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.

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

Premium RG6PCMLTD-BRG

Ibanez 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

Ibanez 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

Ibanez 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

Ibanez SRAS7-DEB

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

Ibanez PS120L-BK

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.

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Gear Gods intern Maxwell studied English at Cal Poly Pomona and has since realized life ain’t all about semicolons and syntax. He’s studying audio now, and will probably judge your music taste before your grammar.

Latest comments
  • No sympathy for lefties. I’m left handed, I write throw and jerk off left handed. But I play golf and guitar as a righty. Learning feels weird either way, so don’t limit yourself, learn right.

  • Chances are Ibanez has done their homework, and figured out what models actually sell more. I’m sure it wasn’t a Kiss fan-boy that made the decision over Ibanez actually calculating which model will bring them more money.

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