Rare Ibanez Thread

[Tree]

Max beat me to it, but I remember drooling over those when he made them.

On a random note, the first RGA8 I had was the first generation. These were known to have the bridge anchor completely rip out. Knowing this I was always super careful when adjusting and never had issue with it. I eventually sold it to Variant and of course the second he gets it and goes to set it up it gets annihilated. I felt so bad, but he didn’t mind apparently and said he knew what he was getting into. Still, my heart dropped when he told me.

 

[hilljack13]

Looking at the K720. Three here. Rumored ~30 for US market. Not sure what full production number is but would be interested if anyone knows.

 

[Metal-Box]

View attachment 118791

This your Kotzen RK-1 replica? I always loved that one on the cover of the Fever Dream cassette.

* I went down memory lane and saw this photo on the internet as well as several other guitars Ibanez made for him.

 

[IbanezDaemon]

This your Kotzen RK-1 replica? I always loved that one on the cover of the Fever Dream cassette.

* I went down memory lane and saw this photo on the internet as well as several other guitars Ibanez made for him.

Yeah...that's the real McCoy. Richie had a few done in this style. Pretty sure he sold them all. You do see a few replicas of that one up for sale on the very odd ocassion.

 

[Sermo Lupi]

Yeah...that's the real McCoy. Richie had a few done in this style. Pretty sure he sold them all. You do see a few replicas of that one up for sale on the very odd ocassion.

Richie Kotzen actually still owns at least two of them, the original and that really nice neckthrough one he had made. He shows off the original and talks about the other in this Young Guitar video from two years ago. They clearly don't get played much, but he still owns them.

 

[RG570EX]

Does this count as rare? I've only seen pictures of like four of these in the wild. RG570EX but with black pearl binding and a lopro instead of the original edge.

Just curious to know how many of you would actually play with a slim Asian like this (56k kys)

I was gassing pretty hard so I got one. Vintage Pre-9/11 Ibanez RG570EX in Cyber Pink (probably supposed to be punk because it's flat silver and nowhere near pink). I do have a question for Ibanez nerds. The regular RG570EX came in this color as well as a blue version. It came with the original...

www.sevenstring.org

 

[Neon_Knight_]

This one-of-a-kind J. Custom Sabre is currently haunting my Instagram feed.

 

[odibrom]

This one-of-a-kind J. Custom Sabre is currently haunting my Instagram feed.

View attachment 120661

There's one like that in Reverb for 7+k € give or take a few hundreds...

 

[KentBrockman]

This one-of-a-kind J. Custom Sabre is currently haunting my Instagram feed.

View attachment 120661

This, along with the Jiva, is proof that Ibanez CAN make a 6-string S with a trem that doesn't have those ugly AF pickup rings. And yet, they refuse to do so...

 

[Neon_Knight_]

There's one like that in Reverb for 7+k € give or take a few hundreds...

Axe Palace has the Sabre photographed above. No list price...have to contact them to enquire.
It's a beauty, but clearly way out of my price range (my "new" RGD2127Z cost about 10% of that), hence it's "haunting" my feed.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

This, along with the Jiva, is proof that Ibanez CAN make a 6-string S with a trem that doesn't have those ugly AF pickup rings. And yet, they refuse to do so...

There are a number of fixed-bridge S production models without pickup rings, including the Prestige S6521 (only MIJ model I'm aware of), an Axion, the SEW models and some other Indonesian models.

The only production model I'm aware of with a double-locking trem and no pickup rings (other than JIVA) is the Premium S1070-PBZ.

To add to the frustration, SAs don't have pickup rings.

I don't hate pickup rings (or at least I love some guitars in spite of them...like my S2170SE), but I'm really struggling to think of a guitar that they improve aesthetically.

 

[KentBrockman]

There are a number of fixed-bridge S production models without pickup rings, including the Prestige S6521 (only MIJ model I'm aware of), an Axion, the SEW models and some other Indonesian models.

The only production model I'm aware of with a double-locking trem and no pickup rings (other than JIVA) is the Premium S1070-PBZ.

To add to the frustration, SAs don't have pickup rings.

I don't hate pickup rings (or at least I love some guitars in spite of them...like my S2170SE), but I'm really struggling to think of a guitar that they improve aesthetically.

This is the baffling thing. MIJ 6-string fixed S with no pickup rings? No problem. MIJ 7-string TREM S with no pickup rings? No problem. MIJ 6-string trem S with no pickup rings? NO, WE CANNOT ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN!

I honestly forgot that S Premiums existed. Infuriating that they made a 6-string S trem model with no pickup rings but they can't do that for the Prestiges...

 

[MaxOfMetal]

This is the baffling thing. MIJ 6-string fixed S with no pickup rings? No problem. MIJ 7-string TREM S with no pickup rings? No problem. MIJ 6-string trem S with no pickup rings? NO, WE CANNOT ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN!

