Ibanez Guitars & Basses – What’s New for 2017?

The crack team over at MusicRadar has put together a list of everything new in the Ibanez world for NAMM 2017. Among the 55 (holy shit, quantity is king over at Ibanez) new models and revisions are an 8-string multi-scale Iron Label and a fretted/fretless hybrid bass. As per usual, you can also add any random combination of numbers and letters after “RG” and have a 63% chance of naming a new Ibanez.

Here are some of Gear Gods’s favorites for 2017:

Premium RG6PCMLTD-BRG

This familiar-looking Premium RG features a curly maple top finished in an aquatic fade. A curly maple fretboard and natural binding really make it pop. The stick also features Dimarzio Tone Zone, True Velvet, and Air Norton pickups. Wicked.

RGAIX6U-ABS

One of my favorite Ibanez bodies, this RGA in a natural ash finish looks immense. It comes standard with Bareknuckle Aftermaths, and an ebony fretboard lends itself to superb playability. Do want.

RGIM8MH-WK

Here’s the aforementioned multi-scale 8-string. This one’s got a 27″ scale down low and 25.5″ up high. The EMG pickups in this beast are designed for ultimate chugga-chugga-squealage. Also, it’s truss rod adjustment sits above the neck pickup for quick and easy access. More guitars should be designed that way…

“Ashula” SRAS7-DEB Fretted/Fretless Hybrid Bass

Ok, so this monster is interesting. It has 7 strings, 3 of which are on the fretless side. Though it may not look it, it’s been designed for maximum playability, with different radiuses on the fretted and fretless sides of the instrument. I sure as hell wouldn’t know what to do with it, but in the proper hands it’d be deadly.

Now last and actually fucking least, I stumbled across this brand new 2017 model on LeftyFretz the other day:

PS120L-BK Paul Stanley Signature Lefty

Um, yeah. Literally any other signature model would’ve been a better choice for a lefty version. Jake Bowen and Tosin Abasi are some of the most relevant players on the Ibanez roster, but I guess lefties are about 40 years behind the rest of the guitar community. This is just a cruel joke. Here’s to hoping for a better 2018, left-handers.