Ibanez Prestige RG652AHM - Nebula Green Burst Reviews

Guitar arrived in perfect condition in tune and setup perfectly right out of the case. The guitar is AMAZING the craftsmanship is second to none. Neck is beautiful fretwork is fantastic body and color is beautiful I can't stop looking at it and playing it. Big fan of DiMarzio pickups my first guitar an Ibanez LP 2915 that I bought off a friend back in 1980 had DiMarzio Super Distortion and PAF on it and the sound is amazing. I decided to go in that direction with this choice. Levi kept me updated on inventory and helped me through the whole process and said he would take the blame if my wife freaked out about me buying another guitar which she didn't….. true love. :) This guitar will be with me forever and I can't be more excited to have her.

This guitar is the best guitar I own. It is super high quality and the fit and finish are extraordinary. This will rival any American guitar. I swapped out the Tone Zone for a beefier Super Distortion PUP. This guitar sounds fantastic. It sounds good even without an amp. That's my test to see how good a guitar actually sounds. If it sounds clear and loud without an amp it will only sound better with one. I highly recommend.

First of all I think they really want to make you happy, I was called and texted to make sure I was happy with my purchase. I set the guitar to my liking and it is a go-to in my line up and a keeper, very happy.

I bought a prestige level (i.e. made in Japan) S Series Ibanez back in the late 90's and was completely disappointed in my purchase. I swore I would never buy another Ibanez again after the experience. In the first guitar, not only was the neck warped but I had to clean out saw dust from the routings in the body when I had to remove/unscrew the plastic covers from the back for general maintenance, changing strings, etc. The paint was of extremely poor quality and huge chunks would chip away if I bumped into anything.

Recently I tried a few of the RG series prestige guitars in a local store and found that not only was the build quality as I'd hoped… the body fit with the neck pocket, fret install/finish, paint, overall tone, and playability of the guitars brought me back to what I loved most about super strats from the 80's.

Since it was Sweetwater, with their great service and return policy (unlike a lot of local shops), I figured I'd check to see if they had what I was looking for: maple fretboard, ash body, direct mounted non-active pickups (I love DiMarzios), floyd rose (with routing to allow upwards trem pulls), solid build quality, resonance, inexpensive, and no tree-of-life fancy inlays. This guitar meets all of that criteria. After allowing the strings some time to stretch, it has kept in tune, and is playing effortlessly with no extra setup.

I never expected to fall in love with a guitar again like what I owned back in the 80's, but this is about as close as I think I will get for the price. While the pickups may not be everyone's taste, I think they have great warmth/articulation, and sound like what I've loved about DiMarzio pickups with their aggression/drive. These push my JCM 800 and plexi reissue beautifully. Worst case you can always swap them out. Either way, this is a great platform to play on or you can tweek if you desire.

Ibanez really changed my opinion with this one, but that said always keep an eye out for what's best for you. Maybe I got a lemon the first time, but I'd utilize the return policy if you have a different experience. Hope you love yours as much as I do and hope this review was helpful!

This is my first guitar I've ever purchased with the intent to up my game on speed. It hits the mark for sure. The fretboard seems dead flat and the neck is super thin which helps me fly. I will have only myself to blame if I can't attain the speeds I desire. The tones hit the mark as well. This guitar really sings and the feedback at high gain is pure joy. The Floyd Rose stays in tune unbelievably well. The curb appeal speaks for itself. The case is molded for the guitar and fits so well you can't sift sand between the case and the guitar if you wanted to. I did get a small nick in the finish on the side of the fretboard and don't know when that happened so perhaps its a bit more sensitive to finish damage in that area as opposed to other name brands such as Fender and Gibson. All said, I give it 5 stars for being just what I was looking for.

This RG is my first Ibanez but it wont be my last.
Looks so much better in your hands and will never let you down ! The electronics are first class , the tremolo is first class , and man this neck is off the charts !!
Drop Engineer Mason a line and see for yourself. I promise you cant go wrong with this rig !!

I have owned quite a number of guitars and this Ibanez is spectacular! Plays like a dream, killer looks, and sounds fabulous. This is truly a top of the line guitar. Ibanez scored a grand slam with this one. And Sweetwater's service is second to none. Delvin was terrific, shipping ultra fast, and a company worthy of high praise! this is one of the best guitars on the planet. Ibanez included a tool with all the needed adjustment tools that is so helpful and classy. Don't sit on fence for this one. It is a best buy. And the case is form-fitting and just perfect for this perfect instrument. Thanks, Sweetwater for making my purchase one of the most satisfying purchases ever!

