# NGD: Finally got my Ibanez M80M (Pics and Initial Impressions)



## FourFour (Aug 27, 2018)

Hey good people of SS.org! It's been a while since I posted but I'm back with a joocy NGD.

Been wanting to get this guitar for a while now, decided to pull the trigger a week ago. Turns out the fretboard is now made with Jatoba. Was quite bummed out because it looks too light colored for my taste. A few days later, the shop contacted me and told me they found a 2013 model in their warehouse and I guess I really lucked out because the rosewood board on this one looks way better than the newer jatoba boards.

-------------Initial Impressions------------

Aesthetics:
Really good looking guitar. The color is great, the woodgrain is awesome. The fretboard is a very nice shade. Even the maple neck looks good.

Fit and Finish:
It's ok. Definitely does not feel as nice as a prestige but I can live with that. Couple of rough spots here and there but nothing too bad. Pickup and control cavity is a tiny bit rough.

Construction:
Actually only played it once so far haha, but haven't spotted any problems. Neck is straight, frets are fine, hardware is solid, everything functions properly. It's quite lightweight actually, mine has a 3-piece body. Feels about the same weight as my RG 7-string with a basswood body. I've held teles substantially heavier than this guitar. Haven't detected any problematic frets. Toneknob is a little rough at one spot though.

Tone:
Ran it through some of my usual patches. Definitely can hear the difference because of the scale length. There is so much more harmonic clarity in the lows, and it is punchier. Sustain for daysss. Haven't tried much lead tones yet so I won't comment on that. Neither have I tried the cleans. Palm mutes on the Eb string are Meshuggah AF.
The low F is of course amazing. The combination of all the features of this guitar just works. The lundgren M8, the scale, the big neck, the ash body.

Playability:
Since it is quite light, the guitar is surprisingly nimble. And it isn't as long as I expected (that's what she said), because they shifted the bridge further towards the tail. The neck width, scale length, and string spacing are all really manageable to me. Have not played it standing up, but there wasn't any neckdive while sitting down. Action is low enough for me, it isn't super low but definitely not high. Bridge isn't obstructive or anything, comfortable to play on. Knobs are nicely out of the way.

Overall:
Really happy with this guitar! Will be doing up some proper full band covers real soon.

Ohyea, here are the pics:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm5Sh1TlGhK/?taken-by=diyufang

I know there has been many NGD posts of the M80M already, but I just had to share mine hahaha! Too excited.


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## Vyn (Aug 27, 2018)

HNGD! You're not helping keep my GAS under control!


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## cardinal (Aug 27, 2018)

That’s a great looking one. I like those a lot but that scale length frightens me.


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## Type_R3387 (Aug 27, 2018)

Congrats! Love my M80M. Its not what my M8M is, but it definitely holds its own and will always have a place in my collection. Great workhorse axes!


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## FourFour (Aug 27, 2018)

Vyn said:


> HNGD! You're not helping keep my GAS under control!


Crystal ball is telling me... Yes, Vyn will succumb to GAS and buy a new guitar next month.



cardinal said:


> That’s a great looking one. I like those a lot but that scale length frightens me.


Thanks man! Luckily I only intend to play the open low F string most of the time haha..



Type_R3387 said:


> Congrats! Love my M80M. Its not what my M8M is, but it definitely holds its own and will always have a place in my collection. Great workhorse axes!


Actually really interested in hearing an A/B comparison of your two guitars. Only thing is, I'll be really jealous and insecure if the M8M trashes the M80M.


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## Type_R3387 (Aug 27, 2018)

Actually really interested in hearing an A/B comparison of your two guitars. Only thing is, I'll be really jealous and insecure if the M8M trashes the M80M.[/QUOTE]

Dont worry....Theres no need to be jealous and insecure. There is definitely a noticeable difference, but I wouldn’t say it trashes the M80M. The M8M has a much more pronounced low end, being capable of some serious fucking chugs (if thats your thing) and a piano esque clean tone. If I had to guess, I would attribute this to being a neck thru and having an Alder body. The M80M, on the other hand, has a stronger upper mid presence and really delivers a cutting rhythm tone with a snappy response (bolt-on+Ash?). It can almost be too much if not properly dialed in, where as the M8M can get as nasty as you want and still retain a good balance. Another nice feature of both is that awesome tone knob. Its very sensitive and really allows the Lundgren to be versatile.

I’d say you’re good either way. Both will get you in Meshuggah territory with ease! Personally, I wouldn’t go paying full price for an M8M, but if you see one in good condition on the used market (like I did), or at least get a chance to play one, definitely do so. The build quality is incredible and they really are unique instruments. Things have been uber hectic here lately, but I will try to post up some comparison clips relatively soon!


