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“Ibanez has always been there at the forefront of the metal revolution and evolution”: How Ibanez became one of the biggest metal guitar makers on the planet, beloved by players and pros alike
When one thinks of “metal guitars”, the mind’s sub-conscious will prompt your attention to one firm in particular. Why? Well, few, if any, brands have been as much of an influential force in the world of metal music as Ibanez.
Its presence permeates throughout the fabric of metal music history, and for good reason. From Steve Vai and Joe Satriani all the way to Nita Strauss, some of the biggest and most prolific virtuosos have championed Ibanez guitars, revered for their top-tier craftsmanship, exceptional playability and versatile tone capabilities.
The influence of Ibanez stretches far beyond metal, too – fusion ace Lari Basilio and blues heavyweight Josh Smith both have signature guitars – but the company’s heritage is rooted in metal music. The fact that remains the case is a testament to Ibanez’s influence.
“Metal is such a rich and diverse musical genre,” says Ibanez's Adam Ironside. “Ibanez has always been there at the forefront of the metal revolution, and evolution. For every generation of metal, Ibanez have crafted guitars perfectly suited to the player’s needs, and that is reflected in our highly respected artist roster, some of the biggest and most innovative metal players in the world use Ibanez.”
Naturally, there are no shortages of brands producing guitars designed specifically for metal music, but Ibanez pushes out ahead of the pack thanks to an ethos that prioritizes the player.
“One of the first things players tell us about Ibanez is the sheer variety on offer,” Ironside says of the firm’s influence in the face of fierce competition. “We offer a huge number of shapes, sizes, finishes, and features so that there truly is something for everyone, and we are always expanding the offering too.
“We’ve also been doing it a long time and, due in part to the scale of our operation, we can offer seriously premium features, at seriously affordable prices.”
As Ibanez mentions, the firm’s collection is vast and comprehensive, but the foundations of the company’s metal efforts are perhaps propped by four ranges in particular: the RG, RGA, RGD and IronLabel.
“In the ’80s heavy and hair metal scene is where the RG first came to prominence,” Ironside explains of the RG’s inception and its eventual evolution. “The ever-increasing technical ability of guitarists demanded a new kind of guitar, a sleek, slimline, easy to play axe.
“The RGD and RGA are both evolutions of the RG. As rock and metal music became heavier and heavier, and bands started to tune lower and lower, the RG evolved into the RGD – designed for down-tuning. The RGA is a slightly earlier evolution of the classic RG shape, featuring an arched top for a different aesthetic and feel.”
The Iron Label, meanwhile, ups the ante, and while the RG, RGA and RGD lineups would do a job in other genres, the Iron Label axes are produced solely for metal music, no compromise.
As Ironside puts it, “Whilst other guitars can be used for metal, Iron Label is MADE for Metal. Aggressive shapes, extended scale lengths, black-out finishes, high output pickups… everything that metal players told us they needed.”
Across the four collections, players can expect to find everything from neck-through body constructions, highly exotic tonewoods, complex seven-piece necks, optimized neck profiles, expansive switching electronics for a huge array of tones, a variety of hardware options, and top-of-the-range pickups that promise best in class guitar sounds.
Ibanez has left no stone unturned in its quest to assemble the finest lineup of metal guitars on the market, but each model gets the painstaking attention it deserves. Each guitar is carefully designed, meticulously assembled, and only signed off when it’s achieved a particular design objective.
“It depends, of course, on the goal of the guitar at the design stage,” Ironside says when asked about the process of putting varying spec sheets together. “We always prioritise using ethically sourced, sustainable woods and materials, which also means we can build guitars at a very attractive price point.
“If we are designing a guitar for a specific need, i.e. a guitar suitable for the demands of the modern metal player, then we won’t cut any corners at any stage of the design process. If the guitar calls for top of the range active pickups, then that is what will go into the guitar.”
As for whether certain specs are better geared to ‘metal’, the answer is – as expected – open-ended. There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to the guitar, and that’s something Ibanez is keen to emphasize.
“It really does depend,” Ironside reflects on the matter. “Some players swear by super-hot, active pickups saying that they are a necessity for metal, others play the same style of music with more traditional humbuckers. The great thing about metal is that there is no rule book.
“Of course, it is important to pay respect to heritage and history, but the very idea of metal is to rip up the rule book and do something different.”
Speaking of rulebooks, the metal guitar world is certainly no stranger when it comes to pioneering new trends. And, while offset guitars are all the rage right now in that particular field, Ibanez is content that its current crop of axes can handle whatever trend can be thrown at it.
“Metal evolves so quickly. Every few years a new band comes along and completely reinvents what it means to be metal. Our diverse catalogue of guitars means that we have just about all bases covered.”
As metal music continues to evolve in new and exciting ways, so too must our product range
With an eye on the future, then, Ibanez has already defined its path going forward. Unsurprisingly, it stays true to the traditional RG design brief: refine and innovate.
Ironside concludes, “On the refinement front, we are constantly looking at what we can do differently to better improve our existing models to meet player needs. The brand new RGA Premium range shows exactly that.
“In terms of innovation, we are always looking to move forward and challenge the tradition. As metal music continues to evolve in new and exciting ways, so too must our product range, and we have some really exciting models in the works.”
- Head over to Ibanez for more
