Rga-8 Review

[Themadcow]

Hey guys. After drooling over 8 strings for months now I finally had a chance to get one in my hands and see what I could do with it. Giovanni in Edmonton has a new store that just opened and as I was walking through checking it out, I noticed an Ibanez rga-8 hanging on the wall. I asked to try it in the soundroom and proceeded to plug it into about 5 different amps for about an hour.
Let me first say that I am an old school shred guy, not much into death core, metal core, whatever kinda core the kids are listening to right now??lol. When I plugged this beast in it confirmed my initial fear that I wouldn't understand, appreciate or enjoy the beauty of a low f#. I have no godly idea what the appeal of playing in that register is, but to each there own.
All that being said, I want this guitar. The neck is just beautiful. I was expecting a 2x4 with strings but I was pleasantly surprised. This neck is fast, super thin and just "feels" right. I have pretty small fingers but I had no problem covering this neck from top to bottom. Chords, single note riffs and the scalar runs that I have practiced over the years seemed just as easy on this guitar as any I have played over the years.
Active pickups are my only real beef with it. I have to admit I have almost no experience with them, but what I heard I didn't like at all. The sound was muddy, even in the higher registers I felt like I was listening to a speaker that had newspapers stuffed inside it. Having said that, the clean tones weren't too bad, and the sound was fairly even across all the strings.

I am not a reviewer, and it probably shows, just thought someone out there might find this semi useful when deciding what 8 string to get.


By the way, this all probably sounded really negative and that wasn't my intention. I have actually fallen in love with the shape, feel and playability of this guitar. I WILL buy one. I am going to swap out the pickups for some passives, not sure which ones yet, and I am gonna string it with a high A string. This guitar begs to be shredded, and I will oblige it.

 

[technomancer]

The playability doesn't surprise me, 27" scale basically equates to playing everything one fret lower on the neck. Also, the pups in those RGAs are absolutely horrid, with some decent pups, appropriate gauged strings, and IMHO a longer scale than 27" and a low F# or even E is completely usable.

Then again Tosin Abasi makes a low E sound amazing at 27" so YMMV

 

[Philligan]

Glad to see you liked it I want one really bad at the moment.

If you want to see what can be done with a low F#, feast your eyes and ears on this. It's actually a low E haha, he drops it down with the rest of the guitar in standard.

 

[Themadcow]

I am glad to see some feedback on my ranting, lol. I couldn't believe how terrible the pickups sounded, are all actives like that or is it just these?

 

[Themadcow]

The playability doesn't surprise me, 27" scale basically equates to playing everything one fret lower on the neck. Also, the pups in those RGAs are absolutely horrid, with some decent pups, appropriate gauged strings, and IMHO a longer scale than 27" and a low F# or even E is completely usable.

Then again Tosin Abasi makes a low E sound amazing at 27" so YMMV

I agree with you that Tosin does make it sound great I don't think my stubby's would handle longer than 27" anyway. Plus I think my ideal tuning is low b to high a.

 

[technomancer]

I am glad to see some feedback on my ranting, lol. I couldn't believe how terrible the pickups sounded, are all actives like that or is it just these?

I'm not a fan of actives in general (not that there's anything wrong with them I just don't care for them), but the stock Ibanez pups in those guitars are just horrific from what I've heard.

I agree with you that Tosin does make it sound great I don't think my stubby's would handle longer than 27" anyway. Plus I think my ideal tuning is low b to high a.

That works too, though if you want low B to high A you'll want to go with something shorter scale or you'll need to use Gary Goodman's Octave4Plus strings to get the high A.

 

[heineken_fretwalker]

Yeah, I like actives and quality passives, but I can tell you for certain those Ibanez stock pickups are miserable. I'm considering grabbing an RGA8 as a backup for my S7, and a pickup swap would be the absolute first thing I do. With the right string gauge, EQ, and playing style, a low E with a 27" scale is plenty doable. Tosin is obviously the master of this, but I do it too. I do a lot of leadwork and scales longer than 27", can be a huuuuge pain in the ass.

 

[Themadcow]

I'm not a fan of actives in general (not that there's anything wrong with them I just don't care for them), but the stock Ibanez pups in those guitars are just horrific from what I've heard.



That works too, though if you want low B to high A you'll want to go with something shorter scale or you'll need to use Gary Goodman's Octave4Plus strings to get the high A.

