I had an Ibanez RG3EX1QM that was really nice! I have played some that were pretty shitty but the one I had was worth the cash. The pickups in it suck and you may need to finish the fret ends.
Well, I'd go for the second one... Not only does it look better, but it has a mahogany+maple body, which is a great classic combination for monster tone (think Gibson Les Paul). The other is the usual basswood that Ibanez uses on most RGs, which I find rather bland. Not sure about the 'Designed by EMG' pickups... I guess they're okay. However, looking at the Ibanez website, they say it's just regular V7/V8 pickups, not EMGs? http://www.ibanez.com/ElectricGuitars/model-RGR421EXFM Wouldn't be a problem, the V7/V8 actually sound quite nice in mahogany, good classic rock tone.
I think on the newer purple model its going to come with the V7/V8 combo but on the older red model it comes with the EMG Designed. I'm a little leary as to how these are going to sound. How about the necks on either of them?
The new RGA looks pretty sweet, but the other two are under $400 and i'm not really looking to spend more than that right now. im looking for the best bang for the buck...
I played the flame maple top model a little while ago and it was not a bad guitar for the price. Played fairly well, although I still prefer the Wizard I neck's flatter radius. The older model that had the EMG designed, IMO, actually didn't sound as good as the V7/V8 set. For playing full on death metal and needing maximum clarity the V7/V8 are not the best, but for playing single note leads I find them fairly good (if not great) and they are very quiet too hum-wise, they seem to be well designed.
A caveat about the 321MH though it's really prone to dents dings and chips if your not careful, fuck my stand put dents on the bottom, FOAM COVERED GUITAR STAND ARMS! And mine needs a setup badly and the fret ends done. As it stands now mine's pretty face palm worthy.
I haven't dented mine. It would be odd if mahogany dented more than basswood I think. I do like the look of the 321mh over most the other cheap models.
The fret ends on mine are a little sharp, and the fret job isn't perfect, but it's about as cheap as an Ibby gets and I believe it's made in the same place as most. I think I got a decent one. I played many cheap Ibbies around here, some were worse.
ive owned the RG2EX1, and for $299 its a pretty decent ibanez. the fret ends were a little rough, but that can be fixed very easily, and I had bought one right after they came out, they were equipped with the EMG/Ibanez pickups, which were horrible IMO, swapped out with some Seymour Duncans, and this guitar sounded huge, nice low action, handled low tunings very well, good quality finish. I owned, practiced and gigged with this guitar for pretty close to a year and a half and when i sold it to my brother, it still looked brand spanking new. The white binding will fade to a dull yellowish color quite fast though.
after a pickup swap, this guitar is a very good buy.
so now there are a few little things affecting my choice. The rg2ex1 has v7/v8 and a 5 way selector which is good. and a sorta plain but decent finish. Now the 421 although looks better has what im afraid is crappier pickups and only a 3 way selector. but 421 is mahogany, and i haven't come across many mahogany ibanezs lately.
so im still debating............keep the info coming
Honestly if you can score a older used RG 550 or 570 on ebay it'll be miles better than the Indo stuff. Not to steer you away of course I'm sure an Indo RG will be a good machine with some love.