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Ibanez Q52 Electric Guitar - Antique Brown Stained

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Nyatoh Body, Maple/Bubinga Neck, Maple Fingerboard, 2 Humbucking Pickups, and Mono Tune Bridge - Antique Brown Stain
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Item ID: Q52PBABS
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Ibanez Q52 Electric Guitar - Antique Brown Stained
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Ibanez Q52 Electric Guitar - Antique Brown Stained
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A Boundary-shattering Headless Axe from Ibanez

Part of Ibanez's boundary-pushing Quest series, the Q52 vaunts a headless design built from the ground up to maximize tone, performance, and playing comfort. While this solidbody electric guitar is extremely lightweight, its ergonomic nyatoh body resonates with rich, woody tones that belie its compact profile. Technically minded players will be blown away by the zero-drag feel of the Q52's Wizard "C" neck, and its heat-treated bird's-eye maple fingerboard is as playable as it is visually appealing. This headless guitar's made-to-measure pickups exude amazing levels of articulation and definition that are bolstered by Ibanez's acclaimed dyna-MIX10 switching system. Rock-solid hardware, including a custom string lock and innovative Mono Tune bridge, ensures easy string changes and ultra-reliable, stage-worthy performance. Stainless steel frets round out the Q52's generous features. If you've been hunting for the perfect headless electric guitar — or even if you're considering your first headless instrument — the Ibanez Q52 is guaranteed to unlock unlimited creative possibilities.

Wizard "C" neck makes complex playing techniques easier

The Q52 was built for high-level, technical playing styles, evidenced by its Wizard "C" neck. Crafted from maple and bubinga, this ultra-stable 3-piece neck offers an extremely neutral feel that's tailor-made for high-performance fretwork. The Q52's heat-treated bird's-eye maple fingerboard not only turns heads, its 12-inch radius yields incredible playability in every position. This headless solidbody electric guitar also includes stainless steel frets, which ensure long-lasting durability and effortless note bending. The guitarists here at Sweetwater have found the Q52 to be incredibly versatile — it offers a zero-drag playing experience for technical metal, jazz-rock fusion, and any experimental genre you throw at it. If your personal style involves complex playing techniques, the Q52 will permit you to play cleaner and faster than you ever thought possible.

Made-to-measure pickups yield an endless array of tones

Designed especially for headless guitars, the Ibanez Q52's Q58 humbuckers churn out divine sonic textures with astonishing levels of articulation and definition — a must-have for elaborate riffing and intricate, rapid-fire leads. The tonal balance of these pickups is unprecedented throughout the instrument's entire range. Plug into your favorite amp, and you'll experience muscular lows that are completely devoid of muddiness and mix-piercing highs that eschew harshness for a sublime-sounding clarity that enables every note within a chord structure to be heard. These pickups exhibit little self-noise, even in high-gain applications, and they play nice with both digital and analog effects. The Q52 incudes dyna-MIX10 switching, which provides 10 different pickup combinations via an Alter Switch and 5-way lever switch. No matter the genre, the Q52 can achieve the sound you're hearing in your head.

State-of-the-art hardware that can withstand aggressive playing styles

The Q52 is teeming with cutting-edge, near-bulletproof hardware. Its custom string lock boast a straightforward one-piece design that's not only highly durable, but it also requires little maintenance. String changes are a breeze, and because the Q52 doesn't require a proprietary set of strings, you can use whatever time-tested gauge and brand you'd like. You'll also appreciate the Mono Tune bridge. This expertly crafted bridge facilitates a wide intonation range, which makes down tuning a piece of cake. This headless guitar's Mono Tune bridge is also a cinch to adjust, and its streamlined saddle design lends a natural, organic character to every note you play.

