Description
Ibanez’s RGA742FM is a seven string carved top machine built for speed, clarity and low tuned power. A thick flame of maple crowns a meranti body, its carved arch following the sweep of the RGA series contour so the picking arm rests naturally while the lower horn slips easily under the fretting hand. The Transparent Gray Flat finish leaves the figuring visible but never glossy, giving the guitar a stealth look that suits modern metal stages. Strike the first chord and the torrefied maple and meranti recipe responds with piano like note separation, tight bass and a bright snap that never grows brittle. The body runs light and resonant, yet the black hardware and mono colour scheme give the instrument a purposeful weight in the eye.
Speed comes from a Wizard II seven profile carved from three pieces of maple, bolted tight to the body with Ibanez’s smooth AANJ heel. The carve measures a slim nineteen millimetres at the first fret and only twenty one at the twelfth, so octave stretches feel effortless and sweep-picking patterns flow without resistance. A jatoba fingerboard stretches to twenty four jumbo frets and carries offset white dots that mark the path without stealing attention from the wood grain. With a four hundred millimetre radius under the strings, bends glide without fretting out and low action setups stay buzz free.
Electronics follow the same fast-response brief. A pair of Quantum seven humbuckers sit close to the strings, their ceramic magnets engineered for rapid low-end tracking and sharp high-mid punch. The five-way lever switch gives neck series, neck parallel, both series, inside coils together and bridge full, so everything from scooped rhythm chugs to glassy single-coil cleans lives on a short flick. One master volume and one master tone keep the layout uncluttered, leaving nothing to catch the picking hand during down-strokes.
Hardware centres on the F107 fixed bridge, a low profile plate that anchors strings through the body and lets each saddle travel freely for precise intonation. Ten point five millimetre string spacing keeps the neck compact without crowding the picking hand, and the through body construction channels vibration into the meranti core for extended sustain. Black domed knobs match the sealed tuners and the truss rod cover, completing a monochrome look that puts the flame maple front and centre.
