# Ibanez M80M appreciation thread



## Velokki (Apr 1, 2019)

I just picked mine up again since a couple of months in the case. It had fresh strings on it, which I had not been really played on. Gave it a little tune, and WOW. I know I had completely given it the full Gorgomyte and lemon oil treatment a couple of months earlier, and expected it to be nice... but this is something incredible!
The neck just plays itself, and tbh, for a weird reason, it almost feels like a neck of a 7 to me. It feels so effortless! It inspires me a lot and I'm writing some fresh stuff. The Lundgren pickup just fits the tonality perfectly and totally crushes it on the tone department.

Even though these guitars are very hit-or miss due to the shoddy QC (especially back in 2015 when I got mine), when you get a good specimen, it's something truly special.

I just think this scale length and type of design is how an 8-string should be. It's massive and menacing, but also simple and effortless. Just needed to share, it almost feels like I just entered a new honeymoon with this one!


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## Velokki (Apr 1, 2019)

Here she is!


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## mlp187 (Apr 1, 2019)

I can get behind this thread. Love mine. My only gripe is the locking tuner system. I hate it. I removed the string locks, tightened the fine tuners, and have had no tuning issues. Otherwise, it's my favorite guitar.


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## Leviathus (Apr 1, 2019)

Nice pic. Very imposing.


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## vortex_infinium (Apr 1, 2019)

I'm still on the hunt but these things are all over the place (in reference to quality).

After a year and a half of searching for either a M80M or FTM33 that I was comfortable buying I lucked out with my FTM33, 1 owner who put a lot of money into fixing the guitar from the factory, who is also a hardcore Meshuggah fan and had it set up perfectly with spare parts included... for a steal of a price too! Funny story, I usually draw blanks when testing guitars out so I try to pick a few songs beforehand and commit to testing the guitar with it. This time I picked Dream Theater's Lines in the Sand to start, but as soon as I picked it up, some sort of [insert Meshuggah pun here] had me riffing Bleed and I just couldn't stop!

But of course now that I have one I gotta have the other. There's an open spot on my rack for a M80M and I only hope when I finally get my hands on one that I feel that same way again.


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## ectoshock (Apr 1, 2019)

My M80M is for sale on eBay and Reverb. Bought it from LoudBass Shop in Quebec a few weeks back. Very cool guitar, and even with the longer scale length, more comfortable than any Schecter or esp 8 string I’ve tried. Looking to get my hands on the new Ibanez RGR5220M. Wife says this has to go first. Just throwing it out there if there’s interest.


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## BusinessMan (Apr 2, 2019)

Omg your headstock is soooo BIG...


I don’t have one but it’s one of the coolest looking guitars.


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## BangandBreach (Apr 2, 2019)

I fell on some hard times a while back and sold mine, I miss it very much.

I should buy another one.


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## Anquished (Apr 2, 2019)

I wanted one of these for ages but could never get the funds for one. Now that I have a 27" scale Ibby I'm worried I'll hate the scale length on the M80M.


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## 777timesgod (Apr 2, 2019)

I saw a Stoneman Ibanez 808 a while ago, was selling for 1K Euro and disappeared quickly. They seem like cool guitar but the finish makes me reach for the oil.


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## Aliascent (Apr 2, 2019)

I had one and I miss it.
The scale length was fine, comfortable even, and it had a nice clear, tight tone.
Mine was flawless, just the previous owner slammed the action down without adjusting anything, so the strings were scratching the pickup.

What I miss the most out of that guitar is the Lundgren. I've never had such a pickup before, and still have not found anything equivalent. That growl and those "cold" cleans, that lead voice ... 

I can't really play 8 string (never feel totally comfy on them), but I still want another one, or a "M60M".


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## Velokki (Apr 2, 2019)

So nice to hear your experiences and opinions! I just love this guitar.



mlp187 said:


> I can get behind this thread. Love mine. My only gripe is the locking tuner system. I hate it. I removed the string locks, tightened the fine tuners, and have had no tuning issues. Otherwise, it's my favorite guitar.



