The Official Ibanez Owns! Thread

ItsEvolutionBaby74

Yo, just a few weeks ago, I picked up an Ibanez RG1570, great pickups, killer tone, and overall one of the most versatile instruments I've ever played...anyone else feel the same?!

offaroundthebend

you need to pick up some other guitars then...its an average guitar at best....nothing near the sound or quality of american fenders and les pauls....you could have gotten a american strat, or a les paul studio for nearly the same price....both kill that ibanez..especially for pj...that ibanez sounds like a muddy mess.....no offense

JSP552003

heck ya i love my ibanez...ive got an sz520QM (amber sunburst) with duncan Jazz/JB and i just had new 500k pots put in it because the stock pots were pretty crappy and were wearing out...love how this guitar cleans up when you roll back the volume pots now...the gibraltar III bridge is one of the best i've ever played. its so comfortable especially for palm muting..love the neck on this thing too..awesome guitar

i've heard those RG's are great too..and im sure if he wanted a strat or lp then he woulda bought one...

keeponrockin

I unno, I've never really dug the 'shred' guitars. Almost TOO easy to play, I like the guitar to push back a bit, ya know?

Anyone else feel the same?

MLC2006

not an Ibanez, but related. I briefly had a Jackson. I can see the appeal, very comfortable, light as a feather, and fast playing neck. only thing I didn't like was that the light weight of the wood made the EMGs sound not so great, so I got rid of it. I'd say though that the quality was on the level with a USA made Strat (which I own btw). imo (and it's JUST my opinion), Fender guitars are highly overrated. I own a Gibson Les Paul and a brand new SG and imo, Gibson owns everything. in quality, versatility, sound, craftsmanship etc.

keeponrockin

MLC2006 wrote:

not an Ibanez, but related. I briefly had a Jackson. I can see the appeal, very comfortable, light as a feather, and fast playing neck. only thing I didn't like was that the light weight of the wood made the EMGs sound not so great, so I got rid of it. I'd say though that the quality was on the level with a USA made Strat (which I own btw). imo (and it's JUST my opinion), Fender guitars are highly overrated. I own a Gibson Les Paul and a brand new SG and imo, Gibson owns everything. in quality, versatility, sound, craftsmanship etc.

See I MUCH prefer Fenders.

Agree to disagree!

xtremehardy388

Mike Einziger liked Ibanez guitars until he picked up the PRS ones...I've never seen the Ibanez come out.

seanw1010

ibanez is a mediocre brand at best...

JSP552003

xtremehardy388 wrote:

Mike Einziger liked Ibanez guitars until he picked up the PRS ones...I've never seen the Ibanez come out.

ya PRS makes great guitars...a guitarist in a band we played with one time had a custom 22..freakin amazing guitar...the neck was so comfortable...i've also heard good things about carvin but i've never actually played one...but i don't have the $2,000+ to drop on a guitar right now so and ive yet to find a guitar that plays as well as my sz520 for the $350 i paid for it

and i guess someone better hurry and tell vai and satriani that they're playing "mediocre guitars"

MLC2006

JSP552003 wrote:

and i guess someone better hurry and tell vai and satriani that they're playing "mediocre guitars"

not saying that I necessarily agree with the other poster saying that Ibanez is "mediocre", but the Satriani and Vai models cost from $1800-$2400, and the ones they actually play are probably modded up even more. so it's not like you're getting the same quality guitar when you get a $400 Ibanez.

JSP552003

well ya i was just tryin to make a point...but i mean in that case the same can be said for most all brands...but really all it comes down to is play what feels good to you

MLC2006

JSP552003 wrote:

well ya i was just tryin to make a point...but i mean in that case the same can be said for most all brands...but really all it comes down to is play what feels good to you

I think if you're in the market for a specific kind of music, like shred or metal, I think an Ibanez (or other 'shred' guitar) is great. and I think one of those Vai or Satriani models are as high quality as any other guitar probably. but when it comes to versatility, I think they can't hold anything on a Gibson. most Gibsons are "general guitars" that can cover most any kind of music. an Ibanez is more of a "specialized guitar".

ianvomsaal

IBANEZ . . . Well, there are good Ibanez, Bad Ibanez, and Mediocre Ibanez.
I have a (1 of 5) production Hollowbody produced for '04 NAMM that's wonderful.
I really love it for live shows, especially after I put the jumbo stainless frets on it.

As far as the RG-series, personally I don't like 'em - they're basically shredder guitars.
The RG-series runs from low-low-end to upper-mid-range (nothing over $1299), And
for $1299 I'd rather have a guitar without a floyd-rose or locking nut/trem (or similar).

- Ian

ianvomsaal

Here's a nice new 2008 Ibanez: click: Ibanez AR300RE
And here's a nice Hollowbody: click: Ibanez JSM100

Pacomc79

The Prestige Series I like in the RG body style. Fit and finish are excellent.

In fact their whole Prestige line is excellent.

I also dig the JS 1000 because thier S body is very comfortable and if I owned one that'd probably be it. That one was always my favorite Ibanez especially in the chrome boy finish.

I've always wanted to try a benson model.

I play a lot of thier semi hollowbodies from the AS series when I can.

They also make some decent acoustics.

