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IBANEZ 2013 (who has the inside scoop)

174K views 990 replies 118 participants last post by  MatiasTolkki 
#1 ·
IBANEZ 2013 (who has the inside scoop)! What will be new,,what to be expected for us ibanez fans who just cant wait. :p anyone know post here :D
 
#382 ·
I wouldn't be surprised if they already are outselling MIJ stuff.
This might kick up a hornet's nest but in construction there are certain parts of the country where labor skill is, arguably, better than in other regions. We get this a lot in South Florida as we are typically viewed as a low skill, low pay right to work state. I like to think the people where I work are quality from the highest position to the lowest. We've proven it. So, yeah, you can have an enclave of good workers in what is, somewhat stereotypically, seen as a low skill labor market. The argument works in reverse as there are places in the US where it is believed there are lots of skilled workers. The same holds true for the types of skill concentrated in a given area. Chances are you're going to find an abundance of workers skilled in financial markets in New York. Odds are you're going to find a bunch of folks who know how to work on airplanes in or near Seattle. It's just what they've done in a given location for some time. You just don't find many auto workers in Florida because, as far as I know, we don't build cars.
I'm betting FujiGen is probably the same way. They've been building guitars very well for some time now there. And yes, they started out with their share of lumps from what I read in the Ibanez: Untold Story book.
Kicking over another hornet's nest; Premiums remind me a lot of RG's made in the late 80's and early 90's. This was still an era where Ibanez was viewed with similar skepticism in terms of quality. (I remember this because this is when I started playing them.) IMO, it wasn't until the late 90's to early 00's that they really hit their stride, culminating in what I see as the ultimate RG built to date; one with a bubinga stripe super wizard with either an original edge or low-pro edge. Ignoring JCustoms (and maybe even early Prestiges) this was the best RG I think ibanez has made. There's a lot of sentimentality here over early RG's but as I see it models made from say 1998 to 2005 were probably the best on average and better made than their early counterparts which we love so much.
And me saying modern Premiums remind me of late 80's RG is probably more of a good thing. Hopefully Premiums follow suit and grow to be much better as well like the MIJ RG;s did.
But these are my opinions. In terms of quality I wonder what, say, Rich's views are - or someone like him who's seen and played thousands upon thousands of these guitars.
I should also be fair and say I don't own a Premium. I think the best instruments can do well even after you've beat on them a few years. This is where standard, low tier, Indo RG's fall short. They don't age well. Meanwhile my '01 RG570 still kicks royal ass and has an aged neck that feels better than when I bought it. I'm interested in seeing how Premiums age.
 
#418 ·
Didn't need to compare prices.......... I compared guitars.

LTD and Schecter offer me nothing that I like to play........ not that I haven't tried. The C1 classic is a beautiful instrument...... The LTD elite MII looks great, but at $1500 I want a German OFR....not an LFR as per usual on LTD's

ESP and Jackson both have fabulous offerings but only in the $2k plus range. The MII ntb is a killer as is the Jackson SL-1 but at $1900 for the MII (only available in bk) and the Jackson SL-1 starting at $2500..they're out of contention for me. I also tried VERY hard to fall in love with an SL-3 (pro series) when they were out, but they were all big POS's!!! and being NTB their neck issues could be fixed.
 
#406 ·
I had the chance to check out a Premium Jem and a Premium RG920 while at Rich's house recently. They just aren't the same. I'll leave it at that.

Everyone is making the mistake of assuming that MIJ prices are set in stone and will always increase. Prices have come down dramatically before. It has nothing to do with the company and everything to do with the currency.

The worst it ever got was 1995, which you may remember as the death of a lot of higher end models. The best it's been was 1999-01, which is when the big price reset occurred and when you may remember there was the introduction of some great higher end models like the RG3120. The currency has been hovering a few percentage points above 1995 levels for a few years now.
 
#408 ·
You can not care what your competition is doing right up to the point that they eat your lunch. I know Ibanez has to make a profit but at some point prolonged price increases makes the customer walk away. I have. I don't think I'll buy a new MIJ model until prices come down. I'll buy used until they do. I am a sucker for Ibanez and don't imagine I'd ever switch brands.
I guess Premiums aren't so bad at $800-900 but rethinking my earlier posts I don't see why you can't give the customer what they want at that price. I like the Premium neck profile myself and don't know if a super wizard Premium is feasable. Put in Original Edge on all Premiums and I imagine a lot of the trash talk would subside.
Again, just my opinion on options and quality.
People walking away on higher price is pretty much fact.
 
#410 ·
This is so true and we are in 2013 and from all accounts still being in soft economic times, this year's catalog will be key for Ibanez. I can't think of a more important time to lower prices and/or offer higher quality for the dollar than this year.

