Ibanez Roadstar II is a very good lower priced vintage guitar

Most guitars from the 1980s suck, but this one doesn't.

Most vintage guitar buyers shy away from electric guitars made in the '80s because a lot of them were just plain crap across the board. To put this in perspective, the modern low-cost Ibanez GRX20 is made better than most of the '80s garbage.

The '80s was of course the era of glam rock, so most guitars were built for shredding. However, there were a few guitars are there that didn't fall into that trap, and that's where the Ibanez Roadstar II really shines.

Roadstar II models from the early-to-mid 1980s were made in Japan, feature a neck that's slimmer but not paper thin, and came in several pickup configurations such as SSS, H/S, HH and HSS.

The bridge, tuners and even the strap buttons are on the chunkier side which does add to their longevity, but that's not the reason they've lasted as long as they have.

The main reason near-mint examples of these guitars exist today is because so many players ignored them at the time they were new. They're not flashy nor do they have any crazy shreddy-stupid hardware. That's not what players wanted in the '80s - but it is what modern players are looking for now.

And the best part? Really nice Roadstar II axes can be picked up from $300 to $500 in very, very good shape.

Bear in mind these are mid-1980s guitars. For a 30+ year old axe with solid construction that plays great, sounds great and was barely played if at all, that's a steal.

If you were looking for something vintage where you really get a good bang for your buck, seek out a Roadstar II like the one seen above. You'll really like it. If you don't want to deal with a vintage guitar (and I wouldn't blame you,) go for a new GRX20, or for something slightly better without breaking the bank, an Ibanez GRG guitar.

Published 2018 Sep 19