Table of Contents
The Best Ibanez guitars come in a variety of forms, sizes, finishes, and price ranges, so whether you’re looking for a low-cost shred machine, a well-priced hollow body, or a high-end Superstrat, Ibanez has something for you. They were one of the first Japanese musical instrument brands to develop a presence in the United States, having been founded in 1957. In the 1980s, Ibanez really reached its stride, launching a new series of innovative and unusual guitar designs.
The company now manufactures a wide range of electric and acoustic guitars, as well as effects pedals, and has many production locations in Asia and the United States. With so many options available, it might be difficult to decide which Ibanez is ideal for you. In this comprehensive Ibanez guitars review and buyer’s guide, we’ll look at the best Ibanez guitars on the market today.
Here is the list of Best Ibanez Guitars
Ibanez RGA42FM Elec Guitar
Easily one of the best Ibanez Guitars available on the market, The RGA42FM doesn’t have the most memorable product name, but it more than makes up for it in performance. This RGA model features the seemingly’standard’ combination of a Maple neck and Jatoba fingerboard, but the body is Meranti rather than Poplar. The topping on the RGA’s aesthetic cake is a flamed Maple top, and this guitar looks amazing in any of the various finishes.
Because Meranti is a darker wood with a tone and colour similar to Mahogany, the RGA42FM has a lot of sustain. The lighter top and neck woods assist to brighten the tone of the instrument, bringing out the best in that pair of Quantum humbuckers. A 5-way selector switch provides a lot of tonal options, although we wish the bridge pickup could be utilised in parallel.
Ibanez Prestige RG5170B
The Ibanez Prestige RG5170B is another model with some outstanding characteristics that merit its inclusion on the list. The Fishman Fluence contemporary pickups are one of the nicest features we noted. These are in charge of the guitar’s high-output sounds and wide range. They also let players to perform without worrying about inductance or noise, and each pickup has two different tones.
Furthermore, if you want fast playability, certain qualities make this alternative a contender for buying. The Super Wizard HP neck is one example. Notably, this neck is slender for easier handling and includes stainless steel frets. The rest of the construction is mostly made of lightweight basswood, which allows for longer playtime without fatigue. Its bridge is a Lo-Pro Edge tremolo version, which is a low profile choice with a variety of advantages.
For example, we discovered that because to the low profile design, players are less likely to become entangled on the bridge during a performance. It’s also useful when practicing abilities like palm muting and dive-bombing. Finally, it has locking studs that provide players with more tuning stability. Thus, this product is one of the best Ibanez Guitars available right now.
Ibanez RG550 Genesis Collection Electric Guitar
If you are a guitarist who was born in the 1980s, you will remember the best Ibanez Guitars RG550. It was the fantasy guitar for the majority of us. If you wanted to be a shredder, which you did, this was your only choice. Remember, this was the Superstrate period, and the RG550 debuted in 1987. However, when other music genres, like as grunge, became more prominent in the 1990s, the RG550 was phased out in 1994. Which was a pity, because this guitar sounded fantastic and was far more versatile than anyone gave it credit for.
Fortunately, someone at Ibanez had the foresight to bring it back in 2018, retaining everything that was excellent about the original model while adding a few modern features and making it more cheap. The original aggressive design remains, and the RG550 is exceptionally comfortable and easy to play because to the slim, contoured body with double cutaways. But the thin Wizard Neck, which we found wonderfully fast and enjoyable to play, is possibly the most significant aspect of this electric guitar.
Ibanez Steve Vai Signature Electric Guitar
Known for his virtuosity, Steve Vai is one of Ibanez’s most prominent users. Now the two have joined forces to offer a signature model of the best Ibanez guitar at an amazing price. the JEMJR is the little brother of Ibanez’s flagship guitar, but with the same features and quality as a guitar costing over $1,000. the JEMJR’s distinctive appearance is. The first thing you’ll notice. Vai’s iconic acrylic tree-of-life inlays and the unusual “monkey grip” handle that allows musicians to pick up the instrument with one hand like a case are all correct.
Despite the monkey grip, this is a Meranti solidbody guitar, with Ibanez’s iconic Wizard III maple neck, Jatoba fingerboard, and 24 jumbo frets. the Wizard neck is a great choice for the fast tempos found on Steve Vai’s albums. It is well known for its suitability for shredding.
