Best Baritone Electric Guitar (2024 Update)

This guitar is lightweight very well balanced, it seems to almost float when wearing it with a strap, As I heard in another rating, it feels like every single note on every single fret is available and reachable at any moment. It takes me back to the early 90's when I played a early 70's Gibson Explorer. What an easy guitar to play! It just seemed to fall off the frets into your hands, and this ESP SnakeByte is no different. I've heard James Hetfield talk about his love for his Gibson Explorers, so it's not a surprise that his signature series SnakeByte has that feel and tone! I really like the locking tuners, what a great invention! It makes the horrible business of replacing strings easy and painless! The locking bridge is also a delight, keeps intonation intact when changing strings. I like the tone of the JH HET SET pups, they scream when needed, and purr when needed. This guitar matches up particularly well with a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, or most any amp from Mesa Boogie or Marshall.mkcr33l

I was so excited to get this guitar and I hooked it up out of the box a played it for about 5 minutes. Unplugged it put it back in the case. The next day I hooked it up again and got a terrible flanger like sound out of the guitar so I switched guitars and my other one was fine. Before I sent it back I wanted to check the 9v battery in the back compartment for the pickups and discovered only 1.2 v of power coming out of the battery. I swapped the battery and now it's good. I just thought it was kind of annoying that esp would sell guitars with off brand dead batteries. I know it's not musiciansfriends fault but still.Chris

Overall: This guitar sounded very clean when plugged in directly w/o effects applied. Wonderful sound when applying effects as well. neck action is nice. 2 things I would consider if you haven't played this guitar and are going to purchase by internet:: 1. The pickups are located next to each other so a slight modification in your strumming hand position will be needed. 2. The neck is very wide and not friendly to shorter fingers. You may need to find a different position on the neck to play certain things. Otherwise it is a fine guitar with an absolutely beautiful finish that shines even in a dimly lit room. the pickguard and pinstripe around the body have a matching shell like pattern that I thought was a nice touch. My first ESP and I am very impressed. Made in the USA too very nice.Angelica

I have owned a custom shop Jackson SL and an American made Jackson SL2 in my life. I have also owned a Carvin 727. I have to admit the fit and finish of my 607B is on par with those. I am using it for recording primarily, but it sounds incredible. It cuts right through a dense mix of keys, brass, strings and percussion. I compose symphonic metal and this guitar suits me perfectly. The is jaw dropping in person. It stays in tune extremely well and the intonation appears dead on and the strings are ver, very close to the fretboard. This guitar easily rivals my previous guitars and cost less than half or a third of the others. I may eventually decide the buy the purple 607 because the quality of this has sold me on these. The pickups are the first actives I have ever used and are very aggressive. They sound dark, but powerful. Thank you ESP and AMS for such a great axe and a payment plan that made it possible.Lonzenator

First off…the paint job on this is AMAZING. There is no way for this to NOT look good on stage or in the practice room. It is surprisingly pretty hefty for a telecaster style body in terms of weight, but not to the point that it is uncomfortable to play. The ebony fretboard and neck radius makes this guitar VERY easy to play. Doesn't matter if I am chugging away or doing shred style solos, the easy of fretboard navigation and feel is beyond comparison. The Fishman Fluence Customs it sound great through an overdriven 5150's and a Kemper. Surprisingly the cleans are very nice as well. The Longer baritone length gives it a lot pf crispness and clarity while maintaining that gnarly bite even under high gain. The only thing I wish was a little different is the pickup placement. For solos, I love to use neck pickups. The pickup being in the middle is not as usable as I would like it to be, and I had to lower it a great deal so that I was not hitting it with picks constantly. But…I knew what I was getting when I got it. The neck meeting the body where it does makes it a little harder to access the upper frets for that 23rd and 24th fret. The switching between voices is a little different on these when compared to the normal Fishman Fluence Moderns…but not a deal breaker. My only regret overall is that I did not buy this guitar years ago. I am thinking about getting another simply for touring so I can have different tunings on one and then switch to the other.Casey L.

