The Ibanez XONE –Part 1

Why do I love my Ibanez RG1570 and RG570 guitars? Cause they play better than any SuperStrat I’ve ever played. Don’t get me wrong; I love Gibson Les Paul style guitars. But technically, I prefer the SuperStrat design for playability and achieving my overall tone. Thus after playing a Fender Stratocaster for 12 years (and a Yamaha Acoustic for the 5 years before that), I, Will Austin, began a guitar search for a new, performance guitar in 2002.

I loved my Fender Stratocaster. But, see, I was a Metal player, and even though many of my guitar heroes such as Dave Murray of Iron Maiden and Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest, used Stratocaster to get their Classic Metal sound, I needed a modern tone. Typically, Jackson Guitars were at the top of my list. I also considered a custom Strat. Guys like James Hetfield of Metallica, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, and even Randy Rhoads of Ozzy used Jackson guitars. They provided the classic Metal tone that we were all used to.
I had played a Charvel years earlier, and had loved it, playing stuff like White Zombie, Metallica, and Priest. It was truly a shredding guitar. Thus, I fully intended for the new guitar to be a Jackson/Charvel. Somehow, Ibanez slipped in to this mix right near the end.
I remembered that J Yuenger of White Zombie used Ibanez and I loved his tone. Also, Steve Vai, one of the best virtuoso guitar players in the world swore by Ibanez guitars.

I went to Guitar Center at 10am on a Wednesday in March 2002, bringing my Digitech RP-6 Multi-Effects Pedal, and my Monster Cables. I then proceeded to try the Jackson DKMG, Jackson SL-1, Jackson Randy Rhoads, Fender American Stratocaster, Ibanez S-Series, and Ibanez RG-Series guitars. I was looking for the guitar with the best playability and tone with my current rig. I plugged my RP-6 into a Marshall 100W head and 1960A 4x12 cab similar to my own rig. I spent 7 hours in GC trying guitars thru my rig. I really thought I would walk out of there with a Jackson SL-1. I left with the Ibanez RG570, and saved a couple hundred bucks. I really love this guitar. I’ve played many shows with it. It’s rock solid, and the V8 bridge pickup sounds great to me. The Wizard I neck is thin and easy to wrap my big hands around. The fretboard is spaced perfectly for fast neck runs.

In 2003, I bought a Line 6 Vetta I HD and it’s floor controller the FBV.
My tone was totally redefined for the better, and my Ibanez RG570 sounded more toneful than ever, just as XONE was really taking shape in terms of vision and material…