I love the fine tuners. I can't really get it to go out of tune! I love the extra stability this kind of setup provides. How have you come to hate it?


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## mlp187 (Apr 2, 2019)

Velokki said:


> So nice to hear your experiences and opinions! I just love this guitar.
> 
> 
> 
> I love the fine tuners. I can't really get it to go out of tune! I love the extra stability this kind of setup provides. How have you come to hate it?



My personal experience has been the locking system and fine tuners yield no better tuning stability than without them. I dislike the flathead posts, and I hate the intonation screw location. For my purposes, the bridge is an overcomplicated mess. The two things I would change about the m80m is a standard nut and something like a hipshot/gibraltar bridge if not a hipshot itself.
Having said all that, the other features far outweigh the inconvenience of the bridge.


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## Velokki (Apr 3, 2019)

mlp187 said:


> My personal experience has been the locking system and fine tuners yield no better tuning stability than without them. I dislike the flathead posts, and I hate the intonation screw location. For my purposes, the bridge is an overcomplicated mess. The two things I would change about the m80m is a standard nut and something like a hipshot/gibraltar bridge if not a hipshot itself.
> Having said all that, the other features far outweigh the inconvenience of the bridge.



Fair enough! I haven't found them to be that inconvenient, but then again, this guitar has been mainly a writing tool /curiosity for me. I haven't used it in demanding or laborous contexts, such as a band practice workhorse, where I'd really discover the bridge's pitfalls.

One thing I've been wondering about, is how this would sound with Fishman Moderns. Carve out a slot for another pickup and put 2 gold covered moderns there. The Lundgren sounds so good that I won't do it, but that could be something else!


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## Go To Bed Jessica (Apr 3, 2019)

No regrets about buying mine. It isn't the most frequently played guitar that I own, but whenever I pick it up it's always hard to put it back down.

That Lundgren pickup is ridiculously good too.


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## mlp187 (Apr 3, 2019)

Velokki said:


> Fair enough! I haven't found them to be that inconvenient, but then again, this guitar has been mainly a writing tool /curiosity for me. I haven't used it in demanding or laborous contexts, such as a band practice workhorse, where I'd really discover the bridge's pitfalls.
> 
> One thing I've been wondering about, is how this would sound with Fishman Moderns. Carve out a slot for another pickup and put 2 gold covered moderns there. The Lundgren sounds so good that I won't do it, but that could be something else!


That would look classy! 
I think it's time to invest in a used m80m for modifications!


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## Paul McAleer (Apr 3, 2019)

My favorite 8 stringer


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## Vyn (Apr 3, 2019)

Velokki said:


> Fair enough! I haven't found them to be that inconvenient, but then again, this guitar has been mainly a writing tool /curiosity for me. I haven't used it in demanding or laborous contexts, such as a band practice workhorse, where I'd really discover the bridge's pitfalls.
> 
> One thing I've been wondering about, is how this would sound with Fishman Moderns. Carve out a slot for another pickup and put 2 gold covered moderns there. The Lundgren sounds so good that I won't do it, but that could be something else!



For some reason the thought of putting anything other than a single bridge pickup in an M80M or M8M is tantamount to heresy haha.


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## Brutal08 (Apr 4, 2019)

Bought one 2 months ago and it is simply amazing. It feels like an instrument of its own kind between a bass and a guitar im a bass player so the scale isnt an issue at all and now my c8 is gathering dust!


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## BananaDemocracy (Apr 4, 2019)

I would love one of these...HNGD!


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## NorCal_Val (Apr 4, 2019)

Difficult to believe that I’ve had mine for 4+ years. 
Love it!!


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## Brutal08 (Apr 4, 2019)

ectoshock said:


> My M80M is for sale on eBay and Reverb.



