Ibanez RGR652AHBF WK Prestige Electric Guitar - Weathered Black

First off, this guitar plays like butter right out of the box. The neck is insanely thin, so if that's what you're looking for then prestige is for you. The included case is very nice and extremely satisfying to look at.Let's address the main issue: for 200 dollars more you could get another prestige with the same neck profile that has Fishman Fluence pickups instead of the OEM pickups AND stainless steel frets. This guitar should not be 1500 dollars.I purchased this instrument as my very first prestige and while I was blown away by the build quality, the value is really just not here with this model. While I don't recommend this model, I do still highly recommend prestige grade guitars.

It came set up 9/1 out of the box, lowered the action just a tiny bit and was shredding.I love this thing! Going from cheaper guitar to this one, and I feel as though my playing ability increased. I am not saying the guitar made me better but just that the ease of playing this guitar removed barriers I didnt even notice till they were gone.I had another great ibanez in the orice range but I had to ditch the tremolo. Hard tail with these pickups is fantastic.I bought this one because it is black, rather than spending more for a higher end model. After playing it a few weeks I have no regrets. Plain dot inlays some people might wanna pay more for something fancier looking, but i love this one.

As solid as it gets

I have two other Prestige RGs (7 and 8 string), but wanted to go back to basics and get a hardtail 6-string. To me, Ibanez Prestige is the best value you can get for your money - sure they are expensive, but the quality is superior to Pro level Jacksons sold at comparable prices - the only thing in my experience that comes close is USA Fenders. This guitar is no exception. The build quality is impeccable and the hardware is top shelf. The neck is smooth, fretwork impeccable, and there are no flaws of any kind anywhere on the guitar. I love Ibanez Gibraltar bridges and Gotoh locking tuners - they keep the guitar in tune and the bridge is super easy to adjust. Ibanez spec sheet says this ships with 10's but I could swear the guitar came with 9's on it - which would ... MoreI have two other Prestige RGs (7 and 8 string), but wanted to go back to basics and get a hardtail 6-string. To me, Ibanez Prestige is the best value you can get for your money - sure they are expensive, but the quality is superior to Pro level Jacksons sold at comparable prices - the only thing in my experience that comes close is USA Fenders. This guitar is no exception. The build quality is impeccable and the hardware is top shelf. The neck is smooth, fretwork impeccable, and there are no flaws of any kind anywhere on the guitar. I love Ibanez Gibraltar bridges and Gotoh locking tuners - they keep the guitar in tune and the bridge is super easy to adjust. Ibanez spec sheet says this ships with 10's but I could swear the guitar came with 9's on it - which would have been my preference anyway. I play the unlikely combination of metal and classic jazz (different genres for different sides of my brain I guess), and was intending this guitar to be my metal machine. I was originally planning on replacing the pups with EMGs, but after cranking the gain on my amp I could not really see the need for that. I was pleasantly surprised by the cleans available by coil-tapping, and that sold me on keeping the passive pickups as opposed to going to EMGs - I felt I would not gain much on the high gain side, but would lose the "Fender cleans". While I prefer to play jazz on a more curved fretboard, like a Tele or my Ibby archtop, the tones on this guitar will get the job done for sure.

Awesome Metal Guitar

I was thinking about this guitar almost 2 years. It has a very nice quality and looks very cool and aggressively! It sounds pretty good!Also Music Store did they job perfectly. Big like for this! Will continue to buy here.

Beautiful instrument

This is my first Ibanez, and my first high end guitar too. I've wanted one of these RG Prestige models for years now, and the finish on this model pushed me over the edge.The neck is the start of the show for me, matt finish and so ridiculously smooth, I can play for hours in total comfort.Sound wise, I see a lot of commentary online dismissing the pickups that come with this guitar, but I have little to gripe about personally, the 5 way switch gives a nice mixture of different tones for different applications, and it sounds wonderfully heavy with some good distortion.

Get this guitar yesterday!

