Duncanized

Was at Beez's today to get pickups wired up for this one - RG565.

Nothing wrong with the default Ibanez pickups actually. In fact I've kept it in tact since Day 1 & tried my very best to like it. Unfortunately, after countless bitter episodes (tone-related), having my preferred pickups in there would certainly end this misery: Seymour Duncan Cool Rails (N) / PATB-2 (B). There is a dichotomized embrace out there with regards to the default pickups. Some say they sound more than decent, while others lobby for an immediate replacement. I agree with both opinions. The deafult Ibanez pickups sound perfectly acceptable if you run your guitar into a Quad Cortex / Tone Master or any of the contemporary digital processors. However, if you are the plug-&-play type (like yours truly), the pickups sound very underwhelming. 

Do note that the PATB models have this TREMBUCKER etching on the underside of the pickup's baseplate & does not sport the three holes in the mounting flap unlike its other TB siblings.

Price watch (97)

Folks, the Ibanez RG565 (Genesis Series) is not a Prestige Model. Once upon a time, the initial batch of Genesis guitars were marketed as a Prestige lineup. Shortly after, Ibanez removed the Prestige association from the Genesis range. The RG565 was never part of this initial categorization.

On that note, the Genesis models, the RG565 listed above included, are indeed bang-for-the-buck Japanese guitars that reflect outstanding QC. Just because it's made in Japan, it does not automatically become a Prestige model. I have nothing against anyone selling a good Ibanez Genesis RG either.

Monday (laser) blues

Monday with nothing much to do. Brought this out to play. I have very few Ibanez guitars with original pickups in tact, this is one of them - RG565 in laser blue finish. 

I seldom buy coated strings, I must have bought this one some time back. It was in one of my guitar bags. A quick re-string.

I'm back to using a slightly smaller pick in an attempt to change my picking ergonomics. Seems to work on days when I'm not angry. Anyway, this is the Mini Coffin pick, custom made by Northern Ghost guitar picks (Canada).

Orange Sunday

After a quick lunch out, it's back to spending time indoors. Today's guitar of choice - Ibanez RG565.

Before that, a quick re-string. GHS 9s, purchased last year from the City Music year-end promo. I also had to clean the bridge as it's a little mouldy. That's right; there's mould there & I wonder how that happened considering I always wipe down after play. Suspect it's something to do with the bag...

Pickups in here: Seymour Duncan Custom Custom / Cool Rails. The CC is one of my Top 5 Seymour Duncan pickup for its sheer clarity & fantastic interaction with intense distortion. Cool Rails - basically a '59 re-interpretation in blade type format. 

And finally, an orange pedal to match an orange guitar. Very little solos played today, mostly focused on riffs. Lately, I feel that my right hand performance is slackening a little, not as fast as it used to be. One word: OLD. Wishing everyone a good week ahead - final week of February.

565!

We begin July with the knowledge that the Ibanez RG565 is still in production. Two new colours are introduced to this part of the world - the Laser Blue... 

... & the Vampire Kiss. These were already available in the US market since some months ago & I see this as an extension of its popularity to the SEA side. 

On that note, the two previous offerings, orange & emerald green, are now discontinued. Whatever you see in the shops in the mean time are the final few units. I hope these new colours make it here soon to escape the GST hike. In any case, expect a slight increase in prices soon - sooner than expected. 😔

Pics: Ibanez 

I prefer Duncans

I always annoy the heck out of Ibanez dweebs by showing them my Duncan equipped guitars. More often than not, it ended up killing any conversations about the brand. There seems to be an unwritten law stating that Ibanez guitars should feature DiMarzios, everything else is unworthy. Well, Ibanez make it a point to vary their offerings throughout the years with the defunct SZ Series & the current AZ models featuring Seymour Duncan pickups largely. There are newer models with Bare Knuckles in them as well. You have to blame the hair metal days of relentless shredding when Ibanez endorsers were seen with DiMarzios in their guitars. If you plug into a computer & your life depends on digital emulations, the pickups don't really matter. 

Anyway, my RG565 above feature a pair of Seymour Duncans; the Custom Custom (b) & Cool Rails (n). The CC is my lesser known go-to pickups. It's a hot-sounding humbucker running on weaker magnets with the default EQ not featuring a scooped default setting; absolutely my kinda tone to begin with. The rest is about tinkering & discovering what works best. The Cool Rails is basically a '59 in a single coil size with blades instead of pole pieces. Unlike a true blue '59, the Cool Rails is a little hotter & that's what I like about this pickup in the neck; the hotter output guarantees clarity.

I'm a little angry today & it intruded into my mood at home. The angry shade of orange here best reflects my temper for the day.

Revived

You read about this RG565 here: CLICK. This was brought down to Beez yesterday. I kept thinking about it, it bothered me.

