Faux gold

I'm actually upset with this finish but in a pleasant way 😅 This is actually an Ibanez S421, I re-finished the top. I bought a can of spray paint which said copper on the label. It looked copper-ish when applied. After some time, it turned into this gold-top type colour. Can you see those areas which sport darker hues from the rest? This was a result of uneven sanding. Of course, I'm not particular with how it turned out. It was meant to be a DIY project & the guitar remains functional. 

This corrosion resistant set will not outperform Elixirs but I'm OK with the lifespan on offer.

Preferred

These images were from Malaysia's music maestro's FB page, Az Samad. He attended the Ibanez 2026 new models launch at Bentley Music, KL on 14th January 2026. FYI, Malaysia's official Ibanez distributor is Bentley Music, not Swee Lee. 

I'm not reading too much into this event but there are some implications here which, for the most part, is my personal anxiety for all things Ibanez since I'm an Ibanez fan from the start. If you share this perspective, then you can relate to some conceptual concerns.

Ibanez chose Bentley for a product launch ahead of the NAMM 2026 show. Ibanez chose to work with Bentley that observes domestic (Malaysia) operations as opposed to Swee Lee that has storefronts in seven other countries in addition to Singapore. I'm giving this a benefit of the doubt - maybe Ibanez & Swee Lee have other grand plans in the near future but the exclusive treatment of giving your distributor partial ownership when it comes to product launches is hard to beat, even priceless to a certain degree. 

In view of commercial interest(s), there might be a shift in operational trends & Swee Lee would do well to know what these are. I'm not a Swee Lee employee, I'm not professionally related to them as well. I'm just an Ibanez fan who sometimes tried too hard to acquire nuggets of info which are readily available elsewhere. I'm in no way implying there should be a preferential / exclusive treatment for certain distributors in view of how they flex their commercial muscle. These days, we don't go where the wind blows but to where the money flows. 

Pics: Az Samad FB

P - doom

I'm sure there are many of us here who own a guitar (or guitars) that influences what you play due to its inherent tone. I bought the above LP '50s Tribute for cheap. It was in an un-loved condition. There were marked areas on the body that displayed surface wear & tarnish beyond what a bottle of guitar polish & revival fluid could do. The good thing is, the previous owner wasn't much of a lead player so there were virtually no fret wear to be seen, just oxidized frets. I stopped making efforts to revive the guitar to manifest visual appeal, just accepting it for what it is. 

This is my go-to guitar for super fuzzy doom tones. It seems that the default P-90s were conceived for this inclinations & it's definitely the pickups that respond well to my RAT pedal.

A quick re-string before play. Darco this time. 

Used: Nov 25 - Jan 26

Off to the recycling bin - strings replaced from November 2025 to early January 2026. A small container this time round but that's how many strings I've used in less than three months - the reason I don't invest in costly strings.

Ibanez 2026: S-Series

Every year, the S-Series releases were pale shadows of its RG counterparts. There's some respite this year as the new 2026 models are both Prestige offerings. If Ibanez deems the S-Series to be worthy considerations in their catalog, they should make a bold move in reviving some older guitars as Genesis models. The 540S would be a delicious consideration but it would mean going back to 22 frets which will affect the manufacturer's economies of scale, to say the least. 

Pics: Ibanez

Ibanez 2026: Alpha

Pics: Ibanez

Ibanez had released its list of new instruments for 2026 & I'm sure many of you have seen the Alpha models depicted above. This is the hot topic in the mean time & it will continue to be till NAMM happens. I'm an Ibanez fan through & through but the Alpha is a turn off. That's right, many Ibanez apologists out there would say that just because it's not my cup of tea, I need not write it off especially when I have not played it in person.

Many of us could agree that a particular product released to the masses is a representation of the prevailing culture. The iPad for instance, is a marquee product to signal the embrace of wireless connectivity. If Ibanez wishes to let the world know it embraces the lower tunings of today's guitar laden music through a multi-scale instrument, then it's arrival to the scene is belated at best. Strandberg - was there, done that.

Pic: Total Guitar

Ibanez is retaliating against the one that got away; the Abasi proto which later became the Abasi Concepts. Why is this move necessary especially now? Is there a resurgence of sorts that we are unaware of? From a commercial perspective, the Alpha's price(s) might hint at a missing price point that Ibanez is gladly filling in.

Pic: EBMM

Chronologically, Ibanez waited to understand the market for such a non-conventional design especially its commercial viability. EBMM's Kaizen debut signalled the market's readiness & Ibanez latched onto this sector in 2026. We'll wait for the full NAMM experience to see if other brand names are also offering a similarly niche-designed guitar to understand the bigger (commercial) picture.

Pics: Ibanez

I will end this episode by reminding everyone that this is not Ibanez's initial foray into the world of peculiar body outlines. Among others, the Fireman is an example. The Fireman wasn't deemed eccentric simply because its actually a flipped design of the Iceman, no major issues in terms of receptiveness. Come to think of it, the Alpha's overall design philosophy is not too far off the Fireman's, just look at the pics above.