Best Ibanez Guitars of 2021- Complete Review

If you're an '80s rock music lover, there is no way you haven’t noticed all those iconic guitar heroes showing off with fast pace playing. It’s hard to imagine any guitar player of that era that hasn't been playing Ibanez guitars at some point in their career.

There are so many great brands available for the guitarist looking to try a new guitar. How do you ever choose between them? Is there something special between Alvarez and Fender? What about Taylor and Epiphone? 

Trying to decide could give you a bit of a headache, and no musician wants that. So, we took the initiative and decided that one of the brands you definitely must consider is Ibanez.

In this guide, we are going to give you the full rundown on this guitar brand, from who they are to what makes them great, all culminating in a carefully curated list of the best Ibanez guitars. So, without further ado, let us introduce you to a guitar brand that is going to change your life and your music.

What Makes a Great Ibanez Guitar?

Having an idea of what to look for when you are trying to decide which Ibanez guitar you are going to go with can be quite a task. With so many options, we thought you might want a little buyers guide to help you weed out your choices. 

So, here are several factors that you should ponder on as you consider which Ibanez guitar fits you and your music style:

Size

When considering the guitar of your dreams, this may seem like a small thing. After all, shouldn’t you worry more about the sound and durability? Yes, those are important, but if you are uncomfortable playing the instrument or if it is awkward to hold, then what good does any of those do you? So, when selecting your guitar, you want to make sure the length and weight fit your physical frame. Those with shorter arms or smaller hands may prefer a smaller neck and thinner body like the S-series. Whereas if the shoe is on the other foot, you will want to consider the RG-series for sure.

Pickup

Making sure your transducer is going to offer you the right tone and texture is essential. This all has to do with the style of music you are looking to create. Ibanez does tend to use the S-series pickup quite a bit, or the IBZ/DMZ. 

Comparison of the Best Ibanez Guitars

Review of the Best Ibanez Guitars

Here is the list of the best Ibanez guitars on the market. We have excluded the j.custom and Prestige models to keep the whole list affordable and interesting:

With all that explained, it is time to dive into the models we chose as the best Ibanez guitars on the market today. Here are a few of those options, broken down to give you a better idea of why they were chosen.

Who is Ibanez?

Ibanez is a guitar brand based in Nagoya, Japan. It’s one of the first Japanese companies that made a breakthrough in both the USA and Europe. It was officially formed in 1957 but they have been making guitar instruments since 1935. 

Along with copying Fender and Gibson guitars, Ibanez has been working on original models as well which eventually led to collaboration with American musician Steve Vai and the birth of the Ibanez JEM series. It got famous because of its incredible sound versatility and neck playability. Because of its low price policy, it made an easier headstart possible for so many players out there.

Thanks to the success of the JEM series, many other models and other guitar instruments entered mass production. It’s also worth mentioning that Ibanez is the first company that ever made 7-string and 8-string guitar models on a mass-production scale.

Who Owns Ibanez Guitars?

Ibanez is owned by Hoshino Gakki company.

Where Are Ibanez Guitars Made?

Ibanez guitars are currently being made at three facilities in Indonesia, China, and Japan. JapanThere is also a Custom Shop located in California as well.

Where Are Ibanez Artcore Guitars Made?

Based on the year, Ibanez Artcore guitars were first made in China until 2017, and the production line is now moved to Indonesia.

Where Are Ibanez Prestige Guitars Made?

Premium Prestige models are being made in Fujigen, Japan while the midline models are made in Ibanez facilities in Indonesia.

How Do You Pronounce Ibanez?

The “I” part in the word Ibanez could be pronounced as in the 1st person pronoun - “I”. 

However, as the company origin is not from the USA, it’s most likely that part should be said like “ee”. So the correct way could be either “ay-ba-nez” or “ee-ba-nez”.

But, because the name Ibanez is used to honor Spanish luthier Salvador Ibañez, perhaps the Spanish way of pronouncing could help so while no one says “ee-ba-nyez”, the “ee-ba-nez” seems to be the correct way to say it.

What Kind of Warranty Does Ibanez Offer?

Ibanez offers a 1-year limited warranty if you purchase their instrument from authorized US dealers and it will cover regular repairs and part replacements. The warranty is not applied on any non-factory parts, accidental or intentional damages, and normal fret wear or plating on metal parts or cracking or other damage on the finish.

