Trouble deciding between Ibanez 7 Prestige vs Premium :(

[ekarinsm]

If you've got the cash to spend, Prestige all the way man; it will play great for as long as you want to keep it around. Premium has some sick looking finishes, but like the others have said, the quality control is so-so. Then again, if you have a trusted luthier, a Premium can be buttered up to play awesome as well.

Good luck!

 

[DeathbyDesign]

I would agree to go with a prestige. I have tried some of the premiums when they pop up at GC and I haven't found one yet that felt complete to me.

 

[Konfyouzd]

Oddly I've had more Prestiges with issues than Premiums but I've owned more Prestiges than the 2 Premiums I've had which I may have just been lucky with. Playability, I feel the Prestiges play better out of the box but if you're down to tinker, then the Premiums play great after a set up.

 

[Speedy!]

Thanks everyone for your opinions!

In the end, I didn’t want to get a “bad” Premium, so I ended up getting an RG752 from Rich Harris at Ibanez Rules.

He worked on the fret edges for me, and I ended up getting an awesome guitar!

 

[noise in my mind]

Thanks everyone for your opinions!

In the end, I didn’t want to get a “bad” Premium, so I ended up getting an RG752 from Rich Harris at Ibanez Rules.

He worked on the fret edges for me, and I ended up getting an awesome guitar!

You have chosen wisely.

 

[Type_R3387]

You can’t go wrong with Rich!!

 

[Wallysef]

I've just received my rg752ahm-ngb prestige (from Thomann). It's surely a great guitar but frets edges are supposed to have a special "prestige" treatment...what the hell ! They are sharp. It probably can be easily solved but I get a strange vibration with the A open string. It doesn't sound like a fret buzz but I can't find out where it comes from. I don't like sending back stuff without a reason but it's a 1700 € guitar !

 

[exo]

I've just received my rg752ahm-ngb prestige (from Thomann). It's surely a great guitar but frets edges are supposed to have a special "prestige" treatment...what the hell ! They are sharp. It probably can be easily solved but I get a strange vibration with the A open string. It doesn't sound like a fret buzz but I can't find out where it comes from. I don't like sending back stuff without a reason but it's a 1700 € guitar !

Maple boarded Prestige’s haven’t gotten the same fret treatment for some time now.

 

[Wallysef]

Thomann's web page : "24 Jumbo frets with prestige fret edge treatment". I don't care it's not round, but it's clearly raw from machining. A good QC shouldn't have fail. Why paying for Japanese luthier's work ?

 

[Yul Brynner]

Thanks everyone for your opinions!

In the end, I didn’t want to get a “bad” Premium, so I ended up getting an RG752 from Rich Harris at Ibanez Rules.

He worked on the fret edges for me, and I ended up getting an awesome guitar!

The best decision.

 

[USMarine75]

If you can afford either always go MIJ Prestige.

I'd buy a used Prestige before I'd ever buy a Premium. And the resale on the Prestige will be there, as opposed to the Premium.

MII just isn't there yet. It's where MIK was in the late 90's or MIM in early 2000's... hit or miss. MIM, MIJ, MIK are all killer nowadays. I'm sure eventually the Vietnam market will be tapped... that is where a lot of high end baby furniture comes from now, so I know the woodworking skills are there.

 

[exo]

Thomann's web page : "24 Jumbo frets with prestige fret edge treatment". I don't care it's not round, but it's clearly raw from machining. A good QC shouldn't have fail. Why paying for Japanese luthier's work ?

That actually fits the description of the fret ends on the RG852MPB-gfbb I used to own to perfection. Snipped, roughly even with the fretboard, and pretty much the opposite of what I’d expected from the “Prestige fret end treatment” that built the “just get a Prestige” mythology.

You can find posts at Ibanez Rules bemoaning the fret ends on maple board Prestige instruments that go back 7-8 years. Apparently, this has just been “the way it is” for awhile......and yeah, it SUCKS. I’ve heard some noise that things are better on “newer” instruments, but there’s no guarantee that an in-stock 752AHM is actually “newer”.

 

[Wallysef]

It turns out I can deal with sharps edges even I don't get what Ibanez made me pay for, but I really care about this parasitic vibration. Speedy! : Is every thing fine with your guitar now that fret edges issue is solved ?

 

[Sogradde]

I've just received my rg752ahm-ngb prestige (from Thomann). It's surely a great guitar but frets edges are supposed to have a special "prestige" treatment...what the hell ! They are sharp. It probably can be easily solved but I get a strange vibration with the A open string. It doesn't sound like a fret buzz but I can't find out where it comes from. I don't like sending back stuff without a reason but it's a 1700 € guitar !

Ibanez has had this problem on maple fretboards for years. No idea what's going on but it happens on all the prestige models (except for the 550 reissue for some reason).
It's one of the things keeping me from buying one of the new prestiges with SS frets.

 

[Vyn]

For what it's worth, my local has both in stock and I've played both. For the price difference new (the RGR is about 25% more expensive than the Premium), it's worth it - half of that price difference is the cost of the bareknuckles in the RGR which shit over the Fusions in the Premium.

 

[dirtool]

Btw, I found the frets on 752/652 are ridiculously big, which make me feel weird when playing it, haven't see that big frets on other models.

 

[Albake21]

Btw, I found the frets on 752/652 are ridiculously big, which make me feel weird when playing it, haven't see that big frets on other models.

If I remember correctly the frets on my RG752 and RG652 were the same as my other Prestige models. Same as my RG1527, RG3250MZ, and SV5470.