Precision from every angle. Prestige guitars come perfectly set up. Intonation and action are incredibly accurate. The case is a huge plus. It fits like a tight glove. Pickups sound great through a Marshall amp and can go from country to metal. Miles of sustain from the bridge and tone woods not to mention dead on tuning stability. Sweetwater took care of all of my needs. Their customer service is miles above anyone else.

Mostly blown away at the customer service I received from Sweetwater. This guitar is awesome. Has a great tone and playability. Good for so much more than metal. When you pick this guitar up it feels so good in your hands you"ll never want to put it down.

I have owned several guitars over the years—both USA made and imports. I would offer that this instrument is one of the best playing and sounding axes that I've ever had. The photos were very representative of the quality, but after receiving this—I was blown away by the workmanship and attention to detail. Nothing seems cheap at all about this instrument. The case is also of very high quality and it comes with a handy tool set..!

I opted for Sweetwater's PLEK treatment and custom setup, which I can only assume contributed to how great it plays. The action came exactly how I requested. The guitar plays very smoothly—rings out great. The pickup output is exactly what I was looking for. I know Ibanez has a good reputation for quality with their Japanese models—being my first Ibanez, I can attest. This guitar is just amazing!

A big shout out to the thoughtful communications by my reps Chris Carter & Paul Eckert, and for the Sweetwater team's help and excellent service!

The Ibanez Prestige RG652AHM-RG Nebula Green Burst guitar is such a stunning guitar to look at and play. I've been wanting a quality guitar with the floating tremolo system and string lockers and this one fit that dream I've had for a few years now.

The quality build and play-ability of this guitar is 2nd to none (IMHO). I love the fast neck and the smooth feel it has while playing this guitar. The tones are perfect (for my needs) which lets you hear the nuances of each selector choice you make. It just plays like a dream!! Oh...and how about a nice rigid case with red velvet lining to go along with this rig? YES!!!

The beautiful Nebula Green Burst color is gorgeous to look at. The finish on this guitar is excellent!! Honestly...after playing it and seeing/hearing how good of a guitar it is...I'll go out on a ledge and give it a 10 = PERFECT...in every way!! I again have been reminded of the word (sublime) which the definition includes: "Of very great excellence or beauty". This rig has all that and more!!

Having become comfortable with SweetWater's services...ordering...guitar setups...fast shipping...and all those who work tirelessly behind the scenes (for those of us who order online) I'm a returning customer at SweetWater because of how well their business model works and how good Mike Harris is at doing his job (he called me before the guitar arrived) and the entire crew working to give us this kind of excellent service and goods!! After ordering 3 guitars from SweetWater it's very clear to me that they do their business very well and prove it by how they conduct themselves helping customers with their orders...phone calls to assist you when needed ...sending emails to give you updates/information...when your items ship and the tracking number to keep you in the loop. This all doesn't happen by accident. This is a business model that has been fine tuned and gives their customers one of the best shopping experiences you'll find today. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!! LOL

Once again, Thank you to SweetWater and to Ibanez for both doing an excellent job on goods and services which for me has become a no-brainer when it comes to...where to shop online. We live in a rural area and traveling isn't my idea of how I want to purchase a guitar/s so this has been a perfect way for me to get what I'm looking for and know it's all going to work out well buying from SweetWater!!

Sincerely
Cary Anderson

I ordered this guitar on April 30, 2018 on a Monday and it was at my Front door on May 3rd, at 3pm..
This is the second guitar I ordered from Sweetwater in the last 6 or 7 months.
I was blown away by how beautiful this guitar looks. To me, it's dropped dead gorgeous! I know Sweetwater does a 55 point evaluation on the guitars they sell but this does not include a setup. I believe you can pay extra to have them set it up but I take my guitars to a local authorize luthier here in Hanover Pa (Phil at Links). They have it now and I can't wait to get it back. Now mine was very playable out of the box, but I like my action a little low and I don't want to mess with the edge tremlo system.
If you do buy from Sweetwater, ask for Kyle Malone. He is great to deal with.
I do have one caveat, I didn't get any candy on my last two guitars I bought. Lol.
Seriously, get you guitars here.

For reference, I bought this guitar as a foil to my Gibson Les Paul Standard. Both are great, but they have very different strengths IMO - LP for smoother, mellower music, and this RG for higher distortion, and cleaner, brighter sound.

Sound: I am most impressed with the beautiful sound on this guitar. It is beautifully bright and sounds phenomenal and clear even under heavy distortion. The DiMarzio Tone Zone and Air Norton are wonderful and pair very well - the Air Norton (bridge) doesn't sound "tinny" at all and is great for rhythm; the Tone Zone sounds excellent for soaring solos in high registers. It doesn't sound muted or flabby at all like my LP tends to be.