History of Ibanez Guitars

This guitar company was originally founded in Spain. They carefully focused their attention on designing and crafting high-quality stringed instruments. In 1935, the Hoshino Gakki company began to import Salvador Ibanez guitars. This Japanese company, which was a subdivision of a book company, began to produce the designs and export them to Europe and America. 

In the 50s, the shape and design began to change to accommodate the new sound of music, and it kept evolving to this very day, though it wouldn’t be until the 70s that the name would be recognizable by guitarists around the world. Thanks to the burgeoning metal and hard rock scene, artists like Steven Vai and Joe Satriani would make them their go-to brand, along with many other famous musicians.

How Do Ibanez Guitars Compare to the Competition?

Many brands produce outstanding guitars that any musician would love to play, but Ibanez brings its own unique qualities. Many things set this brand apart.

Body Types

This brand sticks to two main solid body styles, unlike others that have a variety of options. This allows them to fine-tune and perfect their designs down to the finest detail. The two body styles are the RG and the S. The RG is a 24-fret neck with a thicker body, and the S has 22 frets and is a thinner build. (There are a few other styles, but they use arched tops).

Floating Tremolo

Though not all of their models have a floating tremolo, the vast majority do. This means that you have space between your tremolo and the body. It will give you a little better action to work with, along with more rumble and vibration.

Craftsmanship

Every brand will tout its exquisite designs and high-performance build, and many may be right. But Ibanez has held onto the love and care that Salvador Ibanez put into his original guitars. Crafted with high-quality materials, both internally and externally, the craftsmanship plays a huge role in the rich sounds you get when playing an Ibanez.

Comparison Overview

Let’s try to make a quick comparison overview of how Ibanez guitars stand against other brands:

Fender vs Ibanez Guitar

Fender Stratocaster was definitely a guitar that Ibanez was most inspired by, especially Superstrat which sky-rocketed in the ‘80s. It may be odd, but it was Ibanez actually who made this possible.

They both have a huge collection of guitars available on market, so they have guitars for all types of players and, thanks to the Squire by Fender sub-brand at every price as well. The only important difference is that Ibanez has a much better offer for left handed players and also has in collection 7-string and 8-string guitar models.

On the other hand, Fender stock pickups are way better than Ibanez and advanced players tend to upgrade it very often.

Soundwise, Fender guitars are a bit more retro oriented so they will fit the vintage rock, blues, funk, and jazz genres much better. Ibanez will sound wonderful for any kind of aggressive-oriented rock styles such as punk, hard rock, heavy metal, metalcore, just to name a few.

Gibson vs Ibanez Guitar

Along with Fender, it was Gibson that made the guitar world possible. They may fit the same guitar types, but they don’t have so many things in common as Fender and Ibanez had.

First, Ibanez guitars are significantly more lightweight. This also means that Gibson has a much better sustain length. Also, the neck profile is different and the Ibanez type seems to be much more rewarding for fast playing while the Gibson seems to be more “meaty”.

Next, the tremolo bridge system is something you don’t relate to Gibson guitars. Ibanez, on the other hand, uses this system frequently.

Speaking of the pickups, Gibson always comes in a dual coil setup which leaves Ibanez a bit more “open-minded” for various music genres because of its HSH or HHS setup. This versatility is also confirmed with Gibson’s shortcoming of 7-string guitars.

And what seems to be maybe the most important thing, the general feel about those two instruments is that Ibanez tends to provide you a bit more bang for the buck than Gibson. Gibson guitars may be premium, but so is the price as well.

Fender vs Ibanez Bass Guitar

Fender bass guitars were one of the first modern bass guitars ever made and these Precision and Jazz models represent the cornerstone of how the bass guitar should sound even today.

Ibanez bass guitars are made with a bit of a different idea. First, there are many affordable and useful models from the Soundgear series and those are also a bit more modern oriented bass guitars in terms of sound. On the other hand, the neck on those bass guitars is much thinner when compared to the Fender so it will be much more suitable for guitar player.

