Variant
Banned
Well, since I already posted one of my mock-ups to another thread, I thought I'd finish the other three and make a dedicated thread. I, like many, are a bit underwhelmed by how mundane most of Ibanez' designs are, so despite not having a band/project/otherwise (but I am a mechanical designer 
) here is my signature model eight-string, the Infinity 8. 
It's basically an evolution of an earlier idealized seven-string design I did, fit to the new eight-string motif. The body shape is a bit like the archtop Sabre, but with a thicker (and slightly contoured) back (like a Brain Moore Custom), and longer, more RG-esque horns, accented with chamfer cuts. The thicker body adds a good bit more mass over an S, and rids it of that eyesore top-tilt jack. Construction is a 5-piece neck-through, with ash body wings, and a one-piece maple top (transparent finish or not, I like how it sharpens the tone)... and yes, the transparent models get AAA quilts on the fingerboard and headstock face to match! But no binding, bursts, fades, pickguards, rings, or other garish stuff... makes things look overdone, IMHO.
In fact, the original design had no fingerboard inlays (I'm not a fan), but after experimenting with the off-sides ellipses, I found that it actually balanced the visual elements of the design without cluttering the fingerboard. 
Scale length is 27.0", same as the RG2228, but the bridge is a honest-to-goodness Edge Pro 8, and includes a tremolo blocker that can be installed by hardtail purists. Standard electronic gear... dual humbuckers (EMG 808), 3-way switch, volume, and tone knob. I'd probably drop piezos and a 13-pin RMC output on my own personal guitar, but most guitarists wouldn't pay for/use the VG/MIDI stuff. Tone should be somewhere between the warmth of a Strat and the tightness of a Les Paul, but with a good deal more brightness on the top. Decent sustain without sounding spongy, and not too much midrange quack. So, there you go, what do you all think? Pics and specs are as follows:
Specifications
Construction: Neck-through-body, with one-piece maple top
Scale length: 27.0” (tuned F# B E A D G B E)
Body Wings: Swamp ash
Shape: Infinity 8 (archtop w/ semi-contoured back), with deep-cut, chamfered cutaways
Neck: Infinity 8, 5-piece maple/walnut neck, with Wizard II-8 profile
Fingerboard: Ebony, 430 mm radius, (body-matched quilt maple on models with transparent finishes),
Inlays: Offset ellipse fret markers
Frets: 24, 6100 extra jumbo nickel
Headstock: Infinity 8 reverse, 15-degree tilt back (with body-matched quilt maple veneer on models with transparent finishes)
Bridge: Edge Pro 8, with installable tremolo block
Nut: Toplok 8, with string retainer bar
Tuners: Gotoh, 4 per side
Bridge Pickup: EMG 808
Neck Pickup: EMG 808
Controls: 3-way pickup selector, volume, and tone knob
Available Finishes
QTK = Transparent black over maple quilt / cosmo black hardware / mother-of-pearl inlays
QTC = Transparent crimson over maple quilt / cosmo black hardware / mother of pearl inlays
QTW = Whitewash over maple quilt / with satin nickel hardware / black pearloid inlays
BK = Standard black with ebony fingerboard / with standard black hardware / mother of pearl inlays
) here is my signature model eight-string, the Infinity 8. It's basically an evolution of an earlier idealized seven-string design I did, fit to the new eight-string motif. The body shape is a bit like the archtop Sabre, but with a thicker (and slightly contoured) back (like a Brain Moore Custom), and longer, more RG-esque horns, accented with chamfer cuts. The thicker body adds a good bit more mass over an S, and rids it of that eyesore top-tilt jack. Construction is a 5-piece neck-through, with ash body wings, and a one-piece maple top (transparent finish or not, I like how it sharpens the tone)... and yes, the transparent models get AAA quilts on the fingerboard and headstock face to match! But no binding, bursts, fades, pickguards, rings, or other garish stuff... makes things look overdone, IMHO.
In fact, the original design had no fingerboard inlays (I'm not a fan), but after experimenting with the off-sides ellipses, I found that it actually balanced the visual elements of the design without cluttering the fingerboard. Scale length is 27.0", same as the RG2228, but the bridge is a honest-to-goodness Edge Pro 8, and includes a tremolo blocker that can be installed by hardtail purists. Standard electronic gear... dual humbuckers (EMG 808), 3-way switch, volume, and tone knob. I'd probably drop piezos and a 13-pin RMC output on my own personal guitar, but most guitarists wouldn't pay for/use the VG/MIDI stuff. Tone should be somewhere between the warmth of a Strat and the tightness of a Les Paul, but with a good deal more brightness on the top. Decent sustain without sounding spongy, and not too much midrange quack. So, there you go, what do you all think? Pics and specs are as follows:
Specifications
Construction: Neck-through-body, with one-piece maple top
Scale length: 27.0” (tuned F# B E A D G B E)
Body Wings: Swamp ash
Shape: Infinity 8 (archtop w/ semi-contoured back), with deep-cut, chamfered cutaways
Neck: Infinity 8, 5-piece maple/walnut neck, with Wizard II-8 profile
Fingerboard: Ebony, 430 mm radius, (body-matched quilt maple on models with transparent finishes),
Inlays: Offset ellipse fret markers
Frets: 24, 6100 extra jumbo nickel
Headstock: Infinity 8 reverse, 15-degree tilt back (with body-matched quilt maple veneer on models with transparent finishes)
Bridge: Edge Pro 8, with installable tremolo block
Nut: Toplok 8, with string retainer bar
Tuners: Gotoh, 4 per side
Bridge Pickup: EMG 808
Neck Pickup: EMG 808
Controls: 3-way pickup selector, volume, and tone knob
Available Finishes
QTK = Transparent black over maple quilt / cosmo black hardware / mother-of-pearl inlays
QTC = Transparent crimson over maple quilt / cosmo black hardware / mother of pearl inlays
QTW = Whitewash over maple quilt / with satin nickel hardware / black pearloid inlays
BK = Standard black with ebony fingerboard / with standard black hardware / mother of pearl inlays
...and I sprinted towards Photoshop.
