NGD: Ibanez PIA 3761 Onyx Black

[IbanezDaemon]

Was on the fence about these when they first came out....probably edging towards not liking them. A lot of that was probably seeing the new 'petal grip' and those damn Liberace-esque engraved pickups. I'm still not sure if I like them...very tempted to drop a set of gold BKP's in this but I will wait and see if I can warm to them a bit. So basically with this being the replacement for the Jem models it does share a good few similarities, still has the lions claw and the scalloped 21-24 frets. The body is more rounded off/sculpted and the fretboard inlay whilst at first glance looking like the tree of life is subtly different. The new Di Marzio Utopia's sound pretty good and has a push/pull option for a high pass filter....I reckon that gives a good deal more clarity especially if you roll the volume off a tad.These come with the new Ultra Lite trem arm and the Original Edge/Lo Pro arm.

Gotta say I'm very impressed with it then again you can't really go wrong with high end Ibanez MIJ stuff. A very well built guitar with amazing attention to detail. Comes with Stainless Steel frets as standard which is cool and a magnetic trem cavity back plate for super easy access to the trem springs/claw. The finish is Onyx Black....very nice matte/stealth finish and it was that which out of all the other finishes really grabbed me. These come in 6 other finishes including the Bonvillian Swirl model which were all snapped up pretty quickly and soon hit Reverb at double or triple the price. I don't like that swirl anyway...give me an ATD any day of the week.

If you're a Jem fan who doesn't want to drop £4k on a vintage one and you can live with the blingy pups then I'd highly recommend these.

 

[Shawn]

Damn, that's classy. Congrats! Great pics, too.

 

[TheDandy]

That is seriously one of the most elegant looking guitars I've ever seen. I wasn't sure about the pickups either when they first came out but they've really grown on me just for being so uniquely ornate. Congrats and enjoy!

 

[Crungy]

Classy guitar, congrats!

I'm with you on the petals... I don't hate them but I don't enjoy them as much as the Jems. Still, the overall look of the guitar has a positively classy/elegant vibe.

 

[Emperoff]

It's hard to go wrong with a black & gold combo. Classy and sassy

 

[IbanezDaemon]

@Shawn Thanks man...appreciated as always. Those pics were taken on my phone...super easy to do....no skill on my part.

@TheDandy Cheers. I've had the Pia about 2 weeks now and yeah I believe they will grow on me too.

@Crungy Yep...the whole design kinda threw me a bit. I thought 'hell no'!! When you actually see it in the flesh you can appreciate how well done it is.

@Emperoff Yep...totally agree. I love that combo. I'd still be without a PIA if they had never released this one.

 

[IbanezDaemon]

Sorry guys....I meant to ask this in the OP. Anyone prefer the Petal Grip to the Monkey Grip?

 

[Shawn]

Sorry guys....I meant to ask this in the OP. Anyone prefer the Petal Grip to the Monkey Grip?View attachment 145582
View attachment 145583

Not only do I prefer the monkey grip but I'd also take that FP over PIA anyday.....no offense, the Pia is gorgeous but the FP has always been a guitar I've coveted.

 

[Furtive Glance]

Can you still fit your hand in the upper petal like said monkey grip?

 

[Slaeyer]

That black/gold combo looks great.
IMHO from the pictures the satin finish and the pickguard seem to be really sensitive to sweat and wear. Can you confirm this, @IbanezDaemon?

 

[groverj3]

Art you can play!

Also, damn, you still take the purdiest pictures.

 

[ArtDecade]

Art you can play!

Thanks, mate.

 

[IbanezDaemon]

Can you still fit your hand in the upper petal like said monkey grip?

You actually can get all four fingers fitted into both of them.

 

[IbanezDaemon]

That black/gold combo looks great.
IMHO from the pictures the satin finish and the pickguard seem to be really sensitive to sweat and wear. Can you confirm this, @IbanezDaemon?

Yeah...that's the downside of those finishes. It will go glossy wherever you pivot your hand. Not the best pic but here is one of my guitars with a very similar finish and you can see the darker spots on it:

 

[IbanezDaemon]

Art you can play!

Also, damn, you still take the purdiest pictures.

Cheers man!

 

[Rachmaninoff]

The guitar is great, but your pictures can make any guitar look great.

 

[IbanezDaemon]

The guitar is great, but your pictures can make any guitar look great.

Thanks!!!

 

[Sermo Lupi]

The Pia looks great, in my opinion. I wish they'd do more swirled finishes on them instead reserving the swirls as very limited and very expensive special editions.

The neck on the Pia is supposed to be a hair thicker than the Jem, right? Do you notice any difference, or is it basically the same profile?

 

[Alberto7]

Nice, congrats and HNGD!!
I love my Sun Dew Gold Pia, it's pretty perfect in every way, except for the fact that I am overly careful while playing it cause I know it's a valuable instrument... though that is going away with time. Also got it signed by Steve on my birthday

The black one is probably my favorite color though. I love the white, but the black is just as good looking and I probably would not mind adding a chip or two on the finish.

I also love the UtoPia pickups. They're really meaty and have lots of sizzle, but clean up SUPER nicely. And for some reason they SING on leads, not sure what it is but I can get them sustaining with little decay for a long time, and sound super fluid. Just great all around pickups on this guitar. And yes, I love the way they look.