Other Equipment Made By Ibanez 

Here’s what else you can find under the Ibanez label:

Bass Guitars

The Ibanez Soundgear bass guitar series became popular because of their thin, fast neck along with the smooth, guitar-like body. It varies in price range so it covers all ranges from entry-level to professional tier including both 5-string and 6-string models and left-handed options, too.

While being more than decent to any bass player, these models are especially interesting to guitar players as the neck profile is very similar to electric guitar so they can make an easier transition to bass guitar instrument.

Acoustic and Hollow-body Instruments

Acoustic guitars made by Ibanez are intended for players on a budget at first. They tend to follow the brand philosophy of making affordable instruments and the Artcore series seems to nail that aspect well for hollow body guitars as well. 

It’s worth mentioning that there are acoustic bass guitar models included in the current production line as well.

Other Instruments

Besides standard guitar instruments, Ibanez is also making Mandolins, Banjos, and Ukuleles. 

Speaking of the latter, acoustic-electric Ukuleles are also provided and appear to be decent and affordable models that may have your interest.

Guitar Effects

Ibanez doesn’t have any interest in entering this market completely, but the legendary Tube Screamer overdrive is something every guitar player should know about it. It's been in production since the late 1970s. Apart from Tube Screamer for both guitar and bass, they are also making Fuzz pedals and all kinds of modulation effects as well.

Other Equipment

Apart from instruments, there are several bass and guitar combo amps available. They are intended for semi-pro players with being portable as their main feature.

Ibanez is also manufacturing a lot of accessories such as soft bags and hard cases of various shock-proof qualities. Guitar stands, capos, straps, picks, tuners, and strings are also included in this offer.

Ibanez Guitar Types

The last record says that Ibanez currently has 165 bass guitars, 130 acoustic, and more than 300 guitar models available so instead of focusing on differences between RG, RGA, RGD, S, and other models we will focus for now only on solid body guitars and the sub-brand classification Ibanez is using to organize them:

Gio

Gio guitars represent the Ibanez version of Squier by Fender models - budget-line models optimized for complete beginners. While the build quality is often more than fine, the pickups are mediocre at best, so these guitars are often used either as first guitar choice or project guitar suitable for various upgrades by more experienced players.

You can tell that the guitar belongs to the Gio series by the G prefix, for example, GRG or GRGA.

Standard

These guitars belong to the regular production line and you can tell they belong to this series by the absence of any additional prefix and its model will contain up to three numbers. It will be named simply as the RG550 or S520 model.

Premium

An upgrade from the Standard series, these guitars are also made in Indonesia but with higher quality control and using premium materials. It will share the same as standard along with the suffix Premium.

How to Restring an Ibanez Electric Guitar

If you want to restring your Ibanez electric guitar with a tremolo bridge, you will need wire cutters, a 2.5mm and 3mm Allen wrench, and string winders to handle the tuners more efficiently.

First, check with the 2.5mm Allen wrench if the saddles on the bridge are tight. The best way to do it is to turn until it resists and don’t try to overdo it. Then place the fine tuners on the saddle to the middle position.

Now, remove the pressure pad at the locking nut by using the 3mm Allen wrench. Remove the old string by loosening the block lock with the same tool. Now cut the ball lock from the new string and insert it into the string retainer block and lock it back. Pass it over the nut and under the string tree and through the peg head so you have around at least a palm length on the other side.

Now bend the string upward and start to turn the string winder counter-clockwise. Cut the excess and set up the pitch. Repeat the same process for the other strings and remember that it’s much more convenient for this type of bridge system to change one string at a time.

Once you’re done get the pressure pads back on and place them back to nut position but don’t secure them yet. Stress the strings lightly several times first (like you would use them for a slingshot) and fix the tuning if necessary. Now you can secure the pressure pads and recheck the tuning as it’s going to be affected a little bit because of locking the pads.

If you would like to watch a video tutorial about the whole process, please check the video down below:

Conclusion

Perhaps Ibanez didn’t have that crucial influence on the world of the electric guitar like Fender and Gibson had, but it played an important role as it provided some nicely balanced models so that many guitar players could become a pro.

We hope they will do the same for you, too.

So now you have a little information on Ibanez and what makes this brand so amazing. We have gathered together this list of the best Ibanez guitars in the hopes that we can make your search and final decision just a bit easier. We wish you the best in selecting your new guitar and all of the musical exploits that will ensue.