Beez took a look at the wiring & managed to diagnose the issue in like 5min. Since the guitar works when both pickups are activated, it means the pickups are good, no issues with those. Next, since the neck position is not working, he reversed the wiring; the bridge pickup is now in selector position 3, where the neck option used to be. Still no sound in position 3. Implication - the wiring at that position needed looking into. Beez just replaced the wire there & it's good to go. 

Pickups in this guitar: DiMarzio Super Distortion (b) / Half Track (n)

Monday blues

Monday blues in its absolute sense: 1) Playing a blue guitar on a Monday. But the manufacturer says this is green, not blue. 2) The neck pickup is not working. I don't want to to talk about it. 

Goodbye, February...

Laser vampire

It's not in my nature to constantly check American web stores for Ibanez stuff. Sweetwater has an exclusive deal for the RG565, the finishes you see here are exclusive to them. I have a feeling these will be made into standard offerings come 2022 seeing how popular this model is. Also, we might see additions to the Genesis range unless the J-Line models take over as international offerings.

5 for 2

Ibanez likes to equip their dual humbucking guitars with a 5-way selector. An example is depicted above.

This is what the selector does to the guitar. You get the standard function in position 1, 3 & 5. In position 2, only one coil from each humbucker is activated & combined, a typical application if you are familiar with the Telecaster. In position 4, the neck humbucker is in parallel mode, this means, you get a slightly different output coming from the pickup, resulting in a different tone. That's right, it's still in humbucking mode, not a single coil & you can't get the single coil twang from this option.

The switching option above refers to the RG565. Some of us are reliant on only positions 1, 3 & 5. We don't venture into single coil / tapped output tones with a guitar like an RG because we know this would sound better in other guitars. Also, positions 2 & 4 get in the way & might lead to confusion during quick flicks - are we already in positions 1 / 5 or did we land on 2 / 4 instead?

To be continued...

Pics: Ibanez Japan

Ibanez RG565: Post-review

Someone emailed me asking if the new RG565 neck (L) is stronger than the original 90s version (R). Neck constructions differ across manufacturers, it depends on their manufacturing philosophy. As opposed to strength being the concern here, we are actually referring to durability. The current 565 neck is a maple-walnut 5-piece construction. The original features an all maple construction. Before I proceed, let's be clear that we are looking at how many wood types were used to make the neck, it's not about how many pieces of wood actually make up the neck.

By having walnut in the current 565 construction, it means that within the neck composition itself, the two types of wood will react differently to temperature changes & shock, among other considerations. The implication here is that, should the maple react adversely under a set of trying conditions, the walnut will not follow suit. This is the clear advantage; the two wood types re-inforcing each other's well being so to speak. This will not happen if the neck composition only consists of one wood type. There is no counter-checking by another wood type to reduce or negate adversity altogether. 

I've talked to fellow guitar enthusiasts who clearly do not understand this construction approach. They will choose a single wood affair saying it's nicer. Nothing wrong with this opinion if looks mean everything to you, not durability. The other queer comment is, the fact that one wood type requires a reinforcement by another, it shows that the dominant wood type is problematic to begin with, the reason the other is used to stabilize the situation. If this is the case, manufacturers lack wisdom in choosing that dominant wood type back at the factory & we wonder why they choose to start with a problem as it would translate to recovery costs along the way.

Have a good Saturday, folks. Stay virus-free 😎

Pics: Ibanez

Review: Ibanez RG565 (Genesis)

Once again, the Ibanez Genesis series take us through nostalgia with the RG565. The guitar is currently offered in two very striking finishes; the Fluorescent Orange (seen above) & Emerald Green which had been deemed to be blue by many eyes. The Genesis range is still deprived of any complementary bag or hard case despite being a Japanese model. Deserving nostalgia or commercial regurgitation? Let’s dive into some details.

 

Construction / fit / finish

I’ll give it to you straight – the RG565 is a typical Japanese guitar that exudes quality despite not being in the higher tier of the Japanese craftsmanship. This is all intentional of course as part of the plan was to keep prices down hence the absence of a bag / case & the use of in-house pickups. The rest of the guitar’s attributes are simply a class act; very well finished body & headstock, frets which are firmly in place & a quality maple neck with no shrinkage at appraisal time. If you trawl cyberspace, one of the primary blemishes of the RG565, documented by a certain review video, is fret sprouting & none manifested here. Thanks largely to our climate, of course, no extreme temperatures to influence adverse wood reaction. 

 

I must also give credit to the hardware. The nameless tuners are quality products & these might be manufactured by Gotoh because they feel & perform like Gotohs; responsive & getting the job done without issues. The Edge bridge looks the works as well, again, these might be overseen by Gotoh for all we know. Don’t take my word for it but it’s a versed guess as Gotohs appear in many Ibanez instruments even in selected non-Japanese models. There is only a minor blemish; the blade type, single coil-sized neck pickup displayed a scratched rail surface. It goes from one end to the other & I feel it’s worth mentioning considering this is a brand new instrument. Other than this, everything is good & issue-free.

