Ibanez RGMS8 Multi-Scale 8-String Electric Guitar Black

Bought this guitar about 6 months ago. At first there was an obvious learning curve given the extra 2 strings. The first thing I immediately noticed was how good the guitar feels, especially the neck. Out of the box I had to make a few adjustments to the neck and bridge and replace the strings but once I did that I've had no problems since! Comes tuned weird so you will definitely need to make some adjustments.

Smooth neck feels great good starter 8 string

Getting used to the extra 2 strings, which is a little awkward. And the fanned frets is something new too. It's kind of like learning the basics of swimming, then decide to try the diving board. LOL. I'm cool with that, as it saves me from buying a bunch of guitars along the way to be comfortable with this concept. I really dig the guitar, has all the features I was shooting for at a really accessible price point. Well made, a keeper.

Great guitar, being my first guitar, love the tummy and forearm cuts, made the ergonomics very good. and the neck materials look very pretty, and the profile and finish is very nice as well. Guitar plays well and the electronics are solid, I dont touch them much anyway. The guitar hold tuning pretty well, and drop E sounds good because of the multiscale, but because of longer scale length, so many tunings are possible on the same stringset. The pickups are very nice, they can sing you to sleep and djent your face off at the same time. The guitar is a bit heavy, but when playing a low, slow, nasty riff, a heavy guitar feels good hanging off your body.

I have had a RG9 for a while. I don't do metal, rather I play solo guitar with bass parts, sometimes with two-hand tapping. The 9th string of RG9 is not very useful because of not enough tension even with 28" scale. However for the higher strings there is too much tension and it makes them difficult to play. Enter RGMS8, and from the get-go everything felt just right. Multi-scale didn't need any getting used to. I haven't had any problem with switching back and forth with normal guitars either. The higher strings are so much easier to play than RG9, and even though the neck is less wide only by one string, it feels much smaller in my hand. Also the whole thing is much lighter. The slanted frets give me much better ergonomics when two-hand tapping. On RGMS8 12th fret is neutral, while on all other multi-scales like Strandberg 7th frets are. For me RGMS8 works good, but other players may prefer the other way. It is not the most crisp-sounding guitar, maybe the body wood or the pickups or both, but it does sound like a proper RG and doesn't sound cheap. When you consider the price, it is probably right where it is expected. With the right setups and playing I can get good tones. I like the wiring, it gives me five useful tones. It is a niche guitar but if you are interested in multi-scale, this is an excellent choice for not much money. If Ibanez comes up with a high-end model with a maple/basswood body and upgraded pickups, I will buy it in a heartbeat. But until then I will happily play my RGMS8.