Tabarnak! I would have bought it.... I paid like 400$ just in sale taxes.


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## Go To Bed Jessica (Apr 8, 2019)

Vyn said:


> For some reason the thought of putting anything other than a single bridge pickup in an M80M or M8M is tantamount to heresy haha.



I was honestly planning to have a bridge pickup installed in mine, before I got my hands on it and played it.

I don't want to change a damn thing.


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## Velokki (Feb 6, 2020)

I'm just recording a song with the M80M.

I just had to necrobump this thread. Fuck I love this instrument.


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## kisielk (Feb 7, 2020)

I've still been looking to pick one of these bad boys up. Even though I definitely don't strictly need it, it's just way too unique.


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## BigViolin (Feb 8, 2020)

I'd have to be pretty damn broke to get rid of mine. The whole system just works so well together from the scale length, the bridge and it's position, pickup and how well the tone knob works, everything.


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## TiffuZeless (Feb 25, 2020)

I absolutely love mine!


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## kisielk (Mar 3, 2020)

I will be joining the club later this week...


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## kisielk (Mar 4, 2020)

Well that arrived much faster than expected  Can't wait to get home and play it. https://imgur.com/a/llM7XtQ


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## danpintos (Mar 5, 2020)

Anyone have some clips of how cleans sound with the M80M? Debating between one of these or a used 2228 or 852.


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## kisielk (Mar 5, 2020)

Based on my limited playing time yesterday I think it sounds pretty good clean. Obviously limited by only having a bridge pickup though. I'm definitely keeping my 2228 with Fishmans around as well.


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## studmiester7 (Mar 22, 2020)

Some before and after pics of my older modded M80M (on the left)


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## NickS (Mar 22, 2020)

Gotta ask (since you posted a pic of it), how's that Halo you got there?


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## studmiester7 (Mar 22, 2020)

NickS said:


> Gotta ask (since you posted a pic of it), how's that Halo you got there?


I honestly REALLY enjoyed this one! The issues I had were more to do with the chosen options, than it was build-quality. Case-in-point: I should have chosen the medium instead of Jumbo-XL stainless fret w/ 27 fanned frets; Once you got past fret 23....it really didn't matter anymore lol. I also didn't care for the Lace Deathbuckers. Again....those were selected options - the build quality was fantastic!


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## kisielk (Mar 22, 2020)

studmiester7 said:


> Some before and after pics of my older modded M80M (on the left)


What kind of mods did you do?


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## studmiester7 (Mar 23, 2020)

kisielk said:


> What kind of mods did you do?


If you notice the bottom photo, I had added/routed a single-coil Ionizer-8 pup at the neck position. It gave the voicing a killer almost twangy-tone when used for clean/solo parts.


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## kisielk (Mar 23, 2020)

studmiester7 said:


> If you notice the bottom photo, I had added/routed a single-coil Ionizer-8 pup at the neck position. It gave the voicing a killer almost twangy-tone when used for clean/solo parts.


Nice, got any recordings of that you could share here?


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## studmiester7 (Mar 23, 2020)

kisielk said:


> Nice, got any recordings of that you could share here?


Ya man, I recorded this track with the M80M, but it's the solo at the end where you'll hear the pickups. I recorded the solo twice; one track using both the M8 & SC-8; then overlayed with just the SC-8.

https://soundcloud.com/travis-royer...er-586026454/sets/tragic-end-all-i-see-is-red


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## kisielk (Mar 23, 2020)

Nice! killer track


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## j3ps3 (Mar 25, 2020)

Here's mine. I've own it for like, maybe 5 years? Didn't really feel the neck profile, as it had these big "shoulders", so I had a friend of mine shave it down a little. The neck was also stained black with a nitro lacquer and I added new tuning pegs to make it look more like the original M8M Fredrik uses. Luminlay side dots were also added. 
And here's a song where it's being used:


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## studmiester7 (Mar 25, 2020)

bad-ass dude


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## RobPhoboS (May 4, 2020)

