In brief: Ibanez A527

This 2026, Ibanez did a radical move away from its conventional guitar outlines when it unleashed the Alpha. While the talk of town suggested a subliminal reprisal with regards to a certain defunct project between the manufacturer & a well known 8-string guitar maestro, we should appraise this guitar, the Alpha A527, in its own right.

LIKES

• well-made
• responsive tuners
• functional, no frills electronics
• overall playability
• body ergonomics

DISLIKES

• neck dive
• poor upper fret access (B/E/A strings in particular)
• tone

The Alpha's outline is definitely aimed at the contemporary guitarist. It sure as heck won't be embraced by a blues aficionado any time soon. Despite that rather heretical body outline, the guitar is downright comfortable played strapped on (virtually sticks to the body with extra comfort when it comes to an elbow rest) but it's simply repulsive when played sitting down. No number of positioning permutations could solve that acute neck dive issue. This is compounded by the multi-scale, fanned frets which made upper fret access a struggle, especially for the lower strings. Consolation - the asymmetrical neck profile is actually very addictive & would supplement fast playing.

Tone-wise, you either embrace what the Fishman Fluence Modern pickups has to offer or make plans to replace them with your preferred alternative. On that note, be informed that these are actually 9-string pickups that were slanted to maximize the sonic capacity of the instrument. Good luck in finding ready replacements for these. If you observe a percussive playing style, these pickups would give you an immaculate high gain crunch tones with very good individual notes definition. Do not get upset, after extensive tinkering with effects, amps & EQs, if you fail to conjure your preferred, heavy distortion tone because the Fishmans were not conceived to serve such manifestations.

We won't see a 6-string version any time soon because, according tot he Ibanez officials at the recent NAMM event, this design doesn't quite work for 6-strings.

Overall rating: 76%

Ibanez A527 ($2,399)

• Available at Swee Lee
• Bag included

PS: Thanks Aryadni, (Swee Lee CQ) for letting me try the guitar!