Playability/Feel: the thin, wide neck with jumbo frets is excellent and very easy to play. It's great fast solos and lends to great control on bends. My only concern is that it is a little harder for me to finger arpeggios with finger rolling because the strings are farther apart.

Finish: it is a stunner. It's the kind of guitar you have to see in person to appreciate (because the font is flat, it's hard to see how beautiful it looks in a natural setting.

I played cheaper RGs to compare before buying this one, and I think it's 100% worth it - it is by far superior in my opinion in sound, feel, craftsmanship, and aesthetics than the cheaper RGs. Plus, the case is a great add in!

I've always been an Ibanez fan boy but this axe right here is so beautiful I didn't want to touch it. After being in awe for about an hour I decided to plug it in and I have to say: This thing plays and sounds wonderful right out of the case! I've heard from others the stock pickups are not that good (personally I do prefer a hotter bridge pickup) but all in all I've gotten some great tones out of it. My only regret is having the guy's put NYXL strings on it lol. They are just too stiff for me so I will be returning to old faithful- EXL-110's. Big shout out to David Mikautadze, the absolute best sales engineer in the company! And a big thanks to Ibanez for taking so much pride in crafting percision. Thanks Sweetwater Sound. I appreciate all the good advice and help in choosing the best gear.

this is my first Japanese made Ibanez. The guitar is quality all the way. Plays great and set up was great right out of the box. It has the classic thin Ibanez neck. This guitar is definitely made to play fast. But it could work for most styles of music...pickups sound great clean or dirty. Neck was a little dried out but that is to be expected being that it was being sold in the Midwest and I live in the Midwest. Nothing a humidifier and summer won't fix. Nothing to do with the quality of the instrument. I still give it five stars. Beautiful guitar.

First of all I want to thank my sales person Alex Campos, for all of his follow up and quick response to my phone calls, text and emails. He is the best!!

I purchased the demo model Sweetwater had in stock. I have other guitars which are made here in the USA that cost more than this models regular price does but, Ibanez has an attention to detail that my other guitars were lacking from the factory. This Ibanez Prestige RG652AHM guitar is a very fine instrument. The fret finish is about the best I have ever had from a new guitar. No sharp edges or dead spots all the way through the fret board. I am thrilled to finally get a new guitar that I will not have to level the frets on. No fret buzz!! That is worth every cent in my book!! The finish has no flaws. The hardware is very nice with nothing lacking. The wood grain is excellent. The binding looks like it may be made of wood but I am not sure. You can get a wide range of tones with the split coiled humbuckers and 5 way switch. The sustain is very impressive for being a bolt neck style guitar. The neck is thinner than what I am used to but nothing I cannot overcome. This is the most versatile guitar I now own. The edge locking trem works well. I have lowered the action and readjusted the pick ups. That is about it. You can go from country twang chicken picking to full throttle gain with this guitar. If your on the fence about if this guitar can perform or if it plays well, all I can say is go for it. Plus it looks nice to boot!! You will not be disappointed.

The venerable RG. I started playing in '84, so Ibanez has always had a spot in my collection somewhere. The RG line has been with us for about as long as I've been playing, and with good reason. The shape is comfortable and eye-catching at the same time. This particular guitar, the RG652AHM, spoke to me because of the original Ibanez Edge bridge (the same as in my JEM 7VWH), the maple fretboard, and the DiMarzio pups.

The binding on the guitar and neck is very subtle, which is absolutely okay with me. The fit and finish on this guitar surprised me. I knew it was going to be great, being a Made in Japan model of the Prestige line, but mine was superb. Granted, Sweetwater techs inspect it and set up the instrument to a level that is also fantastic. The urethane gloss coating on the body seems to really be scratch-resistant to normal playing (pick scratches below the strings on the body, and where I always drag my pinkie on the body as well).

The sound overall is bright without being thin. It's a 'meaty' kind of brightness. The Tone Zone has some girth to its brightness, and hasn't ever struck me as shrill. The Air Norton in the neck is unique, and a bit hard for me to describe. It's throaty when I dig into the strings, mellow when I lighten my pick attack. Its warm-ish but never muddy. After a month of playing it every day, the Air Norton still can surprise me sometimes with its responsiveness. Bear in mind, I push the mids on all my amps (after a decade of scooping them in the 80s and 90s)... so that certainly will have a part to play with my impressions.

Ibanez did a great job of pairing those two different DiMarzios with the woods on this guitar, in my opinion. There's a lot of tonal variety, especially given the 2 and 4 positions on the selector (split pups with one, and parallel Air Norton on the other). Fiddle with the Tone and Volume on the guitar, and it has the capability for a wide swath of music styles and genres. Granted, it's not going to nail the single-coil Strat sound, because ... no single-coil. But there's beaucoup options under my fingers with this jewel.