Ibanez Q52 Electric Guitar Features:

  • Headless design built from the ground up to maximize tone, performance, and playing comfort
  • Compact, ergonomic nyatoh body resonates with rich, woody tones
  • Ultra-stable 3-piece maple/bubinga neck with heat-treated bird's-eye maple fingerboard
  • Wizard "C" neck profile is perfect for high-level, technical playing styles
  • Stainless steel frets ensure long-lasting durability and effortless note bending
  • Q58 humbucking pickups yield astonishing levels of articulation and definition
  • dyna-MIX10 switching system provides 10 different pickup combinations
  • Custom string lock's straightforward 1-piece design is durable and requires little maintenance
  • No proprietary strings required — continue using your favorite gauge and brand
  • Mono Tune bridge provides easy adjustment and lends a natural, organic character to every note you play

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Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody
  • Body Shape Q52
  • Body Material Nyatoh
  • Body Finish Satin Polyurethane
  • Color Antique Brown Stained
  • Neck
  • Neck Material 3-Piece Roasted Maple/Bubinga
  • Neck Shape Wizard C
  • Neck Joint Bolt-on
  • Radius 12"
  • Fingerboard Material Roasted Birdseye Maple
  • Fingerboard Inlay Mother-of-Pearl Offset Dots
  • Number of Frets 24, Jumbo, Stainless Steel
  • Scale Length 25.5"
  • Nut Width 1.653"
  • Nut Material Plastic
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece Ibanez Mono Tune
  • Tuners Bridge tuners
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup Ibanez Q58 Humbucker
  • Bridge Pickup Ibanez Q58 Humbucker
  • Controls 1 x volume, 1 x tone
  • Switching 5-way blade pickup switch
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings D'Addario, .010-.046
  • Case/Gig Bag Gig Bag
  • Manufacturer Part Number: Q52PBABS

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Reviews

Combined with a Spark Go It Can Do Anything and Go Anywhere
I've been using an electric, instead of an acoustic, the last three years with my duo. For the last two years playing a Blue Q52. With a Positive Grid Spark Go in the gig bag it can go anywhere, be plugged into a PA or substitute for an acoustic guitar (the Go up on a table is louder than any acoustic). It's perfect for an airplane overhead bin and can be played comfortably when some restaurant stuffs our duo in the place of a four top. The tuning stability is fantastic. It can sit in my car's trunk under conditions an acoustic would not likely survive meaning it's there when it might be handy. To back up impromptu singing and finger style solo guitar at an unscheduled dinner party performance, combined with the Spark Go, it sounds great. I've asked and no one misses my acoustic.

At its price point it is appropriately well made. This one is about a pound lighter than the blue one which I'm surprised that I appreciate (~4.5 lbs., the older blue one was ~5.5 lbs.). Ibanez has made a few changes in these guitars over the last two years. The EVO frets that are wear free after two years, are now even harder stainless steel. Without EVO's tarnish the stainless feels a little smoother. The set screws in the locking nut are now larger flat bottom M5's instead of M4's (cheap to be had at an online hardware store and I think a good idea to have a few spares). Presumably accidental overtightening of the string locks is less likely with the larger set screws. Finally, the fret slot depth is like a Gibson rather than the deeper slots of many Asian made guitars. I suppose this is cosmetic, but I do like it.

The Dyna-MIX10 switching has a mode where the inner coils of the two pickups are combined in parallel. This simulates that Strat neck plus middle pickup tone reasonably closely (good for playing "Sultans of Swing"). It also has a useful two pickup Telecaster like option. The alt switch mode for single coil seems about right but the humbucker "power tap" doesn't appeal to me.

There are better gig bags to be had for headless guitars which offer more protection and/or a smaller footprint. I've tried a few and settled on one of them.

I like the feel of the brown finish and maybe the look a little better than the blue, but still wish they offered the straight fret Q52 in plain black...
Music background: Retired electrical engineer gigging once or twice a month
My Do Everything Guitar
This is the first guitar I've purchased in about twenty-two years. Life got in the way and I hadn't played a note for about 12 years. I decided I had to get back to playing and after bringing all of my shredtastic metal-centric guitars back out of storage I was going to need something different to relearn.

