me being nitpicky, however. This amp sounds great, and has lots of useful tones, in a small package, making it very versatile.

Reliability

I have enough experience with Roland equipment to feel confident purchasing their products. The construction of their products is always top notch. This amp looks like it is built like a tank.
Who knows…with all the features it has for the price, it may have a hidden “turn to tank” button.

Customer Support

Roland has great customer support as long as you are within their warranty period. Their customer support is one of the best I have experienced.

December 5th, 2008 by Andres Gallo

$699

Design

This guitar is absolutely gorgeous. This is my favorite guitar at the moment, with the most comfortable combination of body and neck, which makes it a greatly designed guitar. The body is also made of mahogany, and the neck is a 5 piece neck with a rosewood fretboard to withstand weather changes and such. Another beauty in its design its the 5 way pickup switch which allows for a wide variety of tones.
My only gripe with this guitar is the hardware. The quality of the metal is not the hardest and requires care when locking and unlocking the strings with the allen keys. I changed the hardware on mines to an OFR and its almost perfect.

Sound

The guitar comes equipped with a pair of INF I and INF II pickups. The pickups are pretty good, especially in combination with the 5 way pickup switch which allow them to go from a good clean to a pretty nice heavy tone with lots of “oomph”. The mahogany also adds to that oomph, and helps in creating one of the sweetest sustains possible.
The lows are very powerful and the entire frequency response is very smooth. The sound has a very organic quality to it. There are better pickups out there, but the sound is surprisingly good, considering is an Ibanez made pickup. Once again the 5 way pickup switch is a really nice addition. You can get some really clean sounds with it, that are hard to get with a regular humbucker combination.

Playability

Playability like in most RGs is excellent. The Wizard II necks are one of the faster necks in the market, and the RG body only adds to the experience with its incredibly ergonomic superstrat body. This guitar is in my opinion on the most comfortable guitar in the market. It is so comfortable I recommend upgrading, since I can’t think of a more comfortable guitar.

Reliability

I have had this guitar for a long while, and everything has held up perfectly. However I changed the hardware to an OFR, and the pickups to Dimarzio D-activator X. This is one of those guitar that have such a great feel, that they are worth upgrading. Having another RG with the stock hardware I can say reliability is not an issue, unless you abuse the tremolo system.

Customer Support

Virtually non-existant. It took me a lot of work to find a way in which to communicate Ibanez. It turns out you actually call a completely different company.

December 5th, 2008 by Andres Gallo

$550

Design

There are lots of guitars in the market, but I have to say that most of them are very dull and plain looking. With the said I have to say this is one guitar which has one of the coolest paintjobs I have ever seen.

Appearance aside, this guitar has a really well done wood work. The neck is impressive especially at that price. I have to say it is one of the fastest, smoothest and fastest necks I have played on. The body is also extremely comfortable, and very balanced. Everything about the construction seems very carefully done. The only issue I have about the construction is the metal used in the screws for the locking nut. The metal is very weak and will likely lose the shape for the allen key.

Sound

The most important aspect aside from playability is the sound of course. I think the guitar sounds very good, but the clean does not sound too great, and on distortion can sound somewhat harsh. Most guitars suffer this at this price range, but everything else about this guitar is so perfect, it just hurts to see it suffer this (or more accurately hear it suffer this). I love a really clinical, yet warm clean. The sound is good enough for the price, but it could be better. A pickup change could be the needed solution for this guitar. It sounds decent, but it misses a lot of soul and life. The sound is very dry.

Playability

Here this instrument scores really high. It plays extremely well. It feels like an instrument many times its price. The neck is extremely comfortable, and fast that it is amazing at the price range. Some people may feel weird with the thin and flat feel of the neck. I however, find it to be very versatile for all kinds of techniques. What I mean by that is some techniques really benefit from the added string spacing, and the thinner neck also requires less of a grip, which makes everything smoother and quicker.

Reliability

I have had this guitar for about a year, and everything about it has held up perfectly. With that said reliability is not an issue, unless you plan to abuse the tremolo system, which can wear out with abuse.

Customer Support

Virtually non-existant. It took me a lot of work to find a way in which to communicate Ibanez. It turns out you actually call a completely different company.