Ibanez RG

Ibanez RG350EXZ, a 2011 model
Manufacturer	Ibanez
Period	1987 — present
Body type	Solid
Neck joint	Bolt-on, Neck-thru
Body	Basswood, Mahogany, Mahogany with Maple cap
Neck	5pc Maple with Walnut, 3pc Maple with Walnut
Fretboard	24 fret Rosewood, Maple
Bridge	Edge, Edge Lo-Pro, Edge Zero, Edge III Tremolo, Fixed Bridge, Edge Pro Tremolo, Gibraltar Plus Bridge
Pickup(s)	H-S-H or H-H Infinity, DiMarzio IBZ, Air Norton, Blue Velvet, and Tone Zone, IBZ V7, V8 & S1, or EMG 81, 85, 60, 707, or 808 pickups
Black, Purple Neon, Electric Blue, White, Amber, Transparent Lavender Blue, Weathered Black, Metallic Khaki, Jewel Blue, Black Night, Regal Brown Burst, Stained Oil, Natural Flat, Dark Amber, Aged Natural, Cubed Black Pewter, Grey Nickel, Vital Silver, Galaxy Black, Mirage Blue, Mirage Red, Royal Blue, Black Pearl, Sapphire Blue & Violin Flat

The Ibanez RG is a series of electric guitars produced by Hoshino Gakki and one of the best-selling superstrat-style hard rock/heavy metal guitars ever made. The first in the series, RG550 was originally released in 1987 and advertised as part of the Roadstar series. That series was renamed 'RG' in 1992 and all models since are simply known as RGs.

It rose in popularity throughout the 80s and it had the features that musicians in the rising shred and thrash metal movements of that time were looking for - a fast neck, comfortable body, powerful pickups, and a reliable tremolo system.

The RG series has the most subtypes of any Ibanez model and is the most popular series of Ibanez electric guitars produced by Hoshino Gakki. The RG's deep cutaway, flatter fingerboard and extended fret range (24 frets as standard) has made it one of the most popular guitars for rock and metal music.

The Ibanez RG was originally designed in 1987, the same year as to Steve Vai's signature guitar JEM 777, and perhaps RG was received and served as a derivative of Vai's model back then.

Also, there has been some confusion and mischief around the RG name. One of the popular opinion was that Rocky George (guitarist formerly of Suicidal Tendencies, currently of Fishbone), was its designer, because Rocky's initials are the same as the model, and he was one of the first famous users of the RG model. Another was that it was meant to be a competitor for Yamaha RGX. Both above are disputed. The RG in the Ibanez RG name, in reality, is now widely considered to mean "Roadstar Guitar", although current instruments differ significantly from the past Roadstar and Roadstar II series, introduced in from 1979 to 1986.

The RG Series features a neck that is very thin in cross section and a wide, flatter than most (430mm/16.9in or 400mm/15.75in radius) double octave (24 fret) fretboard. Flatter radius on fretboards facilitate wider bends and lower string action at the expense of comfort in playing chords. For the virtuosic "shred" style of guitar playing or fast, aggressive thrash/speed metal rhythm, this type of neck is often preferred.