Ibanez

Hoshino Gakki, a Nagoya instrument distributor dating back to 1908, put the Ibanez name on guitars from the 1950s onward and became one of the first Japanese brands to build a real foothold in the US and European import market. The JEM and Universe, developed with Steve Vai in the late 1980s, and the RG series that followed made Ibanez a default choice for fast, technical playing, and the company pioneered mass-produced seven and eight-string guitars well before most rivals offered them. It now ranks alongside Gibson, Fender and PRS as one of the world's major guitar makers, building across Japan, China, Indonesia and the US. New signature models and shred-focused releases are a constant on GuitarBomb. Here's everything we've covered.