# NGD: Ibanez RG8 BK (long post w/ 35+-pics)



## Volsung (Dec 30, 2012)

Well, here it is. I picked it from my local Guitar Center on the 27th. With the case and the coupon code they had for the holidays, I paid $480. So far I am very happy. This is my first 8 string, first Ibanez electric guitar and first guitar with a 27 scale. 

*Warning, this is going to be a bit long and as in depth as possible, so please bear with me. 
(Feel free to skip to the photos if you dont want to read my blabbering)

Prior to the release of the RG8, I damn near drove myself mad trying to make a decision between various Schecter & Agile 8s. I must have changed my mind over six dozen times. During this time there were a few discussions on this site about how people wanted a fixed Ibanez 8 string, an 8321 if you will. I didnt take part in any discussions, but this was the guitar I hoped Ibanez would make for a long time now. Its like a dream come true for budget shoppers such as myself. 

When these were released I was on constant watch and I came across a black one at my local GC. I think it was the first 8 string they ever had in their storeanyway, I got to try it out before I made a purchase. The setup with the stock strings wasnt the greatest and the neck almost felt lopsided, but I was just happy as all Hell that I finally got to play an 8 for the first time. Unfortunately I didnt have enough cash at the time to buy it, but I was leaning towards placing an order for an untouched RG8. The RG8 I played was sold in a couple of days anyway. So I returned with plenty of funds and requested an RG8 from the main warehouse, but unfortunately (again) there were no RG8s at the main warehouse. All of the RG8s GC had were at their stores only, and they each had only one (this makes some sense seeing as this is a fresh new model from Ibanez). After a few moments of searching their database, they found one for me in Roseville, CA. A week later it was in my hands. The folks at my local GC were extremely kind and accommodating throughout the whole process. 

Now on to the main attraction. 











The first thing I set out to do was change the strings, clean it and give it a small setup. I did play it for a while with the stock strings and they actually held out okay, but the .68 or whatever Ibanez uses for the F# didnt sound full enough.

This is going to take a while. Im going to need:

Some home-brewed tea





and some good tunes




and





All righty then, lets get started. 
First off, the nut is actually made of pretty good material.






The flaw I find with the nut is that it could be a tiny bit taller. Either that or the frets should be a bit shorter. Needless to say I believe nuts are easier to replace than frets (which are a major pain in the ass in my book).






The fretboard wasnt horribly dry, but I like to put lemon oil on all of my new guitars regardless. 






















Looks better already. 










^Ahhthats what I like to see. Now on to the bridge.










The saddles arent that bad at all and, on a side note, I cant begin to express how nice it is to have a bridge where string changes AND intonation is easy. Here are the strings I decided to go with:






And here we have the bass size ferrule string-less. 






Now I ran into a snag with the F# string and the tuning peg, the .74 wouldnt fit the hole. 






I think Ive reached my limit for photos in one post, plus this is a nice break of pace. To be continued in the next post.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Dec 30, 2012)

congrats on your new 8...

is the .74 gonna fit thru the ferrule?


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## Volsung (Dec 30, 2012)

And were back. When we last left our hero he came across an unyielding tuning peg. 

My first thoughts were, damnit. But then I remembered that I have a handy-dandy Dremel drill for just such an occasion.






With a bit of drilling and using a small file the .74 fit through nicely. Here we have the .74 guitar ball in the bass ferrule just to clear any doubts about string types in these guitars:






Next I figured Id get some photos of the neck joint seeing as some of these are coming with not-so-good connections. Im happy to say mine has a very well bolted neck joint. There is a tiny, tiny little wedge area at the top of the joint, but my .88 picks cant penetrate it at all. The neck joint is also solid as a rock.














While I was back there I snapped a quick photo of the control cavity if anyone is interested (M3CHK1LLA beat me to the punch anyway in posting cavity pics). 






Last thing I want to do is change the strap to a DiMarzio clip-lock. 










After all of that Im finally content. Sorry, no outside photos. Its very cold, and I dont have a proper place to do outside pictures anyway. 






Yes I do relize that there are a lot of smuges & finger prints on the finish, but I couln't put it down after I cleaned & polished it. 










Here are some more neck joint photos:










On to family photos: 










With my Ibanez acoustic (also my first Ibanez):










Well, there ya go. As I said I wanted to be as in depth as possible. To cut to the chase (that _is_ what TL;DR is forright?) for a $400 guitar this is pretty damn cool. As with any guitar in this price range there are some flaws, like some of the fret buzzing/rattling on the F# & B strings. Also, the saddle screws can be sharp, but Ive done okay so far in keeping my hand cut free. I do plan on doing a more proper setup when I get some more tools from Stew-Mac here in a few days. 

One thing I know a lot of people would like to know about is the pickups. Now, Im a pickup *moron* and in the nine years Ive been playing I have yet to get any kind of aftermarket pickups for my guitars (sad isnt it). What I can say is that these pickups can sound pretty okay with some tweeking to various knobs and patches. Chords and single note progressions/chugging sound pretty bright and clear, but any kind of scales or progressions on the treble strings sound kind of lifeless (keep in mind I consider myself a wanker, not Shredy McShredderton so take this for what its worth). These would appeal to the 'djent' crowd as their output sounds pretty good for that The cleans on my chorus channel sound bright and spacy which is perfect for what I want for the extremely low notes. 

I think that about wraps it up (finally). I know this is pretty big, but I do hope everyone enjoyed what I hope is an informative view of the RG8. I will do some audio clips, but it may take me a while (if too much time goes by Ill just start a new thread in the Recording section or whatever the proper section may be). As for any video, sorry but thats not an option. 

Thanks to all for taking a gander.


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## devolutionary (Dec 30, 2012)

The stringing on the tuner isn't uncommon. Unwinding is my king when it comes to putting .074 on my 6 and 7s. Digging the photo catalogue of each part though. Nice to get up close to everything.


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## Volsung (Dec 30, 2012)

Thanks. 

Now that I think of it, I could have gone more in depth about the tuners/tuning stability (which is awsome by the way), the neck and loads of other things. Though I guess I can save that for a full on review in the review section.


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## kris_jammage (Dec 30, 2012)

Congrats man! HNGD!


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## JaeSwift (Dec 30, 2012)

Thanks for the thorough rundown of this guitar; looks like it would make one hell of a fun project axe and still feel kinda worth it.


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## Gram negative (Dec 30, 2012)

Congrats!! Happy NGD.

Im still loving mine, my 7 String has been feeling lonely since I git the RG8.


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## MF_Kitten (Dec 30, 2012)

Drilling out the tuner is always a good move. Added flexibility and speed instantly. Just figure out how it works, and DO IT!


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## Volsung (Jan 5, 2013)

Okay, I hope this isn't too big of the thread bump.

I went ahead and recorded some sound clips as I stated I would.

The clean one is typical as it (tries) to showcase all pickup variations. The dirty one is just some riff I threw together quickly. Be advised that the dirty clip sound quality isn't the greatest, so take it for what it's worth. 

https://soundcloud.com/rcb1987/rg8-clean

https://soundcloud.com/rcb1987/rg8-distortion

Well then, my work is done here. 

Thanks.


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## axxessdenied (Jan 5, 2013)

MF_Kitten said:


> Drilling out the tuner is always a good move. Added flexibility and speed instantly. Just figure out how it works, and DO IT!



Nothing to figure out. Just drill the thing nice and easy so you go as straight as possible. Pretty hard to screw up 
I didn't even take my tuner off the headstock.


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## Volsung (Jan 5, 2013)

The whole drilling process wasn't that much of a hassle. As far as taking the tunner off the head, I felt it gave me more leverage. Plus it was an excuse to get a closer look at the tuners and see how well they were secured (which they were nice and snug).


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## Anthonok (Jan 5, 2013)

axxessdenied said:


> Nothing to figure out. Just drill the thing nice and easy so you go as straight as possible. Pretty hard to screw up
> I didn't even take my tuner off the headstock.



lol I screwed mine up haha. Luckily I had another one i could replace it with and just unwound the string...oh well


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## lukeshallperish (Jan 13, 2013)

just to clarify, would a string .074 or larger fit through the whole in the back by the bridge just fine, or did you have to adjust that at all?


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## Volsung (Jan 13, 2013)

lukeshallperish said:


> just to clarify, would a string .074 or larger fit through the whole in the back by the bridge just fine, or did you have to adjust that at all?



Oh yeah, it fit through the back ferrule nicely. The only issue was the tuning peg.


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## freakalishess (Feb 17, 2013)

Volsung said:


> Oh yeah, it fit through the back ferrule nicely. The only issue was the tuning peg.


That's weird  I have an rg7320z and I use the same .074 string (I play in drop A) and mine goes through the hole of the tuning peg...


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