This is by far the best Prestige Japan Ibanez guitar that someone can get for these money. Craftmanship is awesome with not a single spot. Top quality control and excellent presales experience and preparation/inspection from MusicStore.de. Delivery time lightning fast!This instrument is ideal for long practice due to the neck profile. Also is is very light and sounds awesome right out of the box with no set up.Very versatile pickups for lead playing with some tweaking you can play from metal/fusion/rock shred.I am so happy for this purchase, never had an Ibanez prestige before.

My First Ibanez Prestige

Guitar played fantastic right out of the box and quickly became my new favorite guitar. The sound of the ash body, the feel of the neck, and the smooth tone and precision of the pickups are all on point. The locking Gotoh's are phenomenal, they stay in tune and make string changes quick and easy. The fretwork is excellent, with no sharp edges whatsoever. Perfect for the progressive metal guitar player, although it's a very versatile instrument and sounds great with a jazzier playing style as well, due in part to the 5-way pickup selector switch that accommodates a wide variety of tones. The included hard case is great, the molded interior fits the guitar like a glove and the exterior seems very durable. I also appreciate the included multi-tool for adjusting various ... MoreGuitar played fantastic right out of the box and quickly became my new favorite guitar. The sound of the ash body, the feel of the neck, and the smooth tone and precision of the pickups are all on point. The locking Gotoh's are phenomenal, they stay in tune and make string changes quick and easy. The fretwork is excellent, with no sharp edges whatsoever. Perfect for the progressive metal guitar player, although it's a very versatile instrument and sounds great with a jazzier playing style as well, due in part to the 5-way pickup selector switch that accommodates a wide variety of tones. The included hard case is great, the molded interior fits the guitar like a glove and the exterior seems very durable. I also appreciate the included multi-tool for adjusting various aspects of the instrument.I swapped the strings out for NYXL1156's and play through an EVH 5150 III, and man does it sound absolutely killer. However, I encountered one problem less than 2 months after purchasing the instrument - the bridge pickup suddenly stopped functioning correctly, putting out very low output. I took it to my local guitar tech, and he fixed the issue free of charge by simply retouching the solder points - stating that the wiring job was quite poor, and most wires were hanging onto their solder points by a few threads. Because of this I feel I have to dock a star from the rating, as this is an Ibanez Prestige made at their Fujigen factory and should not have this sort of problem. Also, the volume pot has started to loosen once or twice, but this can be quickly fixed by slightly tightening the screw with the included multi-tool.Overall, this is the nicest, best playing, most comfortable and best sounding electric guitar I have ever purchased. I have owned many Ibanez guitars, but never one from their Prestige line. Besides the wiring/soldering job issue I had with my guitar, I feel that at this price point this instrument is an absolute steal. Buy one, you won't regret it.

One of my best 6 strings, prestige quality is a must

If you have never tried the Ibanez prestige line, you should :) this RGR652 is just one of the best 6 strings I have had so far. The guitar looks awesome, but the features are as good as the look :- the neck profile is fantastic, not too thin, not too big, it feels immediately comfortable.-the pickups are really cool and adapted to a lot of style (fusion, rock, hard rock, métal)- the fixed bridge is perfect for keeping the guitar in tune, along with autoblocking gotoh tuners- the overall playing on that Axe is natural and so niceNot a cheap guitar, OK, but really worth the money if you want a pro instrument.

Sharp axe

I've never shelled out more than $700 for an electric in 25 years of playing. Not until I found this. The action and intonation were perfect out of the box. The Gibraltar bridge is incredibly comfortable for palm-muting and combination of Wizard neck with an ebony fretboard is luxurious. I love the ash grain, matte finish, white binding and the reverse headstock was a great choice! The pickups sound great on a Katana MkII Head, Fender Mustang and POD 2.0. Bridge cutting enough for metal, pristine cleans from the neck pickup for jazz and fingerpicking and everything in between.

Super guitar

A very well rounded guitar for the money. Ergonomics are great with the arm contour in just the right place to make playing super comfy. Tuning is super stable with the Gotoh locking machine heads and Gibraltar 2 bridge. The neck is sublime, fast and comfortable. As you’d expect from a prestige Ibanez, the frets are spot in. I’m super happy with it. I will we swapping out the pickups though at some point for some Bare Knuckle Ragnaroks. The Fusion Edge pickups are OK, but I want a bit more cut.