# Anyone have one of the Iron Label fanned 8s?



## Hollowway (Jun 14, 2015)

I see a couple of these RGIF8 BKS on Ebay for around $1200. They look pretty nice, but I haven't seen any posts about them since NAMM. Anyone played one, or have one? Looks like they're shipping in Japan, but not the rest of the globe?

For reference:
Ibanez RGIF8 Bks Iron Label 8 Strings Electric Guitar Fanned Fret System | eBay


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## M3CHK1LLA (Jun 15, 2015)

that looks pretty good, but I would rather have a 7 ff before I got one of these.

curious too if anyone here got one and what they thought about it...


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## OmegaSlayer (Jun 15, 2015)

Still on the fence between picking up a 7 or an 8.
And waiting some actual reviews.
I'm very much gasing for one of them, as I could never afford a custom made one.
Saving to buy one of them by the end of the year.


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## Hollowway (Jun 15, 2015)

Yeah, and the finish and woods are pretty sexy. I need another 8 like I need another hole in my head, but I really want one. Not sure I want to be the first one over the hill on this, though.


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## elkinz (Jun 15, 2015)

I know its not the gat,

But I have the 6 string fan fret bass version and its seriously sick. So I imagine the gats will be too  I love stain styled finishes and being able to feel the woodgrain. The quality of the parts is awesome, and the woods look fantastic. 

though if I got one of the FF gats id change the emgs for something else. Nazgul/sentients or something..


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## odibrom (Jun 15, 2015)

I am still wondering on how to install some piezos without wrecking a guitar like that...


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## DeathChord (Jun 15, 2015)

Hollowway said:


> Yeah, and the finish and woods are pretty sexy. I need another 8 like I need another hole in my head, but I really want one. Not sure I want to be the first one over the hill on this, though.



I'm right there with you Hollowway, once they hit our market I'll grab an 8.


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## Hollowway (Jun 15, 2015)

elkinz said:


> I know its not the gat,
> 
> But I have the 6 string fan fret bass version and its seriously sick. So I imagine the gats will be too  I love stain styled finishes and being able to feel the woodgrain. The quality of the parts is awesome, and the woods look fantastic.
> 
> though if I got one of the FF gats id change the emgs for something else. Nazgul/sentients or something..




Not sure if I'm missing out on some music slang here, but where I come from gat is slang for gun. 

And I know what you mean about the emgs, but I think Lace bars are really the only option as replacement, given the fan. These guitars use 909s as it is, so unless there's another 9 string pup that would be a suitable replacement, it's the EMGs or Laces. Still, it is a nice axe!


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## elkinz (Jun 15, 2015)

oh damn, seriously? 

I figured they were 808's. I mean, Seymour Duncan does slanted 8string pups for .strandberg* guitars so I would imagine you could ask their custom shop for a set of replacement nazgul sentients for that spacing. 

And yes, gats is a bit of slang for guitars here in New Zealand


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## LeJayman (Jun 23, 2015)

Ordered the RGIF8 the other day, should be getting it in the next few days!


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## ThePIGI King (Jun 23, 2015)

^ I demand a picture of every fret, every millimeter of it when you get it, and a very comprehensive review about everything. Including the smell and taste.


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## Daunicornslayer (Jun 23, 2015)

elkinz said:


> oh damn, seriously?
> 
> I figured they were 808's. I mean, Seymour Duncan does slanted 8string pups for .strandberg* guitars so I would imagine you could ask their custom shop for a set of replacement nazgul sentients for that spacing.
> 
> And yes, gats is a bit of slang for guitars here in New Zealand




They will through the custom shop and they start at 200usd


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## Rollandbeast (Jun 25, 2015)

LeJayman said:


> Ordered the RGIF8 the other day, should be getting it in the next few days!



nice where in quebec do u live ? I was thinking about getting one , ill come try urs first HEHE


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## AliceLG (Jun 25, 2015)

I tried one at Musikmesse. Quality and aesthetics are great. I tried it off the wall and didn't bother to stand in line and wait for an amp to be available, so I can't say much about how it sounds. I had never played a fan fretted instrument before and it wasn't much of an adjustment from the 7th fret on. Further towards the nut it started to get complicated, I guess the neutral 12th is to blame here. I would advise to try before buying if possible, or print a fretboard from fretfind2d and tape it to a regular 8-string to kinda get the feel for it a bit. For me reaching the 1st fret in the 8th string was quite a stretch.


