KentBrockman
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An unpainted back has generally been considered a premium feature by some, as painting the back is a way of hiding a multi-piece body and/or non-aesthetically pleasing wood. Obviously this concern is limited to very low-end guitars and no-one has such concerns about an MIJ Ibby, whether the back is painted or not, but that doesn't stop this spec "feeling" more premium to some people.
Personally, I don't think it looks cheap, and I even think it looks good on some models. My favourtie Ibby finishes have a figured top with the mahogany back & sides blended in using the same transparent finish all over, rather than a coloured finish on top and a colourless / natural finish on the back & sides. I much prefer my 'Sodalite' RG8520 with matching back over the current 'Emerald Green' finish that has a natural mahogany coloured back, but I don't think the 'Emerald Green' version looks cheaper...just less to my taste.
A lot of people used to complain about the stock Ibanez pickups, so this will have been a response to feedback / demand. I suspect that the increase in production cost for using DiMarzios over Ibanez stock pickups is less than what we can sell an almost new set of DiMarzio for on the used market (to offset the cost of the replacement pickups), so I'm not convinced that we're taking a financial hit.
Although a new Prestige has always been good value for money compared to it's competition, quite a few people complained that Ibanez should be able to provide brand name pickups at that price point. Plenty of people opted for cheaper Premium / Iron Label models with "better" stock pickups, or went for abother manufacturer's equivalents to Premium / Iron Label, wthout understanding / valuing the benefits of Prestige.
What I'm not a fan of is Ibanez putting Fluence Moderns in so many models. I want passive pickups in my guitars, so stock actives would be a significant inconvenience to me when I swap out the pickups (with Fluence Moderns, it would be "when" not "if"). Obviously some people want active pickups, but I find it hard to believe the demand for them is as high as Ibanez's use of them would suggest...maybe it is though!
They seem to put actives in the MIJ models that I like the finishes on and poassives in the ones I don't. When I wanted to buy a fixed-bridge Prestige RG back in 2020, I liked the "Dark Tide Blue" finish on the RG5121 that has Fluence Moderns and disliked the "Weathered Black" RG652FX. I was torn between the higher cost + hassle of cahnging out all the electronics vs. settling for a finish that I dislike (and now has a reputation for the paint wearing through within 2-3 years). Fortunately, I found a dealer that still had one of the discontinued 'Galaxy Black' RG652FXs in stock (with Tone Zone + Air Norton that have a higher resale price than Fusion Edge, as a further bonus).
I'm unsure whether you mean maple fretboards in general are ugly, that they don't fit the overall aesthetic of some recent Ibanez models, or that something about Ibanez's recent maple fretboards has been ugly compared to an average maple fretboard.
Whichever you mean, I'm really not a fan of maple fretboards, so I agree. There have been a few models that were a rosewood / ebony fretboard away from satisfying my preferences (every Ibanez is one spec away though right).
I think I agree with the points you have made. Some guitars look fine with the unpainted back. The RG652AHM pulls it off pretty well - the green blue front with the maple fretboard and the unpainted ash body evokes a beach aesthetic. I can't say it works well for the RG5320 Cosmic Shadow though...!
I definitely remember people being annoyed with V7/V8 pickups, but I think this is a case of the grass being greener on the other side. I guess this is what the market wants (not necessarily a certain brand, but something that IS branded) and only the Genesis line is left for people who want a bare basic MIJ model...but I'll never buy one because of the maple board and colors that I don't like.
RE maple fretboards...I just don't like maple fretboards. I gave them a shot with an RG652AHM but it messed with my eyes too much when looking at the fretboard when playing. With that said, there are some models where the maple fretboard looks weird with the body finish. There was a bright orange one a year or two ago that had a maple fretboard. The RG652 colors except for the blue green one look weird with the maple fretboard.
IIRC people complained a LOT about the dark and boring finishes and the stock pickups that we got between 2000-2015, but I think they have overcorrected now. I keep buying Prestiges from that era because Ibanez hasn't put anything out recently that I want to spend $2k on. I have now acquired all of the Prestiges (and the '00 JEM7VWH) that I can realistically acquire and I am being pushed further and further towards Ernie Ball Petrucci models...
