ibanez theory....

C

cubanorocker316

New member
Hello all, i have a theory about ibanez guitars that has never failed me, the theory is that no matter how cheap or what model most ibanez guitars are very good, in action ,sound etc...

does anyone here support this theory ?

thanks in advance.....

- Lou
 
They are kind of like Taylors, which is to say; they are never bad, usually very good, but NEVER great.

Unlike, say, a Gibson which can be awful, but when you find the best of the Gibsons (which has nothing to do with the price point, or anything else but pure chance), they will be the best guitar you ever played. You just have to look for it.

But the workmanship on most Ibanezes is fine. Not great, but fine.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
I've always thought that the more a person knows about guitars, the harder it is to find one you like. That's why I've been on the verge of knowing how to play guitar for about 13 years now.

I like all my guitars. Even the composite one made China.
 
I've had a couple Ibanez's in my time. My favorite was a 540 Saber that I owned. Awsome guitar and thin as hell. The other was a pretty decent one. But nothing like the Saber.
 
Light said:
They are kind of like Taylors, which is to say; they are never bad, usually very good, but NEVER great.
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Perfectly put, and never more true than with the Artcore series. The artcores are ridiculously consistent, never outstanding either way, which is really why they're perfect for beginners, because you don't have to know a lot about guitar to pick out a good one. They're also perfect for people who like skinny necks and their prices are always fare, I'm just wishing now that they made some models with thicker necks, but hopefully some day I'll have a chance to try out some of the older Artist models, the new ones are pretty good. Supposedly the 70's Ibanez guitars kicked the $#!^ out of the Gibsons that so many of them copied.
 
I have a 1985 Destroyer II, a 1990 Sabre and a High end RG 7 string. All are good guitars but the Sabre stands out to my ear and plays better than the others. It is my opinion that the higher end Ibanez guitars are great.
 
Ibanez RG is one of the finest guitars I've ever had. 6 mos. ago a speaker fell off and pushed the volume pot clear inside the body cavity. Haven't got that repaired yet but it still plays great. Busted one screw on the Floyd Rose, got to order a new one from StewMac.....someday!
 
I grew up aroun die hard Gibson and Fender players, and for years was one myself. Then around 1986 someone handed me an Ibanez, my fingers fell in love imediately. Since then I have owned several (bought sold and bought more.) Presently I only have 3, an RG and 2 Ax series. The RG is all stock while both the Axs have had pickup upgrades, Duncans on one, Dimarzios on the other. I have somewhat small square hands and the thin necks seem to fit me perfectly. I teach guitar and do set up/repair so I have had the chance to play quite a few different guitars, everything from $4000 Gibsons to $99 no names, Ibanez guitars have been consistant more than most other brands. Whenever I'm asked to recomend a guitar by a student (or parent) my most frequent response is get an Ibanez, for the money they are pretty good guitars, so far I've never had a complaint from anyone who took my advice so to me that says a lot.
Naturally anyone who likes big fat necks (a lot of people do) probably wont like the feel of an Ibanez.
 
They do seem very consistent!
I can't get on with them however, due to the aforementioned small neck thing.
 
A few yrs. back, I had a CRAZY girlfriend try to break it by stomping on the neck...cracked the body, but the neck survived without a scratch, hate her, but love the neck!
 
Slowrider said:
A few yrs. back, I had a CRAZY girlfriend try to break it by stomping on the neck...cracked the body, but the neck survived without a scratch, hate her, but love the neck!
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If anyone did that to my guitar I would stomp on their neck. In cases like that I don't beleive its neccessary to discrimanate by gender either. My guitars mean more to me than most people mean to me. Because unlike most people, they have never let me down.

I love my RG 7 string :D
 
Sirnothingness said:
I've had a couple Ibanez's in my time. My favorite was a 540 Saber that I owned. Awsome guitar and thin as hell. The other was a pretty decent one. But nothing like the Saber.
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Ive had one since I was 16 and it's still my favorite guitar I own.
 
I think one of the reasons you can rely on Ibanez guitars is the strict quality control they go through. Everytime I have ordered an Ibanez, someone has given me a call to let me know that there will be a couple days delay as they have to go through the guitar with a fine tooth comb to make sure its all in good shape and working properly.

This is always reassuring to me. :)
 
im and Ibanez dealer.... so im familliar firsthand witht their whole line..... heres the unbiased scoop......

Their acoutic line is THE BEST VALUE for asian made guitars. In the last 2 years, their QC and setups have left very little to be desired. Even the low end PFs are great players.

The Artcore line is well built as well..... an killer value when ya compare em to the shoddy work and setup on the Epiphones, Jay Turser etc..... Maybe the PuPs leave a little to be desired, but for the price... ya still end up ahead in the longrun.

Not much of a shredddddeeeeeeerrrrrrr fan, but if ya like skinny necks and hot PuPs. The S and RG line will serve ya well.

Their low end basses are good too. The skinny necks kinda bug me, but the PuPs are nice and clear.

Dont want this to sound like an Ibanez rah rah session.... but I really believe in this line..... If ya dont have the cash to buy hand made USA guits... you will get great value for the bucks w/ Ibanez.
 
Nah, Ibanez rules, that's just all there is to it. I'm sick of hearing the sporatic guitar geeks poo poo on them over the years. I've owned all the classic good guitars, and Ibanez is still my favorite to play....that goes for pretty much all types of playing as well....not just metal.
 
I'm an Ibanez dealer too, and all the time reps come in trying to sell me this or that guitar and I check the price tag and point to the Ibanez stuff on the wall. It creams its competitors in terms of what you get. I kinda wish they did a higher end 'vintage' mahogany-and-maple guitar, like the Artist ARX300 they've just re-released this year but about three times the price. Then there'd be something a little more accessible to non-rock Les Paul users.

The Soundgear basses can't be touched for the money. The Artcore stuff is really good. ALL the Prestige lines and particularly the RG stuff is superb build quality. Got an RG1527 7-string through yesterday for a customer and I was blown away by how easy the neck was to play for a 7-string.

Oh yeah, and certainly in the case of the UK, the distributor (Headstock) checks each guitar over before despatch, which helps because we've never had a duff or sub-standard guitar arrive at our end.

The only problem with this picture is that I don't actually own any!! My rock guitars are an ESP and an old Westone Prestige 150. But I might be picking up a 2nd-hand RG1550 which has the tiniest neck I've ever seen!! :)

Nik
 
I'm a proud owner of two "saber" line Ibanez guitars. One a six string and the other a 7-string. I just fell in love with not only their playability but the workmanship as well. To me they are "great" guitars, but hey,..I felt that my Kramer KnightSwan was a "great" guitar too! Everybody is gona have their opinion on this one. My S-470 even has the ZR trem, which I wish they made one for the 7-strings as well because once you figure out how to adjust them properly they are REALLY nice.
 
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