Ibanez RG8. New Budget 8-string.

[Don Vito]

Saw one of these bad boys in my MF catalog. I've got some spare cash and a coupon..tempting..

Problem is, I don't listen to a single band that uses 8 string guitars. I would just have to sit and come up with stuff at random. Make my own inspiration and sound so to speak.

 

[Mwoit]

Saw one of these bad boys in my MF catalog. I've got some spare cash and a coupon..tempting..

Problem is, I don't listen to a single band that uses 8 string guitars. I would just have to sit and come up with stuff at random. Make my own inspiration and sound so to speak.

That's not really a problem though, you could just make up your own stuff!

 

[Konfyouzd]

I have one in my ebay cart and I just can't pull the trigger... Somehow my conscience won't let me do that if it means I can't get my fam presents in a month... Dammit...

 

[Compton]

Im assuming its going to be made out of the same wood, or less quality wood as the RGA8. I had one for a while, it took far too much effort to make it a nice playing instrument. The wood was dry, the wood felt cheap, and without a pickup swap it was worthless tone wise. i just dont imagine that spending even 400 bucks would possibly be worth it, find something used.

Even considering the fact its entry level, even though i haven't played it i can only go off of my own experience with the rga8, and reading other customer reviews on it. Just thought i would throw that in for anyone seriously considering buying one! Hope you get a good one if ya do!!!

 

[Chalupacabra]

I have taken the first step in buying this guitar in putting my bass on craigslist. I am fully aware that I will probably have to get it "set up" and WILL need to change the pickups, but these are things I can do myself. When I really think about it, only 1 of the guitars that I have ever owned has the stock pickups in it. (My SC-607B still has the EMG 81-7s that it came with, but I constantly toy with changing them too) I am only expecting 7321 ish quality here and don't think I will be disappointed. What more could you really want out of $400 on a new instrument?

As of right now, I am planning on Lace Deathbars for the inevitable pickup swap.

 

[mattchristensen]

Im assuming its going to be made out of the same wood, or less quality wood as the RGA8.

The RG2228 is basswood.
The RGA8 is mahogany.
The RG8 is basswood.

To be honest I always felt that mahogany was a better wood than basswood. Maybe the carved top made you think that the wood was thin and chinsy.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

To be honest I always felt that mahogany was a better wood than basswood.

I've always felt that green was a better color than blue.

 

[mattchristensen]

I've always felt that green was a better color than blue.

Depends if the fretboard is maple.

 

[Konfyouzd]

^Why would it not be maple?

Think...

Speak...

 

[ShadowAMD]

I've always felt that green was a better color than blue.

I might just be a little daft here, but I thought the type and quality of wood greatly contributed to the quality of the guitar? Or why would an RG8 cost $400 and a Mayones 8 string cost 3k? Because pickups alone won't contribute that much to the price.

 

[Mordacain]

I might just be a little daft here, but I thought the type and quality of wood greatly contributed to the quality of the guitar? Or why would an RG8 cost $400 and a Mayones 8 string cost 3k? Because pickups alone won't contribute that much to the price.

Quality of wood contributes greatly to the tone of the guitar. Different types of wood enhance different frequencies in particular but the quality of wood trumps all.

/EDIT, meant to add that the price difference is mostly due to craftsmanship I think

 

[Jzbass25]

I might just be a little daft here, but I thought the type and quality of wood greatly contributed to the quality of the guitar? Or why would an RG8 cost $400 and a Mayones 8 string cost 3k? Because pickups alone won't contribute that much to the price.

Wood quality does contribute a good amount to the guitar imo but you are forgetting that cheap guitars are made in cnc factories from large companies (such as cort but cort is okay imo) with usually unskilled labor that gets paid cents whereas a guitar builder in poland (I think mayones is built there) has to learn his art, build a shop and buy all the tools himself and then also put his love and time into building an instrument of perfection that also has to pay the bills. Also cheaper ibanezes usually use really crap hardware imo. Also someone like mayones probably has a large stock of very quality wood that is stored in a climate controlled environment

Basically you pay for a well crafted guitar with great quality control vs a guitar just pumped out of a factory. Also the wood from most cheaper guitars I find to be very dry and not well kept which can be a problem

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I thought the type and quality of wood greatly contributed to the quality of the guitar?

You are correct, but that doesn't mean that wood "x" is better than wood "y" on any quantifiable level. Just like saying DiMarzio is in no way better than Seymour Duncan.

Different strokes and all that.

Or why would an RG8 cost $400 and a Mayones 8 string cost 3k?