The Q52 is the perfect everything guitar. It does everything very well. The range of tones are the widest of any guitar I've ever heard or played. The pickups stike a perfect balance of range providing the widest possibilities of sound to span many genres of music. I've heard people knock it for not doing "specific thing" as well as some other guitar that was made to do that very specific thing and they're just not getting it. The Q52 is an adroit jack of all trades. It will do warm bassy blues tones but also rock the oinch harmonics as well.

The neck is a true C shape but not overly thick. It allows even my sausage fingers to reach all the way around it and fret my fat pinky on the 6th string without muting the 5th. Lower down I can still throw my thumb around the back of the neck with my average sized pudgy hands.

The Q52 is easily, by far and away the most comfortable guitar I've ever experienced. It's thin, light, but still marvelously resonant, bright, and yet substantive enough that its relatively diminutive size isn't a hinderance. It's ergonomically a perfect balance. I can and do play it for hours without it wearing me out.

The construction is fantastic. The back of the neck is so wonderfully smooth with a satin like feel. The burl wood top is absolutely stunning and I'm very grateful Sweetwater let me pick the exact one I wanted. The frets are smooth and even, there's nothing sharp or uneven. The intonation is as close to set and forget as I've ever experienced. It stays in tune thrash and bend as I may.

Now, why not five stars? The volume pot has a rough spot when turning almost like it's binding on something and there is a tiny 2x2 millimeter sort of chip(?) in the burl top. It feels and looks like the burl itself had a tiny cavity and they couldn't sand it out without the smooth curve of the guitar being off. Personally, I don't care about the little chip, it's character from real wood and the burl top is stunning to look at. The knob grinding sensation is a forgettable eccentricity.

If you're on the fence, just get it. It's the perfect do everything guitar. A true workhorse. A comfortable and beautiful instrument.
Q53
A nice, sweet guitar. Slight neck adjustment required but over-all fine instrument out of the case.
Checks All the Boxes
My Ibanez Q52 arrived in perfect condition. The guitar looks, plays, and sounds great. Perfectly set up and very light (4.75 lbs). A real joy to play. This was my first Ibanez, probably won't be my last. Thanks Sweetwater!
My most easy and comfortable guitar !
This is a well made, nicely put together electric guitar that weighs only 4 lbs.- 10 oz. It is very well balanced and I can literally play her all day long and I even hold it close to my chest as I sleep, whenever I wake up I play music at a low volume using anyone of my low power amplifiers. It's small size and light weight and overall design allows me to play all day and night without getting tired. That makes her kind of my dream guitar!
The color is very attractive and her shape is also attractive. She arrived perfectly set up and all I need do is to keep her clean and tune her up every time I play.
Trust me, this Ibanez headless electric guitar is so nice and comfortable to play you will love yours.
Now a few words about her sound: well she sounds good, the pick-ups have a nice character, all her tone and volume controls are located properly and are easy to adjust. If you decide to purchase one like mine you will absolutely enjoy playing more and for longer time periods-no need to rest because of her light weight and excellent size and proportions and comfort. The fretwork is excellent, no overhanging fret ends, no high frets. This electric guitar shall be your friend and she will allow you to enjoy making music more than any other electric guitar available. I have been playing guitar since 1968, that's 55 years. Music is pretty much my life. I'm grateful for a wonderful and understanding wife who has allowed me to turn our living room into a fully equipped recording studio and just about every kind of guitar and amplifier that is on the market today. Life is such a joy! - Peter age 75
P.S. I just want to mention Joseph Secu who is my Sweetwater Sales Engineer. You can reach Joe by calling 1(800) 222-4700 ext 1232. Joe has been with Sweetwater since 2004. Joe has worked with me since 2016 and he's knowledgeable, easy going and he has an excellent attitude and is very willing to assist you in learning about the gear that is available at Sweetwater.