What is it with Ibanez and their lack of maple fingerboards on RG's? I checked out their new lineup of RG's available in Canada and out of the 34 RG models to choose from only 2 of them have maple fingerboards...seriously?!? only 2 out of 34 models?!?

I have owned half a dozen Ibbies over the years, and I currently own a Jem and 2 RGs, and my fave player is my '90 RG550 - that maple neck feels and sounds the best...but if I want to buy a new RG with a maple neck I have 2 choices - a black 3550mz or an orange 3250mz. Are there really so few players who like maple boards that they are only willing to offer 2 with maple boards out of 34 different RG models?! Really? Less than 6 out of every 100 RG players like maple boards?

Anyhow, had to get that out cuz it bugs me...but then so does a lot of things about Ibanez these days...jacked up MIJ prices, premiums that cost what MIJ did only a few years ago, no RG's without the new wide (58mm necks), lack of maple boards...it's all disappointing to me...

Anybody else wish they offered more RG's and/or Jems with maple boards? or is it really a % as low as 2 out of 34?

http://www.ibanez.co.jp/products/eg_series13.php?series_id=147&area_id=2&year=2013& cat_id=1

Its weird too because I think maple is cheaper and easier to work with than rosewood? Plus it looks 100x better

I totally agree!

I'd like to replace my Jackson DK2M with a higher quality guitar with maple board but I don't see what i like either. I can only justify going used as far as another Ibanez is concerned. At least for now. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to pick up another new one but at the current prices I'd have to ask myself why I wouldn't go with a semi-custom from another well known company. Getting maple would be as simple as clicking the selection on the web page.

Craigslist has prestiges and older RG's people can't give away. I've seen several just sitting with no buyers over the past few months ...and cheap, too.

I completely agree .... I think that ibanez has gotten too big for their own good

Yeah! Lets beat them down to size

-Wolfram

Unfortunately, this post has a very narrow view

Ibanez aren't responsible for importing their guitars into Canada, that's your distributer. They're the ones that place the orders for the guitars to be made available to the Canadian market, so it's them you really need to take issue with. In the UK at least, the distributer has staff who look at sales figures and dealer feedback to say what does sell rather than what guys moan about on internet forums. They might lag behind the cutting edge by a couple of years, but they have to have time to analyse those sales figures to try and plan ahead. I presume its no different in Canada.

As of for the pricing, that's partly driven by the global economy and the exchange rate, but also by the fact that Ibanez is out to make money for its owners not act as a charity for its fans. If the guitars didn't sell at a given proce point Ibanez wouldn't still be in business.

It sounds like you either need to hunt for an older guitar, import one privately from a different market or have the fretboard replaced on one of the 32 guitars with a rosewood board Or, switch brand... don't be bound by the name on the headstock, play what suits you best, and if that's a maple boarded 56mm wide-necked guitar by another manufacturer, there you go

Personally, I like both maple and rosewood fingerboards (I have both an RG1550MZ and an RG350EXZ and I like them both). They both have their own qualities and both have their downsides, but I'm happy with both.

Yes. The price is based on what's happening in the world economy and they don't control that. Ibanez simply needs to make a certain margin on their product, and I don't blame them one bit for moving their prices. It's just the way it is. And they do provide options other than prestige if someone wants that.

In the end though, we will individually buy what we feel will give the most value. It used to be MIJ but that seems to be changing because of the dollar...but that's not really what we started talking about

love maple

how long until they start using RichLite ?

Isn't rosewood easier to maintain than maple? I have a guitar with a rosewood fretboard that I didn't play for years and it just sat in its case and it was fine when I pulled it out and played it again. I hear about people having issues with maple boards more than rosewood. Maybe that's why? I dunno.

I agree they look cool, but if 95% of Ibanez guitars had maple finger boards everyone would be all "why aren't there more rosewood fingerboards? Ibanez doesn't listen to the consumer."

On that note, how about bringing the RG331M to the US?

Fair comment - the post was merely venting to some degree, but also offering an Ibanez customer perspective. I found out that Efkay is the Canadian distributor so I think I may follow up with a message to offer them a customer perspective.

As for pricing, again fair comment but I find it alarming that a RG 2550z listed for about $1,000 CDN here about 4 years ago whan I bought mine brand new (came to about $1,100 with the taxes) but now a 3550MZ, which is essentially the same guitar as the 2550z but with a maple neck, is now listing for $1,800. Almost doubling in price in less than 4 years? I am having a hard time believing that the global markets are solely responsible for an increase like that. From my humble perspective as an Ibanez customer, that feels a bit like gouging to me. Be it right or wrong, that is how it feels to me.

As an example of the exact same model

RG2228GK

2008
RG2228GK List Price - $2133.32
SMAP - $1599.99

2012
RG2228GK List Price - $2799.99
SMAP - $2099.99

But everything is going up, regular shipping to canada was $3 last month, is now $6.

My health insurance was $4700 in 2008 and was $7300 last year.

Hoshino as a company has the same increases in their business that all get passed along with higher pricing, before you even consider what the Yen has done.

2008 Yen - $1 = 108.78
2012 Yen - $1 = 85

Fair points Rich. But the average customer that walks in a music store, or surfs your most excellent site, isn't taking all of that into consideration - they are simply seeing the prices of Ibanez Pestige guitars go way up at a rate that appears, based on impression, higher than the recent increases from other guitar companies.

Regarding your health care insurance, man that is so expensive. No wonder so many Americans don't have health insurance...sad that it costs that much to get health insurance coverage in the US. Somewhere, someone is making too much money on providing healthcare in the US...not sure if it's the insurance companies or the hospitals but that seems outrageous for coverage....maybe that's what happens with privatized healthcare... We are lucky in Canada - we pay almost one tenth of that for medical coverage...and I'm not saying that to rub it in any way - I'm merely suggesting that the rates for health coverage in the US seem out of whack in comparison...but that's probably not news to you... Here in BC: