So, I played 2 Prestige and 2 Premium Ibanez guitars yesterday..

[rockstarazuri]

Here's a mini review. Yesterday I tested an RG3250MZ and an RG2570MZ (Prestiges) against 2 RG870QMZ (Premiums) at 2 different stores and went wtf. The Premiums played better in my hands, the Prestiges made my hand cramp up. The frets on the Prestiges were poking out a bit from the fretboard, and the setup was awful on both Prestige guitars. The necks on the Premiums resonate better when I strummed a chord.

The Premiums felt better and played like butter. The only thing the Prestiges had against the Premiums were better sounds due to better pickups.

The bodies of both Prestiges and the Premiums were of equal build quality IMO. I own an Japanese S Prestige and can't help feeling that the Premiums plays better than the S Prestige...

I guess country of manufacture doesn't matter anymore nowadays. After yesterday's experience I begin to wonder if the Prestiges are really above the Premiums in terms of rank.

 

[Dayn]

I have an RG2228 set up to my own liking, and I've played a JEM77V off-the-rack without my preferred setup. Both played (and were made) so utterly deliciously creamy and smooth. I can only imagine the JEM77V with my own preferred gauge of strings... or I'd better not, I don't want an orgasm right now.

I've played an RGA7 off the rack and it was pretty good, but not RG2228-level. I've also played an S470 and it was pretty crap. I tried a premium as well, but I forgot what model it was, but it was okay.

Long story short, not every guitar is going to be identical. Especially ones you just pick up off the floor like that.

 

[ProgCorey]

I agree with you, I've played three premium 6's now, and they all felt better then any prestiges i've played before.

 

[Shadowspecced]

I like the fret ends on the premium's.. the sound was always a bit muffled and I wasn't the biggest fan of the finishes, they were just not great. I still love my dad's non reissue 750 more than probably any other ibanez I've played besides j customs.

 

[Spaceman_Spiff]

I think that's just personal taste coming through, although I agree that all the Prestiges, Premiums, etc. that I have played are never THAT much better than your run of the mill production models. I think you pay more for the title prestige than you do for a better instrument.

Don't get me wrong, I'll take a prestige or premium over a "normal" Ibanez any day, but I would rather have a modest instrument I can mod to my liking than a guitar that I paid a lot more for that just has a little better QC and better hardware. (I upgrade the hardware usually anyway.)

All in all most of how a guitar plays comes down to who's playing it.

 

[KarlMagnusRobin]

All the Premiums I have played have felt better than any of the Prestiges I have put my hands on (except some of the elder Prestiges and the new RGD2127z)!
They had all been setup by one of swedens best techs and the Premiums actually felt more luxurious than the Prestiges, both playing-wise and by the looks!
Just throw your favorite pickup's in there, put your choice of strings on it and get it setup properly and you will have a fuking great guitar!

If I don't get an RGA8 I will probably snag one of the 25th Anniversary RGs when they arrive!

 

[Captastic]

The Premiums have a different neck profile than the Prestiges, so that could be it as well. I'm also interested in picking up a Premium due to the slightly thicker (18mm x 20mm vs 17mm x 19mm) and the slightly less flat (400mm vs 430mm) fretboard...

 

[Jake]

I've played 2 premiums and they are wonderful guitars, I still prefer my rga121 over them but thats just me, I might have to pick up the new blue hardtail premium though later this year.

 

[CloudAC]

My RG827 QMZ plays better than the RGD2127z I use to own, believe it or not. I likely got a dud, but still, thats like a £500 price difference. I am extremely pleased with my premium

 

[simonXsludge]

My RG827 QMZ plays better than the RGD2127z I use to own, believe it or not.

I've got the very same Premium and it plays great. My RG1527 still feels and plays a tad better, tho. And so did my RGD2127. If one doesn't have the cash for a Prestige, get a Premium and it's the closest you're getting to Prestige quality.

 

[Adam Of Angels]

For what its worth, I've owned three different RGD2127z's, and pretty much all three played like cheap, bad guitars. The first one was acceptable, and then made much better after a setup, but the other two were just... I mean, I've had Prestiges that I'd prefer to most other guitars, and those RGD's were just unacceptable.

Each Premium I've played has been awesome, and I'd definitely buy one if it bonded with me.