And yep, the floating bridge is all the love and hate you've heard about, if you've never had one. But I grew up with them, so I feel like a sailor that can't walk on shore when playing a hard tail. To me, they're so worth the little bit of extra hassle (and the little bit of extra price). This original Edge is easily my favorite of all the Floyd-style trems - even over the original Floyd Rose. It's solid, no-nonsense, comfortable on the palm and fluid in use.

I really feel that I got more than my money's worth in this guitar. I can't say the same for a few other brands I've bought over the years (at price points double or triple this one). Add in the Sweetwater service and setup, and this is truly a steal at this price. If it were lost or stolen, I'd be on the phone with my rep Jimmy Hart to buy another one without looking at what else might be an option. I like it that much.

P.S. - this was my first purchase at Sweetwater (yeah, I'm way late to that party... ), but I wouldn't think of shopping anywhere else from now on. High five to my rep Jimmy.

This ax keeps getting better every day I play it,its ease of playing is great plus the green makes for a great look it is a truly a nice ax I would recommend it to everyone a true shred instrument !!!!!!

I've been using my RG652KFX for nearly a year as I write this. I have other guitars, but I love this guitar so much that those other guitars hardly get a second thought. The neck is very comfortable and conducive to easy playing. The tuners are excellent, and the guitar holds a tune very well. The bridge is excellent and has no uncomfortable edges or screws jutting out, even with the action set as low as possible. The sound is amazing, and the guitar is just absolutely gorgeous. After all this time, somehow it doesn't have a single scratch on it--and I know I've hit it a bunch of times with my picks while playing. The fit and finish on this guitar is outstanding, especially for the very reasonable price. So, nearly a year in, I have zero buyer's remorse about this guitar, and I still get excited about playing it.

This guitar was purchased 8 months ago from Sweetwater. Ben Porter was the sales engineer. This guitar seems to get better each time it's played. The neck is raw and feels very good, no stickiness. The pickups are good although I wouldn't want two guitars with the exact same pickups. The body color, front and back, is very nice. The hardware, at least on the one I got, is lighter than in the picture and looks very cool. The hardware also feels heavy-duty. The matching headstock is pretty awesome as well. The binding is nice. This is the first 5 way switch I've used configured like this. Positions 2 and 4 are my favorites. I got this particular guitar because of wanting something considered "top of the line" without breaking the bank. My expectations were and still are exceeded. Thanks to Ben Porter and Sweetwater for a great transaction.

I've owned many high end guitars and this Ibanez just blows my mind! Every detail is perfect and is mesmerizing to look at! Plays and sounds better than any of my $+ guitars! Seriously get one and be amazed!!! This guitar and Sweetwater's service equals pure gold!

This guitar is great for shredding and metal while also being very versatile. The finish is beautiful and sexy. the guitar is very lightweight and stays in tune very well. The pickups sound very nice and respond to harmonics well

This is my first Ibanez and one of the only guitars I have ever bought where I didn't feel I needed to change something. I had some initial tuning instability, but after the strings stretched out it was all good. The guitar plays like a dream. It's fast and the neck is silk. Fretwork is flawless and the pickup combination is works for just about any genre. This guitar is much more than just a shred machine. Although it is pretty awesome for my version of shredding. For comparison purposes, I have a couple much more expensive, American made guitars that aren't this nice. Oh and the pictures don't do it any justice. It is a beautiful guitar.
Now onto the bad, which has nothing to do with the actual guitar. My guitar arrived with a small ding in the bottom of the that penetrated through the finish into the wood. It is small and some might be able to over look it. At this price point.... not me. Sweetwater seems to pride itself on the "free" 55 point inspection. It is a big selling point and was a big consideration for me. I have an inspection card with three Sweetwater employee signatures on it that say this guitar was in perfect condition when it shipped. Draw your own conclusions. I will say there was no damage to the case it was placed in.
The follow-up customer service has been fine. Nothing stellar, but acceptable. They are letting me keep this one until another gets in stock.

Just want to update my May 10th review.

I had this guitar in my local Ibanez authorize guitar shop.
I was getting a Tremol-No installed on it. With this device, I can
use it as a floating bridge, hard tail, or just half blocked. I got the guitar back and the B and G strings would go way out of tune after any dive. So, it's back in the shop.
That is where I stand now. I had the guitar for a month now and it's been in the shop for 3 weeks
This is no reflection on Sweetwater. The guitar was playable out of the box though the action was a bit high and didn't stay in tune very well then either.
I'm sure it's a minor thing.