Japan will get all of the cool guitar toys as soon as once more. Ibanez has simply unveiled the HZK1, a seven-string RG signature for Nemophila and Koiai steel guitarist Hazuki – and sure, it’s a Japan-only launch.

Visually, the HZK1 is an absolute stunner. The HZK1 pairs a turquoise stone-inspired spalted maple prime with an alder physique, making a guitar that’s equally placing on stage as it’s on show.

Beneath the hood, the HZK1 is all about shredding consolation. The ultra-thin Wizard-7 neck is produced from a five-piece maple/wenge laminate, whereas the certain rosewood fingerboard boasts Luminlay facet dots, stainless-steel frets, and Ibanez’s signature fret edge therapy. Offset mother-of-pearl inlays add a delicate contact of magnificence amid the steel mayhem.

Tonally, the HZK1 is simply as formidable. Two Fishman Fluence Trendy lively humbuckers in chrome cowl every thing from searing results in chunky riffs, whereas the Lo-Professional Edge 7 bridge delivers Floyd Rose-style dive-bombs with out compromising your tuning.

Notably, the HZK1 additionally comes and not using a tone knob, a tweak Hazuki requested after repeatedly hitting it together with her strumming hand. Coupled with its light-weight design, this alteration lets her deal with hours-long units with far much less fatigue.

“The RG was my sidekick once I was a music pupil; I’ve a whole lot of recollections with it,” says Hazuki. “I’ve performed many guitars, however the RG sounds precisely the way in which I need a guitar to sound… This guitar has modified my enjoying on stage a lot.”

At ￥440,000, the HZK1 is priced for critical collectors – and heartbreakingly, solely obtainable in Japan. For everybody else, it’s a bittersweet reminder that a few of the coolest Ibanez signatures appear destined to remain an island affair.

Try the HZK1 in motion beneath.

Study extra at Ibanez.