Looks: You can't help but be impressed with how this guitar looks. It is impossible to take pictures that do it justice, this isn't regular red. It is like a freakin' neon sign. And the rest of the guitar looks just as good, the black pickguard, the strat-knobs, the pointy headstock, but what really makes it look so good is the maple fretboard. It does really add to the look of the guitar. And the shape it isn't like most Superstrats just the regular Strat-shaped, no, this is like a pointy-version of it and it just looks so much better I think.
This one says 80s!
Neck: If you love thin necks, this is like the ultimate one, there isn't a better one out there. It is super-thin and ultra-fast. It WILL make you play faster, that is a fact!
It also has huge frets which adds to the playability by making bending and vibratos easier.
Attitude: When you pick up an Ibanez RG you don't do it for some strumming and sining folk songs and the guitar knows that. It was made to tear heads off listeners. It is a balls-out metal-axe!
I think just strapping the guitar onto you injects a certain attitude, you are ready to go out there and prove that you are a guitar-hero!
Versatility: As mentioned above, this guitar does one thing really, really well (80s style shred). It has a single-coil to add some versatilitybut like the humbuckers, it is a mean, hungry, high-ouput BEAST!
Stock Pickups: The pickups are the weakest component on the guitar. They are the top of the line pickups from Ibanez, but they aren't as good as pickups from dedicated pickup companies like Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan.
If you are into the great guitar-players and their tone of the late 80s Ibanez are one of the brands you just need to check out, and the guitar a lot of guys were playing playing were the RG!
The first thing to strike is that amazing colors of the RG go perfectly with the over-the-top guitar-style it is known for. Next is the impressive playability, this guitar was made for shredding, and this guitar encourages technique. It has everything, the look, the feel, the sound! It is a BEAST! If you love monsterous guitar-solos you owe yourself to check this guitar out!