Product Review: The Ibanez Prestige

Ibanez has been producing some great guitars for a while, now, and the RG Prestige is no exception. If you’re looking for elegant design and full featured functionality, the Prestige fits the bill.

I ordered one about 4 months ago, when I was looking for something built for shredding. To say I was nervous was an understatement. The source of my angst was due to the fact that I was ordering this guitar without having played it first. Something, I never, never….(here, I’ll say it again) NEVER do. But without a local Ibanez dealer, I really felt my hands were tied. So it was with some trepidation that I ordered my Ibanez Prestige.

Ibanez has been producing some great guitars for a while, now, and the RG Prestige is no exception. If you’re looking for elegant design and full featured functionality, the Prestige fits the bill.

I ordered one about 4 months ago, when I was looking for something built for shredding. To say I was nervous was an understatement. The source of my angst was due to the fact that I was ordering this guitar without having played it first. Something, I never, never….(here, I’ll say it again) NEVER do. But without a local Ibanez dealer, I really felt my hands were tied. So it was with some trepidation that I ordered my Ibanez Prestige.

Three days later, it arrived. As soon as I freed the hard-shell case from its packaging, I knew I was in for something very special. To start with, the hard-shell case was beautiful, sporting black bonded leather, stylish embossing and rugged construction. But the real magic didn’t happen until I opened the case.

What I found blew me away–the soft plush interior of the case cradling my new Ibanez in loving comfort. I could still smell the paint. Pulling the guitar from the case it was obvious that the materials construction and workmanship were of high quality. The paint was a flat black and very unique looking. The neck was ultra thin with jumbo frets and a rosewood fretboard. But the real test was in plugging it in and giving it a test drive.

I was amazed at just how many tones I could coax from this axe and that’s with the stock Ibanez pickups. The single tone control gives you surprising variations in tonal color. The volume control was a bit tight and not as sensitive as I like, but still very nice. The bridge pickup is dark with a good amount of crunch. The neck pick is my favorite and emits a very smooth, rich, tone. Perfect for Blues, or Fusion. I didn’t care much for the single center pickup, but I’ll probably do away with that one, anyway, when I upgrade the humbuckers. Both humbuckers have a nice clean tone as well.

Playing this guitar is a dream. You won’t believe how thin the neck is or how fast. This beast is built for speed and a joy to play. If you’re not used to locking tremolo systems, you’ll have to make an adjustment. Locking trems are typically used in conjunction with wider necks and that’s where you’ll have to take some time in getting acquainted, but you’ll love every minute of it, I swear. As for the tremolo system, it’s an edge pro, which accepts the ball end of the string. (No more cutting it off and losing the ball end in the carpet, only to find it stuck in the sole of your foot at 2:00 A.M on your way to the water closet.) The best part, you can dive-bomb this trem with impunity and it will not go out of tune. I’m serious, years ago, when I was a young whippersnapper, I was (pardon the expression) a tremolo whore. So, I really abused this thing when I was testing it. Even after all that, it held its tune well.

My recommendation: This axe simply rocks! Built for shredding, it’s the perfect complement to the Metal and 80’s rock head collection. Yet, it is versatile enough to play Jazz or Fusion. Buy it; you’ll love it.