Ibanez RG8-WH

Good 8 string guitar, but it has some minor flaws

I bought this as my first 8 string guitar.

To start off I want to say that it is a great guitar for home practice. It has good playability and it is very comfortable, though it is not achieved right from the box. This guitar needed a good setup: the action was high, the intonation was way off from perfection and the frets were not polished.

First, when I unboxed it I immediately fell in love with its looks, the fretboard is very beautiful and has nice wood grain to it. The white color of the deck and kind of brownish fretboard definitely complement each other. The surface of the deck isn't so glossy though it is so pleasant to touch it with your hands. It is the same with the neck of the guitar, there are no rough spots so your hand is flying there and back around the neck.

The great thing about this guitar is the sound of it. The IBZ-8 pickups are really great. They are not high output yet they are powerful and well balanced. And it came with a new set of strings, though the .065 on the low F# is a little floppy.

But like every other low/mid-budget guitar that I held in my hands, it has some quality control issues. Specifically for this instrument, it has many paint scratches near the pickups and bridge, the frets have round ends but they are poorly polished. For example, when you bend the string you can hear a small swish sound coming from the fret which not so good.

The tuning machine heads are okay, they stay in tune well. The nut isn't that good, to be honest. Just replace it with the bone nut or TUSQ nut.

Summing up I would like to define the pros and cons of this guitar.

Pros:

- Great sounding pickups plus the guitar arrived with fresh strings

- Very comfortable, smooth and thin neck with easy access to higher frets

- The wood grain on the fretboard is lovely

- The guitar has beautiful looks

- Tuning machines are smooth and they are doing their job very good

- Comfortable bridge

- Electronics are okay, the wires are soldered very well

Cons:

- Bad quality control

- Some paint scratches

- Frets will need some minor leveling

- The guitar came with a bad setup

- The nut is not that good, you will likely change it

Overall this is a great sounding and great looking guitar for its price. I would definitely recommend it if you are not afraid of some minor issues that it has.

Best 8-string for begginers

It's probably the best bang for your buck in the 8 string world.

It's a great guitar for the price, but it is also really good base for mods.

Changing the strings is a must. Fortunattely the guitar is ready(nut and saddle) for thicker strings. I went for Ernie Ball 09-80 and they fitted easly.

Combined with EMG808x this guitar is a nu-metal beast.

Awesome 8 string guitar

The build quality of this guitar is very solid and playability amazing. The neck is very smooth and convenient to play. Also, the hardware is surprisingly high-quality and the guitar stays in tune very well. The factory pickups are not the best sounding for leads but for rhythm playing they are very nice. In my opinion, this guitar is exceptionally good value and highly recommend it.

Great entry level guitar, but not what you expect

I bought this guitar as my first 8-string.

I chose Ibanez because I used to own RG-370DX (way back in 2006) and it was great. More than 10 years later, some of the same quality issues are amplified, and it is getting harder to tell if the immense metal instrument reputation, and the great look, feel and tone outweigh them. Or is it just a legend?

For sure this is a great instrument lacking some features like a nut made of proper material. The tone is perhaps of the greatest quality of this instrument, but it's not achieved out of the box. This instruments needs to be broken in - in other words - it wants to be played - a lot. This makes it great for beginners and at the same time, might put them off, as the unique tonal qualities won't manifest quickly enough.

It is also great for hobbyists - if you like the look of this instrument, parts can be upgraded, and better tone achieved, but there is a limit - don't expect much - just buy a better instrument and save yourself the hassle.

I wish this instrument came with a better nut, better setup and less scratches. Mine looked like a B-stock, but I ordered new and payed the full price.

There were scratches on the fretboard, bridge screw heads had stripped paint - one of the screws was driven in crooked and paint on the bridge also stripped. One bridge saddle screw was of the wrong type. Action was suuuuper high, truss rod cover had a nick in it. The neck was not properly making contact to the bottom of the neck pocket. Neck is not straight.

I sent this guitar to a technician to put in a new Black TUSQ XL nut and give it a proper setup - about 100€ to pay extra. It might have been easier to pay more for the next tier instrument right away.

I suggest this guitar only when the quality becomes better, better features added (proper nut), or when it becomes cheaper.

Currently it is not worth the asking price of €484.

First Ibanez

Guitar is well made with no complaints but fretboard has 3 small rough spots but it doesn't affect playability. Might need heavier strings though.

All in all very satisfied.