This Squire Baritone guitar is a good deal for the money. It's obviously not the best quality guitar, but then, it doesn't pretend to be. It is, however, a rather unique guitar and it seems ideal as a 'discovery' instrument. By this I mean, at very reasonable price, it does allow a player to investigate the rather unique world of baritone guitars (and they ARE different) before deciding or not whether to buy an expensive baritone guitar. I like it, and am very happy to have invested in this guitar.Stephen L.

I've been wanting a baritone guitar for a long time! Not knowing if I'd like it, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a guitar that wouldn't be may main axe. I've been a Fender guy for fifty plus years, so I thought the Squier Paranormal would be a good place to start! Fit and finish on the baritone are great, as I've come to expect from Squier. The ability to play with familiar chord shapes is great fun, and the sound/ tone is inspiring. Still getting used to playing along with standard tuned guitars but its fun! The pickups and electronics are "ok" not bad but not great, usable for the price. Overall I'm happy with the purchase, and would recommend the Paranormal Telecaster Baritone to anyone wanting to get into the lower tone realm.Dave

This is truly an outstanding instrument for the price, that seems fairly well dialed in right out of the box. It has a great clean warmth and presence when played out of a good tube amp, and is a nice middle ground between a regular six string and a bass guitar. The playability is solid although I will likely get a professional set up on it eventually because the action isn't totally ideal for my style of play. Intonation seems on point so far… In your hands it feels like something that is solid and well made, and nothing stands out as being cheap to me other than the tuners perhaps which can easily be replaced. Thus far my biggest complaint and the reason I'm going with four stars is the muddiness/jumbled sound of the notes as increase volume. I cannot leave the volume knob all the way up on the instrument or everything turns in to mud on distortion settings. Which is slightly disappointing because I was hoping to use this primarily for heavier music. That isn't to say you can't tweak knobs and find something comfortable and passable. The picks up aren't awful by any means. But they're not quite ideal either… I would say that's the weakest aspect overall. But that can be updated and changed depending on what you're willing to invest. But if you're investing more, the question might be …Why not go with something that cost more to begin with? I think you have the bones of a really fine guitar here that could become five stars with a little more TLC. As for the look and feel of it…I love the sea foam green soooo much!!! Probably my favorite guitar I own for the color.David

So I hesitated on buying this Guitar because I just didnt care for the finish. Well It looks nothing like the pictures. Beautiful 3D flames in the top.Am Very pleased. So that brings me to what I expected from a PRS and didnt get, a playable set up. I know its an SE but the action shouldnt be 6mm at the 22nd fret. How QC at the factory allowed it to leave puzzles me. The pick ups are good for Drop C but even at B standard get really muddy on the lower strings. I put in a Nazgoul, Sentient set and these in another standard guitar. They sound really nice in standard E to drop C. IMOTwayne72

I have used this guitar with my band, live and in rehearsals… Plays fantastically once I set it up to my desired specs (Std D tuning, 10-52 strings, FU Tone brass block), but these PRS stock pickups have no grunt and snarl to them, so I plan to add an SD Black Winter set like in my EC Black Metal FR (dropped C). I have reverted back to using my Kramer Assault Plus which came loaded with the SD Alternative 8 set. Will likely use Custom 24 as primary D guitar again after replacing pickups. For this pickup issue alone, I'm giving it 3 stars, otherwise, it would be 5, as spending over 200 bucks more is a bit off putting after spending over $1100 for this plus a hard shell case for an import.Steve

Absolutely love this guitar! As with all SE Custom 24 models, the feel and balance on the strap and also on the knee are prerfect. The action is fast and smooth, and the whole guitar just oozes quality. The roasted maple board is a really nice variation from the mahogany or ebony boards, which are usually found on Custom 24 models. This particular guitar has the most amazing and deepest "3-D" effect quilted maple veneer that I've ever seen on a SE series model. I believe that PRS would probably rate this as a 4A (AAAA). The sound is as good as you'll get from stock pups in a sub- 1000 guitar and the way that PRS wire the coil tap gives a convincing single-coil tone. What upgrades would make this even better? Probably locking tuners, and maybe a satin neck. After- market pickups, if you want to change the tone.kentishkeith