I'm ashamed to say it but I think I've only played on my one less than 10 times since buying it !
I guess I haven't spent enough time with any of my guitars for the last few years anyway but I don't think I found a tuning that my brain can get used to yet. I'll have a look around and see what comes up.
Probably go up in the FS section in the next week or so


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## Aliascent (May 4, 2020)

RobPhoboS said:


> I'm ashamed to say it but I think I've only played on my one less than 10 times since buying it !
> I guess I haven't spent enough time with any of my guitars for the last few years anyway but I don't think I found a tuning that my brain can get used to yet. I'll have a look around and see what comes up.
> Probably go up in the FS section in the next week or so



The tuning I most enjoyed on my M80M was a half-step up from F#BEADGBE. I don't know why, But that really worked for me.


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## kisielk (May 4, 2020)

My favorite tuning is EAEADGBE. It just lets me play riffs one octave down on the lowest two strings. 

I just found out the other day that mine is fretting out on the 5th fret high E. Just thst one fret... not sure if one of them is too high or it just needs a truss rod or bridge tweak


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## Krauthammer (May 4, 2020)

I've been messing around with an alternative tuning lately, and been enjoying it alot. I usually tune 1 whole step down standard. If your bored, give this a whirl, DADGDF#AD. Fun for low riffs, and pretty useful for droney long delay/reverb ambient stuff.


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## RobPhoboS (May 4, 2020)

Thank you for you suggestions guys !
If I can spend a couple of hours with it this week, that would be awesome and I'll try those out


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## WillyTheMLGPro (May 6, 2020)

Anyone use really thick strings on their M80M? looking to get one and tune down to drop B or Drop C


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## Two Panthers (May 7, 2020)

Well I had a very heavy bottom, i think it was a 90 or bigger....NO problem..in fact, the M8M feels like youre supposed to accomodate whatever the biggest you can handle - 

Actually, i might put mine up for sale because I am starting to really want to just play my custom shop at this point, so if anyone wants an M80M, PM me


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## kisielk (May 23, 2020)

Just noticed something interesting about the M80M that never caught my eye before. There's no volute! All my other Ibanez guitars and basses have a volute, but the back of the neck on the M80M is pretty flat at that spot.


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## glassmoon0fo (May 27, 2020)

I REALLY want one of these and can’t find one anywhere now that Ive decided it’s worth the plunge. Figures. There’s just nothing else like em.


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## buck fever (May 28, 2020)

glassmoon0fo said:


> I REALLY want one of these and can’t find one anywhere now that Ive decided it’s worth the plunge. Figures. There’s just nothing else like em.


Same.


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## RobPhoboS (Jun 9, 2020)

kisielk said:


> Just noticed something interesting about the M80M that never caught my eye before. There's no volute! All my other Ibanez guitars and basses have a volute, but the back of the neck on the M80M is pretty flat at that spot.



My one has a 'volute', in fact I wondered what the hell it was the other day when I took it out  
I'm going to pop it up for sale once I get some photos but I'm in the UK (buck/glass).


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## Oblivium (Jun 15, 2020)

I recently got this guitar (new) and I must say I am not happy at all. The low F buzzes like crazy and the intonation is way off, even though the saddle is all the way back. The worst problem is the noise though. At the beginning I thought the guitar was not properly grounded because it is considerably noisier than any guitar I own (even more than a Jackson with d-activators). With the tone all the way up it is unusable, even on the clean channel. It becomes ok only if I move (VERY) far away from my Axe FX, which again it is not the case with my other guitars. Anyone has experienced these issues? Can they be solved or should I send it back?