 

Rating: 89%

 

Playability

Let’s not hide the fact that the RG565, in its heyday, was a shred-type extraordinaire. The skinny neck is a fine testimony to that appeal & the fact that this review model shows no issues in construction / fitting, it is easily the best highlight of the guitar. The typical RG body has no excessive aerodynamics (less the belly cut & elbow relief) to complement playability; it’s just there making you feel comfortable while you are busy speeding or getting angry. There are no design updates to the RG565, everything that worked from Day 1 was brought over but do note the slight difference in neck construction. The current neck details feature a 5-piece (maple – walnut) attachment, voluted at the angled headstock-neck area. The original construction was a single piece maple unit which saw a quarter-sawn iteration subsequently & volute-free for both versions. Down the road, our encounters with Fender guitars (& its variants) had taught us how to deal with upper fret access when it comes to blocky heel joints. Rightfully, the one featured here should not be an issue. The irony of it all; this block joint was the staple of shredders back then. To top it all off, there’s plenty of picking room due to the absence of a middle pickup & a less intrusive, single coil-sized neck humbucker.

 

Rating: 95%

 

Tone

Some Ibanez campers will take issue with the fact that the original HB2 – SB1 pickups were not brought over to the current version. The current V8 – Infinity R humbuckers were chosen instead. A personal encounter with the V8 in other RGs over the years had me in some reservations when it comes to distortion applications. The V8 is not a high output humbucker that will go into beast mode in such situations but it handles driven settings pretty well. I would say that the sonic properties here are that of a medium output, contemporary PAF-type pickup without an excessively polished top end. The neck pickup manifests an angrier overall voicing (it sounds hotter than the bridge pickup to me) & has good single note definition for solos. It also fares better in clean mode than its rather gagged bridge counterpart. I had the opportunity to run it through chorus & reverb – above average tones, definitely. To sum up the tone performance, be reminded that the guitar is equipped with a 5-way selector. Positions 2 & 4 feature a parallel neck pickup performance & split coil tones (both pickups) respectively. If you think it’s all humbucking with this one then it’s definitely not the case. Due to its in-house quality, the compounded pickup performance may not be appealing to many of us compared to our preferred brands (DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan, et al) but junk pickups these are not. Oh, that treble bleed feature at the volume pot is definitely an awesome consideration. 

 

Rating: 90%

 

Conclusion

Being a big fan of Ibanez & highly anticipating this guitar’s availability, I must say the RG565 is a good throwback to all things shred & high gain. The instrument’s different neck construction here adds strength to that all familiar lure for speed. On that note, plus the different pickups on board this time round, the RG565 is not a true re-issue but a deserving close reproduction; very close indeed. This is an ace instrument if you are treading the distortion path as cleans are clearly not its forte. It is for high octane rock and beyond; the further you venture into the unknown, the better.

 

Overall rating: 90%

PS: Thank you store manager, Faizal & the great Swee Lee Star Vista team for letting me try the guitar for appraisal. You guys are great.

Likes

·      Neck profile is true to the original

·      Excellent fit & fitting

·      Treble bleed feature

·      5-way selector to exploit single coil / tapped output tones

 

Dislikes 

·      In-house pickups

·      Bag not included

·      Scratched neck pickup

Ibanez RG565 (Genesis)
Availability: Swee Lee Co. 

List: $1,399

Price watch (14)

So the new RG565 is $100 more than the RG550. I was expecting an equal affair. The 565 has one less pickup & no pickguard. Ideally, this should warrant some cost considerations back at the factory which would possibly translate into a lesser asking price than what it's listing for now. But we need to factor in inflation / exchange rates along the way as some would opine.

Elsewhere, it's an equal listing. One more time, I'm not here to tell distributors how much certain instruments should be selling for, they have their operational reasons to do so. Some of us are fond of keeping prices in check. In the mean time both the 565 & 550 are reasonably priced, no daylight robbery to report. 

Pics: Swee Lee / Thomann

Gen 565

 

This is easily the key highlight at the close of 2020 - Ibanez reintroduces the RG565 as a Genesis model. This means you get a Japanese made instrument at its most affordable. However, since the J-line series aren't here yet, those might just be the most affordable of the no-frills Japanese offerings.

The 565 should embrace the 550 details & would miss that 're-issue' tag owing to the neck construction; it's a contemporary 5-piece parallel attachment with a neck volute. All in all, it's good to see more Genesis models making the fold & I believe Ibanez fans out there would want to see other models inducted into this range of instruments; some S-models would be good. 

PICS: Ibanez

Wish it was back (Part 1)

I wish the Ibanez RG565 is resurrected because it's definitely my kinda guitar; maple fretboard + 2 pickup combo- I'd swap the neck unit there with a single coil, though. The missing ingredients in many electric guitar designs today are simplicity & functionality.