Interesting trip to GuitarGuitar today

TINMAN82

Kalimna said:

Anytime France gets beaten, even by Scotland, is a good thing
I really like GG (Edin or Glasgow) - helpful staff, not pushy. Although i suspect I'll actually have to buy something one day!

Adam

I did the right thing and bought a set of strings on my way out!

But yes I agree, very non-pushy, particularly the Edinburgh store. Happy for me to browse around and pick £2k + guitars off the rack to test my dodgy blues licks on.

Wonky

As far as the Ibanez is concerned I too have found that a fair few Premiums are either as good or better than Prestige.  So much so that I've had to question whether where it comes from matters that much at all.  Personal experience mind and other may feel different.

TINMAN82

Wonky said:

As far as the Ibanez is concerned I too have found that a fair few Premiums are either as good or better than Prestige.  So much so that I've had to question whether where it comes from matters that much at all.  Personal experience mind and other may feel different.

I wouldn’t say the 77P (Indonesia) was a “better” guitar than my 7v (Japan) ...and couldn’t give definitive comment as I didn’t plug it in or compare side to side.

No doubt the scalloped last 4 frets and inlay work on my 7v adds some value, along with the hardcase, gotoh hardware and MIJ construction (although not £1000 which is the difference in price). But the 77P was stunning from a presentation and playability point of view. In those depts equal to mine. An absolute bombshell of a guitar and if the pickups are also on par then good for any style. Been playing BB King on my Jem this morning! Had I known Jems were so easy playing and versatile a few years ago I might own a few less guitars by now.

That said, no doubt had I got the 77P first I’d have gassed for a 7V and eventually got one anyway!

Wonky

TINMAN82 said:

Wonky said:

As far as the Ibanez is concerned I too have found that a fair few Premiums are either as good or better than Prestige.  So much so that I've had to question whether where it comes from matters that much at all.  Personal experience mind and other may feel different.

I wouldn’t say the 77P (Indonesia) was a “better” guitar than my 7v (Japan) ...and couldn’t give definitive comment as I didn’t plug it in or compare side to side.

No doubt the scalloped last 4 frets and inlay work on my 7v adds some value, along with the hardcase, gotoh hardware and MIJ construction (although not £1000 which is the difference in price). But the 77P was stunning from a presentation and playability point of view. In those depts equal to mine. An absolute bombshell of a guitar and if the pickups are also on par then good for any style. Been playing BB King on my Jem this morning! Had I known Jems were so easy playing and versatile a few years ago I might own a few less guitars by now.

That said, no doubt had I got the 77P first I’d have gassed for a 7V and eventually got one anyway!

I think that maybe the killing issue on most of them.  I can live with Ibanez hardware for things like machineheads, but it's the pickups.  Some premiums have named brands and others do not.  Not that that's necessarily a deal breaker if they're good uns, but on the models I tried with identicle pickups, the prestige wasn't worth the extra cash for me.
Maybe it speaks more about how the quality control in Indonesia has improved than anything else.
It's an interesting comparison no matter what.  

TINMAN82

Wonky said:

TINMAN82 said:

Wonky said:

As far as the Ibanez is concerned I too have found that a fair few Premiums are either as good or better than Prestige.  So much so that I've had to question whether where it comes from matters that much at all.  Personal experience mind and other may feel different.

I wouldn’t say the 77P (Indonesia) was a “better” guitar than my 7v (Japan) ...and couldn’t give definitive comment as I didn’t plug it in or compare side to side.

No doubt the scalloped last 4 frets and inlay work on my 7v adds some value, along with the hardcase, gotoh hardware and MIJ construction (although not £1000 which is the difference in price). But the 77P was stunning from a presentation and playability point of view. In those depts equal to mine. An absolute bombshell of a guitar and if the pickups are also on par then good for any style. Been playing BB King on my Jem this morning! Had I known Jems were so easy playing and versatile a few years ago I might own a few less guitars by now.

That said, no doubt had I got the 77P first I’d have gassed for a 7V and eventually got one anyway!

I think that maybe the killing issue on most of them.  I can live with Ibanez hardware for things like machineheads, but it's the pickups.  Some premiums have named brands and others do not.  Not that that's necessarily a deal breaker if they're good uns, but on the models I tried with identicle pickups, the prestige wasn't worth the extra cash for me.
Maybe it speaks more about how the quality control in Indonesia has improved than anything else.
It's an interesting comparison no matter what.  

It is. Although I would say that the 77P is at the higher end of the premium range (at £1200 ish). If you half that number then the fit and finish start to suffer with Ibanez, no doubt. GG also had a very tasty RGEW model at £619. Proper DiMarzio pickups. Lovely satin top with “exotic” grain. The silk screened Ibanez RG logo on the headstock was blurry, actually looked slightly smudged. A small detail but suggests an attention to detail drop. I also noticed the strap buttons were drilled slightly squint. That said, for the money it is a phenomenal guitar. Played comparably to the 77P. I’ve seen other Ibanezs in the £600 bracket with untidy neck or pickup routes and stripped screws (but all of these cosmetic really, the necks are brilliant).