The QX52 is a Q series headless, slanted-fret, solid body electric guitar model introduced by Ibanez in 2021. It is made in Indonesia.
The QX52 features an ergonomic, compact, light-weight and resonant nyatoh body bolted to a roasted maple and bubinga neck with a 24-fret roasted birdseye maple fingerboard with mother of pearl step off-set dot position markers and luminescent side dots. Components include a pair of Q58 humbucking pickups, individually mounted Mono-Tune bridges with integrated tuning mechanisms, a plastic nut, and a custom string lock.
For 2022 the magnets in the Q58 pickups were changed from alnico to ceramic. For 2024 the fret material was changed from Jescar EVO gold to stainless steel.
The Q52 employs a dyna-MIX10 switching system (see diagram below) with an "Alter switch" toggle which allows the user to access ten distinct tones. The Alter switch appears to tap one coil of the humbucker (as opposed to a traditional coil-split which disables one coil completely) to achieve a sound similar to a single coil without the drop in output which typically accompanies a coil split. The video below offers a sample of some of the tones available.
The QX52 is not a multi-scale guitar; its frets, nut and bridge are slanted at a constant angle across the fretboard to better maintain a natural angle of the player's wrist.
The QX527PB is a similar model with seven strings and a poplar burl top. The Q52 is a related model with traditional frets.
