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Posted by: steve25 Oct 3 2007, 06:53 AM

As the title says, my guitar is too heavy weight wise not sound! At the time when i bought it i could tell that it was a lot heavier than my first guitar but didn't really think it was an issue. And it wasn't not until recently. Until now i've been playing with it sat down all the time. Now or at least soon i'll need to start practicing standing up so that i can play both sitting and standing. The problem is i can only do it for about 5 minutes because it's so heavy it kills my shoulder and back. The guitar i have is an Ibanez RG321MH, it's fine and it sounds good it's just the weight of it. So really i guess i'm asking for suggestions for a new guitar. If i'm going to get a new guitar i might as well get one better sounding while i'm at it so really looking for an upgrade from this one. I probably won't end up buying one now but i thought i might as well start looking now so i can get enough ideas so when the time comes i'll have info etc. The styles i play, or rather going to be playing eventually is mainly hard rock and most types of metal (except death and black). So like melodic death, progressive, shred, thrash etc. Price range.. well i bought my current guitar for £230 so i'd say between £200 and £400 as my price range. Thanks for any help

Posted by: botoxfox Oct 3 2007, 07:07 AM

I have one of those, and I think it's a very light guitar

Posted by: steve25 Oct 3 2007, 07:11 AM

Yep they had a light one as well. But i took the heavier one just because i preferred the look of it

Posted by: Hemlok Oct 3 2007, 07:44 AM

If you play standing up, make the strap shorter so the guitar is above your waist, that should take some of the weight off, i know it does for my gibson les paul, the weight doesnt bother me though. As for sitting and playing, if you see how Pavel rests his guitar in between his legs, if you have a weighted guitar, resting it over one of your thighs after a while you will feel the weight, so stick it inbetween your legs and see how that goes. Doing this might feel a bit weird at first, but it might be what you need to do rather than ditch a good guitar.

Regards,

Hemlok

Posted by: steve25 Oct 3 2007, 07:46 AM

I'll try that although i think i need to buy a better strap just in case. I think i'd need a thicker one. It doesn't bother me at all when i site down i have it over my right leg the whole time and it doesn't make it ache, just when i stand up an play and as i said i can only play with it for a short time

Posted by: Hemlok Oct 3 2007, 07:57 AM

Get a nice thick leather strap if you get a new one, and don't be afraid to lash out on an expensive one. It has to be comfortable.

Regards,

Hemlok

Posted by: shredmandan Oct 3 2007, 08:02 AM

If you think the Ibanez is heavy i would hate to see you try and stand with a Gibson Les Paul Those things will break any mans shoulder

Posted by: Hungus Oct 3 2007, 08:29 AM

Just to a set of push-ups before you start practicing, during and then after and it will feel light in no time

Posted by: steve25 Oct 3 2007, 11:11 PM

Haha no it is, it's the heaviest guitar i've ever played and i've tried out quite a few. Even my teacher said that it was a bit too heavy and he's been playing for years and he has a les paul as well. So i'm thinking it's not just me

Posted by: MickeM Oct 3 2007, 11:41 PM

Yes you're right, your model is made out of Mahogany and that's a heavy wood.

If you want to go for a lighter guitar and like the feel of Ibanez get one that's made out of basswood.
Otherwise there's Fender or Jackson f ex that's made out of Adler which is just a tiny bit heavier than basswood but both a lot lighter than Mahogany.

EDIT: And as suggested earlier, a thick strap will make less tension on your shoulder. It will not be lighter but won't cut in the same way so it will feel lighter on your shoulder.

Posted by: steve25 Oct 3 2007, 11:55 PM

Thanks MickeM, doesn't the wood change the sound of the guitar as well or is there not much in it? Yeah you're right it is made out of mahogony. I do like the feel of this guitar but i'm not going to stay with Ibanez just because this one feels nice i'll try other brands out if they seem good enough. So really i'm up for any suggestions

Posted by: MickeM Oct 4 2007, 12:28 AM

Yes, mahogany is warm and has good sustain. All I suggest is to look for an adler body if you want a lighter guitar, it will also be brighter in tone. It's very common with guitarbodies made out of adler so you can't miss.

Posted by: steve25 Oct 4 2007, 12:29 AM

Yeah i'll look into different wood types and what guitars have what, should probably pay more attention to that

Posted by: dogman Oct 4 2007, 01:12 AM

I would have to go with the alder or maybe basswood if your current guitars weight is an issue for you.

But as far as guitars in general, that Ibanez model is not a heavy guitar at all. As a few have already stated a better strap and a little getting used to standing while playing would be your best bet. It's just like playing. You have to get used to it.

You should try my 64 les paul custom. she's a 13lb pounder and can be tough on the back after 3 hours of playing

Posted by: Resurrection Oct 4 2007, 04:34 AM

At the risk of repeating what others have said, I would look into the following before investing in a new guitar (assuming you're happy with the sound of your current instrument)

1) Raising the guitar height
2) Checking if you're tensing your shoulders when you practice. With a heavier guitar this leads to more shoulder and back pain
3) Heavier or wider strap

By the way, my PRS has a mahogany body and I do think that the heavier wood contributes to the warm tones available.

Posted by: Eat-Sleep-andJam Oct 4 2007, 04:41 AM

Hmmm, my honest advice would be to break into Guitar Center after hours and tie maybe 2 les pauls around your back and sprint around the parking lot. The more laps the better !













Only kidding, this is where good straps come in handy. I for one like the straps Joe Satriani uses but thats just me

- John

Posted by: steve25 Oct 4 2007, 04:37 PM

With the Ibanex RG321MH's there are the really lighter ones (the ones you lot are probably thinking of) and the really heavy ones (the one i have) so where you're saying it's very light you are most probably thinking of the light one. As i said i could have taken the light one but i didn't. I don't know if the other one was made out of mahogony or not. When you say the alder will be brighter in tone what do you mean by that?

Posted by: MickeM Oct 4 2007, 05:24 PM

I'm just guessing here but MH in the model name could stand for Mahogany. The 321FM (or if it's called DX or EX) is made out of Basswood and is a lot lighter.

About the tone:
If we compare the tone of Basswood, Adler and Mahogany they pronounce different frequencies.
Basswod has more mids than lows and highs, hence makes a popular shred and lead guitar.
Mahogany pretty much pronounce the lows and mids towards the mid-mids so to say where it starts cutting.
Adler is the goody two shoes of woods, it evenly lets everything through not really pronouncing any frequency. Brighter in tone than the basswood since it's letting through more of the upper frequencies.