Nice Ibanez Bell
I have an Ibanez RG 470(about 2yr old). I don't play much any more b/c of college but, I need to start making time.
Mode 2 is definately what you want if you are in the US. If you ever need help from someone or are looking to move up to a nitro, you'll be irritated(to say the least) if you learned on mode 1. I personally wouln't touch a mode 1, it would just mess me up and I'd definatly be prone to crashing due to forgetting which mode I'm in.