Part of Ibanez's boundary-pushing Quest series, the QX54QM vaunts a headless design built from the ground up to maximize tone, performance, and playing comfort. This electric guitar's lightweight nyatoh body resonates with rich, woody tones, while its quilted maple top brings a subtle snap and eye-grabbing visuals into the fray. Technically minded players will be blown away by the zero-drag feel of the QX54QM's Parallel Wizard neck, and its slanted frets make intricate fretboard maneuvers like tapping, fingerstyle, and slapping feel effortless. This headless guitar's made-to-measure pickups exude amazing levels of articulation and definition that are bolstered by Ibanez's acclaimed dyna-MIX9 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. Jescar EVO gold frets round out the QX54QM'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 QX54QM is guaranteed to unlock unlimited creative possibilities.
The QX54QM was built for high-level, technical playing styles, evidenced by its Parallel Wizard neck. Crafted from maple and bubinga, this ultra-stable 3-piece neck is 0.75 inches thick throughout its entire length, offering amazing playability for players who prefer a higher playing position. The QX54QM's heat-treated bird's-eye maple fingerboard not only turns heads, but its frets are also equally slanted at an 8-degree angle for easy execution of tapping, fingerstyle, bass-inspired slapping, and other intricate fretboard maneuvers. This headless electric guitar also includes Jescar EVO gold frets, which ensure long-lasting durability and effortless note bending. The guitarists here at Music Experience have found the QX54QM 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 QX54QM will permit you to play cleaner and faster than you ever thought possible.
Designed especially for headless guitars, the Ibanez QX54QM's Q58 humbucker and R1 single-coil pickups 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 QX54QM incudes dyna-MIX9 switching, which provides nine different pickup combinations via an Alter Switch and 5-way lever switch. No matter the genre, the QX54QM can achieve the sound you're hearing in your head.
The QX54QM 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 QX54QM 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.
With new developments in instrument technology, the prominence of more technical playing styles, and players’ desire for lighter, more portable instruments, today’s headless guitars are pushing far beyond designs of the past. However, even with all these advancements, Ibanez still saw an exciting opportunity in this space. The Q or Quest series is an entirely new concept for Ibanez. The “Quest” in this case was to not just to adapt an existing instrument into a headless design, but to develop an entirely new guitar from the ground up. This range features a number of unique elements intended to maximize tone, performance, and playing comfort. These include, custom designed R1 single coil and Q58 humbucker pickups, a new Mono-Tune bridge, and a proprietary custom string locking mechanism. The QX subseries is also equipped with innovative 8-degree inward slanted frets, uniquely tailoring their ergonomics to the benefit of highly technical players. Ultimately, this series offers a diverse and versatile enough feature set to attract not only the modern, technical guitarist, but also players who may have never even considered a headless guitar before. Regardless of genre, Q (Quest) allows guitarists of every background to question the full scope of their creative possibilities.
To meet the demand of various playing styles, this Wizard C neck has a very neutral shape – it’s not too thick, too thin, or too flat. The 3pc Roasted Maple/Bubinga construction also offers great stability and long-term durability.
The beautiful Birdseye Maple fretboard imbues this model with an exotic appearance . The fretboard is heat-treated for a balanced attack and rich sustain.
All of the frets are equally slanted at an 8-degree angle. Many contemporary players tend to favor a much higher playing positon to execute more effectively, highly technical and intricate techniques like tapping, finger style, and even occasional bass-inspired slap riff. This higher position results in the four fretting fingers naturally tilting slightly inwards. This 8-degree inward tilt of the frets perfectly accommodates this and offers a more natural feeling and comfortably playing guitar.
Jescar EVOgold™ frets are known for their bright tone, gorgeous appearance, and excellent features such as long-lasting durability and smooth note bending.
The Quilted Maple top sonically enriches the response for picking. Nyatoh used as body wood provides a rich mid-low end.
The R1 / Q58 pickup combo is designed specifically for use in headless guitars. They provide a clearly defined sound, facilitating excellent tonal balance through all frequencies. The lows are powerful without being muddy, and the highs are bright and clear, but never harsh. As a result, every single note within the chord structure is well defined, and clearly audible. These pickups, with their tonal balance, and extremely low noise performance, work extremely well with both digital and analog effects.
This custom string lock is one-piece unit that features very simple construction. This means the hardware requires less maintenance, is highly durable, and allows for very easy string changes. Additionally, no proprietary string is required, so you can continue to use your favorite gauge and brand.
The Mono-Tune bridges offer a wide intonation range so that you can easily set the instrument up for tuning down a whole step or even further. The string height is also easily adjustable, and each saddle generally has less material, which leads to more natural and organic tone.
The dyna-MIX 9 offers nine sound variations and can switch between humbucker and single coil modes with just a flick of the mini switch. One mode even simulates a humbucking sound from the combination of two single coil pickups.
The body features a number of strategically placed curves on both the top and back of the instrument. This complex, yet sophisticated design provides maximum playing comforts.
While it is really compact and light-weight, its non-chambered, solid body provides great sound with rich woody tones.
Body Type | Solidbody |
---|---|
Body Shape | Q54 Quest |
Left-/Right-handed | Right-handed |
Number of Strings | 6 |
Body Material | Nyatoh |
Top Material | Quilted Maple |
Body Finish | Satin Polyurethane |
Color | Blue Sphere Burst Matte |
Neck Material | 3-Piece Roasted Maple/Bubinga |
Neck Shape | Wizard C |
Radius | 20" |
Fingerboard Material |
Roasted Birdseye Maple |
Fingerboard Inlay | Mother-of-Pearl Offset Dots |
Number of Frets | 24 Slanted, Jumbo Jescar EVOgold™ frets |
Scale Length | 25.5" |
Nut Width | 1653" |
Nut Material | Plastic |
Bridge/Tailpiece | Mono Tune Bridge |
Tuners | Bridge tuners |
Neck Pickup |
Ibanez R1 Single-coil |
Middle Pickup |
Ibanez R1 Single-coil |
Bridge Pickup |
Ibanez Q58 Humbucker |
Controls | 1 x master volume, 1 x master tone |
Switching | 1 x Alter switch, 5-way blade pickup switch |
Strings | D'Addario EXL110 .010-.059 |
Case Included | Gig Bag |
Manufacturer Part Number |
QX54QMBSM |