Ibanez RG470FM "青火丸(Aohimaru)"

This is the first Made in Japan Ibanez that I have gotten myself in 2007. It is a made in 2003 RG470FM, the only year produced that is equipped with an Edge Pro, and a domestic model at that. I figured that at that point of time, I wanted something better and there happened to be a sale at Swee Lee (A local music store). So I went down and took a look, actually wanting a prestige in mind, but end up picking this up for way less than the price of a prestige.

After picking up this piece, there are a few immediate difference which i noticed compared to the previous RG I have. The neck feels a lot more comfortable and the locking nut, is actually top mounted, instead of the usual back mounting. That actually surprised me a bit as I was expecting a back mounting locking nut. Not that it makes that much of a difference.

The neck really measures 19mm on the first fret and 21mm on the 21st fret with a comfortable radius of 430mm. I am astonished by the precision of a Japanese made guitar at that time which gave me the conclusion that, usually putting branding aside, the more you invest in a guitar, it's actually the workmanship that one is paying extra for. It was first hand witnessing Japanese Craftmanship.

The Guitar spots a Basswood body, which sings out really nice, allowing the pick ups to shine really well. The Edge Pro bridge, which comes only in this particular year of RG470 is really stable and allows a really low profile with nice pulling up action. As per all my guitars, I like my 12th fret action to be set at 1mm, meaning very low action for that fast fretwork.

The best part was, it spots a Flame maple top and in the shade of Transparent blue, my favourite colour to boot (Although now I've leaned towards oiled finishes)! The only thing that I hate about the guitar, is the stock pick ups (Ibanez V7, S1, V8). So I did the usual thing that I do with all my guitars. PICK UP SWAP! I ordered a set of Evolutions from Musician's Friend and got it swapped in. In addition to that, I had Orange Drop and treble bleed mod installed.

Why is this guitar called "青火丸(Aohimaru)" which means the Circle of Blue Fire in Japanese. It's a pretty obvious answer actually, it's blue and it has flame maple top. Circle in this case just means perfection.

Ibanez RG470FM SP "青火丸(Aohimaru)" Specs neck type: 3pc Made in Japan Wizard II neck fingerboard: Rosewood with dot inlay body: Transparent blue Basswood body with Flame Maple Veneer fret: Jumbo frets bridge: Ibanez Edge Pro Bridge neck pu: Dimazio Evolution Neck middle pu: Dimazio Evolution Single bridge pu: Dimazio Evolution Bridge Neck Specs Scale: 648mm/25.5" a : Width at Nut 43mm b : Width at Last Fret 54mm c: Thickness at 1st 19mm d : Thickness at 12th 21mm Radius: 400mmR

Ibanez Edge

Often, when we walk into a store or surfing around the net, looking to buy an Ibanez Tremolo Vibrato (Floyd Rose) equipped electric guitar, we might usually be asking ourselves if this guitar comes with a decent bridge. Ibanez being a company with over 20 years of producing Tremolo Vibrato equipped bridges, there is no wonder that there are so many of them that leaves the potential buyer lost. Fear not, in this article, I shall introduce to my readers the common, popular different Tremolo Vibrato bridges that Ibanez has every produced.

Ibanez Original Edge



Ibanez take on the Tremolo Vibrato Bridge. To many, this has been an all time favorite and is known for it's Tuning stability. The bridge has a spring lock bar and push in arm. Comes with Locking Studs.

Lo-Pro Ibanez Edge (Low Profile)



Design is pretty similar to the Original Edge with a few exceptional differences. It has fine tuners moved to the back while it is heavier compared to the Original Edge. String lock screw is located at the saddle. Has the same tuning stability as Original Edge. Comes with Locking Studs.

Edge Pro



The Edge Pro is the further modification of the Lo-Pro design. It features sound metal chips at the saddles that improves overall tone and can accept ball ends. It is the lowest profile Tremolo Vibrato Bridge. Tuning stability has been reduced because the locking studs which was included with the previous Edge incarnations were being excluded. However, Rich Harris from Ibanezrules came up with a Locking Stud mod and with them installed the tuning stability is on par with Edge/Lo Pro. 2003

Edge Zero



Ibanez created an all new tremolo system which supposedly has the ability to counter the flaw of every Tremolo Vibrato Bridge. That is the whole guitar going out of tune with the breakage of one string. This is known as the ZPS system. What this doe is, it is a giant spring that is placed at the tremolo cavity, acting as a counter force pushing the tremolo to a "Zero" position. It is of course switchable to a floating position by removing the ZPS system. The profile is slightly higher compared to Edge Pro. Features built-in intonation tool. Pre 2011, these come without the locking studs but from 2010 onwards, all of them are pre equipped with a pair of locking studs which therefore, increase stability.

Edge pro 2



This is the cheaper version of the Edge Pro. The visual difference are the excluding of sound metal chips. It has poor tuning stability with it's weak knife edges. However, the routing is able to accommodate Original Floyd Rose without the need of further routing should the player desire to switch to a bridge with better tuning stability.

Edge III



This was the bridge designed to replaced the Edge Pro 2 due to the conflict of patent rights with Floyd Rose. It features the same arm as the EP2.
Tuning stability is about the same compared to the Edge Pro 2. The routing is able to accommodate Original Floyd Rose without the need of further routing should the player desire to switch to a bridge with better tuning stability.


Edge Zero II



The Edge Zero II was introduced in 2011 to replace the Edge III as it's mid range Ibanez Trem. This is so far the best midrange system ever made by Ibanez. It features the zero point system with all the functions of the Edge Zero with the exception of the intonation tool. It has way better Tuning stability compared to Edge III and features locking studs for better stability performance.

ZR



The ZR is a Ibanez design Tremolo which functions close to a Khaler system. Instead of having Knife edges like the traditional Floyd Rose designed Tremolos, it uses a ball bearing-based pivot point instead. It has a different feeling compared to Knife Edge Tremolos but has great tuning stability none the less. This bridge also features a Zero point system which are existent in Ibanez Edge Zero series.


ZR II



ZR II is the successor to the ZR tremolo. the main Tremolo system is the same as the original ZR tremolo with the exception being the use of a different alloy in the spring assembly and a new design of arm holder. The Original ZR system had a flaw where too much wood had to be removed for it's cavity and the arm holders breaks easily. This bridge has great tuning stability and features the Zero point system which are existent in Ibanez Edge Zero series.