Re-list: Ibanez XH300 (SOLD)

 Once upon a time, I listed this guitar for sale.

The guitar neck has manifested a separation line as seen above. The potential buyer was aware of this but he could not pay me immediately so I removed this guitar from all for-sale listings. Months later, he's not interested in the guitar any more. He cited potential repair costs & re-sale value for backing out. I have no idea why this re-surfaced after knowing & accepting the flaw initially. I set this aside for the buyer out of good will in the midst of having other active interests for this guitar. Sometimes, I feel that I'm being too nice to people only for such things to happen. If you have been played out before, you would know how I feel now. 

Folks, if you see an instrument listed with an 'as is' detail, it means that, if you agree to purchase, you have accepted whatever disclosure & this should not be used to further mitigate the situation. Be a gentleman, just say you do not wish to deal any more (for whatever reasons), do not re-visit mitigating details which you yourself have accepted initially. If contract law details are enforced strictly in this case, you know where you stand. Then again, going the legal route to resolve such small claims is futile. I'm not selling this for profit, please understand, I am unemployed, have a medical condition & medical bills to pay.

• Selling as is: Ibanez XH300 (bag included)
• Please note the neck separation line as indicated above
• Pickups are high output models taken off a Schecter (I can't remember which one, apologies)
• No reservations / trades
• Query / confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Price: $270 (final)

Selling: Ibanez Halberd (XH300)

I'm re-listing this for sale, the Ibanez Halberd XH300 (bag included). There were issues with the former Seymour Duncan Distortion in there, together with the neck humbucker (Duncan Jazz), they were replaced by the high output blade type pickups you see above. 

Please note the above; the wood joint has expanded causing the line you see there so it's priced to clear. Thanks for understanding my price is final - chemo funding continues.

• Selling: Ibanez XH300 (bag included)
• Mod: High output blade type pickups
• No reservations / trades
• Self-collect: CCK / Yew Tee mrt station
• Queries / confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Price: $350 (final)

Glaive- deactivated

One of the reasons why I seldom play this one is because it sports a pair of in-house Ibanez CAP active humbuckers. My ears are a little fatigued listening to such responses not that those CAP pickups were under-performing (certainly not!) but because I don't fancy such manifestations.

Made a quick trip to Beez's yesterday to have these replace the CAPs: PATB Distortion (b)/ Jazz (n). A rather peculiar pairing of a menacing bridge model with a reserved neck counterpart. Not really. Seymour Duncan's Jazz (SH-2) humbucker should not be overlooked to deliver outstanding lead tones just because it's labelled to project a reserved demeanour. It's one of those versatile pickups equally adept in clean as well as driven tones. And then some in semi-hollow guitars.

The X-series weapons model are extinct now. They can be identified easily at the headstock less the early Xiphos models which were cataloged without that specific label. 

A quick cuppa before heading home.

FYI, the rest of the family members seen here. These were definitely interesting additions to the Ibanez fold but there were very few takers & it's all about the outlines. Ibanez fans are still hardcore when it comes to the RG. It remains to be the manufacturer's formidable model in terms of sales & no frills offering when it comes to design pleasantries. 

Shoutout to brother Joshua- good to have met you at Beez's! 

Ibanez: Ghost weapons

I was expecting this to happen- the Ibanez 'weapons' models (seen here T-B: Falchion/ Glaive/ Halberd) have been discontinued for 2014. The only remaining member is the Xiphos whose availability is restricted to regional distributions. Also, Mick Thompson has the Glaive under his name & hopefully it would live on in that line of production. With no firm ambassadors & very limited options, this trio of guitars was destined for the archives. Kinda sad because I see this as the manufacturer's avenue in dealing with extroverted outlines but there's simply no extended marketing for this. I believe many of us prefer to tread the BC Rich path when it comes to such designs. Treasure yours if you have them :-)

Ibanez: Halberd (Part 6)

This tune-o-matic type bridge belongs to my Ibanez Halberd; proof that even hardware for Chinese production models are out-sourced wares.

Ibanez: Halberd (Part 5)

I've talked about shimming & neck tilt recently & my Ibanez Halberd here obviously has a tilted neck. The evidence is rather clear from the pic above. Will check for any shimming done to this guitar on its next string change.

Ibanez: Halberd (Part 4)

There's no hiding the fact that the Halberd's headstock is the defunct Iceman's, beveled at the tip to make it arguably 'different' but there's no escaping the history.

