I bought this guitar in 2015, after I regret selling the previous Ibanez I had at that time, a RG7420. In that period, the eight string model with the fixed bridge was available, so I got it. After all, you cannot be a serious heavy metal guitarist without an Ibanez in your arsenal!
Like all low-priced Ibanez, its main peculiarities are solidity and simplicity. Few controls, no frills, everything is ready to use. Like all the guitars of the same brand, its strong point is the neck. It has a very thin profile that enables an ultra-comfortable grip that has no comparison in the entire guitar world (at least for my tastes, but I’m sure that I’m not alone with this opinion).
With its fixed bridge it’s impossible to go out of tuning even when your downstrucks are brick-heavy djenty breakdowns or muscolar power-metal rides.
I remember that this guitars came with a factory tuning of one step below standard, actually quite an unusual choice. However, tuned one step below standard (I tune this way all my instruments, even the basses) there are absolutely no problems, this guitar is rock solid.
I played a lot of gigs with this axe and it always behaved like a powerful workhorse, loyal and reliable. Also, being very cheap, if going up and down the stage it gets some bump, who cares!
Sure, its low price is paid in terms of sound. When unplugged you can realize that by playing the two lowest strings, open or fretted wherever on the neck: they will sound like some kind of fluffy piece of plastic. You can easily describe the sound onomatopeicly with “plop” or “splat”. This does not change even with a new pricey set of fresh strings.
When connected to an amp, the plastic stock pickups will not make anybody happy: not only the most refined djentlemans will eager to replace those terrible microphones as soon as possible. Despite this consideration, I’m still there with the original pickups…. what a lazy person I am!
However, taking into consideration the price of the instrument and feeling of mastery that it provides, I still suggest everyone to buy one, and if for some reason I will need to, I will buy it one thousand times more.
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Where can you buy it
This model (black and lefty) is not available anymore.
Ibanez is producing it in standard dexterity and white color [see Official Ibanez website]