Ibanez

Ibanez has been one of the most recognizable and preeminent guitar brands in our industry for decades. Founded in 1957 in Japan under renowned Japanese instrument manufacturer Hoshino Gakki and seriously gaining prominence and renowned status in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Ibanez has become known for its innovative, forward-thinking designs that incorporate the best of guitar tradition with -build techniques that cater to the modern player. Although Ibanez is most well-known for its series of “Superstrat”-style shredder guitars, including its flagship RG model, both their prestigious history and current lineup go well beyond the pointy axes - their catalog covers awesome hollowbody guitars, basses, unique offsets, acoustic guitars, and even electronics and effects pedals, as well. As huge fans of both their products themselves, as well as the signature artists and genres of music that Ibanez instruments have found their homes with, Pitbull Audio is very proud and excited to continue to be a top Ibanez dealer!

The respective model archetypes may refer to them using slightly different terms, but generally, the GIO & Standard lines are the lowest-priced and appeals best to beginners and players new to Ibanez. The higher-tier Standard and specialized series such as Axion Label, Iron Label, Bass Workshop, and Artcore are the next step up and are great for players who know their domain, offering great yet affordable options for players of specific genres such as progressive rock, metal, or jazz. Next, the Premium line really steps things up a notch, offering professional-level hardware, electronics, tonewoods, and specs while staying relatively accessible in price. Finally, we move onto Ibanez’s flagship series: Prestige and J. Custom. These instruments are the best that Ibanez has to offer, built in their legendary FujiGen factory in Japan to exacting specifications, with precise fretwork, high-end hardware and pickups, fantastic finishes, and, in the case of the Custom Shop-quality J.Custom line, exotic and gorgeously-figured tonewoods.

For many guitarists, the first thing that comes to mind when they think Ibanez are their shred-ready weapons, and for good reason. Beginning with Steve Vai’s signature JEM and Joe Satriani’s JS in the 1980s and the subsequent RG and S models, Ibanez completely revolutionized the guitar industry with these designs. Armed with high-output pickups, the venerable Edge double-locking trem bridge, and lightning-fast necks, these guitars are fire-breathers built for speed. We’re stoked to continue to carry the entire line of Ibanez’s shredder guitars, from the iconic RG and its RGA and RGD variants, to the slim and sleek S, and all the awesome metal & progressive rock artist signature guitars in between.

If those guitars are a little too edgy for you, though, Ibanez has the answer - enter the AZ series. The AZs have quickly become a shop favorite here at Pitbull, as well as the model of choice for contemporary virtuosos like Tim Henson and Tom Quayle. They bridge the gap between vintage-style bolt-on guitars and Ibanez’s more modern designs, bringing together a fuller neck profile, versatile low/medium-output pickups, and classic aesthetics with modern innovation like roasted maple necks, Ibanez’s signature All-Access Neck Joint (AANJ) with its unparalleled comfort and upper-fret access, sleek body shapes, and high-end Gotoh locking tuners and tremolo bridges. Coming in both 22-fret HSS & SSS models and 24-fret humbucker-equipped axes, as well as the T-style AZS series, the AZs were designed to cover every genre and style, and then some. We love ‘em!

A lot of players tend to overlook how good Ibanez is in the more traditional set-neck guitar department, as well. All you R&B and jazz players know, though - Ibanez hollow-body (AF & AM) and semi-hollow (AS) guitars are top notch. Just ask the likes of George Benson and Pat Metheny what they think! From Artcore to Artstar and beyond, we carry a great selection of these beautiful violin-esque instruments. Beyond just being great-quality and affordable takes on these traditional designs, Ibanez imparts their brand of innovation by introducing features such as toggle switches that coil-split the humbuckers, torrefied maple necks and tops on the higher-end models to increase stability and resonance (which is very welcomed on this style of instrument), and Gotoh hardware. And we would be remiss to not mention Ibanez’s set-neck solid-body offerings as well, such as Paul Gilbert’s Iceman signature guitar and the Artist series, awesomely unique axes in their own right.

It is of our humble opinion that basses can sometimes be even more of a spectacle to both look at and play than guitars - for some reason, it just seems like modern builders go bigger, bolder, and take more risks when it comes to bass design in all the best ways these days, and Ibanez is no exception. The BTB, EHB and SR series basses are the greatest examples of this. The stunningly-unique body shapes will immediately catch your eye, but features such as multi-scale fretboards, phenomenal active preamps flanking high-end pickups like Aguilar and Bartolini, and futuristic intuitive new bridge designs can be found all over the line. And the finishes are simply otherworldly - have you seen the Caribbean Islet Low Gloss color on the Premium BTB1935?! And for those of you who want something a bit more traditional in both look and tone, the offset Talman bass series has you covered. From Thundercat to Steve Di Gorgio, many of today’s top low-end-bringers wield an Ibanez as their weapon of choice.

Ibanez acoustic guitars sit in a very unique niche in the pantheon of acoustic instruments. Rather than adhere too closely to tradition, they prefer to innovate and focus on the next-generation of a player’s acoustic guitar - their “Advanced” series, for example, combines sustainable, great-sounding tonewoods with modern electronic features for the best of both worlds, while the FRH model and Tim Henson’s signature TOD10N are marriages between an solidbody electric guitar and a classical nylon-stringed instrument. There really isn’t another builder whose focus is modern innovation when it comes to acoustic guitars, and we love them for it!

Lastly, we also carry Ibanez’s lovely line of electronics, most notably their pedals, headlined by the lean, mean & green machine itself - the legendary Tube Screamer. The Tube Screamer is probably the most-often cloned and copied guitar pedal of all time, and probably the most popular one in general. The modern TS-9 and TS-808 reissues capture all the magic of the originals and then some - it’s all right here! Along with the Screamer, classic pedals like their analog delays and modulations as well as newer offerings like their Pentatone EQ and Noise Gate are awesome entries in our pedal vault.