People Also Ask

There are countless questions about Ibanez, so we’ll try to cover the most important. We’ll break the myth of Ibanez being guitar only for metal, explain how they make both good and cheap models, and remind you what guitar heroes are using their products regularly.

Are Ibanez Guitars Only For Metal?

While Ibanez is an excellent guitar for all kinds of metal music you can use it in other genres, too. It’s always about playing techniques and effects at first. There is no reason why you couldn’t use it in hard rock, punk, funk, reggae, pop, blues, or even jazz.

What Do Ibanez Model Numbers Mean?

Model numbers represent the tier of the Ibanez series. The lower the number, the more entry-level the model is. But, numbers 5 or 6 at the end (SR505E and SR506E e.g.) can tell that model is a 5-string or 6-string bass guitar. 7-string guitars come with number 7 at the front (GRG7221QA)

Is Ibanez a Good Guitar Brand?

Depending on your musical taste and needs Ibanez varies from being mediocre up to an excellent brand. Entry-level guitar models and bass guitars are providing exceptional bang for the buck while more premium guitar models seem to be irreplaceable for any kind of metal or modern rock-oriented players.

Why Are Ibanez Guitars Cheap?

Ibanez decided to approach the newbies in a different way than other companies. They completely understood that beginners won’t care too much about pickup so instead of sacrificing the build quality, they have provided cheaper pickups to maintain their price. This way, you can easily upgrade your instrument in case your playing evolves.

Does Ibanez Make Custom Guitars?

At this moment, due to high demand, Ibanez has decided to close their Custom Shop, at least for regular users. They are saving labor time in those workshops for endorsed artists only. Those Artist models are made in Yamaha Japan factory or California.  

Who Uses Ibanez Guitars?

Many famous musicians are heavily relying on Ibanez arsenal, so let’s just name a few:

How Much is an Ibanez Acoustic Guitar Worth?

Ibanez Acoustic guitar models may range from under $200 up to $1,000.

Bear in mind that Ibanez Acoustic Guitars don’t have a hype aura around them, so its resale value may not be so high. That’s why it would be best if you’re about to buy such a guitar to keep.

What Year is My Ibanez Guitar?

Ibanez serial numbers may vary depending on the year when you purchased it but usually, the year is located in the first numbers and letters on the back of your headstock.

Instead of decoding for yourself, we would recommend you to use this website instead.

How Much is My Ibanez Guitar Worth?

Ibanez guitars usually don’t have higher resale value on the used market and it’s very unlikely that it will ever become more expensive than it was when you bought it initially. Getting a signature from Steve Vai on limited edition Ibanez Jem could help a lot, though.

How to Identify Ibanez Guitar Model

Take a look at the back of your headstock beneath the tuning machines and try to find a number with a letter prefix. Letters represent the series (like RG series), the number stands for model and the suffix tells you a bit more about the model or represents the color code. 

Why Do So Many Metal Guitarists Play Ibanez Guitars?

Ibanez made its breakthrough back in the 1980s when metal and rock music was extremely popular. Those models were designed to match the need for fast playability and thanks to great endorsement deals with the current guitar heroes such as Steve Vai, they have gained the reputation for the best models for such music.

How to Remove a Pickup From An Ibanez Guitar

First, remove all the strings from your guitar. Then, take off the plate panel on the back and cut the wiring at the base as close as possible. Now, remove the screws from the pickup mask and gently slide it out and remove the single-coil pickups last.

How to Change Guitar Pickups Ibanez

Once you have removed old pickups, all you have to do is to set up a new one the opposite way. Set them in the cavity, make screws firm but not too tight, and solder the wiring connection on the back of your instrument by using the diagram provided with the new pickups.

How to Fix an Ibanez Guitar Bridge

If your tuning is not so consistent, one of the solutions could be to prevent the bridge from lifting in a standard position. Most of the time it occurs because the screws on the bridge are set too tight. Always remember that there should be no angle on your bridge system.

What Gauge Strings Come on Ibanez Acoustic Guitars?

Based on the manufacturing year, Ibanez Acoustic guitars may come either with D'Addario EXP11 coated 80/20 bronze or Ibanez stock strings. 

In both cases, they are equipped with regular .012/.016/.024/.032/.042/.053 string gauges.