I was at Standard Value today, Mike has the
RG321MH in stock. Somebody decided to buy this guitar & I managed to get a closer look at the instrument while Mike was doing a pre-purchase set up. I had come across this model earlier this year at Swee Lee & was impressed with the overall QC manifested by the
Indonesian factory hands. The fact that the subsequent batch of guitars procured by Standard Value maintained the impressive QC standards, implies that the good people over at the Indonesian plant had good supervision in this aspect, consistency is also a key reflection of what the instrument has to offer. I own the pre-2008 Korean make & the following are some comparison notes:
- Fretboard edges are superbly finished. The Korean model did manifest an equally high standard of finishing but it's quite evident that some extra steps had been taken with the Indonesian version as the edges are stain-free as well
- The mahogany used for the body has close-grained pores, compared to the Korean. Is this better per se? It's not quite aparent but a close-pored plank gives off a tighter punch (bottom end) to the discerning ears (please do not stethescope your guitar body to convince yourself). Ditto the fretboard wood, much lesser dry spots seen on the Indo units.
- The nut of the Indonesian is also well slotted- the models I've tried (since March '08), which include the RGRs are all good production materials, minimal choking noted.
There's been much fanfare with Korean guitars but as proven here, having instruments made elsewhere does not sacrifice production standards, in fact, it's been one-up with the Chinese & Indonesian Ibanez makes.
Gave my RG321 a cleaning up:
Connected my pocketPOD to the Mini Twin today & that's the set up I maintained throughout the day. The PP managed to manifest itself well through the amp's very small speakers which goes to show that this device overpowers the amps it's attached to- which ever speaker/ amp hosting the PP would sound like the PP...
I've been playing with the above set-up for nearly a week. It's amp-free, totally devoid of any tube-enhancing ear candy but more importantly, it remains attractive. There are many ways to acquire a favoured tone, it's just that some people think certain employments are more righteous than the rest.
Just finished playing the set-up above. Sound Drive & Biyang are relative unknowns but good does not necessarily equals boutique. However, the good are most of the time well-known because reputation breeds mentioning.
Hey, Dad! While you were away at work, I had this cool tap harmonics thing coming along- you know, when you pluck the E-A-D strings at the 24th fret then thumb & index finger the E string's 15th & 12th fret respectively while you let the rest of the open notes ring, it has a very sweet chime to it. I think it's something Antonio Forcione would have played but he's playing an acoustic anyway... say dad, when can I get my own guitar?
