Kiko Loureiro is a founding member of progressive power metal gods Angra and an established solo artist, having released 12 studio albums with the former and 4 instrumental guitar albums. His style of speedy shred that never exceeds the bounds of good taste is legendary in the power metal world, and that he hails from Brazil rather than some northern European arctic tundra makes him all the more exotic. His incendiary playing for a long time was powered by his signature Tagima guitars, but after bouncing around to some different companies in the past few years, he settled on Ibanez, and has been playing them exclusively as of late.
Well, Ibanez has finally ponied up to produce the new KIKO-100 (Prestige) and KIKO-10P (Premium) models for general consumption. It appears to be basically a typical S series, with some twists. The 19th-24th frets will be scalloped, they’ve moved the input jack to the rear of the guitar (a smart move), and instead of the traditional mahogany body, the guitar will be made of alder, with a maple top. Other little touches include a coil tap, a scooped lower horn for better upper fret access, and classy recessed knobs. Signature DiMarzio KIKO pickups and an original Edge tremolo (you know, the one that everybody ALWAYS says they shouldn’t have stopped making) top it off. There’s no release date listed, so who knows when you can actually get your grubby little paws on one. No word on pricing yet, either.
Get the full rundown, pictures, and info here.
