“Boldly established Ibanez as a new contender in the highly competitive Superstrat market”: How Ibanez’s era-defining RG550 transformed high-performance guitar

An Ibanez RG550 leaning against a wall.

During the mid ’80s, Ibanez became stuck in a rut. Although the company’s guitars sold pretty well, they were rapidly losing market share to up-and-coming competitors like Charvel/Jackson, Hamer, B.C. Rich and particularly Kramer.

Ibanez’s Superstrat (Blazer and Roadstar) and pointy DT, Rocket Roll and X series models failed to generate more than moderate excitement, even with endorsements from heavy hitters like Phil Collen, Allan Holdsworth and Steve Lukather.