Please Ibanez, I love the whole concept of your Iron Label line of guitars but I think you sort of miss the mark on two areas. First just dump the kill switch. This is supposed to be a no frills guitar and in my opinion a kill switch is more unnecessary than a dang tone knob. I don't get the removal of a tone control but the addition off kill switch. That just seems silly to me. And second is more a personal taste thing but I think the Gibraltar bridges are ugly. I think you would be much better off going with a tune-o-matic/string through setup. I mean you already have them going thru the body anyway. Anyway, these are just my thoughts on what would make these the perfect guitars for me. I'm pretty sure many others will agree.
Thanks for looking,
JL

I am not Ibanez, but felt I have to say something anyway.

The Iron Label series are extremely successfull, so it seems like not that many people agree with you on you comments. I, for example, would not even consider it if it had a tune o magic instead. The Gibraltar works flawless and looks like a guitar bridge.
I don't care at all for a kill switch myself, and I love a good working tone control, but there are obviously a lot of people that disagree with me.
And the are loads of other guitars without it if it disturbs me enough.
Same with the bridge, if that was something that disturbed me.

/Magnus

I agree with your opinions on this, but I would have to say that I wonder if the sort of person who buys an Iron Label guitar does so 'because' it has a kill switch or 'despite' it having a kill switch...

It's certainly a 'cool' thing, but is it really anything more than an extra way of differentiating between product lines...

Tune o matic? Please I beg you to reconsider

Agree, I don't think the kill switch are the thing that are a big reason for buying, or not buying, a IR. It is, as you say, a feature that many other RGs don't have, and that is a sales point.

Very easy to remove if it is a problem.
Not really anything worth thinking about, in my opinion.

/Magnus

don't get me wrong, I love the Iron Label line. I think the concept is perfect for what "metal" players are looking for. I just can never remember ever thinking "gee, I really wish I had a kill switch." They just seem gimmicky to a line of guitars that are supposed to be "gimickless"...

As far as the tune-o-matic goes, I just think they look better. In my opinion, TOM+ string thru looks sweet where the Gibraltar (although a perfectly adequate bridge design) is just ugly. to me it looks like a big hunk of metal in the bridge are. Where at least the floyds (which I am trying to get away from) has some sort of shape and provides an added utility, the TOM is very minimalist and has a classic and classy look. The Gibraltar is just ugly, that's all.

I'm not Ibanez either but I think that a big percentage of Ibanez players are people who at one point were using a trem-equipped guitar. For those people, the look of having a proper bridge is important and I think that the Gibraltar is a good solution. Tune-O-Matic would just look odd on an Ibanez.

You can never please everyone, but I think the Gibraltar bridge is the right solution for a plurality of Ibanez players.

don't you need an angled neck to have a TOM? I might be wrong in this..

I think the Kill Switch is nice, for a guy who always leaves his guitar plugged in and would like a switch to extend his 9V battery's lifespan! haha

-don't you need an angled neck to have a TOM? I might be wrong in this..

No you don't need an angled neck as you can always just recess the TOM bridge.

To address the idea that most Ibby players are used to having a trem, I think your right about that. Although I am trying to get away from using Floyds (too much hassle when changing tunings), I still think they look good, and I think Ibanez has THE best looking Floyd Rose style tremolos out there. I guess its just a matter of opinion and everyone has one. I've owned 4 Ibanez guitars since I was 16 and I still have one. They are my favorite brand of production guitars. I don't think I would ever buy an Iron Label since I started building my own guitars so its kind of a moot point, but because I need to love the way my guitars look, if were to buy one, I would have to buy one of the trem models.

after i posted, I remembered that Schecters have that TOM style with a straight neck