I honestly forgot that S Premiums existed. Infuriating that they made a 6-string S trem model with no pickup rings but they can't do that for the Prestiges...

It's not "can't" it's "won't."

The Sabers have been on the old "5470" platform since 2008, and that platform has pickup rings.

If they didn't bother changing it when they went to the Lo-Pro they're not going to.

Sabers don't sell enough. Is it because of pickup rings? Probably not. It's just not an especially popular model and hasn't been in a long time. Every time Ibanez throws money at them it fails.

Heck, they didn't even bother making them in Japan for awhile.

 

[JimF]

While we're talking Sabers, how ergonomical/comfy are they? Or are they just thin?

 

[Masoo2]

While we're talking Sabers, how ergonomical/comfy are they? Or are they just thin?

Honestly, I've preferred every S I've played/had to every RG I've played/had.

I don't see why they aren't more popular. Super light, super thin, real sleek look to them.

If anything, I find RGs to be a bit *too* thick at times and their sharp edges dig into my legs worse than the S.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

While we're talking Sabers, how ergonomical/comfy are they? Or are they just thin?

Eh, it's just a guitar. They're not exceptionally light, or really that unbelievably thin, but they can be a little lighter and feel a little thinner at first, but they're not vastly different than plenty of other Super Strat platforms.

Which is one of the reasons they haven't been huge sellers, just not enough difference to make up for price and selection at a given time.

You can pick up older MIK S4xx and S5xx models for cheap still, so I recommend giving it a go. They're something of a cult classic, folks who dig them REALLY dig them.

 

[JimF]

Eh, it's just a guitar. They're not exceptionally light, or really that unbelievably thin, but they can be a little lighter and feel a little thinner at first, but they're not vastly different than plenty of other Super Strat platforms.

I always see Sabers, EBMM JPs, Majesties, etc and notice people highlighting the ergonomics, but I've never felt that an RG/Dinky/Soloist was uncomfortable. Like you said, its just a guitar. I know I like a forearm carve, but can work around the lack of one.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

I always see Sabers, EBMM JPs, Majesties, etc and notice people highlighting the ergonomics, but I've never felt that an RG/Dinky/Soloist was uncomfortable. Like you said, its just a guitar. I know I like a forearm carve, but can work around the lack of one.

RGs have really well designed contours / carves, which makes them more comfortable than the average super strat IMO.

My S is noticeably lighter than any of my other seven Ibbys (RG, RGA & Xiphos), but I don't find the weight an issue with any of them. Obviously the weight will vary from guitar to guitar, but I've never encountered an S that isn't light.

I don't notice the lack of a forearm carve with my S, because the body is so thin that the edge doesn't dig in at all. From my experience, an S doesn't have enough size or mass to be problematic in any playing position...it hugs into my body and just feels "right".

 

[Thesius]

I always felt like one of the reasons why Sabers weren't as popular is because the shape doesn't translate well to Ibanez' flat stock photos.

 

[odibrom]

While we're talking Sabers, how ergonomical/comfy are they? Or are they just thin?

Ergonomics isn't a "one size fits all" kind of thing as many tend to think about when guitars are the subject. In my opinion, for a relatively small guy (I'm 1.67m tall = 5 feet 5¾ inches) like me, small guitar bodies feel great, for bigger guys, they may feel like toys. Sabers are as good as RGs regarding everything, but he guitar body feel is a bit different. The forearm and belly contours on the RGs versus the Sabers are almost irrelevant, to me both feel good, but I prefer the Sabers.

Honestly, I've preferred every S I've played/had to every RG I've played/had.

I don't see why they aren't more popular. Super light, super thin, real sleek look to them.

If anything, I find RGs to be a bit *too* thick at times and their sharp edges dig into my legs worse than the S.

Not all are super light weight. My S2120X feels heavier than my UV777P and as heavy as any of my RG2027XVVs for example. My S540 feels super light as does my S5527, although a bit heavier.

I always felt like one of the reasons why Sabers weren't as popular is because the shape doesn't translate well to Ibanez' flat stock photos.

That's an interesting perspective, but I believe that the average 200+ added price against similar specs RG can also take its slice on the cake, along with less artists supporting this series.

Personally, I don't have more sabers due to some specs never been translated to them, like the 7 string piezos on the RG2027XVV from early '00s, then the less count on 7 string MIJ and even less with trems... and even less with LoPros (only 2 models ever, the early 1990 540S7 and 2014-16 S5527). More so, only about 2009 (?) did the sabers won the 24 fret build as standard, because they were always 22 fret...

Sabers weren't always parallel to RGs and had some perks to them that lead RGs to take the lead on sales, specially with knights as Vai, Petrucci and Gilbert using them in mid/late '90s... Sabers' knights were also great but many fled the Ibanez's roster already...