NGD: Ibanez J-Custom RG8571 Hardtail

[firejack]

Got this guitar a fortnight ago and been playing it non-stop since. It's my first J-Custom and I'm blown away.
I usually only play Floyd-equipped guitars, but I couldn't resist at the price I got this thing.

 

[bubucci]

Congrats, amazing guitar and hardtails seems very rare. Those frets ends are just amazing.

 

[MrDowntown]

Damn...that binding is hot.

HNGD!

 

[mixn4him]

Congrats, those J Customs are just awesome!!

 

[stratjacket]

That is awesome. Congrats. Love the hardtail

 

[Devin]

Fuck yes

 

[Apex1Rg7X]

The J Custom 8427 I had was the best quality I've ever had on any guitar. It was incredible. Congrats man!

 

[ElectricVoodoo]

Wow !!
????
I've looked at these so many time and want one very much.
How does it feel and play?

 

[mooncobra]

J Customs are great guitars.

 

[NeubyWanKaneuby]

HNGD! I love my J Custom!

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Very nice G man!

 

[firejack]

Congrats, amazing guitar and hardtails seems very rare. Those frets ends are just amazing.

Thanks mate. Yeah I never knew Ibanez made J-Custom hardtails. The fret finishing is glorious.

Damn...that binding is hot.

HNGD!

I know right. I'm not usually a fan of bindings, but it's done tastefully on this guitar.

Congrats, those J Customs are just awesome!!

Cheers mate. Indeed!

 

[firejack]

That is awesome. Congrats. Love the hardtail

Cheers SJ. I was worried that I mightn't like the guitar because of the hardtail. But I was pleasantly surprised by Ibanez's Tight-End bridge.

Fuck yes

Dev! Great to see you round buddy.

 

[firejack]

The J Custom 8427 I had was the best quality I've ever had on any guitar. It was incredible. Congrats man!

Thanks Apex.
Just looked up the 8427. It appears to be the 7-string Floyded brother of my 8571? Nice!
How come you flipped it? My 8571 is never leaving me.

 

[firejack]

Wow !!
????
I've looked at these so many time and want one very much.
How does it feel and play?

Oh man where do I start.

The overall fit and finish is sublime. The fret dressing in particular is just perfection. The neck is a tad thicker than my Genesis or Prestige models. Makes for a fast but comfy neck profile. Plays like butter. The back of the neck has a painted satin finish that feels kind of like wax. So your fretting hand doesn't get stuck anywhere.

The Tree Of Life inlay took some getting used to when playing the guitar for the first time. Took me maybe a few days to be totally at ease with my positioning on the fretboard. But on the plus side, it looks incredible.

I changed the strings when I got the guitar and I didn't use any lubricant in the nut slots, yet the guitar holds its tune perfectly. As a matter of taste, I'm still going to change out the stock Gotoh tuners for some locking Gotohs. But that's just a matter of personal preference, not a knock against the stock tuners.

And as always, I can't stand the Dimarzio ToneZone and Air Norton pickups. Although this is about as good as I've ever heard them sound in any guitar I've tried them in. I have a Jim Wagner IronMan bridge and Godwood neck pickup in my spares drawer, so I'm going to replace the Dimarzios with those instead. I've always thought of the Iron Man bridge as being what I always expected the ToneZone bridge to sound like. And likewise for the Godwood neck being what I expected from the Air Norton. So sonically it should be a good fit.

Oh and the Tight-End bridge is about as close in feel as you can get to an Edge bridge from a hardtail. The profile is so similar that I don't notice any difference when swapping between my Edge equipped RG's and the J-Custom. If you check out the pics below, you'll see it has almost the same footprint and saddle height/string-angle.

 

[firejack]

J Customs are great guitars.

HNGD! I love my J Custom!

From now on I'll only buy J-Customs when it's time for a new guitar. Can't believe it's taken me this long to try one, being a huge RG fan.

Very nice G man!

Heya Mikey!

 

[bubucci]

Still don’t understand why Ibanez use ToneZone in bridge in J custom line. Air Norton is passable but TZ is muddy in mahagony and would ruin the guitar. I cured my honduran mahagony J-Custom with BKP Rebel Yell.
Damn, GAS for J custom strikes again.

 

[firejack]

Still don’t understand why Ibanez use ToneZone in bridge in J custom line. Air Norton is passable but TZ is muddy in mahagony and would ruin the guitar. I cured my honduran mahagony J-Custom with BKP Rebel Yell.
Damn, GAS for J custom strikes again.

Yeah I know right! I'm already on the prowl for another.

 

[ElectricVoodoo]

Wow !!
????
I've looked at these so many time and want one very much.
How does it feel and play?

Oh man where do I start.

The overall fit and finish is sublime. The fret dressing in particular is just perfection. The neck is a tad thicker than my Genesis or Prestige models. Makes for a fast but comfy neck profile. Plays like butter. The back of the neck has a painted satin finish that feels kind of like wax. So your fretting hand doesn't get stuck anywhere.

The Tree Of Life inlay took some getting used to when playing the guitar for the first time. Took me maybe a few days to be totally at ease with my positioning on the fretboard. But on the plus side, it looks incredible.

I changed the strings when I got the guitar and I didn't use any lubricant in the nut slots, yet the guitar holds its tune perfectly. As a matter of taste, I'm still going to change out the stock Gotoh tuners for some locking Gotohs. But that's just a matter of personal preference, not a knock against the stock tuners.

And as always, I can't stand the Dimarzio ToneZone and Air Norton pickups. Although this is about as good as I've ever heard them sound in any guitar I've tried them in. I have a Jim Wagner IronMan bridge and Godwood neck pickup in my spares drawer, so I'm going to replace the Dimarzios with those instead. I've always thought of the Iron Man bridge as being what I always expected the ToneZone bridge to sound like. And likewise for the Godwood neck being what I expected from the Air Norton. So sonically it should be a good fit.

Oh and the Tight-End bridge is about as close in feel as you can get to an Edge bridge from a hardtail. The profile is so similar that I don't notice any difference when swapping between my Edge equipped RG's and the J-Custom. If you check out the pics below, you'll see it has almost the same footprint and saddle height/string-angle.

That was awesome to read. Thank you for all that info!!
So you have a Genesis also? I have one in white, got back in Jan 2019. 16 months later and still as strong as it was new. Zero complaints other than the stock PU's lol

I can live with the stock PU's for now, but I really have to get my lazy ass and purchase new ones. Still on fence with which ones though...

As for the inlays, I can see how they could get you lost. Lol
I know I would. They are the classiest things I've ever seen.

And btw..the original edge on the genesis...I love it to death. A floyd rose killer imo. I love everything about it. Just awesome!

I can only imagine how good your J Custom
plays. Must be a great feeling to be totally at ease when playing a well crafted instrument. I felt that once with my GMW polka dot V, and havent since. Lol

Congrats bro !! Really beautiful guitar !

 

[mooncobra]

Still don’t understand why Ibanez use ToneZone in bridge in J custom line. Air Norton is passable but TZ is muddy in mahagony and would ruin the guitar. I cured my honduran mahagony J-Custom with BKP Rebel Yell.
Damn, GAS for J custom strikes again.

Yeah I know right! I'm already on the prowl for another.

there are some great deals out there on j custom. I got a dead mint j custom for 1700, it was a 2015.