 

[snowblind56]

I currently have 4 Prestiges including:
-RG1077XL
-RG2550(2004 Model)
-RG2550(2005 Model)
-RGR1570(2007 Model)

All of these felt better than the premium that I played. Part of it probably has to be the fact that they all cost less when they were new than the Premiums do now(stupid price raises). Either way, I prefer the Prestige neck profile and I really don't care about the colors or trans tops on the premiums.

 

[jl-austin]

Me personally, I can't stand the titanium rods Ibanez is throwing in their high end guitars. In my opinion it kills the natural resonance of the neck, they just don't feel "alive" when I play them.

That being said, the only models I like from Ibanez, are the ones without the rods (MIJ or MII, it doesn't matter, rods are rods).

 

[rockstarazuri]

I have 3 Prestiges (S5470, RGA321F, RG1527M) at the moment, and I'm not scared to say that the Premiums I tried are at par with the Prestiges I own. The neck size is just nice for me.

Even though they're high quality, I don't know why people scoff at them for being Made in Indonesia.

 

[Bones43x]

The neck shape is supposed to be the same as the Wizard Prestige. The 3xxx series RGs have the Super Wizard which is 1mm thinner.

I have 3 Prestige RGs...1527, 2550Z, 1420F. The RG2550Z is the heaviest and least resonant of the 3, but it still sounds good plugged in. I've got DiMarzios in all but the RG1420F. It's the lightest, most resonant, but also thinner sounding than the other 2. That's probably due to the stock pickups though.

 

[rockstarazuri]

Gonna go out and try another Premium and Prestige at a different store today. If the same thing happens I might consider really getting a Premium!

 

[Advv]

Tried two premiums now. Play amazingly and look amazing too. My problem with Prestige models was that they lacked looks. Ibanez has now solved that problem.

Will definitely be looking to pick up a Premium in 2012. The Red Desert one is so damn tasty. Had to force myself to not buy it from MF.

 

[DavidLopezJr]

O damn man, I gotta try one of these out.

 

[rockstarazuri]

Didn't try out a Prestige, but the Premium I tried at the store today was awesome. I tried hard to look out for any faults and defects and problems but couldn't find any. The neck joint was tight, and the paint job was amazing. Hardware was spot on, screws are all tight and the EZ2 feels really high quality. As a plus, the volume/tone knob were WAY less stiffer than my Prestiges, which I like a lot. I like cleaning up my sound with the volume knob, so it helps a lot. The whole guitar was almost like a cheaper J Custom.

The neck was amazing like the other 2 I tried, and all of them have impeccable fretwork. I noticed that compared to my Prestige, the neck seems to be a bit narrower, and the overall girth of the fretboard fits my hand properly. Sometimes the Super Wizard on my S cramps up my hand, but in the case of the Premium, it didn't cramp my hand even after quite a long period of testing. Chords and scales are a dream to play on it.

The sound of the stock pickups (RG870 Ibanez original pickups) was good at all settings of the amp. Cleans were good, it can pull of twangy tones as well as jazzy neck pickup tones when you roll the volume and tone back. I tested using a Marshall JVM. As for distortion, it's not as articulate as the CL/LF pickups I have on my S, but it gets the job done. The stock pickups are more versatile than the CL/FL set IMO though. I can only imagine it getting better after a pickup change.

In many ways, the guitars were better than my Prestiges. Definitely a solid workhorse, HIGH quality for a low price. Looks awesome too. If you have a J Custom and you're afraid of it being damaged on stage, this provides a GOOD alternative to that. I'm definitely going to save up for one.

 

[Randomist]

The neck shape is supposed to be the same as the Wizard Prestige. The 3xxx series RGs have the Super Wizard which is 1mm thinner.

The thickest wizard prestige is the HP IIRC. Ibanez specs that as 18mm at 1st and 20mm at 12th, the same as the premium necks (this still doesn't account for the carve which may or may not be different).
The biggest difference I can see is the fretboard radius. The Premiums have a flat 400mm (15.74") and the prestige gets an even flatter 430mm (17").
The Super Wizard being 1mm thinner and also having a 30mm larger fretboard radius may well contribute to the hand cramp. The fretwork I can't excuse, but setup is something I expect to have to fiddle with, regardless of the guitar I'm buying.

EDIT: on setup, my RG1451 arrived pretty well set up, I just altered it to my tastes.