Ibanez RGMS8-BK Multiscale

I bought this guitar with the aim of entering in the world of 8 string fret-fanned guitar: not expensive but, in principle, enough good to avoid extra mods.
My experience: good for learning, good sound (for soloing) with the neck humbucker, but the bridge humbucker has not good sound (and humbucker shape is so "special" to be easily changed).
Generally speaking, the construction is good, and the original setup of the guitar is quite good. Anyway, I have changed the tunning to E B E A D G B E and I am not able to found a perfect action setting to avoid slight fret buzzing in some strings. Tuning machines are not bad but not perfect.
At this point, if I can travel to the past, I probably select a Harley Benton model to try, and if the fanned 8 string concept is for me, then I will update the guitar with better humbuckers and tunning machines whether needed.

In short, it's a very well built instrument and has some features that show Ibanez's attention to detail. There's also a pretty glaring omission, but I'll come back to that later on. I'll start with the good:
* great neck, very well done frets; very comfortable
* the 8th string tuning peg is a bit larger, so it can accomodate heavier gauge strings
* truss rod adjustment wheel at the base of the neck (where it meets the body); much easier to adjust and to reach
* mono-rail bridge, really comfortable for the right hand when muting
* great pickups, clear and defined sound; the factory wiring is also a plus: 5 way switch, with the standard 3 full humbucker positions (bridge, neck&bridge, neck), a neck wired in parallel position and a split coil position which selects the inner coils of the 'buckers (think strat position 2/4)
Apart from some minor adjustment issues from the factory (loose pot, pickup cable sticking out a bit), there is only one big flaw this guitar has, in my opinion: the bridge is not grounded, so any hum you get is not going to go away when touching the strings; I'm not sure why Ibanez missed this, perhaps due to the construction of the bridge. Because the monorail bridge consists of separate elements for each string, it has to be made sure that the elements are in contact with each other in order to properly ground all of the strings.

However, if you make sure your guitar amp is grounded (which you should do anyway!), then you will have no hum issues. The pickups are pretty quiet even at high gain.

All in all, this is pretty much the best choice for an 8-string if you're on a budget.

I was afraid of fanned frets and am very happy to report that neither fanned frets or longer scale length affect my playing what so ever. I am a 25.5" 6 and 7 string player, playing Ibanez JEM and Universe mostly.
The neck is fantastic to play, I can reach the high frets and play scales and arpeggios easily.
The guitar is incredibly light and really small compared to what I was expecting.
The pickups are very, very good. I planned on making a custom Seymour Duncan SH-5, that's my pickup of choice but there is absolutely no need to touch anything. As things are now I plan to keep them in forever.
There is zero noise and playing feels incredibly precise. The 5 way switch is an great feature.
Intonation seems ok, some fret buzz but who cares, I'll take it to a tech anyway.
The only thing I notice is wrong is that the part of the neck near the join is not coated but it's a really small area. Was thinking of giving it 4 stars in quality because of this but for this price I really can't.
I am incredibly happy with this purchase. Ibanez rules. <3

Update:
Ok so it's not all rainbows and there were some minor problems that I have to point out:
1) The truss rod turning mechanism was broken. The little thingy that turns the rod was too short apparently and a tech had to remove the neck and access it with like that. This is not a major problem since the neck and the truss rod are ok but it's certainly a nuisance. Freaked me out.
2) The neck wasn't thourally sanded, it's a slightly rough on some places but nothing too bad.
3) The input jack is on the same place like on a Gibson Les Paul and I hate that. Makes sitting down on a couch and playing difficult, but a 90 degree cable fixed this.

Great guitar for the price.

Pros:
- Multiscale
- 5 position switch, so we have 2 positions using single coils
- Sounds great !
- Price

Cons:
- Finish is not perfect. Some marks at the back of the headstock.
- The nut is a little high on mine, making the strings a little hard to play near the headstock.
- The neutral fret is the 12th making the angle quite pronounced at the top of the neck. Combined with the high nut, it makes barred chords very tricky to play at this location. Otherwise the fanned frets are not bothering me.

Spent lockdown with this guitar. I switched from 6 to 8 strings with it. Didn't need much time to adapt my playing. The neck is very large of course but also very thin and easy to play.
Pickups sound great. 2nd and 4th positions offers the neck pickup in parrallel, and one coil from each pickups. This 4th position is amazing for playing stuff like Animals as Leaders using the slap/thump technique, or play funk or clean chords.
Bridge pickup is good, and the neck pickup has a nice attack which is great for soloing.

Solid choice for anybody who want to dive in the 8 string world while retaining the ability to solo thanks to the 25.5" scale on the high strings.