Ibanez QX52 Headless, Black Flat

Ibanez QX52 Headless, Black Flat Overview

The Ibanez QX52-BKF is part of the revolutionary Q (short for Quest) series, a family of ergonomic, lightweight and high-performance headless guitars. Crafted using quality tonewoods and components, the Ibanez Q series is tailored towards players that prize excellent tone, impeccable performance and playing comfort. If you tend to opt for technically demanding styles or are looking to venture into headless territory, the Q series is a top choice.

Slanted Frets

One of the Ibanez QX52’s standout features are its slanted frets, a signature element of the QX sub series. Contemporary players have begun to adopt a much higher playing position, which makes it easier to pull off intricate and playing techniques. As a result, the fretting hand will tend to naturally tilt inwards. To accommodate this, Ibanez have equally tilted all of the QX52’s frets at an 8-degree angle, providing a much more comfortable and natural playing experience.

Outstanding Tone

At the heart of the Ibanez QX52’s tone is its Nyatoh body, which is coated in an elegant Black Flat finish. The body has been contoured with carefully placed curves on the top & back to deliver a truly comfortable playing experience. Nyatoh is tonally akin to Mahogany, with a punchy mid-range, warm highs and ample sustain.

Whilst the QX52’s body is compact & light, it’s also solid and non-chambered for optimal tonal richness and resonance.

Complimenting the QX52’s natural voice are a pair of custom-designed Q58 humbuckers. These pickups have been dialled in specifically for use within headless guitars and boast a crisp, elegant sound that’s tonally balanced across all frequencies. The lows have a defined presence, the highs are crystal clear without being harsh - which results in a beautifully inspiring tone with outstanding note separation. This characteristic is particularly noticeable when playing chords, as each individual note within the chord structure is clearly audible.

Sonic Chameleon

Ibanez have kitted out the Q 52 with their innovative dyna-MIX10 switching system, which transforms it into a true tone chameleon. The dyna-MIX10 switching system and Alter Switch provide you with quick access to 10 distinct tones - 5 with the Alter Switch off and 5 with it engaged. A key advantage of this system is that it gives you both humbucking and, thanks to Ibanez’s clever Power Tap mode, sparkling single-coil tones.

Ultimate Playing Comfort

The Ibanez QX52 is equipped with a stunning 3 piece Roasted Maple & Bubinga neck, which plays as well as it looks. The neck has been bestowed with a Parallel Wizard profile, which has been designed with players that use a higher position in mind.

This neck is precisely 19mm thick all the way through and delivers supreme fretting-hand comfort for guitarists that like to have their instrument high up.

The QX52’s neck is topped with an exotic Roasted Birdseye Maple fretboard and 24 Jescar EVO Gold frets. Jescar are renowned for creating top-notch frets and their EVO Gold fretwire is no exception. The EVO Gold frets feature a striking appearance, tonnes of durability and a smooth feel that facilitates effortless note bending.

Premium Hardware

Catering for the QX52’s rock-solid tuning and ultra-precise intonation is its fantastic hardware. The custom string lock features a streamlined and simple one-piece construction, which requires significantly less maintenance and makes string changes a breeze. What really makes the custom string lock standout is that you can continue using your string brand and gauge of choice - no special strings needed.

The QX52’s Mono Tune bridges present a wide intonation range, which is handy if you like using lower-pitched tunings. Adjusting the string height couldn’t be easier and because each saddle generally uses less material, they also promote individual string vibration and resonance.

Free Gig Bag

In addition to a top-notch electric guitar, Ibanez also includes a highly durable gig bag. The free gig bag is a great way to store or safely & securely transport your Ibanez QX52 to your next performance, recording session or rehearsal.

Ibanez have knocked it out of the park with the Q series - an impressive selection of sleek and sophisticated headless guitars. If you’re already into headless instruments or are just looking to see what the fuss is all about, we highly recommend checking out the Q series.