The Ibanez M8M is a spaceship! The sheer growl and absolutely insane sound emanating from this magnificent beast are out of this world. And on top of that, she looks incredible… And on top of that, she’s signed by Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström… And on top of that, she’s pre-owned but in virtually brand-new condition… And on top of that, she’s available at Leadmusic… And on top of that… well, you get the idea!

Fredrik Thordendal is an absolute monster and a founding member of Meshuggah. He is the band’s lead guitarist, instantly recognisable for his highly experimental, dissonant solos, heavily influenced by jazz fusion and, in particular, Allan Holdsworth.

Although Mårten Hagström joined the band shortly after their debut album, he has become the backbone of its rhythmic identity, with much of Meshuggah’s signature sound stemming from his playing. He focuses exclusively on rhythm guitar, laying down rhythmically precise, almost surgical foundations that give the band its immense sonic weight. He worked directly with Ibanez to develop the signature M8M model, which made a huge impact when it was released in 2012.

The M8M is manufactured in Japan by Sugi. Its shape is inspired by the RG series and it features a neck-through construction, combining alder body wings with a maple and bubinga neck, topped with a 24-fret rosewood fingerboard without position markers. It has a 29.4-inch scale length. The hardware includes a fixed FX Edge III-8 bridge, a locking nut, a single passive ceramic Lundgren M8 bridge pickup and Schaller security strap locks.

In 2019, the bubinga used for the neck was replaced with jatoba, the rosewood fingerboard gave way to pau rosa, and Sperzel tuners were added. In 2020, the fingerboard returned to rosewood and the scale length was adjusted very slightly.

This guitar was presented to Meshuggah by Swiss distributor Serge Olar of Olar Musik AG on 23 June 2023, when the band performed at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland. Both guitarists, Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, signed the rear control plate. A certificate of authenticity and two photographs are included with the guitar.