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## Antiproduct (Jun 15, 2020)

Oblivium said:


> I recently got this guitar (new) and I must say I am not happy at all. The low F buzzes like crazy and the intonation is way off, even though the saddle is all the way back. The worst problem is the noise though. At the beginning I thought the guitar was not properly grounded because it is considerably noisier than any guitar I own (even more than a Jackson with d-activators). With the tone all the way up it is unusable, even on the clean channel. It becomes ok only if I move (VERY) far away from my Axe FX, which again it is not the case with my other guitars. Anyone has experienced these issues? Can they be solved or should I send it back?


What string gauge do you use and how high (or low) is the action? Did you check the bow of the neck? Does it buzz everywhere or just on the high/low registers? Maybe the neck needs to be shimmed?
The noise might be a faulty soldered ground. You could resolder the ground and possibly shield the cavity. I don't think my m80m was very noisy


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## Oblivium (Jun 15, 2020)

Frostod said:


> What string gauge do you use and how high (or low) is the action? Did you check the bow of the neck? Does it buzz everywhere or just on the high/low registers? Maybe the neck needs to be shimmed?
> The noise might be a faulty soldered ground. You could resolder the ground and possibly shield the cavity. I don't think my m80m was very noisy



I'm using the stock strings (9-65?). Just the low F buzzes almost everywhere, I think it might be because of the low tension. I compared the noise of the single coil in my RG550 with the Lundgren and the latter is definitely noisier, is that normal? If I roll back the tone it gets better, but of course the sound changes quite a bit.


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## Aliascent (Jun 15, 2020)

Oblivium said:


> I'm using the stock strings (9-65?). Just the low F buzzes almost everywhere, I think it might be because of the low tension. I compared the noise of the single coil in my RG550 with the Lundgren and the latter is definitely noisier, is that normal? If I roll back the tone it gets better, but of course the sound changes quite a bit.



Definitely not normal, my Lundgren was dead quiet, so maybe you have some shoddy soldering somewhere.


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## Antiproduct (Jun 16, 2020)

Oblivium said:


> I'm using the stock strings (9-65?). Just the low F buzzes almost everywhere, I think it might be because of the low tension. I compared the noise of the single coil in my RG550 with the Lundgren and the latter is definitely noisier, is that normal? If I roll back the tone it gets better, but of course the sound changes quite a bit.


If you bought it in a store either take it back and exchange it for another m80m or they shall set it up. That's not normal and should not happen with a brand new guitar.


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## Oblivium (Jun 16, 2020)

Frostod said:


> If you bought it in a store either take it back and exchange it for another m80m or they shall set it up. That's not normal and should not happen with a brand new guitar.


Yeah, I am quite positive the ground hasn't been soldered properly as the continuity test fails. I hope the worker just had a bad day that day, because this has never happened to me even on sub 200€ guitars...


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## shpence (Dec 2, 2020)

Anyone put locking tuners on their M80M? I like the easy of string-changing with locking tuners and am willing to shell out for my laziness. I thought I saw that someone replaced theirs but couldn't find the post or what was used as a replacement. Also can't even find more on the tuners other than being die-cast. Figured I'd ask before measuring and checking various manufacturers.


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## kisielk (Dec 2, 2020)

Ibanez uses Gotoh tuners on most (if not all?) of their guitars. Gotoh SG381 are a drop-in replacement: https://g-gotoh.com/product/sg381/?lang=en


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## shpence (Dec 2, 2020)

kisielk said:


> Ibanez uses Gotoh tuners on most (if not all?) of their guitars. Gotoh SG381 are a drop-in replacement: https://g-gotoh.com/product/sg381/?lang=en



I thought so as well but it isn't labeled on the back of the tuner or on their website/documentation.


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## kisielk (Dec 2, 2020)

shpence said:


> I thought so as well but it isn't labeled on the back of the tuner or on their website/documentation.


The lower-end models are OEM parts that are labelled Ibanez or sometimes unmarked, but they're still made by Gotoh. Higher-end models sometimes have Gotoh-branded tuners, particularly if they're locking.


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## Go To Bed Jessica (Dec 21, 2020)

So I restrung this week and went a little heavier than usual - with an 84 on the low end.