Believe it or not, the cost of materials is incredibly close. Wood of all sorts and variety is extremely cheap, and hardware when purchased on that kind of scale (of both companies) you're not looking at a lot either.

In fact, the part of the build that costs the most is going to be labor, and by a pretty significant margin.

More man hours, and more importantly more expensive man hours go into the construction of something like a Mayones than a low end Ibanez, or any low end guitar really.

Also, you can't forget economy of scale. Ibanez will be pumping out more RG8s than Mayones has ever produced guitars (probably not quite, but you get the idea). That means they can afford to sell them for a smaller profit margin as a much greater number will be sold and shipped to distributors and dealers.

Because pickups alone won't contribute that much to the price.

Correct, but as I stated above, you're not paying for materials, ever really, you're paying for labor, and in many cases the name as well.

The more expensive a guitar over a given point the more diminishing the returns. Is a $4000 guitar better than a $3000 one? Likely not.

 

[ShadowAMD]

^

Thanks it really was a genuine question, besides dodgy electronics.. what could they do to impact the quality of the instrument? I'm trying to see how an RG8 would stack up to something like a Schecter blackjack C-8 or Ibanez RG2228.. Because there is a hefty price tag difference.. Would they really sound that much better? There in the same shop and they might even use the same woods? Then how would it compare (Sound wise) to a $2000.00 Polish equivalent?

(Apologies for being a guitar N00b)! Only figured out how to wire a pup the other day

 

[MaxOfMetal]

^

Thanks it really was a genuine question, besides dodgy electronics.. what could they do to impact the quality of the instrument? I'm trying to see how an RG8 would stack up to something like a Schecter blackjack C-8 or Ibanez RG2228.. Because there is a hefty price tag difference.. Would they really sound that much better, there in the same shop and they might even use the same woods? Then how would it compare (Sound wise) to a $2000.00 Polish equivalent?

As I stated above, workmanship (as in the man hours and the skill of the craftsman putting them in) are going to be the biggest factor in determining how one guitar can be perceived as better than another.

The more I work on and repaired the guitars the more I realized that it really came down to how much time I spent doing a specific task ones I reached a certain level of mastery (definitely not calling myself a master of anything here ). If I put in four hours on fret dressing, they came out much better than when I only put in one hour, for example.

The RG8 and RG2228 are not made in the same shop, and the materials, while at times similar, are not going to be the same.

Remember, sound has very little to do with quality, especially considering how subjective good tone is. A very well made guitar can sound bad to someone, believe it or not. Just like a poorly made guitar can at times sound amazing.

 

[Poltergeist]

As I stated above, workmanship (as in the man hours and the skill of the craftsman putting them in) are going to be the biggest factor in determining how one guitar can be perceived as better than another.

The more I work on and repaired the guitars the more I realized that it really came down to how much time I spent doing a specific task ones I reached a certain level of mastery (definitely not calling myself a master of anything here ). If I put in four hours on fret dressing, they came out much better than when I only put in one hour, for example.

The RG8 and RG2228 are not made in the same shop, and the materials, while at times similar, are not going to be the same.

Remember, sound has very little to do with quality, especially considering how subjective good tone is. A very well made guitar can sound bad to someone, believe it or not. Just like a poorly made guitar can at times sound amazing.

You're awesome.. A lot of good things you mentioned. I cherish your input on this perspective of guitar production. I think although the amount of time that was spent in production of say the RG8 will not diminish it's ability to be a solid/ decent 8 string. However, it is all subjective like you said in regard to the player.

 

[UV7BK4LIFE]

Quality of wood contributes greatly to the tone of the guitar. Different types of wood enhance different frequencies in particular but the quality of wood trumps all.

/EDIT, meant to add that the price difference is mostly due to craftsmanship I think

I'm thinking, how much of a difference will the wood of the bodies make? Especially when they would have the same pickups installed. These guitars all have huge 27" scale maple necks which transfer most of the strings' vibration.

Having said that, I owned a RG7421 with DiMarzio Evo 7's in it, and it couldn't beat my Universe tone-wise, although both are made of the same woods.

 

[MikeK]

It really depends on personal taste. Go look at some high end guitar builds out there, you will find many people like the tone of Basswood. The wood is cheap due to its availibility, not because it sounds bad or anything. I personally prefer Basswood bodies with a thin top, strictly because Basswood isnt interesting looking.

 

[iamthefonz]

Mine just came in. First impressions are good. NGD coming...soon-ish.

 

[Konfyouzd]

Oooohh.... I need one! Make a vid... How are the pups? If you say they're usable I'm buying one tonight...