This 1998 Ibanez BL825 comes from the final year the legendary Blazer series was ever produced, making it a particularly interesting find for players and collectors of Japanese-made Ibanez guitars. Built in Japan by FujiGen, the BL825 combines the familiar comfort of a traditional double-cutaway design with the precision, versatility, and playability Ibanez is known for.
The Vintage Burst finish is absolutely striking, transitioning from a warm amber center into deep cherry red and dark burgundy edges. Paired with the cream pearloid pickguard, chrome hardware, rosewood fingerboard, and natural maple headstock, it has a classy late-’90s appearance with just the right amount of vintage character.
The alder body is joined to a one-piece quartersawn Canadian hard rock maple neck featuring Ibanez’s All Access Neck Joint and a comfortable multi-radius profile. It has a 25.5" scale length, a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard, white dot inlays, and a graphite nut. Hardware includes Gotoh SG38 tuners and a Gotoh 510AT non-locking tremolo.
Its HSH pickup configuration includes an Ibanez JLD1 neck humbucker, S3 middle single-coil, and JLD2 bridge humbucker. A five-way selector and push-pull coil split provide an excellent range of sounds, from clear and glassy single-coil tones to thicker, more powerful humbucker leads and rhythm sounds. Whether you play blues, classic rock, fusion, alternative, or heavier music, this guitar can cover an enormous amount of ground.
The neck is straight, and the truss rod turns in both directions. This is a great-playing, highly versatile Japanese-built Ibanez from the very last year of Blazer production. The BL825 was offered only in 1998, and examples do not surface nearly as often as many other FujiGen-made Ibanez models. Whoever ends up with this one will be getting a genuinely cool piece of Ibanez history...and once you have that Vintage Burst finish in your hands, you will be glad you bought it. Don’t wait too long, because another one may not come around anytime soon.
