A Very Noteworthy 7-String at a great price.

For what it is worth, I'm not surprised the retail value went up a little. The body contours are simply amazing, the Gibraltar bridge is rock solid and the necks are incredible for which Ibanez are known for. The pickups are okay, and give a descent tone, but for my taste I really prefer my EMG X series in them, which went in easily enough for someone's who's a little tech savy like me. The stock pickups are Ibanez's way of having an active pickup config without affecting cost, but they are simply battery powered passive pickups in a nutshell. They can operate with or without batteries, hence the EQ on/off switch, but this guitar is just screaming for EMG's or SD's, which I've gladly obliged. There were few minor adjustments I've done to mine which involved tightening up a few parts but other than that I'm very happy with it. Looks amazing and sounds even better than she looks, just incredible. If you're considering a 7-string I would definitely recommend this one. It has great features to start off with and potential for future "upgrades" that aren't impossible to do. just be careful and consider what elements you need if you decide to do it. Overall I rated it 4.5 mostly because there are a few features I would prefer this guitar to have which it doesn't, however, they are more cosmetic than anything affecting tone. Neck-through body or set neck, and continuing that great looking binding to the headstock.