I am a 59 year old guitar player, had expensive and cheap gear over the years. I don't think I'm technically great but know how to get a good sound. When looking for a cheap guitar to sit with, my Les Paul and even my '88 Strat often got a bit uncomfortable , I decided to try one of these, you can return them after all, no trouble. What a great little guitar! Obviously GAK probably don't get these out of the box to check them, my box was still stapled shut from the factory, and this is OK at this level but I worry a beginner would be put off if the guitar is poorly set-up. First off the finish is superb, no rough edges to the frets, the colour and gloss on the body was perfect, the unvarnished neck just sits comfortably in the hand, I picked this above the more expensive 'Affinity' as apparently the nut width is a little wider. I didn't need to adjust the neck, I just cut the nut a little lower on the G,B and E strings for comfort. The frets needed a light rubbing with fine wet and dry and that was it, a perfect, light practise tool. I would even gig with this no problem. Each and every one of the tuners work smoothly and firmly. Sound wise, it sounds like a Tele to me and this is always a very subjective and personal thing anyway, I don't like overly powerful pickups (my Les Paul has '57's) I prefer to push the sound with pedals. All I can say is, if not sure, 'Buy one'. I have done nothing but played this to death since I got it 4 days ago, hard on the finger tips as I haven't played regularly for a while. I hope I haven't just got a 'good one' and would like to think any of them would be as good, all the reviews I read suggests so.Customer

I love the sound of this guitar. The lower voicings just grab you from the first chord. I tuned down A to A and it Plays fine. Right out of the box it felt good. I like an instrument that fights back a little when playing. The bigger strings and action on this guitar felt great. The only down side so far is finding replacement strings of the same gauge and lenght. If your like me,it took awhile to pull the string on this purchase. Go for it. You'll be glad you did.J.

It's a keeper. Build and attention to detail is very nice. Nicer than my MIM Fenders. It plays great. Frets are perfect and ends are smooth. I love the compound radius neck and larger frets. And it stays in tune better than any of my other guitars. Set up out of box was perfect. Looks great too. I have to say I am impressed and I am seriously considering what my next Reverend guitar will be. Tone/sound is gritty yet articulate and defined. It's a Tele, but more than a Tele. Pickups are a little hotter with a bit of growl. Definitely not typical vintage Tele style pickups. Cody from Musicians Friend was a really big help in making this purchase and I appreciate him going above and beyond to help.Matt

Sound: The 'Blackened' Black Winter pickup is very bright. Not shrill, but definitely will cut through a mix. It's incredibly clear, and touch sensitive. Very high output, which is appropriate for a guitar called the Black Metal! Features: This guitar has an alder body, which is amazing for almost all tonal aims. The raised LTD logo on the headstock is an incredibly nice touch! The Grovers are smooth, and stable, and the OFR is also stable and reliable. Ease of Use: This is where this, and just about every other LTD I've purchased shines. The fretwork is immaculate. I have the action at .75mm, and it doesn't buzz, for those who aren't familiarwith action measurements, this is incredibly low. The pickup height was perfect right out of the box. The only thing I needed to adjust was the truss rod, it had a bit too much relief. But once that was done, it plays like butter and sounds brutal! Quality: This guitar has absolutely no quality control issues, and feels extremely well made. As stated above, it has all high end appointments, such as a Seymour Duncan pickup, OFR, and grover tuners. It functions amazingly. Value: Absolutely. I'm a Jackson fanboy 90% of the time, but I can say (and zZounds can verify) I've had to return multiple Jackson products and never a single LTD. The Jacksons cost more, and have less. Manufacturer Support: I haven't needed to deal with ESP, as I've never had an issue with their products. The Wow Factor: When you're playing this guitar, if feels metal. The guitar is so easy to play, and sounds so brutal. I can't recommend it enough if you like to play extreme genres of music. Overall: LTD never disappoints. This guitar is metal as it gets, and plays fantastically.Matheau

