Mick... Glaiving again...

Aw, shucks... they made Mick Thompson another Glaive in white. Come to think of it, he could have all the colours he wanted, he just need to say it.

Photo credit: Moocher

Mick's Glaive

Mick Thompson spotted with the (Ibanez) X-series' GLAIVE but it's a tweaked edition- reverse headstock + locking bridge.

Photo credit: Paul Harries

Ibanez X-series (Brief take 3- final instalment): Glaive

The final member of this year's new X-series is the Glaive. It's essentially a V-type guitar with a pair of crucial cutaways for great balance both sitting down & standing up. In fact, the lower cutaway is the reason it's possible to play one sitting down.

As you can see here, I got myself a white version & that bag you see there is part of the purchase package.

The Glaive sports the regular Ibanez headstock, nothing too out-going here. Do note the 'X-Series' label which differentiates it from the regular headstock.

Rear view. Not obvious from the above pic but it seems that this year, Ibanez had resorted to pasting the serial numbers on their instruments instead of printing them. All 2011 X-series instruments are made in China.

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record but just a reminder that the CAP-LZ humbuckers are active & they perform better with distortion. It's a simple affair for the Glaive, just a volume knob & a 3-way toggle switch & I'll show you why there's no tone knob.

It's because the other cavity end is housing the batteries. This is how cramp the situation is at the back.

I'm very happy with what I see & hear from all 3 X-series guitars, more importantly, the Chinese production is definitely holding up in terms of QC. The protrusive fanfare aside, the X-series are indeed practical designs when it comes to posture considerations. The Glaive lists for $970 @ Swee Lee. Thanks to Yadni @ the BB showroom for the assistance leading to the purchase of this instrument.

Summary of 2011 X-series models:

• Falchion
• Halberd
• Glaive

Other X-series models:

• Iceman
• Destroyer
• Xiphos

Ibanez X-series (Brief take 2): Halberd

The Ibanez Halberd XH300 is the other new member of the X-series this year. It's perhaps the most reserved looking model in this line-up, certainly the most feasible when it comes to playing sitting down. We can see the Halberd retaining the former Iceman headstock outline with a little beveled tip for differentiation's sake. Once you handle the Halberd, you'd be pleased with the weight, but some of us would find this disturbing when it comes to the natural bottom end resonance- it makes the instrument bright-sounding. You won't find the Les Paul bottom feeder here, definitely. Once again, the unmarked fretboard would be a little challenging to deal with; it's the standard feature of all 2011 X-series models, but the dot side markers are there to provide fundamental guidance. Any good news for clean tone fans? Not really, the CAP-LZ humbuckers are distortion bandits. The bag you see in this pic is a complementary accessory with the purchase, it should be made available to you upon payment. All 2011 X-series instruments comes with one.

Frustration

I'm still waiting for the Ibanez 2011 X-series models to be here & in the mean time, I'm further taunted by the fact that some new finishes are offered along the way- this Mars Shadow finish for the Halberd is one of them...

Falch 7

Well, the Ibanez Falchion will see a further manifestation soon as depicted above (it's currently in proto mode). The guitar sports 1 more string than it's current offering, possibly a pair of non-in house pickups & a more dependable bridge- looks like an EZ in there, yes?

Really hope the pickups are EMGs/ Duncans because if they are Ibanez's LZ pickups & we have the intention to swap them out, fitting issues await.
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PS: Blogger was under maintenance lately, as eveident here, some of the comments have disappeared. I sincerely hope they were not deleted with certain intentions. Why should I bear allegiance to a blogging website which cannot observe a full restoration after its house-keeping?

What the Falch...?

The Ibanez Falchion is one of the newest member of the X-series but the manufacturer decided to have an Edge III bridge in there when the other standard series models now sport an Edge Zero II model. No disrespect to the Edge III unit but to many of us, Ibanez just second-rated their new product by doing so. The Falchion could have just sport the non-whammy bridge like the Halberd & Glaive.

Ibanez X (Musikmesse 2011) slight return...

Fresh from Musikmesse 2011, the trio of new X-series. From top tpo bottom: Halberd/ Falchion/ Glaive. All models sport a pair of active LZ humbuckers.

Ibanez X (Musikmesse 2011)

This is a recent statement by Ibanez:

Hope there's something refreshing to be revealed then...