Ibanez 2012: The Thread

[Jack Secret]

You say this like you were a bona fide endorser; Mr Petrucci, is that you?

No, just a fanboy. I bought enough of them they should have given me a freebie, tho.

 

[Andromalia]

I still feel that a middle range Ibanez Prestige, or ESP Standard still beat out entry level American made guitars.

I woudln't put the pretiges at the same level as ESP standards though.

 

[vampiregenocide]

I'm really hoping for a 7 string Falchion.

 

[Dooky]

Premiums? Ugh. So glad I left Ibanez.

Oh, but no doubt Ibanez misses you sooo much! For the love of god, please go back to them. I hear they are lost without you.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I woudln't put the pretiges at the same level as ESP standards though.

I don't know about that. My RG3xxx and RG2xxx models were just as awesome, if not more so than my ESP M-II and M-II bolt on.

I will say that some of the ESP Original Series (not available in the US) were better, but at $3k+ (over twice what most RG2xxx went for) you were paying for the superiority.

Have you played an Eclipse or Horizon Standard lately? Awesome for sure, but not any more awesome than some of the similarly priced Prestige models. At least from what I've played.

 

[jl-austin]

I have to say that my ESP M1 plays better than my Ibanez RG1550m.

I just can't afford an M-II (any of them), so my next guitar will probably be an Ibanez.

 

[Bones43x]

Just as I feared...more Premium models to eventually replace Prestige models.

Sorry, I just can't bring myself to buy an Ibanez made anywhere other than Japan. I bet they're making a killing off the "Premium" guitars. Indo/cheaper production + selling at Prestige prices must = killer profit margin.

 

[CapinCripes]

Just as I feared...more Premium models to eventually replace Prestige models.

Sorry, I just can't bring myself to buy an Ibanez made anywhere other than Japan. I bet they're making a killing off the "Premium" guitars. Indo/cheaper production + selling at Prestige prices must = killer profit margin.

*flame shield up* to be quite honest i agree with you i feel that the only thing premium about the premiums are the price tags, i mean they go for 899 but you can get a MIJ 3250m for only 1399 i mean sure its a 500 dollar difference but with that you get dimarzio's the original edge zero, MIJ quality, super wizard prestige neck profile, and a maple board... so i don't think that the features on them warrant picking one up instead of spending the 500 extra for the top end prestiges.

 

[Thep]

*flame shield up* to be quite honest i agree with you i feel that the only thing premium about the premiums are the price tags, i mean they go for 899 but you can get a MIJ 3250m for only 1399 i mean sure its a 500 dollar difference but with that you get dimarzio's the original edge zero, MIJ quality, super wizard prestige neck profile, and a maple board... so i don't think that the features on them warrant picking one up instead of spending the 500 extra for the top end prestiges.

 

[CapinCripes]

or you could go with a 1550m for less than $100 more and still upgrade from the zero 2 to a edge zero and get a mij guitar. my point is that these models are placed at a precarious price range where many people, including myself would be apt to look at the price and feature differences between the prestige models and the premiums and find that they can get a better deal for what they are getting from a prestige guitar.
Edit: oh yeah the prestige's come with a hard case while the premiums come with a gig bag, there's that too.

 

[Prydogga]

I woudln't put the pretiges at the same level as ESP standards though.

I'd put them above, to be honest.

 

[robotsatemygma]

They are branded as Premiums, so probably close to $1k. The biggest factors are going to be the number of them made, if there will be any more colors, and if they'll come with a lot of goodies.

Either way, these are going to be far from expensive.

I had a feeling it'd be a stupid insane price.

Then again will these even be released in the States? Or a Euro release only like a lot of the ESP catalog?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I had a feeling it'd be a stupid insane price.

Then again will these even be released in the States? Or a Euro release only like a lot of the ESP catalog?

$1k is "stupid insane"?

Every Ibanez anniversary model to date has been released in the US, I don't see why these would be any different.

 

[Jack Secret]

Oh, but no doubt Ibanez misses you sooo much! For the love of god, please go back to them. I hear they are lost without you.

No thanks. I'm too spoiled with Carvin making guitars exactly as I want them to be for a reasonable price and made in the USA. You can buy Ibanez if you want. Have the prices gone up for dwindling quality again for the fifth year running?

 

[jymellis]

i still cant find the floral pattern on the ibanez site like the one in the sam ash catalog?

 

[jymellis]

go here, 6th page in after you click expand

http://www.samashmusic.com/content/catalog.asp

 

[canuck brian]

*flame shield up* to be quite honest i agree with you i feel that the only thing premium about the premiums are the price tags, i mean they go for 899 but you can get a MIJ 3250m for only 1399 i mean sure its a 500 dollar difference but with that you get dimarzio's the original edge zero, MIJ quality, super wizard prestige neck profile, and a maple board... so i don't think that the features on them warrant picking one up instead of spending the 500 extra for the top end prestiges.

Using this logic, people who buy the middle of the road LTDs in that price range should just suck it up and buy an ESP.

Spend 500 bucks more to get Dimarzios, a better trem and slightly better quality....well that makes sense. It costs more to make in Japan and the parts are more expensive. If someone didn't want to pay the 1399, it makes perfect sense to buy the lower priced one that you can afford.

500 bucks is not an insignificant amount of money. On an 899 guitar, after taxes, you'd asking someone to add 50% to the price. To a musician looking for a good guitar for a decent price, under a grand for a guitar that holds it's own against a lot of higher priced ones is a pretty sweet deal.

From a selling standpoint with Ibanez, it makes perfect sense. They have their lower end guitars, mid range (premium) and the higher end Prestige all at 3 different price points. Some people dont' want the low end stuff but can't afford the higher end ones. The 7 string prestige models also look boring as shit in comparison to the Premium ones. Aside from the neat body curves on the RGD, is there any in the prestige series that looks good visually as the Premium 7's?

This looks fucking badass.

I've played a bunch of at this point - good fretwork, decent hardware, they sound good and they look pretty sweet. I thought they were a great deal for the price.

 

[r3tr0sp3ct1v3]

^ this guy makes a good point. I still haven't had a chance to try a premium. The nicest Ibanez i've tried is my RGT xD

 

[jl-austin]

go here, 6th page in after you click expand

http://www.samashmusic.com/content/catalog.asp

That photo is a misprint. Notice it says it has chrome hardware, and the floral pattern II. That is the current black model, not a re-issue (or special release) of the old model. Misprinted photo, thats all.

 

[jl-austin]

Ibanez knows that the sweet spot for RG's is right around $1k. They have sold guitars for years, they know what market they can successfully compete in. There are a lot of guys that buy the more expensive Ibanez models I know, but 1K is the sweet spot.

Ibanez has tried their hardest to keep the low end MIJ prestige at $1k, they are loosing that battle with the cost of making guitars at fuji-gen.

Look at the features on the top Premium models, they blow away a plain RG1570, and depending on who you talk to, the Premium competes very nicely in terms of play-ability as well.

So, Ibanez was allowed to go CRAZY with the premiums and still keep the price under $1k (the sweet spot for Ibanez).