The Destroyer is an

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki was one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United Stat ...

brand

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

model (originally) manufactured at the FujiGen musical instrument factory for the Hoshino Gakki Company. The Destroyer model was first introduced by Hoshino Gakki in 1975 and was based on the Gibson

Explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

design. The Destroyer has since undergone several design and line changes and has been available in both 6-string and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

versions. The star-shape variant was one of the first eccentrically-shaped guitars at the time with a floating tremolo system, making it a popular choice for the heavy metal and shred musicians of the 1980s.

Notable Ibanez Destroyer players

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

(1955–2020) guitarist and founder of the American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

, used a Model 2459 Korina Destroyer for the recording of its first album

, which is also featured (in heavily modified "Shark guitar" form) on the cover of their third album,

Women and Children First "Women and children first", known to a lesser extent as the ''Birkenhead'' drill, is an unofficial code of conduct and gender role whereby the lives of women and children were to be saved first in a life-threatening situation, typically aband ...

. * Adrian Smith (born 1957) guitarist of

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

played a Japanese version of the DT300 during The Number of the Beast tour in the early '80s and still owns it. *

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who was the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss from the band's inception in 1973 to their retireme ...

played a black DT300 and used it as his primary guitar during the '' Unmasked Tour'' in 1980. Before that

Ace Frehley Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (, ; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional lead vocalist and founding member of the rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. ...

played a tan model whilst making the ''

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

'' album (of no connection in title) in 1976. *

Phil Collen Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard. Collen joined the band in 1982 during the recording of the ''Pyromania'' album. Before joining Def Le ...

(born 1957) lead guitarist of

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

played a DT555 as his main guitar from 1981 until the end of the Pyromania World Tour in 1984. He still has three more copies of this guitar. *

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, primary songwriter and sole consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth and for his time as the lead guitarist of Met ...

(born 1961) (

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

) played a Destroyer in his

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

years (1981–1983) *

Jay Jay French Jay Jay French (born John French Segall, July 20, 1952) is an American guitarist, manager, record producer and founding member of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He is a columnist, author and motivational speaker who oversees licensing and i ...

(born 1952) and Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda of the American heavy metal band

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song ...

both played modified mid-70's Korina Destroyers. * Conrad Lant (born 1963) also known by the stage name of Cronos, bass player of

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

played a Destroyer bass guitar. *

Tom Angelripper Thomas Such (born 19 February 1963), known professionally as Tom Angelripper, is a German musician. He is the lead vocalist, bassist, main songwriter and only original remaining member of the thrash metal band Sodom (band), Sodom and also a me ...

(born 1963) bassist for Sodom used an Ibanez Destroyer Bass *

Quorthon Thomas Börje Forsberg (17 February 1966 – 3 June 2004),Date stated in the death notice for Ace Börje Forsberg that his family put in the swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter on 23 June 2004, the death notice also included the lyrics to the Batho ...

(1966–2004) Swedish metal musician and founder of black/viking metal band Bathory. He used Destroyer model D-10 guitars on every Bathory album until 1995's album ''

Octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...

''. *

Kid Congo Powers Brian Tristan (born March 27, 1959), better known by his stage name Kid Congo Powers,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 25, 41, 359 is an American rock guitarist, singer, and actor best known as a member of ...

(born 1961) used a Destroyer in his tenure with The Cramps (1980–1983) *

Dave Keuning David Brent Keuning (born March 28, 1976) is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist of the rock band The Killers, which he founded alongside frontman Brandon Flowers in 2001 and with whom he has recorded six studio albums. ...

(born 1975) primarily used a Destroyer on stage and recordings with

The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...

References

External links

Ibanez Catalogs - Export

Hoshino-Gakki Parts Web Catalog
{{Ibanez