Just a quick note now that I've had this for a week, and played it at band practice… I really dig it! The mini humbuckers are fantastic! I play mostly clean tones, and all 3 pickup combinations work well in my style. It's hits the sweet spot on my Soul Food. Triggers the Mel9 like I want. And is fairly light weight. The one thing I was concerned about was the 12" radius fingerboard, but it's comfortable and wider than I expected. Almost like an acoustic guitar. All in all, I'd recommend this Gretsch to anyone looking for a baritone on the long end of the spectrum.BRENT

Sound: The sound is absolutely amazing… absolutely no complaints. You can make it dark, chimey or right in the middle. Features: Everything is fitted well and the craftsmanship is spot on… Ease of Use: Great tones with the two humbuckers and 3-way switch… Quality: The craftsmanship is superb… period. Value: At a price tag under $700 you cannot go wrong… Manufacturer Support: I have never had to reach out to Gretsch even though I own 3 other Gretsch guitars… The Wow Factor: A beautifully designed/crafted guitar. Overall: I had been considering purchasing a baritone guitar for several years… I watched a video comparison between this Gretsch and the Squire Paranormal baritone guitar. The reviewer, who was an awesome player, picked the Gretsch hands down. I had to get one after that. And I am glad I did. This guitar sounds and plays absolutely amazingly. The fit and finish is spot on. And, which is not always the case, this guitar was setup nicely from the factory. The action is set where it needs to be for playability. The fret ends are rounded and feel smooth (no jagged or unfinished edges). And so far, I have found, this guitar stays in tune even after playing heavily. I don't know where zZounds got their information or if it is a misprint, but the Gretsch website tells us this guitar is fitted with "Nickel Plated Steel Gauges .014-.018-.024-.044-.056-.072, Tuned B to B" strings. zZounds tells us it is fitted with D'Addario EXL157 Nickel Plated Steel (.014-.068 Gauges, Tuned B to B). Is this a big deal? Absolutely not. I will be changing strings over time. I just have no clue right now which gauge strings came with the guitar. So I purchased replacement sets in both gauges. A beautiful instrument that plays incredibly well and also looks the part. You cannot go wrong with this guitar. It is that good. The only thing I do not like is the "Crafted in China" painted tag on the back of the headstock. I would pay extra to have this guitar made in Korea, Japan or the USA. I do everything I can to avoid purchasing anything made in China. But at this guitar's price point, Gretsch is looking for the cheapest labor. I own 3 other Gretsch guitars all made in Japan. I have to say this China crafted guitar is equal in quality to the ones made in Japan. Without the China tag, you would have no clue where this guitar is made. With or without the China tag, this is a fantastic guitar. Especially with a price tag under $700.Richard

Overall: I purchased the Viper 400B expecting a middle of the road guitar for lower tunings. When it arrived, I was blown away by the quality. This guitar is my first ESP purchase, and now I'm a big fan. The pickups are great for heavy guitar, as you'd expect from EMGs. The matte finish is beautiful, and i catch myself staring at the guitar across the room when I'm not playing it. I've been able to get an awesome clean tone for intros out of this axe, and the palm muting(chugs) and chordal stuff I do really growl and punch nicely. Single note passages sing out beautifully, and the neck feels very nice to my hands. If you're like me, and you love Melodic Death Metal Bands that use B standard tuning(Amon Amarth, Avatar, Kataklysm, etc.) and want to capture that tone yourself without having to file the nut down on a normal scale-length guitar, I don't think you can find a better option anywhere else in this price range. Great job, ESP! You've got yourself a new loyal customer!James

