• Things to consider

  
  As reviewed by John on 6/29/2011

  I don't normally write reviews, but I figured this might be helpful for people. I bought the RGA8 and I love it. I was considering the RG2228 Prestige which is extremely similar. Price of course was the factor. But let me explain what I had to do to love this guitar. I switched out the stock pickups with Seymour Duncan blackouts. I don't normally care for active pickups, but I love those black outs. This change alone makes a world of difference in the sound of the guitar (and for the better). I felt that the stock pickups did not do the high end justice. It captured the low just fine, but the highs felt weak. The Blackouts fixed that and were great across the board. Note, when you switch to the Blackouts, that little EQ toggle switch will most likely have to be disabled. You won't miss it though. The neck pickup sounds much much better once you get the Black outs. Ok, next I needed to get rid of the fret buzz. Not all will have this problem, but just know that it is a definite possibility. I took my guitar to a great luthier and he leveled the frets (just a couple of high frets that had to be hammered down a bit). I use 9 gauge strings tuned with the top 6 strings standard and then drop A on the 7th and then E on the 8th. The 7th string is a 54 and the 8th string is a 70. The action on my guitar feels amazing (super low) with no fret buzz. And the due to the extra long scale neck, there is no flappy sound on the strings, good tension. And lastly, I bought a guitar case to protect my investment. After all of this, the main difference between the RGA8 and the RG2228 is that the RGA8 is mahogany and the RG2228 is basswood. So, if you have a preference, consider that as well. The RG2228 comes with a case and has EMG pickups which are better than the stock RGA8 pickups. But I like the Duncans better anyway. In the end, I probably saved about by buying the RGA8 and setting it up the way that I wanted. The RG2228 would probably not have the fret buzz, but that was easy to fix. So, in conclusion, I would make the same decision all over again having played both guitars. The RGA8 is basically Prestige quality once you give it a tune up. I hope that helps.

  7 of 7 people found this review helpful.
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• Sick Axe!

  
  As reviewed by Eric Christian on 2/11/2011

  After researching pretty much all the production 8-String Guitars and a few customs I finally decided on the RGA8 based on playing a RGA7 and really liking the razor thin profile of the neck with excellent fretwork. I had considered Agile, ESP, Schecter and Guerilla but in the end I just bought the RGA8 on an impulse and for what I do its awesome. Some of the early models had an issue with the stabilizer screw on the back of the bridge ripping out of the wood but I think this had more to do with people trying to adjust the bridge height without also adjusting this screw. Also, a lot of people complain about the pickups being terrible so I had planned on picking up some Seymour Duncan Blackouts or EMG's right away but after having played it for a couple of weeks I think the pickups aren't that bad really. Anyway, I think this guitar is great and its fun to play. I run it into a 6505+ half stack with just a Decimator G-String to tame the feedback and I swear if I keep playing this thing in my house some demons are gonna start showing up soon. This thing rules. The only thing better would be a RG2228 Prestige which is basically the same thing but with a much better neck, EMG's and a Basswood body. Buy this guitar now!

  6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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• a good 8 string for such a low price

  
  As reviewed by Kyler on 9/14/2010

  the ibanez RGA8 is a good overall 8 string guitar nut the pickups are barely active and the low-end is sketchy. new pickups can solve that problem and with the availability of active 8 string pickups its should be no problem getting the best tone. you also might want to consider getting a really good amplifier that can handle extreme lows as well. i recommend either a marshall combo or half-stack amp.

  25 of 45 people found this review helpful.
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