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Ibanez RGMS8-BK Multiscale

18 Customer ratings

4.6 / 5

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15 Reviews

Ibanez RGMS8-BK Multiscale
$568
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E
Probably the best affordable multiscale 8 string
Ervin0 30.05.2018
In short, it's a very well built instrument and has some features that show Ibanez's attention to detail. There's also a pretty glaring omission, but I'll come back to that later on. I'll start with the good:
* great neck, very well done frets; very comfortable
* the 8th string tuning peg is a bit larger, so it can accomodate heavier gauge strings
* truss rod adjustment wheel at the base of the neck (where it meets the body); much easier to adjust and to reach
* mono-rail bridge, really comfortable for the right hand when muting
* great pickups, clear and defined sound; the factory wiring is also a plus: 5 way switch, with the standard 3 full humbucker positions (bridge, neck&bridge, neck), a neck wired in parallel position and a split coil position which selects the inner coils of the 'buckers (think strat position 2/4)
Apart from some minor adjustment issues from the factory (loose pot, pickup cable sticking out a bit), there is only one big flaw this guitar has, in my opinion: the bridge is not grounded, so any hum you get is not going to go away when touching the strings; I'm not sure why Ibanez missed this, perhaps due to the construction of the bridge. Because the monorail bridge consists of separate elements for each string, it has to be made sure that the elements are in contact with each other in order to properly ground all of the strings.

However, if you make sure your guitar amp is grounded (which you should do anyway!), then you will have no hum issues. The pickups are pretty quiet even at high gain.

All in all, this is pretty much the best choice for an 8-string if you're on a budget.
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LC
I am blown away... :)
Lord Cabot 12.04.2019
I was afraid of fanned frets and am very happy to report that neither fanned frets or longer scale length affect my playing what so ever. I am a 25.5" 6 and 7 string player, playing Ibanez JEM and Universe mostly.
The neck is fantastic to play, I can reach the high frets and play scales and arpeggios easily.
The guitar is incredibly light and really small compared to what I was expecting.
The pickups are very, very good. I planned on making a custom Seymour Duncan SH-5, that's my pickup of choice but there is absolutely no need to touch anything. As things are now I plan to keep them in forever.
There is zero noise and playing feels incredibly precise. The 5 way switch is an great feature.
Intonation seems ok, some fret buzz but who cares, I'll take it to a tech anyway.
The only thing I notice is wrong is that the part of the neck near the join is not coated but it's a really small area. Was thinking of giving it 4 stars in quality because of this but for this price I really can't.
I am incredibly happy with this purchase. Ibanez rules. <3

Update:
Ok so it's not all rainbows and there were some minor problems that I have to point out:
1) The truss rod turning mechanism was broken. The little thingy that turns the rod was too short apparently and a tech had to remove the neck and access it with like that. This is not a major problem since the neck and the truss rod are ok but it's certainly a nuisance. Freaked me out.
2) The neck wasn't thourally sanded, it's a slightly rough on some places but nothing too bad.
3) The input jack is on the same place like on a Gibson Les Paul and I hate that. Makes sitting down on a couch and playing difficult, but a 90 degree cable fixed this.
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s
Excellent guitar for the price
sinkaeh 18.08.2020
Great guitar for the price.

Pros:
- Multiscale
- 5 position switch, so we have 2 positions using single coils
- Sounds great !
- Price

Cons:
- Finish is not perfect. Some marks at the back of the headstock.
- The nut is a little high on mine, making the strings a little hard to play near the headstock.
- The neutral fret is the 12th making the angle quite pronounced at the top of the neck. Combined with the high nut, it makes barred chords very tricky to play at this location. Otherwise the fanned frets are not bothering me.

Spent lockdown with this guitar. I switched from 6 to 8 strings with it. Didn't need much time to adapt my playing. The neck is very large of course but also very thin and easy to play.
Pickups sound great. 2nd and 4th positions offers the neck pickup in parrallel, and one coil from each pickups. This 4th position is amazing for playing stuff like Animals as Leaders using the slap/thump technique, or play funk or clean chords.
Bridge pickup is good, and the neck pickup has a nice attack which is great for soloing.

Solid choice for anybody who want to dive in the 8 string world while retaining the ability to solo thanks to the 25.5" scale on the high strings.
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AJ
Pleasant surprise
Anxo Jorge 10.07.2019
I bought this guitar as my first 8 string, I had played them before but never owned one.
This, is the best one I have ever tried by far, and it's not even close to the most expensive, the price-quality ratio in this guitar is absolutely insane.
First of all, it's built like a tank, it's a proper workhorse.
Then, sounds great. I had heard bad things about Ibanez's stock pickups sounding weak and not good in general, but these sound great with my setup at least (Using BIAS FX at home for now). They have decent clarity and great sustain. The guitar is very resonant, bright but with a lot of low end, maybe too much sometimes, that's why I don't give it a 5 star in sound.
Specs-wise, I mean, it's a multiscale 8 string for ~560€, great quality. I miss coil splitting but hey, the 5-way switchblade does the trick.

Overall, this guitar impressed me, in a lot of ways. I expected it to sound a bit weaker and definitely didn't expect it to be so greatly built. There is a somewhat sharp-ish fret on the upper side of the fretboard but you won't notice it ever.
So satisfied.
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f
Spectacular
frenk_ 23.12.2022
I fell in love with this guitar.
Great sound, amazing feeling with the fretboard and I found it is pretty versatile.
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R
My new toy
Rometal69 10.11.2020
I'm new to 8 string guitars so it has been quiet an adjustment , that aside I love the sound of this guitar and it is really nice to play , quality seems good . The neck needs a little adjusting , and it's a little neck heavy , that's all I can fault , I don't think anyone would be disappointed considering what they payed .
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С
Decent instrument for its cost
Семён 08.05.2021
Oookay, this guitar is the best one for a person who wants to try an 8-string. It's not very expensive or very cheap, it is situated somewhere in the middle of cost range. Let's head up to pros and cons.
+:
1. Overall quality is good. I can't notice something being wrong attached. The only thing that makes me feel uncomfortable is nut. It's realy sharp). I usually have to be careful when I play this guitar. But it's a multi-scale guitar, so you should know about this issue beforehand
2. Neck profile. It's very comfortable. This neck brings me a lot of pleasure.
3. Multi-scale. This feature is the reason I bought exactly this guitar. Your strings will be always in tune. And there won't be any problems with tuning down.
-:
1. Sound quality. The only thing I'd like to change is pickups. As for me it sounds very unclear.
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Ibanez RGMS8-BK Multiscale