I was out to get a main gigging guitar and my choices were Fender Am. Std. strat, RG, SG Studio, and the ESP/LTD. The most expensive pro-level option at the time was the Ibanez RG and S guitars. I walked away from Ibanez and got the ESP/LTD Viper for hundreds less than a comparable mid-line RG. And when I did this we were still in pretty good economic times.

Besides the competition and the pressure from there, we are five years into the economic collapse and Ibanez will be hurting if they don't get that fully pro option available for $800-$900 like you say. As we are screwing around hoping for that guitar, Gibson has the faded Les Paul Studio which can get it done on all levels and Fender has the American Special Stratocaster and Telecaster, all being less than $800 dollars street price.
 
#416 ·
It's pretty laughable that people are comparing LTD to MIJ Ibanez and calling is a "pro level" instrument. Compare an ESP to a MIJ Ibanez. The only difference is that ESP has had much longer to market their LTD brand and convince people to buy it. They have the same down market compromises compared with an ESP that Premium has compared with Prestige.
 
#423 ·
IDK man I just can't justify dropping $800-900 for a made in Indonesia Premium when I can get mint RG5XX's for $500-600 or RG7XX's for $600-700 with enough money left over to throw some Dimarzio's in also. Just plain better quality at a much lower price. But I don't ever buy new when it come to guitars; it just doesn't make good sense for me because I'm clumsy. Whenever I get something new guaranteed within a week there's a ding in it anyway :D

Hell you can get 1-2 year old MIJ Prestiges for those prices. On top of it all the Premiums don't hold their value at all either.
 
#426 ·
Hell you can get 1-2 year old MIJ Prestiges for those prices. On top of it all the Premiums don't hold their value at all either.
A valid point, but I don't buy a guitar with resale value in mind. Some people may consider it, and it may be wise, but for me a guitar is an instrument. If the Premiums are a solid workhorse instrument, as Rich and many others claim, then it will fulfill my purpose.
 
#428 ·
There are guitars available in all price ranges. There are differences in quality as you go up to a point and then some guitars are just limiteds or you pay for name or anniversary. Anyway, there isn't much point arguing about it because if arguing about pricing brought down prices everything on earth would be practically free. Buy whatever you can afford and appreciate it for what it is. I loved my Korean JS for years and years. Once I got a MIJ JS I knew there was no going back, but that doesn't mean that I couldn't enjoy the cheaper instrument before that. Don't go into a guitar store and try a two three thousand dollar guitar if you can't afford more than a few hundred. If I test drive a Porsche but can only afford a KIA, I don't think it means Porsche should drop it's prices.
 
#439 ·
I actually don't mind Indo RG's at all and understand bitching about price won't bring them down. I'm just noting the comparison to competing brands and think Premiums are overpriced.
I have 3 MIJ RGs, 2 non-Premium Indos, and a Korean Destroyer. I love my RG7321 and have gigged with it without worries. Based on what I know from playing Premiums I'm not going to spend $1,000 for a Premium fixed 7 string. I only paid $400 for the 7321 and really the differences, IMO, don't merit the extra $600. When I sold off my RG7620 my plan was to maybe find a used RG1527 to replace it. I may just stick to that plan.
My basic point is I'd feel like a jacka$$ for spending $900 on a guitar when I can get better quality used for the same or less.
 
#441 · (Edited)
The Ibanez AT-10 looks like a REALLY nice Indonesia-made guitar that is much more affordable than its bigger brother. Further, the specs sound pretty nice and might justify the ~ $1000 street price. Here is what Andy wrote about it in his forum:

Hello Folks,

Very happy to report that the AT-10 prototype I played recently is fantastic!!!
Neck feels exactly like it should and the tone was great!

Looking forward to having an affordable AT available!!!

Andy


However, there are some significant differences to the more costly and Japan-made Ibanez AT-100:

1. No Sperzel locking tuners (Andy swapped the Sperzels to GOTOH H.A.P-M machine heads anyway).

2. The bridge is not a Wilkinson/Gotoh VSVG bridge. Instead, it looks like a Wilkinson WVC Vintage Tremolo to me which is, honestly speaking, a quite reduced and much less cost-intensive vibrato than the VSVG.

3. The string-tree is at a different position, much narrower to the nut. I wonder if this affects tone and/or has been necessary due to the different bridge that is used.

4. The truss rod cavity is much longer. On the AT-100 models the end of the truss rod is protruding.
 
#435 ·
Wait, is that even new? I just saw an NGD thread about it from 2009 :lol:

I read on another forum that it was new for 2013.

Anyway, if it's anything like the RT650, it will be an awesome guitar.

According to Ibanez.com it has an "AT Premium" neck but no specs are given. According to the ibanez wiki it is 21mm at the 1st fret, 23 at the 12th, and has a 305mm radius.

So it's a little thicker than the Viper neck on the RT series which was 19.5/21.5mm and 305mm.
 
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