Ibanez updates their website with the NAMM 2006 models!

[Dee]

Originally Posted by mi2tom

Some of you guys here should work with the ibanez company, all they want to do is to sell the same guitar all the time

Alfred, all I ever wanted was to work as a guitar designer / builder. Working for Ibanez is a dream of mine.

[fettouhi]

Originally Posted by Dee

The unfortunate thing is, many of us here are enthusiasts who are very much past the stage of entry-level guitars. What we need is a few guitars with maple boards in the mid and mid-to-high range. The absolute best solution would be if they made ALL of their guitars with a choice of maple or rosewood. 50/50. There would be absolutely no more complaints about fretboard woods ever again.

After that, all they'd need is better colours. A reintroduction of certain old-school JEM/RG colours such as FA, DY and RF... and if they were to be REALLY daring, make an RG in Loch Ness Green... I would buy one immediately, no questions asked.

And last but not least... reverse headstocks.

Basically, a LNG RG550-style guitar with maple board, offset colour-matched dots (or anything other than plain old black dots in the centre of the board), fully bound body, neck and headstock in BLACK binding (a little more original, and beautifully striking), plus reverse and colour-matched headstock...

The thought of it... is... almost... orgasm inducing!!!

EDIT: I've got it. Inlay the dots across the board starting from the bass side and ending at the treble side. Zachary Guitars do them like this and it looks killer.

SWEET!!!

Regards

André

[Drew]

You know, I hate to state the obvious here, but Ibanez today is catering to a VERY different audience than those of you who were buying florescent guitars from them in the mid-80's. Neon colors don't have the same pull with the rank-and-file Ibanez consumer as they do with the diehard Jemsite contingent, and the sad truth is they would seem dated and kind of tacky in a contemporary lineup, as a rather obvious holdover from the 80's. Today, that won't sell.

I'm not saying Ibanez doesn't need to offer more colors than black - they desperately do. But, they need to offer something fresh because what sold in 1987 most likely won't sell today. "That cubed blue" RG was a step in the right direction, and the metal flake RG's were interesting. We need more of that, undoubtably. But neon colors? Come on guys, let's be realistic.

[NeglectedField]

Originally Posted by Drew

You know, I hate to state the obvious here, but Ibanez today is catering to a VERY different audience than those of you who were buying florescent guitars from them in the mid-80's. Neon colors don't have the same pull with the rank-and-file Ibanez consumer as they do with the diehard Jemsite contingent, and the sad truth is they would seem dated and kind of tacky in a contemporary lineup, as a rather obvious holdover from the 80's. Today, that won't sell.

I'm not saying Ibanez doesn't need to offer more colors than black - they desperately do. But, they need to offer something fresh because what sold in 1987 most likely won't sell today. "That cubed blue" RG was a step in the right direction, and the metal flake RG's were interesting. We need more of that, undoubtably. But neon colors? Come on guys, let's be realistic.

You're totally right there, even though I'd like to own a silly-coloured JEM (but brand new). It just isn't in tune (scuse the pun) with people's tastes these days and as I've said on this place before, most guitar brands will pander more to popular taste than guitar geeks like ourselves

[mi2tom]

Originally Posted by Dee

Alfred, all I ever wanted was to work as a guitar designer / builder. Working for Ibanez is a dream of mine.

I hope your dream come true Dee, and get us some cool looking ibanezes, they're out of ideas and are getting boring though but still I support them

[Ayrton]

Originally Posted by Drew

But neon colors? Come on guys, let's be realistic.

Maybe, but Fender has done quite well with colors from the 50's recently. Heck, it is just paint, Ibanez should give it a go.

[Ant1981]

Originally Posted by Dee

The unfortunate thing is, many of us here are enthusiasts who are very much past the stage of entry-level guitars. What we need is a few guitars with maple boards in the mid and mid-to-high range. The absolute best solution would be if they made ALL of their guitars with a choice of maple or rosewood. 50/50. There would be absolutely no more complaints about fretboard woods ever again.

After that, all they'd need is better colours. A reintroduction of certain old-school JEM/RG colours such as FA, DY and RF... and if they were to be REALLY daring, make an RG in Loch Ness Green... I would buy one immediately, no questions asked.

And last but not least... reverse headstocks.

Basically, a LNG RG550-style guitar with maple board, offset colour-matched dots (or anything other than plain old black dots in the centre of the board), fully bound body, neck and headstock in BLACK binding (a little more original, and beautifully striking), plus reverse and colour-matched headstock...

The thought of it... is... almost... orgasm inducing!!!

EDIT: I've got it. Inlay the dots across the board starting from the bass side and ending at the treble side. Zachary Guitars do them like this and it looks killer.

NICE!!!

