Does anyone here use the Ibanez M80M (or it's more expensive M8M) for non-metal stuff? Any clips, videos and experiences? I'm really interested in the extra extended scale length and after owning an RG2228, I really dig the double locking Edge FX system.
Yep. Just think of it as a lower tuned sonic paint brush. It really has a wonderfully unique character when played with a clean tone!!
Look up stuff done with the Fender Bass VI, as well as the long scale Danelectro and Coral stuff from the same time period. They were basically super long scale, extra low tuned guitars meant to be played as short scale basses, but you can find blues, country, and all kinds of stuff played on them. I'd dig you some stuff from YouTube but I'm on mobile.
I used to have one and loved to play doom and stoner stuff with it The clean sounds were also very good but its naturally not really versatile
With some creative use of the tone and volume controls, there are some nice clean tones to be had from it. A clean channel with loads of headroom helps too. The location of the pickup does give it a certain sharpness that is hard to dial out though. I'm a huge fan of The Cure and have played a lot of their stuff with it - and been very happy with the sound. It is great for that because it can cover both normal guitar or bass vi territory. If you bought one and put a neck pickup and some clever switching (coil tap, parallel coils, strangle switch etc), it would be an insanely versatile guitar imo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sHFcq-YY3Q This is a improvisational jam I did when I had my M80M. A bit different from the metal that is usually associated with these guitars. They sound great. Here is the link to my NGD http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/extended-range-guitars/282340-ngd-ibanez-m80m.html
Been playing mine for well over a year now and I mix it up all the time. As mentioned it's very resonate and the M8 pup lends well for clean tones.
Thanks for all the replies! I am eyeing an M80M in a local guitar store because of the increased scale length, FX edge bridge and ash body. That provides a very good base for a versatile tone, methinks. And I don't play metal; I play in a Spoken Word / Poetry group. Anyway, the real issue actually lies with the single pickup configuration. But Esquires and Les Paul Juniors have single pickups, yet they have a ton of expression within them....
Honestly, you'll be amazed at the variety of sounds you can achieve with that one pickup using the volume and tone controls. One of the guys here has a really cool switching mod for the pickup too, which allows you to run the coils in parallel instead of series for a lower output. I keep meaning to do that mod to mine - it sounds like something I'd enjoy. Edit: I just listened to a few tracks from that bandcamp link and very much enjoyed what I heard. Metal schmetal - keep doing your thing. It sounds like a lot of fun! One final thought is that you will find chords in the open position or the first few frets to require a fair amount of stretching and sometimes maybe a bit of discomfort. There's always a different voicing though - especially when you have eight strings.
I found several clips on Instagram #M80M where the guitar was played clean and finger picked. Very dynamic sounds! Okay, looks like I really have to check it out.
The M8 isn't optimal for clean stuff at least for me. I still have my old Schecter Omen 8 and its stock pickup is a lot warmer for those kinds of things. I might install a neck pickup on the M80M in the future.