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## PunchLine (Jul 2, 2015)

Sorry if it has been posted elsewhere before but it looks new so I wanted to share just in case...


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## Michael_Ten (Jul 8, 2015)

Love the guitar and concept, saw them at NAMM and my jaw dropped with jealousy. The only thing I don't understand is why they stair-stepped that bridge, it looks hideous. Don't they manufacture their own hardware; couldn't they make something that looked... nice?


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## MaxOfMetal (Jul 8, 2015)

Michael_Ten said:


> Love the guitar and concept, saw them at NAMM and my jaw dropped with jealousy. The only thing I don't understand is why they stair-stepped that bridge, it looks hideous. Don't they manufacture their own hardware; couldn't they make something that looked... nice?



It's not one bridge piece, each saddle is it's own single string bridge. They need to be staggered to accommodate the scales.

Going individual with the bridges gives them the advantage to scale up and down with the number of strings without redesigning and manufacturing multiple bridges based on string number and scale.


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## Michael_Ten (Jul 8, 2015)

MaxOfMetal said:


> It's not one bridge piece, each saddle is it's own single string bridge. They need to be staggered to accommodate the scales.
> 
> Going individual with the bridges gives them the advantage to scale up and down with the number of strings without redesigning and manufacturing multiple bridges based on string number and scale.



Lol I guess I should have been more specific in my critique. I understand WHY they did it from a practical stand point, I can see they're using the Hipshot single-string saddles or something similar... but I still think it looks hideous lol. 

I feel like it's totally worth it from a design/aesthetic standpoint to have separate bridges made for your guitar based on string number and scale so the base-plate makes a nice, even line, especially if you're making a production run. Certainly more of a monetary investment, but I think the payoff is worth it. Looks better and probably feels more comfortable in your hands. Should be no problem for a company that designs and manufactures their own bridges. I totally understand this is a proto, however, so I'm just hoping they redesign the bridge for the production run.


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## MaxOfMetal (Jul 8, 2015)

Ibanez doesn't manufacture anything, so it would have to be farmed out to an OEM for design and later production.

Feel wise, I've never found the single string bridges to feel any different. Like most bridges, they just feel like whatever saddles.

I owned two guitars with single string bridge nearly identical to these, and currently own one with a custom baseplate and they feel the same.


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## Michael_Ten (Jul 8, 2015)

Guess it comes down purely to aesthetics. I just think a solid base plate looks nice, is all


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## Halowords (Jul 8, 2015)

I am more than o.k. with the individual string bridges. Functionally and aesthetically.

$0.02

-Cheers


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## PunchLine (Jul 19, 2015)

This sounds pretty good...


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## Given To Fly (Jul 19, 2015)

These are not available in the U.S market, correct? 

Overall, I think its kind of odd Ibanez is making multi scale fanned fret guitars and basses and SSO is more concerned about a new Line 6 pedalboard.


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## MaxOfMetal (Jul 19, 2015)

Given To Fly said:


> These are not available in the U.S market, correct?
> 
> Overall, I think its kind of odd Ibanez is making multi scale fanned fret guitars and basses and SSO is more concerned about a new Line 6 pedalboard.



They are available to order in the US. The Summer NAMM stuff isn't fully live yet, but dealers should be able to get the ball rolling.


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## Given To Fly (Jul 19, 2015)

MaxOfMetal said:


> They are available to order in the US. The Summer NAMM stuff isn't fully live yet, but dealers should be able to get the ball rolling.



Thank you! That is great news!


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## MaxOfMetal (Jul 20, 2015)

Given To Fly said:


> Thank you! That is great news!



They were always slated to come to the US, that's why they debuted them here at Winter NAMM. They, HUSA, even said they were coming to the US and it's their job to import them. 

Japan always gets stuff first. Always. 

The Euro dealers are more fragmented and thus they tend to spill the beans earlier as well, hence why it seemed they had them first. 

They simply can't release a model like this, super niche, anywhere but the US. We have the biggest single country musical instrument retail network in the world.


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## Given To Fly (Jul 20, 2015)

MaxOfMetal said:


> They were always slated to come to the US, that's why they debuted them here at Winter NAMM. They, HUSA, even said they were coming to the US and it's their job to import them.
> 
> Japan always gets stuff first. Always.
> 
> ...



