Most often when guitar players think of premium made electric guitars major US brand names come to mind. However, the sometimes overlooked high quality guitars produced in Japan can provide players with an equivalent instrument at significant savings. Having just spent three weeks of vacation in Japan this year I was able to see first-hand the pride and craftsmanship that goes into all things Japanese made all the way from their Sushi to premium electric guitars. It was also very encouraging to see the passion that the Japanese people have for guitars in general which was on display in every store I visited. You would see people young and old playing everything from simple acoustic strumming to technical rock and metal guitar solos!
I would like to illustrate the quality of Japanese made guitars with the Ibanez Prestige RG in Galaxy Black. This simple and sleek guitar is certainly geared towards the rock and metal crowd but anyone with a taste for high end features and excellent attention to fine details will appreciate this guitar.
The neck on this guitar is a Super Wizard 5 piece maple and walnut construction. The thin profile and radius provide a comfortable and fast playing experience. While not everyone likes a neck as thin as this if you’re looking to improve your technical playing chops this neck will certainly help you get there. When I was mentioning the fine details before things like the fretwork on this neck really illustrate this. The guitar plays super clean all the way up the neck with no sharp edges or high spots to be found.
The lightweight basswood body has deep access double cutaways which allows the player to get all the way up to the 24th fret with ease. The forearm contour and belly cut make the guitar so comfortable to play that you may end up losing some hours to practice time.
Ibanez tops off this guitar with high end Dimarzio Tonezone and AirNorton humbuckers that have a broad dynamic range and tons of sustain. The five way selector switch provides coil tapping for single coil sounds to add to your tonal pallet. Last but not least the locking tuners provide extra tuning stability and the Gibraltar Standard 2 bridge has great string vibration and all smooth surfaces for player comfort.
So if you’re looking to rock out or just want a really high quality guitar the Ibanez Prestige RG is a wonderful example of the pride and quality of – made in Japan!
Ibanez Prestige RG in Galaxy black: $1699