I was planning on using the Octave4Plus strings for sure. I also was thinking about an shorter scale like the 26.5" schecters or something. The problem is no one carries stock on anything. There is only one other 8 string in town and that's a SC608b down at mother's music. The problem with that one is there is no neck pickup. Doesn't look right to me and I can't imagine playing a guitar without one.

 

[Xodus]

The problem is no one carries stock on anything.

Axe has 4 or 5 8 strings on their site, including a Schecter. They don't have any in stock? I know one of my friends played a Schecter 8 somewhere the other day, I'll ask him where.

 

[arsonist]

thanks for the review madcow!
i'm getting my RGA8 on dec. 17, i'll also be posting a review, so check it out if you're curious!

 

[Nonservium]

I once saw someone on here refer to those pups as sounding like "playing through a wet fart" and I honestly haven't found a better way to put that lol. In the brief time I owned one thats the only thing I didn't like about the guitar. Had it not had the bridge defect, I would've kept it. Then again, if it hadn't happened I wouldn't have the awesome Taylor I have now.

 

[Xodus]

They have a Schecter 8 at Mother's Music if you're interested.

 

[Themadcow]

Axe has 4 or 5 8 strings on their site, including a Schecter. They don't have any in stock? I know one of my friends played a Schecter 8 somewhere the other day, I'll ask him where.

Ya axe's site says that they have some but when you go into the store they have next to nothing interesting there. I hadn't been in there store in a while and must admit I was disappointed.

The guy behind the counter told me they have guys waiting for various eight strings for months at a time. I also asked about getting a malmsteen strat in and they said it would take 3 months....

 

[Themadcow]

They have a Schecter 8 at Mother's Music if you're interested.

Thanx for the heads up, Ill try and make it down there tomorrow. I'd love to try a few of these before I buy one. I really liked the RGA8 though, we'll see.

 

[sepsis311]

I play mostly 7 strings, and ironically i really dont play on the 7th string that much. I just ordered an agile 8 as well, and probably will be the same result. being a tall guy, i have longer fingers, and its nice to have a wider neck that my thumb doesnt curl around. not to mention its nice to have more space between frets so my fingers have room to move. so all those people out there that laugh at 7 or 8's being a fad, the hell with them. The neck is so much more comfortable weather or not i use the B or F#.

 

[Themadcow]

I play mostly 7 strings, and ironically i really dont play on the 7th string that much. I just ordered an agile 8 as well, and probably will be the same result. being a tall guy, i have longer fingers, and its nice to have a wider neck that my thumb doesnt curl around. not to mention its nice to have more space between frets so my fingers have room to move. so all those people out there that laugh at 7 or 8's being a fad, the hell with them. The neck is so much more comfortable weather or not i use the B or F#.

I hear what your saying. To me, I sit down to play 99% of the time these days, so I tried that guitar sitting down and not hanging from a strap and I found it extremely comfortable to play even with my short fingers. I imagine if I ever decided to play live again I would be the guy with the petrucci style chest height strap adjustment to be comfortable.

 

[larry]

I hear what your saying. To me, I sit down to play 99% of the time these days, so I tried that guitar sitting down and not hanging from a strap and I found it extremely comfortable to play even with my short fingers. I imagine if I ever decided to play live again I would be the guy with the petrucci style chest height strap adjustment to be comfortable.

+1

i find that i've gotten more into nipple riding with
age. although you'd be better off- since i'd be the
guy nipple-riding with busted chops.

 

[heineken_fretwalker]

I play mostly 7 strings, and ironically i really dont play on the 7th string that much. I just ordered an agile 8 as well, and probably will be the same result. being a tall guy, i have longer fingers, and its nice to have a wider neck that my thumb doesnt curl around. not to mention its nice to have more space between frets so my fingers have room to move. so all those people out there that laugh at 7 or 8's being a fad, the hell with them. The neck is so much more comfortable weather or not i use the B or F#.

I feel the exact same way, being a tall guy myself. Not only does the neck feel much better for my hands, but being so tall, the larger body/neck is more aesthetically pleasing

 

[jbcrazy]

I think the Axe-FX can conquer any pickup you need really... so Tosin's tone on there, of course besides his hands, is aided by the Axe. You can make the loosest sounding pickups tight as a virgin's you know what if you wanted.

 

[thijs]

some guy just offered me a trade for my RG7321
so after reading this I guess its an easy choice