That all makes sense. At what point does a "prototype" become a "production model?" Well, I'm off to email Rich....


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## in-pursuit (Jul 20, 2015)

just ordered one of the 7's and one of the 8's here for the store I work at, definitely looking forward to trying them out. Not scheduled to get here till August, which means I'll probably get to play one in September haha!


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## MaxOfMetal (Jul 20, 2015)

Given To Fly said:


> That all makes sense. At what point does a "prototype" become a "production model?" Well, I'm off to email Rich....



When Ibanez says so. 

Being non-LACS is usually the best indicator, getting a large OEM to make a single guitar costs a lot of money.


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## AKopp (Jul 20, 2015)

I really like these, however the head stock with the nut and the squared off finish kind of kills it for me. If they kept the finish along the nut it'd be perfect!


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## LeJayman (Aug 23, 2015)

Here are some close up pictures for you guys!


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## odibrom (Aug 23, 2015)

This last post calls for a mandatory NGD... with sound clips/video and detailed review.

What are you waiting for GO. NOW.

Ok, just kidding, it would pretty awesome if you could take the time to do so. Thanks for the photos.


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## Fraz666 (Aug 24, 2015)

I bought the RGIF8 and I'm waiting the delivery, I never tried a fanned before but I got the 30-days-money-back option.
In pictures/videos is beautiful!


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## mphsc (Aug 24, 2015)

Love it, bang for the buck.


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## IChuckFinleyI (Aug 25, 2015)

I may just be an Ibanez customer again with this thing.


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## LeJayman (Aug 25, 2015)

New Ibanez RGIF8 Bks Iron Label 8 String Fanned Frets EMG Pickups Ash Body | eBay


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## Hollowway (Aug 26, 2015)

So the perp fret is the 12th. Hmm. I'm kind of finnicky about it being around the 7th. But I've never tried anything different, so I might give this a go!


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## OmegaSlayer (Aug 26, 2015)

No sign of them in Italian Ibanez site yet.


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## ghostred7 (Aug 26, 2015)

For those of us in the US (and maybe internationally), they are now available for pre-order on most of the online retailers: 
Zzounds - http://www.zzounds.com/item--IBARGIF8
AMS - http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-IBA-RGIF8-BKS
Sweetwater (actually in stock here...2 of them) - http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RGIF8BKS

As soon as I can afford it, I'm ordering the 7 from one of them....whichever wants to be a sucker enough to give me credit LOL


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## DavidSchiess (Sep 4, 2015)

odibrom said:


> I am still wondering on how to install some piezos without wrecking a guitar like that...



There are piezo systems that sit in each single saddle I think. Something like that: https://www.facebook.com/claasguita...7691293626604/808191795909883/?type=1&theater


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## odibrom (Sep 4, 2015)

DavidSchiess said:


> There are piezo systems that sit in each single saddle I think. Something like that: https://www.facebook.com/claasguita...7691293626604/808191795909883/?type=1&theater



Yes, I know, the thing is that on my other RGs, I routed a cavity under the bridge and connected it to the control one, so there are no wires coming from the saddles visible over the guitar's surface. My RGs bridge plates are modded so the piezos' wires go through them into the cavity.

I am not seeing how to do that on these guitars since these are individual bridges. The saddles are, however compatible with Graphtech's... which is cool.


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## x_crue (Sep 10, 2015)

Sirs, this is x_crue from Manila, Philippines. Recently got my RGIF8 after two months of waiting.

Nice guitar, low action, overall good quality guitar. Nice to know that the wood grain/pattern differs from one another. Making it sort of unique from the others.


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## Konfyouzd (Sep 10, 2015)

I don't think a perpendicular 12th fret would feel as nice as it being around 7 or 9...


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## DancingCloseToU (Sep 11, 2015)

Konfyouzd said:


> I don't think a perpendicular 12th fret would feel as nice as it being around 7 or 9...



This was the deal breaker for me.


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## Mangle (Sep 12, 2015)

What are the chances of lefties of these seeing the light of day anytime soon?


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 12, 2015)

Mangle said:


> What are the chances of lefties of these seeing the light of day anytime soon?



Given current sales, not likely.


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## Mangle (Sep 13, 2015)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Given current sales, not likely.



Are they being ignored by the boatload? Sitting on shelves cultivating cobwebs? From all indications (i know this site skews objective reality) people can't get their hands on them quickly enough.... too early to tell?


