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.

Saturday sky

Got up early today to give this a quick re-string & play. It's one of those days when I want to hear some single coils in action but I do not wish to play a Fender.

I love these Pure Blues but I don't buy them often (price considerations), always grabbed some when there's a seasonal discount. To me, these go very well with the Silver Sky's single coil tones especially for those mild overdrive settings. I'm quite of oblivious to the strings' material type because when you play with excessive distortion, you can't hear the material contributions to your tone. One more time - DR strings are great for those of us with a hard attacking picking style, regardless of the genre.

Rubber

I have great respect for Musicnomad for making quality tools & maintenance accessories. This neck rest here is largely rubber, it promotes friction & helps keep things in place. However, the neck rest part is also rubber & not good for organic finishes; it sticks to the neck & might cause a burnmark / chemical blemish. I will only be using this for satin finished necks (Ibanez, Jackson, etc.). I sincerely hope this had been thought through at the factory.

Unravelled

Broken string. This seldom happen to me. Looks like the coil unravelled & weakened the overall structure of the string. It didn't help that this end of the string was located at the bridge, in contact with hardware that might further strain the situation. Oh, well.

KX600

Neil Zaza's back with Cort. This KX600 is his doing. It's a simple design with delivery in mind. Pickups are Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers & we hope there would be passive options along the way. If only that headstock finish matches the body. Also, those inlays are too big for some of us. Anyway, looks aside, this guitar was conceived to not get in your way of achieving great tones & maximum playability.

Pic: Cort