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## vortex_infinium (Aug 27, 2018)

Congrats. Glad to hear you like it. Mad jelly over here of you.

But were you lucky? I want both a M80 and a FTM so bad but I've heard so many horror stories about the Indo models that i'm unwilling to order anywhere without a return policy (which is everywhere around where I live). Even used i'm quite skeptical.

*looks on eBay for 33 sticker inlays to slap on a 7 string*


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## Vyn (Aug 27, 2018)

FourFour said:


> Crystal ball is telling me... Yes, Vyn will succumb to GAS and buy a new guitar next month.
> 
> 
> Thanks man! Luckily I only intend to play the open low F string most of the time haha..
> ...



...I'm averaging one a month at the moment so you're probably right xD I've managed to do quite well for myself so I'm basically trying as much gear as I can to narrow down my preferences such that when I do become broke again I'll at least have some shiny gear and be happy!


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## FourFour (Aug 27, 2018)

Type_R3387 said:


> Dont worry....Theres no need to be jealous and insecure. There is definitely a noticeable difference, but I wouldn’t say it trashes the M80M. The M8M has a much more pronounced low end, being capable of some serious fucking chugs (if thats your thing) and a piano esque clean tone. If I had to guess, I would attribute this to being a neck thru and having an Alder body. The M80M, on the other hand, has a stronger upper mid presence and really delivers a cutting rhythm tone with a snappy response (bolt-on+Ash?). It can almost be too much if not properly dialed in, where as the M8M can get as nasty as you want and still retain a good balance. Another nice feature of both is that awesome tone knob. Its very sensitive and really allows the Lundgren to be versatile.
> 
> I’d say you’re good either way. Both will get you in Meshuggah territory with ease! Personally, I wouldn’t go paying full price for an M8M, but if you see one in good condition on the used market (like I did), or at least get a chance to play one, definitely do so. The build quality is incredible and they really are unique instruments. Things have been uber hectic here lately, but I will try to post up some comparison clips relatively soon!


Very interesting, thanks for that description. Have you seen that video of AVH guitar repair comparing all 3 of the models? I'm hearing pretty much exactly what you are describing. Dat balance of the M8M is definitely better and the low end is massive. Really happy for you mate! No pressure or anything on those A/B clips.


Vyn said:


> ...I'm averaging one a month at the moment so you're probably right xD I've managed to do quite well for myself so I'm basically trying as much gear as I can to narrow down my preferences such that when I do become broke again I'll at least have some shiny gear and be happy!


Hehehe.. one a month!!! I like your tactic.


vortex_infinium said:


> Congrats. Glad to hear you like it. Mad jelly over here of you.
> 
> But were you lucky? I want both a M80 and a FTM so bad but I've heard so many horror stories about the Indo models that i'm unwilling to order anywhere without a return policy (which is everywhere around where I live). Even used i'm quite skeptical.
> 
> *looks on eBay for 33 sticker inlays to slap on a 7 string*


Thanks! I think for the most part, the issues are with the frets because of the humidity difference. Maybe try out Thomann? Heard they're pretty good with their shipping and return policies.


New set of pics (brighter lighting):
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnAVm0lFdN4/?taken-by=diyufang
-------------------------------


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## Harry (Aug 28, 2018)

Loving those newer pics, looks amazing!
As for AVH, sadly both the blog and videos are gone  A shame, because I used to love looking at all the pics and reading that blog.


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## Sermo Lupi (Aug 28, 2018)

Harry said:


> Loving those newer pics, looks amazing!
> As for AVH, sadly both the blog and videos are gone  A shame, because I used to love looking at all the pics and reading that blog.



He wasn't talking about the website but rather Allen's comparison video, which can be found below.

The websites were also archived, which you can access via whatever webcrawler of your choice. Pictures and articles are still fully intact.

Wayback Machine of the Meshuggah Guitarchive

Archive.is of the Meshuggah Guitarchive

EDIT: My adblocker is throwing up warnings about those links for some reason. You can google 'AVH Meshuggah Guitarchive' to find the Archive.is link, and just go to the Wayback Machine's website and type in avhguitarrepair.com (remembering to select a date from a few years ago) to use the site as it existed back then.


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## FourFour (Aug 28, 2018)

Yep, that's the vid I was talking about Harry. Btw, nice to see that you're still around 

Thanks Sermo, was wondering where the website went.


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## Vyn (Aug 28, 2018)

Sermo Lupi said:


> He wasn't talking about the website but rather Allen's comparison video, which can be found below.
> 
> The websites were also archived, which you can access via whatever webcrawler of your choice. Pictures and articles are still fully intact.
> 
> ...




I remember reading those, awesome information and so many detailed photos of some seriously amazing and rare instruments from Meshuggah's collection.

I know there's YouTube compression to take into account but fuck me, all 3 sounded so close. Time to get an M80M!


