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Ibanez K7APEX2
Published by morbid_Icon
10-17-2007
Author review
Features
80%80%80%
4
Sound
80%80%80%
4
Action, Fit & Finish
80%80%80%
4
Reliability
100%100%100%
5
Overall Rating
80%80%80%
4
Average 84%
Cool Ibanez K7APEX2

I know that my camera sucks, sorry about that.

Looks The guitar is in green shadow flat, and it is flat. There is no shine on it at all. All of the hardware is a grey finish, almost like a aluminum oxide blast finish on stainless. The head stock has a grey Ibanez logo. The fret board is VERY CLEAN looking. The wood is just beautiful, the frets have been hand filed and fitted, I tell you how I know later. The Apex logo at the twelve fret is nice and no marker dots just add to the Clean "plain jane" look.
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Notes as a Machinist All of the routing is done TIGHT. the they put a small radius on the pickup cavities and slot for the switch instead of the normal Ibanez .020-.030 45 deg. chamfer. Also the routed cavity for the bridge is the same with no front to back slop. The holes are crisp, no indentation from the drill shoulder that I see on my 7321 for the hardware screws or plugs for the string holes. It almost looks like they took some time to tool and set up a mill for the body profile.
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Controls Just a volume pot and a 3 way switch. I have already wired it the way I like with the switch being bridge-kill-neck. The Grotoh tuners are great. There is no slop going tuning up or down and the are locked in with a threaded bushing instead of a nut on a threaded shaft like most factory tuners. The Input jack is by the rear strap button and goes in down. It's diffrent but works great and keeps it out of the way.


Sound and Playability The guitar is nice and easy to play. The neck, like the body is flat, both front and back (=) its shaped like that but the flats are level with the ends of the radius. The DiMarzio PAF-7's sound great, but are too middy for me, but are well balanced for all seven strings switching from a 7321 to the apex takes no time. palm mutes are easy with the tune-o-matic bridge. The sustain is unreal. You strike a note and it will last for ever. I have played it as hard as I can and it stays in tune.

Over all A lot of people say the APEX2 is just a warmed over 7321 but it is not. It is well made and some more time is put into its construction. When I got it there was a small mark on the neck binding by the 5th fret marker from what looks like a fret crowning file. Also there is a thumb print in green on the back of the head stock. It feels great and is well worth the money I paid for it. I would buy another and recommend it to someone else.

I ordered a blaze bridge for it, that is about the only thing I plan to change, plus the dulop straploks for it.
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  #1  
By Groff on 10-18-2007, 10:10 AM
Nice review.

Do you still have that 7321?
  #2  
By morbid_Icon on 10-18-2007, 01:02 PM
Yes, i use it for back up now
  #3  
By ZeroSignal on 10-24-2007, 07:39 AM
Does the neck have a Gibson type back tilt or is it just like any Ibanez?

It's just that Tone Pros 7 bridge got me thinking...
  #4  
By djpharoah on 10-24-2007, 10:37 PM
Im pretty sure the Tone Pros is recessed into the body, thus the strings have no angle - neck should be straight like most ibanez guitars.
  #5  
By ZeroSignal on 10-25-2007, 06:10 AM
Excellent. Now how does it compare to the RG7321? Does mahogany and two DiMarzio's justify the doubled price tag?
  #6  
By djpharoah on 10-25-2007, 02:19 PM
Dude - I would say its definitely a better guitar than the RG7321. I would get one but the green isnt my color.
  #7  
By morbid_Icon on 10-26-2007, 03:30 AM
The work that has gone into building the apex2 is alot more better than a 7321, with the grotoh tuners, pickups, and bridge its is worth the price tag.

the neck has no angle like the gibsons
Last edited by morbid_Icon; 10-26-2007 at 03:31 AM.. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
  #8  
By Dark Aegis on 10-26-2007, 08:55 PM
does the apex have the same pups as the k7
  #9  
By Kotex on 10-27-2007, 02:45 AM
^Yeah
  #10  
By TripleFan on 10-30-2007, 01:55 AM
Could you take some better pics of how the neck joins the body on the frontside and how the bridge is recessed into the body?
Iīm curious how Ibanez solved the neck angle problem.
  #11  
By djpharoah on 10-30-2007, 05:58 PM
They recessed the bridge ( dug wood out of the body) thus lowering the mounting points on the bridge. This makes the angle virtually non-existant, allowing them to use their normal straight necks.
  #12  
By TripleFan on 10-31-2007, 02:06 AM
I understand the how the bridge affects the neck angle and how the bridge is recessed.
Iīve just never seen it done in person. Thatīs why I asked for pics.
  #13  
By djpharoah on 11-01-2007, 10:04 AM
  #14  
By TripleFan on 11-02-2007, 09:57 AM
Thanks man. But one more question: how do you go about adjusting the action? I canīt see how you could get to thumbscrews.
  #15  
By Dark Aegis on 11-07-2007, 01:02 PM
did you buy yours new and how much did you pay for it.
  #16  
By CatPancakes on 01-29-2008, 06:57 PM
no thumbscrews, flathead screw driver
  #17  
By DiegusMaximus on 02-05-2008, 06:40 PM
Is it a neck thru body?
  #18  
By Se7enMeister on 03-25-2008, 03:17 PM
how does it handle A tuning
  #19  
By 7stringwizard on 03-26-2008, 09:53 PM
i cant wait to get mine in may

does the mahogany body sound better than the rg 7321
cuse i love the way my 7321 sounds compared to my mahogany bodied guitars
  #20  
By cvinos on 06-01-2009, 10:14 AM
I got my Apex-2 last week. It really looks well build, and yes, the fretboard is nice. I like the flat shape, it is perfect for me. This weekend I gave it a first try. I tuned it to A#1 Standard. However, the strings that came with it seem to be kind of old (?) and dull. Also they seem to be not heavy enough for this tuning. In B Standard they may work better, but I am aiming for a tuning in A# or even G#. So, I am going to get different strings.
  #21  
By Ibanezmaster7 on 11-03-2009, 12:14 AM
The good thing about the RG 7321 it's cheaper, 400$, it has the same neck and body, and you could throw the same pups as this thing on it.
  #22  
By TheSymphony on 11-06-2009, 07:30 AM
Is it neck-thru or bolt-on? :P
  #23  
By Prydogga on 11-06-2009, 08:06 PM
Bolt on. Yeah but the finish on the Apex is better, it has (To me) a better bridge and those things along with the pickups you'd spend about $400 dollars more on having a 7321 like this. Not to mention signatures have the 'name' that comes along with the price tag.
  #24  
By Adam on 11-06-2009, 08:52 PM
"Ibanezmaster7" you do realize the Apex2 is mahogany and the RG7321 is Basswood right?
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