[Electric Guitar] Ibanez Headless Guitar Q Series

I have been wandering around looking for equipment that is as lightweight as possible, partly because of the lack of exercise due to Covid and partly because I am not a physically strong person to begin with. In the midst of all this, I miraculously obtained an Ibanez Q54 headless guitar, which has been very popular since its release and is almost always out of stock, so I have started using it. I think many of you may be interested in it, so I’m going to share a detailed review from my point of view.

1. History of Headless Guitars

I am not familiar enough with the history of musical instruments to talk about it, but I think the Steinberger was the first headless guitar to become widely popular. When I first saw it, I was astonished at the shocking design as well as the shocking price (it seems that vintage guitars from this period are still sold at high prices). Today Steinberger also offers a lineup of affordable models made of wood instead of carbon graphite.
I believe that today's headless guitars are where Strandberg made their mark.
Strandberg has become a household name by offering a full lineup of specifications that were considered to be once unthinkable in the conventional electric guitar world.

2. Features of the Ibanez Q series (hereafter referred to as the QM54)

I think the reason why this guitar has been welcomed by the market is its amazing value and reliability in maintenance that only a domestic manufacturer can offer.

I own a Q54 model with 2 singles and 1 hum, which is probably the most basic specs.
The color is Sea Foam Green Matte, which is like surf green in the Fender series.

Ibanez / Q54-SFM

It’s typical of today's electric guitars to not only have parallel pickups but also series pickups.

I think the best features of this guitar are:

1. Small and thin. It’s so light that it’s hard to believe it is a solid body (my unit weighs 2.13 kg)
2. String changes and tuning are a little uncomfortable (takes some getting used to)
3. 3. As you can see from the fact that the standard strings are 010-046, it is not a dedicated instrument for fast playing
   The neck is not thin (nor thick), and the standard string height is standard, not low.
4. 4. JESCAR EVO Gold frets are used. An alloy consisting of copper, tin, iron, and titanium, and not nickel. It seems to be more durable than the usual nickel alloy.
   *Frets are not only a matter of durability, though, they do affect sound quality.

Note that I am using a Q54 with straight frets, but there is a model called the QM54 with the same SSH configuration but with all frets fretted at an 8-degree angle. This does not mean that the scale length is different on each string like fan frets, but the slanting is claimed to make fingering easier, especially in the higher positions.

3. How the Ibanez Q54 feels when playing

First and foremost, it is easy to handle. When recording in a small room, the part of the guitar that is most likely to be damaged is the head (in fact, in the past, I have repeatedly damaged the heads of my guitars by hitting them against a microphone stand or music stand).

In addition to being small and thin to begin with, this guitar has no head, making it easier to handle than a conventional guitar. In addition, the three-piece neck made of bubinga wood and roasted maple feels highly rigid.
The pickups are specially designed for the Q series. The sound changes easily with position changes, and I thought the noise was low. The tone is soft at the front and crisp at the rear. Personally, I would rather use this model for clean tones rather than distortion.

As for the playing feel, despite the normal scale (648mm), the scale feels short, as if it were a medium scale or even shorter. Probably, it is because the body is compact and slim. On the other hand, because it is too compact, I feel that the Stratocaster is better in terms of playability such as fast playing (although there may be a little bit of a problem when getting used to it).
Incidentally, there are two end pins for attaching straps, one on the 6th string side and the other on the 1st string side. In this case, it was easier for a small player like me to play the Stratocaster by attaching the strap on the 1st string side and making it longer, especially playing it when seated.

4. Place of use

The Q series has the wonderful advantage of being small, thin, light, and yet sturdy. It will be the first choice for home recording, of course, but once Covid has settled, this will be my first choice to bring to gigs, studios, and even when traveling long distances. The pickups also have a pleasant clean tone, so you can use them like an acoustic guitar if you bring along an acoustic simulator or a compact multi-effects pedal. Since it takes up so little space, it is sure to be less of a distraction than a conventional electric/acoustic guitar, especially on public transportation such as trains and buses. For reference, here is a photo comparing the size with a dreadnought acoustic guitar. It is actually slimmer than the picture.

That's all.
Thank you very much for your patience.

The “sound & person” column is made possible by your contributions.
For more information about submissions, click here.