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## FourFour (Aug 29, 2018)

Vyn said:


> I remember reading those, awesome information and so many detailed photos of some seriously amazing and rare instruments from Meshuggah's collection.
> 
> I know there's YouTube compression to take into account but fuck me, all 3 sounded so close. Time to get an M80M!


 Yesss.. Looking forward to seeing YOUR ngd.


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## IbanezDaemon (Aug 29, 2018)

Classy looking axe! Very tastefully done yet still manages to look badass!


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## secretpizza (Aug 31, 2018)

Great review, thanks for the info. Does anyone have a sense of a good price for an M80M on the used market? I’ve been looking out for one but can’t get much of a feel for what a good valuation would be.


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## FourFour (Sep 1, 2018)

Thanks, guys! I would say $1k USD would be a good starting point. Anything less than that would be a steal.


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## FourFour (Sep 2, 2018)

Alright, first batch of clips are out! 

https://soundcloud.com/diyufang/meshuggah-ibanez-m80m-tonetest-1-rational-gaze-65-f

https://soundcloud.com/diyufang/meshuggah-ibanez-m80m-test-1b-benzin-65-d

These were done with the factory .65 low F string. Plan is make a little A/B test between the .65 and the .70 gauges. For science!


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## NorCal_Val (Sep 3, 2018)

secretpizza said:


> Great review, thanks for the info. Does anyone have a sense of a good price for an M80M on the used market? I’ve been looking out for one but can’t get much of a feel for what a good valuation would be.



Mine was $1200(+ s&h and tax) in 2015. I haven’t seen a used one for 
$1000. 
It’s one of my favorite guitars I’ve owned in 38+ years of playing.
If you see one for $1-1.2k, snag it!!


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## secretpizza (Sep 3, 2018)

Awesome. I saw a pre-Jatoba M80M on GC for $750 so I snapped it up. Thanks guys!


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## philkilla (Sep 4, 2018)

Congrats on the NGD. 

Don't mean to hijack your thread, but I'm going to sell my M80M (with rosewood) when I return from Afghanistan in November.

You guys know anyone in advance that is interested?


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## Vuurius (Sep 7, 2018)

Congrats with the awesome M80M! 
I also wanted to buy one but I was afraid for the long scale length. I'v got small hands. Got a Strandberg Boden 8 instead. 
Still wanna try a M80M tho!


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## Joan Maal (Mar 6, 2019)

Damm you GAS maker !!


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## Joan Maal (Jul 9, 2019)

Mine has finally arrived. The Jatoba fretboard color seems like a red Cocker Spaniel, its nice but ... Only a few hours at home at the moment. I like this guitar.

Finally bought it brand new for 1100€ (usually >1300€) because here are selling for 900€ used ... There's no case anymore since Ibanez has replaced it with a cheaper gigbag. No problem with that. Ill post pics soon


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## WhiteLightOfDeath (Jul 9, 2019)

Joan Maal said:


> Mine has finally arrived. The Jatoba fretboard color seems like a red Cocker Spaniel, its nice but ... Only a few hours at home at the moment. I like this guitar.
> 
> Finally bought it brand new for 1100€ (usually >1300€) because here are selling for 900€ used ... There's no case anymore since Ibanez has replaced it with a cheaper gigbag. No problem with that. Ill post pics soon


You had me waiting a long time to see this!!! Yes!!!! I can’t wait to see your NGD

Btw I disagree with the OP on fretboard I think the jatoba model is not only prettier red wood complement but it’s more unique PLUS the quality is better apparently on those later models (?) if that’s true your in for a great treat
Enjoy


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## Joan Maal (Jul 9, 2019)

WhiteLightOfDeath said:


> You had me waiting a long time to see this!!! Yes!!!! I can’t wait to see your NGD
> 
> Btw I disagree with the OP on fretboard I think the jatoba model is not only prettier red wood complement but it’s more unique PLUS the quality is better apparently on those later models (?) if that’s true your in for a great treat
> Enjoy



While im working on that NGD post ....


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## WhiteLightOfDeath (Jul 9, 2019)

That is fuckin sexy

Do you prefer one yet, I’m leaning 2228 myself but the swamp ash m80m and jatoba is a pro on my sheet


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## FourFour (Dec 1, 2019)

Joan Maal said:


> While im working on that NGD post ....


I know I'm about 5 months late, but congrats on the new beast.


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## Politics of Ecstasy (Dec 1, 2019)

Congrats HNGD

This guitar is hard to shake. 

I couldnt stop myself when I finally saw one on reverb 

It’s a very unique, and very limited axe, but FUCKIN METAL THRU N THRU


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## Politics of Ecstasy (Dec 1, 2019)

(Double post; after a necrobump [without content no less lol])


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