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Ibanez Prestige RG1550M
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Ibanez RG1550M electric guitar
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Searched Ibanez Prestige RG1550M in Reviews
Outstanding guitar 
| Sound |
The sound of the guitar is excellent, especially for the stock pickups- V7 neck pup, S1 middle, V8 bridge pup. I personally like the tone of basswood with an even, full mid range response. I play through a Carvin V3, and various software-driven amp simulators. This guitar is versatile from clean tones to heavy gain settings. The overall sound is brighter than a rosewood fretboard to my ears. The lows are defined, excellent mid range and the highs are clear and even chimey on the single coil pup. With low to moderate gain, there is a fair amount of crunch and good definition. At high gain, the lows were never muddy and the highs were never shrill. The stock pickups remind me of Carvin C22's in their versatility.
Because I primarily play metal, I swapped the pickups to Dimarzio DP102 X2N and DP221 D Activator X. There was nothing wrong with the stock pickups, but this guitar is dedicated to high gain playing.
I primarily use Elixir strings, 9-42. D'Addario's sound very nice on this instrument.
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
This is where I had issues with the guitar. I don't know if this was a fault from the factory or the retailer from whom I ordered it. The strings were already corroded, the bridge wasn't adjusted properly, the frets weren't polished and the string saddles were loose, the B string completely. So the setup was just terrible. After I tightened the saddles, adjusted the intonation, hand polished the frets, changed strings and leveled the bridge, all was good. The neck relief was spot on, the frets leveled and edges perfect. The pickup height was correct with even volume through the selection.
The paint is smooth with no discernible flaws in the finish. The tuners are smooth and accurate. The volume and tone knobs are high quality in construction and have a consistent, smooth feel through their rotation. I like the Cosmo hardware finish. I have read that some people say it very susceptible to corrosion, but I have had no issues yet.
The Egde Pro trem has a good feel with no play or spring noise.
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| Reliability & Durability |
I believe this instrument is reliable. I have owned many RG's and a RoadStar II. The only dependability problem I ever had was the 1980's trem bar would snap in two with only moderate use. I haven't had that problem with any Ibanez since my 1988 RG550.
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| Customer Support |
The last time I contacted customer support was in 1989 and they sent a new trem bar free of charge.
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| Liked about it |
1) I like maple fretboard. It was the deciding factor in my purchase.
2) Even though I swapped them, I think the stock pickups can dial in almost any tone I want. They aren't quite hot enough for modern high gain metal. This is personal taste of course.
3) The neck on this guitar is excellent, even better than most of the guitars costing much, much more than this one. The nut height was spot on, I like the contour, and the finish is smooth as silk.
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| Didn't like |
1) I was very close to returning the guitar. There is no excuse for an instrument to be sold with a setup so poor; at any price range. It may be that I was sold a secondhand guitar, but if it shipped from the factory as it arrived to me, then Ibanez has some serious quality control issues. Granted it isn't a high end signature model, but it is a Prestige series anyway, and I was under the impression "The RG Prestige models are now all made in Japan by Ibanez's finest luthiers". Hopefully this was just a rare exception in my case.
2) After all the refinements Ibanez has made to their tremolos over the years, i would expect something better than cheap bushings for arm tension. Gotoh/Wilkinson has the best adjustment(in my opinion) with a simple set screw that allows for as free or tight a movement as one wants with no play in the socket.
I would have given this guitar a much higher rating had it arrived setup better. It truly is an amazing guitar.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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3.5 |
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Ibanez RG1550M Prestige electric guitar
| Sound |
The sound is amazing.
When on the bridge pickup it is a very bright sounding guitar.
Flick the 5 way switch to the neck pickup and it gets a very warm, full sound.
This is great because most maple necks loose the "warm" tone I have found....not with this guitar though!
This particular model will take your sound to a whole new level. From Jazz to Metal, it does it all with ease.
Looking for a punchy "Gilbert" sound or a buttery "Satriani" tone it has you covered.
What a perfect guitar.
It is a Team J Craft Prestige, just so you know.
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
The action is unbelievable. One of the best feeling guitars I have ever bought right out of the box. It comes with a great Prestige hard shell case as well. Bonus!
The RG1550M features a 5 piece maple/walnut Wizard Prestige neck with maple fretboard, black dot inlay, 3 pickups and an Edge-Pro tremolo bridge. Case is included.
The RG1550M can dial in any tone, from crystal clear to searing and nasty, thanks to its V7 neck pickup, S1 middle pickup and V8 bridge pickup combination.
In the last two decades, no other guitar maker besides Ibanez has done so much to advance the art and science of the tremolo. The Edge-Pro represents the next phase in locking tremolos.
To avoid the problem of string holder blocks getting lost during string changes, the Edge-Pro's sliding string holders are actually part of the bridge and won't drop from the saddle unit. Also, with the Edge-Pro design, there's no need to cut off the ball end of your strings when installing new strings.
The Edge-Pro also features a unique Sound Metal Chip on each saddle which helps increase sustain right at the most critical area, the intonation point.
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| Reliability & Durability |
I have put this guitar through hell and it never blinked. From the So Cal heat to the cold North West it stayed in tune and played perfect.
I can travel with this guitar alone and never worry about it coming up short or having that "fail" moment.
I will "fail" long before the RG1550M will!
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| Customer Support |
I have never had to use Customer Service but I imagine they are top notch.
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| Liked about it |
#1. The sound. From a bright "pop" tone all the way to a warm "butter" tone this guitar does it.
#2. The feel. I have never felt a neck quite like this one...even the music store that ordered it was amazed at how good the neck felt.
#3. The looks. I got the "Poisoned Pumpkin" RG1550M and was so happy with how it looked. It really turns heads now that I have made "her" mine!
The Team J Craft Prestige case you get with this guitar is the best out there. Thank you Ibanez!
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| Didn't like |
Love it! One of the best guitars I have.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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