Ibanez September 2026: Gold leaf

We all know this was inevitable; Ibanez doing iterations for one of their iconic / flagship models. Gold leaf (yes real gold) was added to this one with gold hardware completing the overall looks. We all darn know as well, this adds nothing to tone & playability. The collector dweebs among us will of course race to the stores to grab this for their wall decor. 

It seems that the promo shot for this guitar featured Vai showing his bandaid. Sincerely hope this was part of the plan. Otherwise, we have specific AIs out there to edit this out. Kids in school could do it, no excuse for a big corp like Ibanez to plead ignorance unless they assigned this editing task to the vulnerable, dementia prone senior folks out there. IYKYK.

Anyway, the only Gold Leaf that left an impact on me were the cigarettes my late granny used to smoke back in the day. She would send us to the village store to buy a pack when we were there for sleepovers. We were duly rewarded for this of course, extra reward for those who dared to purchase a pack for her at night because our grandparents used to live just next to the Chinese cemetery.

Pics: Ibanez / HSG

Radio ga ga

How many of us are still listening to the radio these days? What about the kids today - are they listening to the radio?

Listening to the radio is a lost art. Nobody cares or is simply  motivated to listen to the radio anymore. Those driving might be last true radio devotees. Music aside, they need traffic updates, live ones, and the radio gives them these crucial bits. While you're waiting for that to happen, there's music to keep you occupied.

Kids have next to no patience with such engagements. They are the generation of people who disengage by choice if they are not attended to or their needs are not met. So the way to sieve out those more intelligent kids out there today are to note the listening ones.

Music-wise, it's the joy of discovering awesome tunes for the generation of radio listeners. Back then, there were no technology available to search for one's preferred music. Print media were available to hype up the bands but there's no clue what kind of music these people embrace. Take Slaughter for example. You would associate the name's latent fury to Slayer, yes? But it turned out, Slaughter was more hair metal than its name suggests. By the way, that's how I discovered Slaughter.

These days, there's hardly any effort to discover music. Chances are, music was shoved into the media users' faces more than anything else. They exist as background music for IG / TT clips, commissioned music for games or forwarded to one's socials by an acquaintance. Anyway, this isn't about the radio becoming more archaic, it's about the newer generation of people being individuals who don't listen.

Signatures

This happens to all products not just guitars - endorsements. Seen here are the Lzzy Hale Explorer & Billie Joe Armstrong LP Jr signature models. These are good instruments per se, the endorsers' association simply added a commercial pull more than anything else. 

How many pro artists prefer the Epiphone name to Gibson? Meaning, they swear by Epiphone & disregard the immortal Gibson label for personal reasons. Yes, there are indeed such individuals. A very clear example would be Matt Heafy (Trivium). Why does this happen? There are some things done by the Epiphone camp which are more cost effective, not so if it's done by Gibson. The LH Explorer here is a clear ezample. Gibson giving the instrument that thick glitter overcoat would cost more than Epiphone handling it. Lest we forget, the idea of having Epiphone on the headstock is to sell. You won't believe the commitment of diehard fans in obtaining their idol-related possessions, merch, etc.

Pics: Epiphone

Victory baritone

The Victory adventure continues, this time, the Gibson camp gave it a baritone iteration (28"). We all know a Les Paul baritone won't be much of a hit because it won't sell. How about a baritone SG? That would make the neck dive worse & it won't sell either. Gibson is smart to have the Victory as leverage for contemporary ideas. It's arguably very un-Gibson, shape-wise, in the catalog & leans more into the modern double cutaway design that modern players can relate to; Jackson, Fender, Ibanez et al sport a similar outline.

Pic: Gibson

SIT - refreshed

Ending August in the knowledge that SIT strings are still alive & kicking, with a revamped look - premium packaging they call it. Also, the packaging had been improved to promote a longer lifespan.

Pic: SIT

RGV

I have a feeling someone at Ibanez messed up when it comes to the August releases. We see more instruments being announced at the month's tail end. This RGV250 is an example. Currently, this is the most affordable Standard RG just before it drops into the GIO range. Nothing fantastic, just a simple RG with a poplar body & a purpleheart fretboard. The T102 bridge is a non-locking unit so it's less hassle when it comes to re-stringing. 

Pic: Ibanez