I don't know what experiences others have had with big string gauges on this instrument - but the 84 ONLY JUST fit into the saddle. Like... width wise. I had real trouble getting enough string into the saddle assembly for the thing to grab onto.

I did finally get it on the fourth attempt but I was seriously worried/annoyed with it there for a bit.

In related news, once it fit, I have to say that the 9-84 Curt Mangan set is pretty freaking good.


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## SPeety (Mar 12, 2021)

Cheers everybody, I recently entered the M80M owners-club. What an amazing guitar! I haven't been that excited about a new guitar for a while. 
Well, I bought it used, took off the strings, cleaned it, put a new set of strings on it (D'addario) and figured that I might've clipped off the bridge-end of the string a tiny bit too short. Now the string "unwraps" a bit too early on the first fret before the nut. 
So - I never thought about strings being too short on a 29" guitar, I checked google and found myself hours later still searching for the perfect set of strings to use for the M80M. The internet is pretty contradictional if it comes to that. I find people telling me "Ernie Ball sets work fine" vs. "Ernie Ball sets are too short". 
My question now is - which sets do you guys use? 

I'm interested in: 

Ernie Ball 2625 (10-74)
D'addario NYXL1074 

Did anyone use these kinda sets..? 

Happy shredding! 
Steve


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## Go To Bed Jessica (Mar 13, 2021)

I have used a few different brands, including buying regular 6 string sets and separate low strings and have never run across a string that was too short.

Not sure if I have tried EB. 

If you're not sure what gauges to try as a starting point - take a look at the ibanez M8M page. That guitar comes with the string set that Meshuggah actually use, and it works a LOT better than the stock gauges that come with the M80M. Iirc, I went one or two gauges up from their suggested low string and kept the rest the same - which worked really well for me in drop E tuning.


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## SPeety (Mar 14, 2021)

Alright, thank you! Next time, I'll just give the D'addario a try.


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## Ziltoid (Mar 14, 2021)

I've used Ernie Ball and GHS sets and not had issues with the length.


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## Rob Joyner (Sep 8, 2021)

GHS have no issues with length 



SPeety said:


> Cheers everybody, I recently entered the M80M owners-club. What an amazing guitar! I haven't been that excited about a new guitar for a while.
> Well, I bought it used, took off the strings, cleaned it, put a new set of strings on it (D'addario) and figured that I might've clipped off the bridge-end of the string a tiny bit too short. Now the string "unwraps" a bit too early on the first fret before the nut.
> So - I never thought about strings being too short on a 29" guitar, I checked google and found myself hours later still searching for the perfect set of strings to use for the M80M. The internet is pretty contradictional if it comes to that. I find people telling me "Ernie Ball sets work fine" vs. "Ernie Ball sets are too short".
> My question now is - which sets do you guys use?
> ...


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## CanserDYI (Sep 8, 2021)

Go To Bed Jessica said:


> So I restrung this week and went a little heavier than usual - with an 84 on the low end.
> 
> I don't know what experiences others have had with big string gauges on this instrument - but the 84 ONLY JUST fit into the saddle. Like... width wise. I had real trouble getting enough string into the saddle assembly for the thing to grab onto.
> 
> ...


Man I find anything thicker than an 80 to sound like a bass string, even at 30". High end still chimey?


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## Paul McAleer (Sep 24, 2021)

Not alone, 


CanserDYI said:


> Man I find anything thicker than an 80 to sound like a bass string, even at 30". High end still chimey?



You’re not alone, I try to get away with lighter sets if I can


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## Emiliano (Oct 3, 2021)

Hello there,
Recently got this beast, Picked up a deal on the used market and I’m going to do a little work on it before ting some pictures (i promise)

I had a question tough, the area between the strings and the volume pot has become very shiny (it is very used i understand) 

Does anybody has some tricks to get it back to the matt effect of the rest of the body?

Thanks in advance!!


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