Overall: I purchased the Viper 400B expecting a middle of the road guitar for lower tunings. When it arrived, I was blown away by the quality. This guitar is my first ESP purchase, and now I'm a big fan. The pickups are great for heavy guitar, as you'd expect from EMGs. The matte finish is beautiful, and i catch myself staring at the guitar across the room when I'm not playing it. I've been able to get an awesome clean tone for intros out of this axe, and the palm muting(chugs) and chordal stuff I do really growl and punch nicely. Single note passages sing out beautifully, and the neck feels very nice to my hands. If you're like me, and you love Melodic Death Metal Bands that use B standard tuning(Amon Amarth, Avatar, Kataklysm, etc.) and want to capture that tone yourself without having to file the nut down on a normal scale-length guitar, I don't think you can find a better option anywhere else in this price range. Great job, ESP! You've got yourself a new loyal customer!James

Never having owned an Ibanez before, I decided to opt for something new. Great choice. This is a guitar designed to be played. The neck and action are wonderful. The best word I can think of for this guitar is "lean." It has everything I need and no frills that get in the way. The two pickups, with a single selector switch and volume control are all I need. At first I was worried about the lack of fret inlays, but the dots on the side of the fret board are sufficient. Beautiful design, and a pleasure to play. Oh, almost forgot to mention that it looks awesome.cjskama

Ibanez is a name well known for quality guitars. Even the super affordable line of Gio's are awesome guitars for the price. The overall quality of this baritone Ibanez was excellent and the factory setup was on point and ready to tune and play. This is the third Ibanez I've bought from Proaudiostar and 5th overall purchase from them and they've delivered free and on time and everything was in perfect order. This time was no different and the guitar came well packed and in perfect condition.LongQuail-46485

Handles drop F as well as, if not better than, my M80M Meshuggah signature. Swapped the EMG's out for a Nazgul/Jazz combo and modified the killswitch to be a coil split instead. Also added push-pull pot on the volume knob for out-of-phase. This guitar is excellent, especially for the price.peelskiwis

I love ESPs this is my 5th one Ive bought and I love them all I own a Gibson SG and I love the body style so thats why I bought the viper and I love it plays great and the sounds awesome cant go wrong with EMG pick upstoflo14

I am playing this guitar in my Original Metal Band "HeadState " . I initially purchased a 7 string guitar to get the Low B or Drop A tuning to write songs in , However I was never able to get used to playing it . That's why I purchased this guitar to enable me to continue playing with the Low B and Drop A but with the more conventional feel of a six string ! The guitar is amazing , plays and sounds great !SKULLY

Wow. I'd read a lot of reviews of this guitar and watched some videos, but nothing prepared me for how awesome this guitar is, and I haven't even had a chance to play it out of an amp yet! I honestly don't feel worthy to even play it, it is so nice. Beefy yet lightweight. Very comfortable and well-balanced. Smooth fretboard and the neck is great. Overall very happy with this guitar and I can't wait to get back home with it to run it through some pedals and an amp! Oh, and the special TSP colorway is amazing. I didn't think I'd like it as much as I do. It is just a very beautiful guitar!Edward D

Very versatile and solid. Love the extra “unf” it gives my live sound. It’s everything I look for in an everyday stage guitar!Tyler M.

Bought it, played it. Sold it within a month and upgraded to the 400b. My advice is to save up and get the 400b. It's in a whole different league than this one. Theres nothing actually wrong with this guitar.. its upgraded version is just that much better though. Good gift guitar..Nik

I had been in the market for a baritone guitar for a while, I found this and was surprised at the specs with such a good price for it. I have been playing it every day since I got it, I can't stop, I don't want to stop. It's much lighter than I expected to be, it's very comfortable to play and the tone is fantastic. It stays in tune really well even when I play it hard (which I often do) it has excellent sustain, sounds incredible on a clean channel and massive with distortion. It fits in a standard sized guitar case too, even though it has a 27" scale length. That was something I was happy to discover. The only thing I wish were maybe different is more options in color. I would have loved to get one in a matte finish, but that is really such a trivial thing. I 100% recommend this guitar, I wish I would have had one like it years ago.Ian Black