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 13, 2015)

Mangle said:


> Are they being ignored by the boatload? Sitting on shelves cultivating cobwebs? From all indications (i know this site skews objective reality) people can't get their hands on them quickly enough.... too early to tell?



People are buying them, but not enough to expand the line this early or into the lefty market. 

The earliest we'll see an extension of this line is early next year and besides possibly a token color change there won't be much change if any.


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## Veritech Zero (Sep 13, 2015)

Konfyouzd said:


> I don't think a perpendicular 12th fret would feel as nice as it being around 7 or 9...



Does this just have to do with the scale lengths they picked? Just trying to wrap my head around why it would be different. Like would a longer scale length than the 27.2" up top equal a parallel fret further down the fretboard and a shorter scale length up top equal a parallel fret further up the fretboard?


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 13, 2015)

Veritech Zero said:


> Does this just have to do with the scale lengths they picked? Just trying to wrap my head around why it would be different. Like would a longer scale length than the 27.2" up top equal a parallel fret further down the fretboard and a shorter scale length up top equal a parallel fret further up the fretboard?



Perpendicular fret location has nothing to do with the scales themselves, it's just about how they're lined up. 

So the perpendicular fret can be placed anywhere. 

I've played and owned guitars with the perpendicular fret at the 7th, 9th, and 12th frets and really it's going to come down to preference and how large the fan is, not to mention playing style.


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## Veritech Zero (Sep 14, 2015)

Ok, that makes sense now that I think about it. You can slant the nut more and the bridge less and visa versa. Got it. I would still love to get my hands on one, or perhaps see a good in depth review


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## Hollowway (Sep 14, 2015)

Generally speaking, most of us like the 7th fret to be perpendicular, because on a 24 fret guitar that means the 1st and 24th frets have the same angle.


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## Konfyouzd (Sep 14, 2015)

Veritech Zero said:


> Does this just have to do with the scale lengths they picked? Just trying to wrap my head around why it would be different. Like would a longer scale length than the 27.2" up top equal a parallel fret further down the fretboard and a shorter scale length up top equal a parallel fret further up the fretboard?



Max summed it up pretty well. The farther the perpendicular fret is toward the 12th fret, the more angled the lower frets will be. For me this feels weird when trying to play chords on the lower end, but this might not pose a problem for other folks.

As Hollowway said, in most cases, you'll see the perpendicular fret somewhere in the ballpark of 7 or 9. All of the fanned fret guitars I've played thus far had a perpendicular 7th which felt great in terms of how my hands naturally seem to want to fall on the guitar. Moving it farther down would make me have to stretch more on the bass end and I'm just not into that.


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## odibrom (Sep 14, 2015)

OK, first let me say that I have NO experience on fanned fret guitars.

So I ask the following, how much does it interfere with the picking hand a more aggressive bridge angle (remember everybody is speaking on the fretting hand)? These Ibbys have a samller bridge angle, so more similar to a parallel fret guitar. In my opinion, if the 1st fret on the lowest string isn't longer than the nut at the highest string, as it seams to happen on these Ibbys, there shouldn't be much of a learning curve on the transition from parallel fret to fanned ones guitars for the fretting hand nor the picking one, or am i completely mistaken in my judgment?

Have I been clear on my thoughts?


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## Given To Fly (Sep 14, 2015)

odibrom said:


> OK, first let me say that I have NO experience on fanned fret guitars.
> 
> So I ask the following, how much does it interfere with the picking hand a more aggressive bridge angle (remember everybody is speaking on the fretting hand)? These Ibbys have a samller bridge angle, so more similar to a parallel fret guitar. In my opinion, if the 1st fret on the lowest string isn't longer than the nut at the highest string, as it seams to happen on these Ibbys, there shouldn't be much of a learning curve on the transition from parallel fret to fanned ones guitars for the fretting hand nor the picking one, or am i completely mistaken in my judgment?
> 
> Have I been clear on my thoughts?



I think your judgement is probably pretty accurate. There will be a transition period but its not like you won't be able to play anything on it for months.


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## olejason (Sep 15, 2015)

It would look about a million times better with an ebony or dyed black fretboard. Rosewood looks strange on a faded black finish IMO.


