Today we’re gonna look back a few years and check out the Ibanez RG350DX! The RG350DX is the predecessor to what is now the RG450DX.

I have a long love affair with the RG350DX, as it was actually my first electric guitar that I bought used! In fact, it’s a fantastic budget guitar if you’re willing to go used. Whenever people ask me for recommendations for a decent workhorse they can buy for cheap, the RG350DX is always my first suggestion!

Let’s check out what the 350DX offers:

Features:

  • Basswood Body
  • Maple Neck
  • Wizard II Profile
  • Rosewood Fretboard w/ Sharktooth Inlays
  • AANJ Bolt-On Neck Construction
  • 24 jumbo frets
  • Edge III tremolo
  • White finish
  • White pearloid pickguard
  • Ibanez INF pickups
  • 25.5” scale
  • 1 Volume, 1 Tone & 5-Way Blade Switch

At face value, the primary draw here is the full-featured nature of the specs. HSH, locking trem, legendary neck joint, and more. All on a budget guitar.

It’s worth noting that the model has seen some spec revisions (how many pieces of maple are in the neck, some were Indonesian & some were Korean, and early ones even had different pickups), including a newer model called the RG350DXZ which featured the Edge Zero II bridge. (This is the version pictured because well, cameras are better now)

This review is covering the Edge III and Infinity pickup version, which had the longest lifespan, and is most well known.

Tone:

With the Ibanez RG350DX you get a nice palette of tonal options. The HSH combo paired with a 5 way switch allows you to get everything from creamy humbucker tones to nice single coil cleans without a problem. This allowed me to really experiment with what sound I wanted from my guitar, and with a few minutes in front of my amp I already set up my metal and clean tones without a problem!

The INF pickups are famous as literal fridge magnets, and that’s something you just have to understand going in. These aren’t pro-grade pickups. I’m not sure if they’re even average-grade pickups. I think a lot of people forget what it’s like to be a beginner, so it’s important to look at it like this: It’s easy enough to swap the damn things, but on the other hand someone new or on a budget looking for a versatile guitar gets 3 pickups with a 5 way (and the result is entirely capable of passable metal, crunch, and clean tones).

I think our article “Do Your Guitar Pickups Suck?” is a good read if you’re still curious about this.

Build Quality:

This guitar is pretty par for the course of budget shred guitars.

Starting with everything the guitar does right… most things. We have good alignment, solid cuts of wood, and finish work with only minor flaws.

The fretwork on Ibanez guitars is something I really like. Even without a nice prestige fret treatment, or fancy steel frets, they were still feel nice! The jumbo frets are really neat, especially if like me, you play with a very light touch!

The electronics on the 350DX functioned as they were supposed to, what else can I say? Aside from a tiny bit of scratching I found no issues.

The Edge III bridge isn’t a player favorite, but with proper care and maintenance, it will last you a good deal of time. The Edge III is made of a softer metal than other trems, so extra care should be taken to adjust it properly. It’s simply not going to keep stable tuning through ridiculous dive bombs like a high end trem, but it works fine for minor vibrato.

Final Verdict:

The RG350DX has bark and bite. I’m definitely buying another one in the future to keep around as a second workhorse.

I simply love this guitar, and I think that’s largely because I judge it fairly. It’s not a Prestige, and it’s not a GIO: that’s a guitar a lot of players need.

The only changes I’d suggest making if you’re keeping it long-term are replacing the INFs with some brand-name pickups and getting a nicer bridge.

I have to be honest though, Ibanez has gotten much better at producing inexpensive guitars over time, and their current offerings like the RGA32 are much more solid, in my opinion.

7-6-8

If you liked this article, check out more reviews! We are also authorized Ibanez dealers and can order any model they offer in any price range for you.

This article was written by Mike Azernov, our editor located in New York.

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