Danelectro has done a good job of constructing an instrument that looks like instruments from the 1950s and 1960s. This instrument may also be a useful addition to a mix with several other instruments. However, it does not work well as a solo instrument. This is what distinguishes it from baritone Danelectros from the 1950s and 1960s and from baritones made by Jerry Jones. Those instruments have an attack and decay profile that is much more subtle, and as a result, they are significantly more versatile. If you want to get an inexpensive instrument that you can use within a mix with several other instruments, the current Danelectro baritone will probably be adequate for your purposes. However, if you want something that can stand on its own, this won't work. To get a better idea of this, compare the sound of the most recent Danelectros with those of 50s and 60s Danelectros or Jerry Jones guitars in videos on youtube or other platforms. Watching these, I had initially thought that the difference might be a matter of the players, but the sound is inherent in the instruments. The current Danelectro baritone also has a problem in that the middle position that combines the pickups is much louder than either pickup alone. My guess is that the pickups are put in series when they should have been put in parallel. By itself, this would not be a make-or-break issue, but the actual sound of the guitar isn't as good or interesting as older Danelectros or Jerry Jones guitars. In summary, this is probably fine as tool to use for special effects. However, it can't carry a song on its own.Ken

I am thrilled with my Danelectro baritone guitar which I bought from Richards Guitars. Service and communication was excellent, and I was kept informed of every detail while awaiting delivery. Really pleased with the setup of the guitar-action, intonation all perfect. I would definitely recommend buying from Richard. A1!Martin M.

This has been something I have been wanting for years but just never had the spare buckage to act on. The tone is awesome. It plays killer. No tuning problems. Everything is quality made. I love this cool sounding guitar!Mulie

This guitar sits on its stand in my Music room always ready for a quick play. I love the rich deep tone that this guitar puts out. Stays in tune and sounds great! Baritone guitars are few and far between and most cheap baritones just dont cut it. This one is the exception. You wont find a better Baritone at this price point!John

I've owned the Alvarez, the Ibanez and a Taylor GT-8. What you usually get with the cheaper baritones is muddiness and in the case of the Alvarez, mine had a funky neck and fret job. I wasn't expecting this to be so nice at this price. But having bought a Guild D-55 and F512 recently, I've become somewhat of a Guild convert. This guitar makes me even more so. Nicely made, straight neck, tunes well and the intonation is almost right on. Just a shade off at the 14th fret, but I think I can work that out. Balanced tone with a nice cohesive sound that you usually get with more expensive guitars. In the low ranges this had a really nice distinct sound, instead of the mud I had with both the Ibanez and Alvarez. The Taylor was great but it was too much of an investment for a specialty guitar like this. If you are thinking of toying with a baritone, this is a great option. The electronics sound good as well on this. It would work well on stage and the unpluggedl tone would work well for recording. All in all a really nice guitar at a very reasonable price, as guitars go these days.Lenny

I just took delivery of my Guild Baritone, and I already love it! It came well set-up right out of the box – though a couple of the string pegs did need to be pushed in all the way prior to tuning. It has a beautiful, deep sound that carries well when unplugged. I can't wait to try it out plugged in!Jason