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## kevdes93 (Sep 18, 2015)

PSA: Zzounds has one of the 8 strings "like new" for 864, down from 1200


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## Marv Attaxx (Oct 26, 2015)

Found a new video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zejSmajEiV8

How come we still don't have a nice review for one of those things?


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## Ericjutsu (Oct 26, 2015)

I really wish these guitars went to 28 inches and not 27


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## Hollowway (Oct 27, 2015)

olejason said:


> It would look about a million times better with an ebony or dyed black fretboard. Rosewood looks strange on a faded black finish IMO.



Yeah, totally. I say that about nearly every Ibby out there. In fact, it's far from common knowledge, but did you know the word "Ibanez" means "rosewood" in Japanese?


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## Konfyouzd (Oct 27, 2015)




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## Marv Attaxx (Oct 31, 2015)

First real review!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEhT0YtBSNY


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## Gmork (Dec 31, 2015)

im going to be getting the 8 version soon but one thing has been bothering me a bit. i'll do my best to describe it accurately. in pictures of the 7 version the wood grain is bigger allowing you to see more of the wood grain/definition and allows more of the natural wood color through while on the 8 string version the wood looks more condensed with less "character" in the wood grain making it almost mostly just gray and none of the natural wood coloring to show through. every picture i see looks this way. is it just coincidence or are the 7s made to look different than the 8s? i think the 7s look INFINITELY cooler and really would like my new 8 to have the look of the 7s i see. kinda sad lol. can anyone shed some light on this please? thanks


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## mr coffee (Dec 31, 2015)

I got to check out the 7 at GC the other day, my first time checking out a fanned fret. Overall, I was pretty impressed. The fret work & overall fit and finish seemed far better than the other Iron Label RGs I've played, that was nice to see. I (obviously) haven't had the opportunity to try out a FF guitar with the parallel fret at the 7th or 9th, but I can certainly see how that would be more comfortable for fretting chords at lower positions. Other than that, it's got me seriously thinking about multiscales for future purchases...

-m


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## Gmork (Dec 31, 2015)

any chance you noticed if the look of the 7s were infact all different than the 8s?


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## mr coffee (Dec 31, 2015)

They only had the one 7 there, I haven't seen any 8s around yet.

-m


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## Ze_F (Jan 2, 2016)

No worries there. I own a RGIF8 and the wood grain is pretty apparent.


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## Planezero (Jun 8, 2016)

Im still gassing for one of these ever since it came out .. Mainly cause I love 8s and never tried a fanned fret before.
Despite the Ibanez being an Iron label, from reviews I get the feeling this is actually a pretty decent guitar.
Wonder how it stacks up against this Carvin Custom Kiesel KM8 ?
Is the extra quality on the Kiesel worth more than twice the price of the Ibanez ?

Custom Shop KM8 Photo Gallery | KieselGuitars.com


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## Spicypickles (Jun 9, 2016)

Try 3 times the price (at least).


Quality is always better to shoot for IMO, and the carvin will easily be higher quality. It's just up to you if you think the extra scratch is worth it.


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## bostjan (Jun 9, 2016)

IDK, I think the choice of scale length, perpendicular fret, and other smaller details is just a bit off with these.

It seems everyone here is bringing up these points. If you started with an already nifty guitar and planned out the spec's to augment that guitar's appeal with multiscale, then it'd be one thing.

So, let me just outright say this: multiscale, in and of itself, is not the point.

The point is to get a longer scale length on the low register without screwing up the ergonomics of everything else. Outside of the "lower scale length on the low register" and the "ergonomics," there's nothing magical. Truthfully, if you didn't care about ergonomics, you probably wouldn't care at all about multiscale too much.

But, I have not played one, so I cannot judge fully. I just think that 12th fret being perpendicular is fine for a small delta, and 27" on the low side for an eight string is, well, nothing to write home about.

If I came across one at a store, I'd be thrilled to try it out, but only seeing a couple online here and there, I'm not about to order one blind, based on spec's alone, because they aren't that stunning.


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## sezna (Jun 9, 2016)

I was just considering the possibility of ordering a b-stock RGIF8 yesterday. zZounds has one and it's around $700. Has anyone gotten one yet? Nobody has anything bad to say about them but...nobody has gotten one haha


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## Spicypickles (Jun 10, 2016)

My only complaint is using 909's on them. I totally think they could have gotten away with 808's. 


Same thing with the agile pendulums; mine has so much extra pickup sticking out on either side.


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