Over on the flip-side, the serial number wasn't pasted immaculately on its spatial allocation but that's the least of my concern. Yes, I have yet to remove those plastic lining on the tuner's machine covers, might do that on the next string change. 

I've shown the front, this is the body's rear. Just have to say that things are really neat so it gave a sense of victory upon purchase knowing this isn't a higher tier offering. The Halberd's entire outline is a little excessive so it isn't an optimum option for a small-bodied person, I won't recommend this for your kids. That said, the Halberd sits well on your lap & has great balance but the upper horn, extends a little higher than the average guitar of similar make (eg: RG/ S-Series). I kept checking my posture while playing, preventing it from getting too up there; it's threatening to jab my shoulder blades. No such irritation when playing it strapped on, though.

Ibanez: Halberd (Part 3)

This was what became of the Halberd's innards after the active circuitry was removed. The scratches you see at the input jack area were present when I snipped the wires off. The battery compartment was also removed (tell-tale sings: 2 screw holes there) but it wouldn't get in the way should it be left in tact. Sparse controls? Definitely, there's only a 3-way pickup selector in the middle of the cavity & a push-pull coil split switch which doubles as the volume control. No Orange Drop cap needed here as there are no tone control for its application. Do note that the wood at this part of the instrument is rather porous, no amount of white paint could quite cover & level the surface.

The push-pull coil tap switch- since there is no tone control here, this switch proved useful in keeping some tonal variations in check.

But I am enjoying my pickups' very open tone in the mean time, good to hear something different at work. The pickups in there: Duncan's Distortion (bridge) & Jazz (neck). I could dial in much bass for both pickups & still obtain note clarity. I would say it's partly attributable to the pickups' default voicings as well as the absence of any capacitors in the circuitry. I get the 'right' results having Duncans in my guitars, this is no exception.

Ibanez: Halberd- the real finish

This is the Ibanez Halberd- pic's taken off the manufacturer's homepage. You'd thought that the darker hue surrounding the body bevel was a lighting effect.

But it's actually a shade of grey, not quite apparent from the manufacturer's online snapshot. You didn't see wrong, I swapped the default pickups to Duncans.

Ibanez: Halberd (Part 2)

This is the default electronics in Ibanez's Halberd model; the wires belong to the guitar's CAP-LZ pickups, the active relay system & batteries. It's rather cramped, no room for even a small snake to slither through.

Default batteries- China's Golden Power brand.

These are the CAP-LZ pickups up close. I find them accceptable tone-wise, not as inviting as an EMG but equally menacing. I have the same set of pickups in the Glaive so doing away with them here wasn't a loss.

Ibanez: Halberd

As Twitted (or should that be Twittered), my next guitar is a weapon- Ibanez Halberd. A Halberd is a medieval weapon akin to an axe/ hammer hybrid; a side which cuts, the other, punctures. By the time you read this, I'd be on my way to Beez's to replace the default pickups- having Duncans in there.

Activity recommendations

Can you, for the love of your sub-$1K budget, get an impressive guitar equipped with active pickups? I'd recommend you check these 3 out:

UNO: War Zone 1

This is simply a wonderful player. One more time- UNO's War Zone is an impressive player, for less than $850. For any guitars with active pickups on board, we'd do well to keep in mind that they will overpower the instruments' natural resonance. But those active TESLA pickups in there get my vote for being some of the most appealing in both distortion & clean applications. Let's not forget that the WZ1 has great playability to boot.

Ibanez: Halberd

The Ibanez Halberd is a recent addition to the manufacturer's active pickup line-up & unlike its other counterparts mentioned here, it sports a bolt-on neck. This aside, the Halberd is a great player; top marks for playing comfort both sitting down & strapped on. The active pickups are Ibanez's own CAP-LZ models which sound above-average. The ultimate appeal for any serious, shred-worthy Ibanez guitar is definitely its neck profile. The Halberd isn't equipped wit the Wizard neck but it holds its own in terms of fretboard acceleration.

LTD: H351NT

Lastly, but not the least capable, mind you, is LTD's H351NT. It's equipped with a pair of EMGs so it won't go wrong. If you wish for a guitar with lots of good active tones, great playability AND good looks, the H351 is it. For a limited period, Davis GMC is offering the whammy bridge version for the same price as this non-whammy model.

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...

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.