Antiproduct
Well-Known Member
Ibanez. Maxxas.
Or: what if Ibanez guitars were enemies in Earthbound.
Many on this forum may know them, but outside of that, this line of Ibanez is relatively unknown. Actually I wanted to write a little text here about the history of these curious guitars, but our friend @ibanezgitarrero has already taken over this almost 10 years ago and I can add little. Please read through his thread, I think he has (or had) the biggest Maxxas collection I know. He probably already had this one in his collection as well.
www.sevenstring.org
My guitar is an Ibanez Maxxas MX-2 in the color Fountain Blue. I was fascinated by the Maxxas series 15 years ago when I first learned about it. Even then, these guitars were not often available on the used market and although I was offered an MX-3 in Magma Red, I just couldn't afford it at the time. Fatal when you look at the prices nowadays. Accordingly, I was sporadically "looking" for a Maxxas in Magma Red, but couldn't say no to this offer. The price was right, the condition seemed fine. The color is not necessarily mine, but I had the money at the time and nothing could stop me.
In terms of condition, I didn't have any great expectations, so I wasn't really disappointed when the MX2 arrived in "player" condition. A few nicks and scratches here and there, the tremolo arm is unfortunately no longer original and one of the previous owners must have been a ring bearer with a decent amount of contact pressure as the fretboard has a few minor grooves. Nothing that bothers me, on the contrary even, since I do not have to feel bad to play them instead of leaving them in collector condition. The next refret will be to sand the fingerboard and it will look like new.
In terms of appearance, it roughly reminds me of a Saber or Radius, but much curvier and rounder. It's a pretty unique design that I'm not surprised to hear was just an experiment and unfortunately didn't catch on. The body is flat and shaped like a UFO, but not quite as thin as a Saber. It feels very comfortable to play. I personally really like the headstock because it is so unique in the Ibanez world.
Other than that, though, it's a typical Ibanez. The neck is about the same as a Wizard. Very comfortable to play and if you are used to Wizard necks you will feel right at home here. Interesting to note that there is already an AANJ neck joint here while my 5 year older RG770DX has a block.
The tremolo is a comfortable Edge with a Back Stop system. I can not Back Stop before and apparently it is a predecessor system of the ZPS to act. I rarely use the tremolo, so unfortunately I can not judge how well it works.
As for the pickups, according to Wiki, they are Ibanez F2 and F1 before they got the official name, which I doubt. For one thing, according to 1987 flyer Ibanez IBZ/USA HB1 are humbuckers. On the other hand, I have the original F2 humbuckers in my RG770DX and although both pickups sound very similar, I don't think they are identical.
The IBZ/USA have slightly less output than the F2 and have no F-Spacing. I like the sound, although I would like a little more compression.
In summary, it is a truly unique guitar that I am glad to have the chance to play and own. It is a small piece of Ibanez history that I hold in my hands.
Or: what if Ibanez guitars were enemies in Earthbound.
Many on this forum may know them, but outside of that, this line of Ibanez is relatively unknown. Actually I wanted to write a little text here about the history of these curious guitars, but our friend @ibanezgitarrero has already taken over this almost 10 years ago and I can add little. Please read through his thread, I think he has (or had) the biggest Maxxas collection I know. He probably already had this one in his collection as well.
MAXXAS - A Division of Ibanez (pics, infos, discussion)
Dear Ibanez fans, I would like to share my MAXXAS collection with you. It comprises all seven available model and color combinations plus, as the icing on the cake, the prototype of the 29-fret MX5BK. It all started out in October 2004 when I got my first MX and the set was finally complete...
www.sevenstring.org My guitar is an Ibanez Maxxas MX-2 in the color Fountain Blue. I was fascinated by the Maxxas series 15 years ago when I first learned about it. Even then, these guitars were not often available on the used market and although I was offered an MX-3 in Magma Red, I just couldn't afford it at the time. Fatal when you look at the prices nowadays. Accordingly, I was sporadically "looking" for a Maxxas in Magma Red, but couldn't say no to this offer. The price was right, the condition seemed fine. The color is not necessarily mine, but I had the money at the time and nothing could stop me.
In terms of condition, I didn't have any great expectations, so I wasn't really disappointed when the MX2 arrived in "player" condition. A few nicks and scratches here and there, the tremolo arm is unfortunately no longer original and one of the previous owners must have been a ring bearer with a decent amount of contact pressure as the fretboard has a few minor grooves. Nothing that bothers me, on the contrary even, since I do not have to feel bad to play them instead of leaving them in collector condition. The next refret will be to sand the fingerboard and it will look like new.
In terms of appearance, it roughly reminds me of a Saber or Radius, but much curvier and rounder. It's a pretty unique design that I'm not surprised to hear was just an experiment and unfortunately didn't catch on. The body is flat and shaped like a UFO, but not quite as thin as a Saber. It feels very comfortable to play. I personally really like the headstock because it is so unique in the Ibanez world.
Other than that, though, it's a typical Ibanez. The neck is about the same as a Wizard. Very comfortable to play and if you are used to Wizard necks you will feel right at home here. Interesting to note that there is already an AANJ neck joint here while my 5 year older RG770DX has a block.
The tremolo is a comfortable Edge with a Back Stop system. I can not Back Stop before and apparently it is a predecessor system of the ZPS to act. I rarely use the tremolo, so unfortunately I can not judge how well it works.
As for the pickups, according to Wiki, they are Ibanez F2 and F1 before they got the official name, which I doubt. For one thing, according to 1987 flyer Ibanez IBZ/USA HB1 are humbuckers. On the other hand, I have the original F2 humbuckers in my RG770DX and although both pickups sound very similar, I don't think they are identical.
The IBZ/USA have slightly less output than the F2 and have no F-Spacing. I like the sound, although I would like a little more compression.
In summary, it is a truly unique guitar that I am glad to have the chance to play and own. It is a small piece of Ibanez history that I hold in my hands.
