Ibanez RGMS8 Multi-scale 8-String - Black (2024)

This article was Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

8-string Guitar Built for Performance

The Ibanez RGMS8 Multi-scale 8-string guitar's distinctive fretboard and compensated pickup and hardware configuration give you outstanding playing comfort and great intonation all the way up the fast, super-slim neck. The nyatoh body's warm tone also serves up plenty of cut and sustain. And the RGMS8's Mono-rail bridge lets each string vibrate independently, while a pair of Ibanez Array 8 MS humbuckers delivers the amp-punishing punch you demand. A lot of guitars can play metal, but the Ibanez Iron Label RGMS8 8-string guitar was born for it.

Designed for metal

When Ibanez introduced their Iron Label series of electric guitars, it was clear they were heavy metal guitars through and through. The Iron Label RGMS8 8-string guitar carries on that tradition, and it adds a multi-scale fret design for incredible down-tuned punch while keeping the higher strings feeling familiar and sounding clear. And Array 8 humbucking pickups will push your amp into tight, aggressive distortion. Ibanez is famous for their fast, super-slim necks. The Wizard III-8 neck on the RGMS8 is topped with a premium jatoba fingerboard for enhanced fretting dexterity and optimized articulation.

Multi-scale frets for comfort, tension, and tone

Multi-scale frets are an exciting trend in guitar design aimed at down-tuned and technical playing. Matched to your fretting hand's natural angle of movement, you get a longer scale length on the bass side of the instrument and a shorter scale on the treble side. Not only does this offer you better intonation across all eight strings, but the higher tension on the low strings adds muscle and punch to your tone. The multi-scale neck construction of this 8-string guitar equalizes that tension, resulting in a vibrant, open tone. At the same time, the higher strings have a familiar scale length for great single-string performance. While getting used to them may seem intimidating, guitarists at Sweetwater have found that it's a very natural transition.

Ibanez Array 8 MS humbuckers

A pair of slant-mounted Ibanez Array 8 MS pickups delivers the sonic essence of the RGMS8. Designed for down-tuning, these humbuckers are highly responsive, with a super-tight growl and fat, snarling tone that makes this guitar a natural for progressive metal and aggressive fusion styles.

Ibanez: a brief history

Ibanez began its life in 1908 as the Hoshino Gakki company in Nagoya, Japan. However, the company didn't get into the guitar business until 1929, when they started importing Salvador Ibanez guitars from Spain. In 1935, Hoshino Gakki began building Spanish acoustic guitars under the "Ibanez Salvador" name, which was later shortened to "Ibanez." Although Ibanez began manufacturing electric guitars in 1957, the company was relatively unknown in the West until the 1960s, when they started producing guitars based on American designs. By the late 1970s, Ibanez had stopped producing derivative guitars and had begun manufacturing the original designs that the company is now known for. Ibanez is also famous for their effect pedals (most notably the Tube Screamer) and guitar amplifiers.

Ibanez RGMS8 8-string Multi-scale Solidbody Electric Guitar Features:

• Sleek, comfortably contoured nyatoh body
• Fast, slim Wizard III-8 5-piece multi-scale maple/walnut neck
• 25.5" scale at 1st string; 27.2" scale at 8th string
• Jatoba fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets and offset white dot inlays
• Ibanez Array 8 MS humbucking neck and bridge pickups
• Mono-rail bridge minimizes string crosstalk and facilitates perfect intonation
• Strings: .009/.011/.016/.024/.032/.042/.059/.080
• Cosmo black hardware