Hecate! - Ibanez RGIR27FE Iron Label 7-String, 2014, Black

There are guitars designed to cover every conceivable musical situation.

Hecate is not one of them.

Built during the earlier years of Ibanez’s Iron Label series, this 2014 RGIR27FE is an unapologetically purposeful seven-string RG. Ibanez gave her two active EMGs, a fixed bridge, a wonderfully bare fingerboard and, just in case there was any lingering ambiguity about her intentions, a factory killswitch.

Subtlety was apparently not invited to the design meeting.

The familiar RG body is constructed from basswood and paired with Ibanez’s three-piece maple/bubinga Nitro Wizard-7 neck. Despite accommodating seven strings, the character remains unmistakably Ibanez: slim, fast and built for players who would rather their neck didn’t get in the way.

The bound rosewood fingerboard carries 24 jumbo frets but no face inlays whatsoever. Against the gloss Black finish, matching headstock and contrasting binding, the result is wonderfully stark.

A pair of active EMG 707 humbuckers provide the voice. Developed for extended-range guitars, they deliver the definition and controlled low end needed to keep that seventh string useful rather than allowing proceedings to descend into an indistinct geological event.

Ibanez kept the controls appropriately uncomplicated. There’s a three-way pickup selector, one master volume and no tone control.

There is, however, a killswitch.

Because priorities.

Rather than the floating trem found on her RGIR27E sibling, Hecate uses a Gibraltar Standard II-7 fixed bridge. It’s a wonderfully practical arrangement for a seven-string, particularly if lower or alternate tunings are part of the plan.

Hecate remains extremely presentable for a twelve-year-old gloss-black guitar. There are normal light signs of previous use visible when caught under the right lighting, but nothing that detracts significantly from that enormous expanse of mirror-black finish.

She has now been thoroughly inspected and cleaned in The Stray Chord workshop. Her frets have been levelled, crowned and polished as part of our usual workshop process before she received a full setup and final play test.

Seven strings.

Two EMG 707s.

One killswitch.

Zero interest in behaving herself.

Hecate is ready for adoption.

The Stray Chord

Rescue • Restore • Rehome