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Ibanez RG8
Ibanez RGMS8
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Playability
75
Sound
65
Build
52
Value
74
Score
64
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Playability
78
Sound
66
Build
55
Value
71
Score
66
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Ibanez RG8 vs RGMS8

Reasons to Get
Ibanez RG8 over RGMS8

Release Year
2020 vs 2019
From a more recent year
Scale Length
27" vs 27" to 25.5"
Easier to adapt to
Avg. Weight
7.275lbs (3.3kgs) vs 7.95lbs (3.6kgs)
Tends to be lighter
Value Score
74 vs 71
Better price/quality relationship

Reasons to Get
Ibanez RGMS8 over RG8

Scale Length
27" to 25.5" vs 27"
Less fret buzz with less string stiffness
Switch Positions
5 vs 3
More tone options

Other Key Differences
Ibanez RG8 vs RGMS8

Bridge Pickup
IBZ-8 vs Array-8 MS
Different Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
IBZ-8 vs Array-8 MS
Different Neck Pickup
Body Wood
Meranti vs Nyatoh
Different Body Wood

Shared Features
Ibanez RG8 vs RGMS8

Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Fretboard Wood
Jatoba
Same Fretboard Wood
Headstock
4-4
Same Headstock
Nut Material
Plastic
Same Nut Material
Strings
8
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Pickups
HH
High output without hum
Number of Frets
24
Same maximum octave
Neck Thickness at 1st Fret
0.79'' (20.1mm)
Same neck comfortability
Neck Thickness at 12th Fret
0.85'' (21.6mm)
Same neck comfortability
Nut Width
2.165'' (55mm)
Same string separation at the nut
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Fixed
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Fretboard Radius
16'' (406.4mm)
Same fretboard comfortability
Pickups Power
Passive
Cleaner sound and no battery needed
Neck Profile Type
Wizard
Thin neck for playing fast
Neck Joint
Bolt-On
Allows you to detach and swap the neck
Type of Frets
Jumbo
You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Weight Relief
  • Locking Tuners
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Nut
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • Top Pickup Brand
  • Expensive Wood
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Ibanez RGMS8 is probably the better product overall with its final score of 66 compared to the Ibanez RG8's 64 score, although not by a lot.

The Ibanez RGMS8 wins when it comes to sound, playability, build quality. On the other hand, the Ibanez RG8 has the upper hand when it comes to value for the money.

If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

Both meet 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.

New Player Friendliness

Ibanez RG8
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

Ibanez RGMS8
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.

Ibanez RG8 Overview

  • From Ibanez's 2020 RG series
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 8 strings
  • 27"'' scale
  • 16" Fretboard Radius
  • Meranti body
  • Maple/Walnut neck
  • Jatoba fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: IBZ-8 (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: IBZ-8 (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • F108 bridge
  • Wizard II-8 Bolt-On neck
  • 24 Jumbo frets
  • Ibanez tuners
  • Weight between 6.9lbs (3.1kgs) and 7.65lbs (3.5kgs)
  • Compare Specs >

Ibanez RGMS8 Overview

  • From Ibanez's 2019 RG series
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 8 strings
  • 27" to 25.5"'' scale
  • 16" Fretboard Radius
  • Nyatoh body
  • Maple/Walnut neck
  • Jatoba fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Array-8 MS (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Array-8 MS (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 5-way Switch
  • Mono-rail bridge
  • Wizard III-8 for Multi Scale Bolt-On neck
  • 24 Jumbo frets
  • Ibanez tuners
  • Weight between 7.4lbs (3.4kgs) and 8.5lbs (3.9kgs)
  • Compare Specs >

Sound Quality Comparison

The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.

Woods Used in Both

Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple
Jatoba wood pattern used for guitar building
Jatoba

Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.

Jatoba is a hard and dense wood that emphasizes the mid-lows, giving a fuller, more round sound than, for example, Mahogany. However, it also has a lot of clarity in the top end. Find out more about Jatoba.

Woods Used in the Ibanez RG8

Meranti wood pattern used for guitar building
Meranti

Meranti is an affordable wood used mainly for affordable electric guitars. It's generally lighter and softer than Mahogany. Find out more about Meranti.

Woods Used in the Ibanez RGMS8

Nyatoh wood pattern used for guitar building
Nyatoh

Nyatoh has been replacing Mahogany for guitar building. It's fairly hard, durable, more sustentable and common than Mahogany. Find out more about Nyatoh.

Winner: Tie.

Pickup Configuration

Both pickup configurations are HH. Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.

Pickups Quality

None of these use a specialized pickup brand for their pickups. Some of the best guitars on the market come with pickups from brands like EMG, Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, etc. You might want to replace your pickups eventually if you want to get the best sound out of any of these instruments.

Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.

Winner: Tie.

Versatility Comparison

Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.

Switch Options

The Ibanez RGMS8 gives you 5 switch options while the Ibanez RG8 gives you 3. This means that the Ibanez RGMS8 gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve

Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.

Ibanez RG8 pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Ibanez RG8's switch options
Ibanez RGMS8 pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Ibanez RGMS8's switch options

When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.

Winner: Ibanez RGMS8.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Ibanez RG8
Pickups 55
Sustain 80
Versatility 59
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 65
Ibanez RGMS8
Pickups 55
Sustain 80
Versatility 62
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 66

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Ibanez RG8 compares to the Ibanez RGMS8.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in Indonesia.

Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.

Winner: Tie

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

In this case, both have Plastic nuts. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

Bridge

The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.

Both come with a similar bridge: Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.

Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.

Winner: Tie.

Tuners

Both come with regular tuners. Both come with Ibanez.

Winner: Tie.

Neck Joint

Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.

Both have a Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.

Winner: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Ibanez RG8
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Ibanez RGMS8
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Ibanez RG8
Quality of materials 41
Features 50
Quality Control 65
Build Quality 52
Ibanez RGMS8
Quality of materials 41
Features 55
Quality Control 70
Build Quality 55

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

Ibanez RG8 Nut Width
Both Guitars Have The Same Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, both have a nut width of 55mm (2.165'').

This is considered a wide width for a 8-string guitar. It gives your fingers the extra space you need to play without muting accidentally, but this also makes bar chords harder to perform, especially if you have small hands.

Scale Length

Ibanez RG8's Scale Length
Ibanez RG8's Scale Length
Ibanez RGMS8's Scale Length
Ibanez RGMS8's Scale Length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

In this case, the Ibanez RGMS8 features a multi-scale of 27" to 25.5" while the Ibanez RG8 has a regular scale of 27".

A multi-scale fingerboard incorporates two scale lengths at the same time. This is present in some instruments with long scale to give a different tension to the lower strings than the higher strings. The thickest strings need more tension to avoid fret buzz (especially when tuned low), so the scale is longer for these strings, while the thinnest strings will need less tension (because they have a lower gauge), so they have a shorter scale to reduce stiffness for bends.

It can feel awkward if you've never played a multi-scale because the frets will have more separation for the higher strings, but a lot of people love their versatility.

On the other hand, the Ibanez RG8's 27" regular scale means it has a fixed scale for all the strings.This is a scale used for baritones and guitars with more than 6 strings. Since the scale is so long, the tension of the strings will be higher. This means that bending will require a lot more strength than with a shorter scale. However, it also allows you to use really low tunings without causing fret buzz and without needing to increase your string gauge too much.

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

Ibanez RG8 Neck Profile
Ibanez RG8's neck profile
Ibanez RGMS8 Neck Profile
Ibanez RGMS8's neck profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

Both the Ibanez RG8 and the Ibanez RGMS8 have a Wizard-shaped neck. This is thinner than most C-type necks. It won't get in your way if you want to play fast solos. It's not as slim as 'Super Wizard' necks, so it might fit you better if you don't like ultra-thin necks.

Fretboard Radius

Ibanez RG8 Fingerboard Radius
Both Guitars Have The Same Fretboard Radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

Both the Ibanez RG8 and the Ibanez RGMS8 have the same fretboard radius of 16". This fretboard radius is really different from Stratocasters, but it's also a lot flatter than Les Paul fingerboards. It'll favor plating single notes over playing chords. This doesn't mean you can't use it for rhythm, but a more curved fretboard offers better playability for chords. Bending and sliding without losing sustain will also be more likely in a flat fretboard like this one.

Hand Size Comfortability

Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.

After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison are balanced for most hand sizes.

Ibanez RG8:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Ibanez RGMS8:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Ibanez RG8 and Ibanez RGMS8 Frets Size
Both have a similar Jumbo fret size

Both have a Jumbo fret size. This is one of the tallest frets you can get. You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. It will give you the best sustain and all types of chords will be easier to play. However, you can end up changing the pitch of your notes if you press too hard, which is something people used to feeling the fretboard do when trying Jumbo frets for the first time.

Final Playability Scores

Ibanez RG8
Bending & Vibrato Ease 85
Chord Playability 50
Solo Playability 90
Playability 75
Ibanez RGMS8
Bending & Vibrato Ease 90
Chord Playability 55
Solo Playability 90
Playability 78

Specs Side-by-Side

Ibanez RG8 vs RGMS8
General Ibanez RG8 RGMS8
Brand: Ibanez Ibanez
Year: 2020 2019
Configuration: HH HH
Strings: 8 8
Made in: Indonesia Indonesia
Series: RG RG
Colors: White Black
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Meranti Nyatoh
Bridge: F108 Mono-rail
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On Bolt-On
Tuners: Ibanez Ibanez
Fretboard: Jatoba Jatoba
Neck Material: Maple/Walnut Maple/Walnut
Decoration: White Dot White split off-set dot
Scale Size: 27" 27" to 25.5"
Shape: Wizard II-8 Wizard III-8 for Multi Scale
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.79'' (20.1mm) - 12th Fret: 0.85'' (21.6mm) 1st Fret: 0.79'' (20.1mm) - 12th Fret: 0.85'' (21.6mm)
Frets: 24 Jumbo Nickel Silver 24 Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 16" 16"
Nut: Plastic Plastic
Nut Width: 55mm (2.165'') 55mm (2.165'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: IBZ-8 (Humbucker / Passive) Array-8 MS (Humbucker / Passive)
Middle Pickup:
Neck Pickup: IBZ-8 (Humbucker / Passive) Array-8 MS (Humbucker / Passive)
Switch: 3 Way 5 Way
Knobs: Dome Dome
Pickup Mods: None None
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 1 1