[Davey]

I was thoroughly behind the idea of bright colours and maple fretboards, but the fact remains, only a small fraction of people will buy them. Compared to the current crop of emo/death/heavy rock guitarists that want their guitars 50 shades of black, the guys that want flashy colours are only a handful in the grand scheme of things (and even less are willing to buy the damn things.)

Last time I checked, the petition to get neon colours only had 455. That's 455 in THE WORLD not just in one particular country, so I don't blame Ibanez for not offering them.

If people are only prepared to pay around £250 for a used one (and that's in near mint condition most of the time), why SHOULD Ibanez bring out 80's style guitars again? At the end of the day, you can buy them off of e-bay cheap enough and there is nothing stopping any of you from doing just that.

I'd love them to bring them out, but it'd be a stupid move on Ibanez's part if they did.

[Davey]

Originally Posted by Ibanez249

Last time I checked, the petition to get neon colours only had 455. That's 455 in THE WORLD not just in one particular country, so I don't blame Ibanez for not offering them.

And three of those signatures were me trying to bump up the numbers!

[Dee]

The reason why is because the petition has been posted on just a couple of forums. How is it expected to gain the numbers it needs? If I was to bump it up, people would get sick of it, and I don't want to piss people off. I also don't want to spam it on every forum on the net. I do believe that if more people were aware of it, more people would be in support of it.

As for old Ibanez's selling for £250, I think they go for more than that. I paid £500 for a beat up 777VSK but backed out of the deal because it would have needed another £500 spending on it to get it up to scratch. And if you can tell me where I can find an RG550 in Road Flare and in great condition for £250, please do!

[Davey]

Originally Posted by Dee

The reason why is because the petition has been posted on just a couple of forums. How is it expected to gain the numbers it needs? If I was to bump it up, people would get sick of it, and I don't want to piss people off. I also don't want to spam it on every forum on the net. I do believe that if more people were aware of it, more people would be in support of it.

As for old Ibanez's selling for £250, I think they go for more than that. I paid £500 for a beat up 777VSK but backed out of the deal because it would have needed another £500 spending on it to get it up to scratch. And if you can tell me where I can find an RG550 in Road Flare and in great condition for £250, please do!

I meant for your bog standard RG550, RG770, etc. Jems obviously go for more.

And an RG550 Road Flare Red for £250? Check out the classifieds here, I sold one to Bikeman for £240-260 (can't remember) and that was in pretty damn good condition. That was only a few months ago too (when RG550s were supposed to be up in price)

[Dee]

Arrrgghhh. I was looking for one back then. I missed it, obviously.

[Davey]

That's what I mean, they do come up, it's just a case of looking

[Drew]

Originally Posted by Ayrton

Maybe, but Fender has done quite well with colors from the 50's recently. Heck, it is just paint, Ibanez should give it a go.

Oh, my bad, I totally forgot that Seafoam Green and Daphne Blue were considered neon.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty sick of Fender introducing a new color last used in 1964 and expecting the entire guitar world to have a collective orgasm - it's one of the reasons that I've lost interest in them almost completely (though, I do still love my strat to peices).

However, just becase Fender is doing it doesn't mean that Ibanez necessarily should, too - Fender ansd Ibanez have completely different demographics, with Fender being a hit with the "vintage" minded crowd who like guitars that ARE throwbacks to the axes of the 60's, and they base their continued popularity on this. Ibanez, however, made a name for making cutting edge guitars in the late 80's that were amongst the most advanced guitars on the market at the time. They had advanced tremolo systems, slim built-for-speed necks, bold and contemporary contours, and flashy, contemporary colors to match.

Now, I don't know about you, but when's the last time you saw a lot of neon in the contemporary world? Begging Ibanez to re-issue a line of colors discontinued before 1995 flies completely in the face of their history as a company.

I find it slightly embarrassing that there's a contingent of the site that keeps begging for LNG reissues and new MC swirls - Ibanez did this back in '90, fifteen-odd years ago. At the time it was cool because it was edgy and contemporary - isn't it sort of a disservice to them to NOT ask them to continue in the same vein by doing something new?

[Ayrton]

I realize Fender and Ibanez have different markets, but if the “Ibanez color” topic keeps popping up, then I think Ibanez should listen to its market. I have no idea how many guitars Ibanez sells a year, or how flexible they are in terms of manufacturing, but I would think something like offering more colors and fingerboard options would be in the best interest of sales. I still say it is just paint, so why not take one of the cheaper models (like that new 350MDX) and make a run with some color? Personally I would rather see more body wood and fingerboard options rather than 80’s colors, but I don’t think I am Ibanez’s target consumer.

Oh, and I have a Daphne Blue strat on order and I would take a Sea Foam green one if it was offered (Highway One).