Much like Jackson thier fingerboards are a little flatter than I prefer. I have no doubt they are perfect for some people, it's just not me but I'm no speed demon either. I also have a lot of fun with Floyd rose trems especially the huge cavity versions like on Vai's model but I don't dig the maintenence of said piece.

I kind of wish they would build one or two with filtertron types or P90's.

EvilTB

Ibanez reminds me more of a brand like Epiphone than Gibson or Fender. They make guitars for all price points, rather then starting off in the intermediate range, (or for the most part the advanced range in Gibson's case.) Ibanez don't actually make guitars, they are all made by contractors in Japan, Korea, China etc. I think I heard some were even made in the US. Ibanez didn't even make the original Tube Screamer; a company called Maxon did. Maxon even sell it now as the OD-808.

Most Epiphones are also made by contract, I think Gibson makes classic "Real" Epiphones and Gibson has it's own Chinese factory making some Epiphones. A factory called Fuji-Gakki in Japan makes both high-end Ibanez guitars and Epiphone Elitists. I don't care much for brand names myself, I'd rather a Japanese made Epiphone Elitist Les Paul then a same priced Gibson Les Paul.


Japanese contractors are competitive with American production and have been for over 30 years. Ibanez got it's start by making Les Paul copies that are equal to or better than what was offered by Norlin era Gibson and selling them for less money.

However, I don't think that the stereotypical Ibanez Superstrat is the best guitar for Pearl Jam. My friend had an RG when I was a kid. It was probably a lower end model however, it was made in Korea before low end guitars were made in China and Indonesia. It still seemed like a solid guitar, it played good but it also sounded a little sterile. I love the idea of the pickup combinations however, they are like the middle three Strat positions and the Gibson "Rhythm" and "Treble" positions, I don't like the single coil bridge position and I never use the bridge/neck position on a LP type guitar, I'd only miss the single coil neck position. In the end it seemed to me like a jack of all trades, but master of none with regards to classic and alternative rock. They are really made for metal and shred. Personally, I'd love to try an RG prestige.

rigneyclan

Ibanez makes some really great guitars and some really crappy guitars. I've owned 6 and they were all great guitars, ranging in price from $170-$900.

It's true that all Ibanez guitars are made overseas in countries like Japan (Ibanez is a Japanese company after all), China, and Indonesia, but that doesn't mean they're of poor quality. I think it's rather ignorant and ridiculous how some people can say that Ibanez suck just because they aren't made in the USA. I just recently acquired an Ibanez JetKing1 guitar that was made in Indonesia and cost me only $170 on ebay. I can honestly say it's my best playing guitar, and I own a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Strat. No Joke!

Of course I know it's just personal opinion, but my suggestion to those people would be to actually go out and try some other Ibanez guitars besides the low end GIO series before making such ignorant comments.

ItsEvolutionBaby74

rigneyclan wrote:

Ibanez makes some really great guitars and some really crappy guitars. I've owned 6 and they were all great guitars, ranging in price from $170-$900.

It's true that all Ibanez guitars are made overseas in countries like Japan (Ibanez is a Japanese company after all), China, and Indonesia, but that doesn't mean they're of poor quality. I think it's rather ignorant and ridiculous how some people can say that Ibanez suck just because they aren't made in the USA. I just recently acquired an Ibanez JetKing1 guitar that was made in Indonesia and cost me only $170 on ebay. I can honestly say it's my best playing guitar, and I own a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Strat. No Joke!

Of course I know it's just personal opinion, but my suggestion to those people would be to actually go out and try some other Ibanez guitars besides the low end GIO series before making such ignorant comments.

It's amazing how prejudiced some people are against any guitar that doesn't say "MADE IN U.S.A." and quite honestly, when it comes to technology, Japan has us beat, meaning a $170 Japanese Guitar is ALOT more likely to be of greater value than a $170 American Guitar.

lucylespian

I've had my old Ibanez acoustic since 1980, and it can still hold itself up in any company.
Ibanez pissed Gibson off by making quality copies, not cheap ones, and made them look bad by comparison.
AFAIK, they did a lot of sub work for other people in the early days, and still do most of their own manufacture. MAxon did make their pedals, for sure.

Here in Oz, "MAde in JApan" is a mark of outstanding quality, and used boastfully in advertising.
Maybe we were quicker to forgive the war.

Yielded

ItsEvolutionBaby74 wrote:

It's amazing how prejudiced some people are against any guitar that doesn't say "MADE IN U.S.A." and quite honestly, when it comes to technology, Japan has us beat, meaning a $170 Japanese Guitar is ALOT more likely to be of greater value than a $170 American Guitar.

Thank you. I myself own a RG1570 and think it's an outstanding instrument. Very versatile, very well built. I don't shred.

Also, I have played American and Japanese Fender guitars and would happily choose a Japanese made Fender over an American one.

BinFrog

I have 2 S470 Ibanez guitars and I love them. I also have an Ibanez bass which is great for tooling around with. My Breedlove acoustic-electric sounds fantastic, but my S470 (especially the black one) is my baby.

ianvomsaal

Please don't lump us all together - I really like all the JAPANESE guitars I own (and I'm in USA).
Though my Japs are either handmade or custom, their workmanship still beats any Gibson "near their price-point."
And fortunately most are typically half the cost of their comparable guitar "quality-wise" that are made in the US.
That aside, I still own a quite few American Guitars (and I love all my guitars).

- Ian