It came from the swamp! (Swamp Ash Body) This swamp creature is a tonal monster that screams like a Yeti and growls like a Lion. This Typhon is the father of all monster guitars. It came flawless and perfectly set up and intonated which is rare but it can and did happen to me. It outshines my Fender Strat and Fender Acoustasonic. As I struck a chord ON it, IT struck a chord IN me, and the bond was instantaneous. Guitar is about having fun and enjoying music not about snobbery. I'm preparing to entertain with my mastery of the musical arts and I'm going into battle fighting against fears, insecurities, and self-doubts but I can now face these foes fearlessly because I'm equipped with my new weapon of choice – this purebred sexy swamp beast axe. I was standing in a swamp, with my head hung low, not enough tickets, for my sold out show. Hear the roar of the crowd? Can you picture the scene? Put you ear to the swamp, hear my guitar scream. Can you hear it now? Are you blown away? You'll see stars for a couple of days! This S570 AH SWK is beautiful and thanks to MF my dream became my reality. MF jumped through hoops and went all out in helping me get this guitar. Call them up and they will assist you in overcoming any hurdles standing in your way of purchasing this guitar. They excel over Sweetwater IMHO. My EVERY experience with these MF'ers has been a 2 thumbs up, 10 star rating. What are you waiting for? Get your own S570 AH SWK Today! You'll be glad you did! As for me, I'm as happy as a slime covered swamp creature in a black lagoon playing guitar. The black on this thing is gorgeous and the silver waves ring out like silver bells at Christmas. When you hear it Roar, you'll be imprisoned in it's melodiosity (I coined that phrase) Metal, Alternative, Rock, Country, Blues, Pop, Reggae, Jazz it does it all. Just do it my friend! Pull the trigger and blow the brains out of your savings account and you too can start playing "FOR REAL" today. Costs less than a Prestige or a Joe Satriani Signature JS2GD-Gold Boy but I must dispel the MYTH… it's just as good and no one in your audience will be able to hear any difference.James

Sound: The guitar came with Quantum pickups. I have Quantum pickups on another guitar, and they sound alright on my Jem Jr. However, they sound spectacular on this guitar. This may have something to do with the ash body on this guitar, vs. the Mahogany body on the Jem Jr.It is amazing that Ibanez can offer ash on a guitar in this price range, when Fender has stopped using ash on more expensive guitars. Features: The most useful feature on this guitar is the Edge Zero trem. As a matter of course, as I’ve done with my other trem equipped Ibanez guitars, I replaced the springs. The springs that come on these guitars are awful and won’t let the trem return to pitch. I replaced them with Floyd Rose extra strength, silent springs. Now the trem returns to pitch as good as my Floyd’s and original Edge trems.There is no string retainer on this guitar. If you put a few extra winds of strings around the post, it will increase the break angle from the back of the nut, where the strings exit. If you get the break angle right, you can lock down the nut without having to retune. Ease of Use: The guitar is quite playable out of the box, with the exception of the trem springs. There were a couple of high frets, but they weren’t high enough to cause buzzing with a normal action. I always do a level and crown as part of the set up anyway. Quality: The fit and finish on this guitar is excellent. I love the grey and black top on this. Definitely a looker. Also, the description of the guitar on the website, when I ordered it, said that the fretboard was Jatoba. Well, as it turned out, my guitar came with a rosewood board, which according to Ibanez’s website is what the guitar comes with for 2021.Also, the jack placement on the top, is really nice. The end to the cord doesn’t stick out. Just be careful plugging in. Value: This guitar is worth every penny I paid. I am quite pleased that the guitar is less than 600 dollars. Great bang for the buck. And zZounds makes it a no brainer with their payment plans. Manufacturer Support: I haven’t had to call Ibanez personally, but I have gone through the dealer before, and they have got fast service from Ibanez for me. The Wow Factor: This guitar not only looks good, but plays great as well. If you aren’t able to do work on a guitar yourself, spend the money for a pro set up. It’s so worth it. Overall: Well, I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I took a chance and bought one that was listed as minor blemish on zZounds site.It took awhile to get to me, but that isn’t zZounds fault. The FedEx hub in my state doesn’t have enough truck drivers, and delays at the Troutdale hub are just a reality at this time.It arrived well packed and it turns out that the minor defect was just a small crack at the neck pocket. This would have probably happened anyway, and it is really small.I did have to call customer service, due to a saddle adjustment screw rounding out when I set the intonation. Sounds got me a new set of these screws through Ibanez, and it only took a few days. So good on zZounds and good on Ibanez.Scott