In terms of playability, the Ibanez neck is unmatched. It’s really light, fast, and comfortable, and the JEMJR features high-output Quantum pickups with excellent articulation that produce Vai’s trademark tone. 2 humbuckers and 1 single coil cover all the bases, and a 5-way switch lets you experiment with different pickup combinations.
Ibanez RG8 8-String Electric Guitar
The Ibanez RG8 is a well-known and instantly recognizable guitar from Ibanez. Given that Ibanez was responsible for the first mass-produced seven- and eight-string guitars, it only seems fair that the RG8 receives a mention in our guide. The RG8 features a five-piece Maple/Walnut neck, Meranti body, and Jatoba fingerboard, and it’s the mix of warmth from the body, top end brightness from the neck, and a snappy response from the fingerboard material that makes it such a balanced instrument.
It’s difficult to get the most out of an 8-string guitar even in the best of circumstances, but this material combination, together with the pair of Ceramic IBZ-8 humbuckers, provides guitarists with a wealth of tonal options. The temptation with 8-strings is to tune them even lower than usual, and Ibanez is aware of this, so they’ve routed a bass string ferrule on the rear of the instrument. Currently, this is one of the best Ibanez Guitars that you can buy right now.
Ibanez AZ2204 AZ Prestige Series Electric Guitar
Most Ibanez guitars are aimed at shredders and metalheads. But there is more to this brand than meets the eye. They have their own line of hollow-body jazz guitars, but they also offer something much more classic. Consider the best Ibanez Guitars AZ series; Ibanez guitars are basically Superstrates, but you won’t find many of the traditional Stratocasters like the AZ2204.
The pricing also reflects the prominence. For that price, you get a USA-made Fender Elite Stratocaster, which is about as iconic as it gets, and the AZ2204 can compete with any Elite Strat because Ibanez has used high-quality materials and excellent construction.
The body of the AZ2204 is constructed of alder, which is the standard for all high-quality Strats. The guitar, on the other hand, features a loin-studded maple neck. All Prestige models use S-tech wood, a trademarked process that allows the wood to resonate better and have a more consistent appearance. Other elements, such as rounded fingerboard edges and luminous side dots, are not apparent at first glance.
Ibanez LGB30 Electric Guitar
The best Ibanez Guitars is LGB30 is our market favourite. Not only does this guitar look beautiful as the George Benson Signature model with antique golden sunburst appearance, but it also sounds great. This hollow-body electric guitar features Super 58 Custom humbucking pickups for that smooth tone you’re looking for. It has a flamed maple body with a spruce top, which gives it a rich tone and a wonderful beauty.
Along with the binding and fret-edge treatment, the smooth-playing ebony fretboard completes a fantastic wood combination. Since R&B icon George Benson decided to develop a more inexpensive variant of his signature guitar, this model has been transforming musicians into artists.
Fortunately, you won’t even need an amplifier to enjoy the smoothness of its sounds—just wait until you connect it in! The Ibanez LGB30 eliminates the 60Hz hum that is common in antique models and replaces it with a rich and full tone that is loaded with clarity as you play. This model is ideal for blues and any other form of musical sound.
Ibanez GRX70QA GIO Electric Guitar
If you are looking for the best Ibanez guitar on a budget, look no further than the Gio GRX70QA. the Gio is an undeniably high-quality instrument at a price point suitable for beginners. Featuring an authentic basswood body with quilted art-grain top and a distinctive appearance, the Gio, like many old Ibanez guitars, is equipped with three pickups in the HSH configuration. These Powersound pickups offer a wide variety of tones: the two ceramic magnet humbuckers are powerful but not muddy, while the Alnico single coil provides excellent clarity and vintage tone.
The GRX70QA also features a fast-playing maple neck with medium-sized frets. The comfortable neck and Purple Heart fretboard make playing chords and scales easy and very convenient for beginners, and Gio’s FAT 6 tremolo can produce anything from delicate whammy bar movements to destructive dive bomb sounds, a really cool feature for a guitar in this price range. Having a tremolo bar on a lower-priced guitar is definitely a plus, and the Gio is probably best suited for guitarists just starting out in rock and metal. However, its wide range of tones makes it suitable for any genre.
Final Words
The best Ibanez guitars is the one that is right for you, based on your preferences and budget. It doesn’t make sense to spend over a grand on a guitar like the Nita Strauss signature if you’re a bedroom musician with a few years of skill. Determine your budget, and then choose the design that best suits the type of music you wish to play. As you can see from this article, Ibanez offers a wide range of guitars that are all of great quality and, for the most part, reasonably priced.