About The RG-GEAR - RG-GEAR

[jemsite]

$2100 is about 40% off the LIST price shown on that guitar. That is assuming the LIST is indeed as marked,which seems correct. Good pricing new from dealer... glen

[tomizm]

I wonder how comfortable it is with the corrugated wood. *Anyone actually played one before?

[Andy The Reaper]

Wait til' Kevan gets back, it was his newest acquisition.

(Didn't need my better have to figure out how to post....)

[wyldbill]

Better have what? OOhhhhhh, better HALF.

[ytsejam]

I saw this RG-GEAR In this store once. It was brand new and the price was 2100$ (I´m quite sure that I bemeber the price wrong tough).
Then I was at the J-custom site that had a picture of the RG-GEAR and there was a price for 3600$.

The guitar was a real beauty, so does somebody know the specs to this fine piece of wood (p.u´s)? And what is the price for these as I´m not sure that should I trust my memory...?

[Kevan]

Sorry I'm so late to this one guys. *I couldn't figure out which "POST REPLY" to click on. *(just for you, Glen! *LOL)

Fortunately, I got one of the 1997 J-Custom catalog supplements a couple of weeks ago (Thank you Anonymous!). *A week before that, I picked up an RG-GEAR. *:biggrin:

The body *does* leave indentations on your forearm if you play w/o moving your arm (like me), but it's not painful. *It looks kinda kooky. *I'll take a pic next time it happens.

Here's what floored me about the GEAR:
The top is a 4mm mahogany piece that's separate from the mahogany body. *The "gears" are ebony- and are cut with a laser! *No kidding. *To match them up with a Dremel or hand-sanding is a task even Paul Reed Sm!th would say, "wow...ummm...no. *Do it yourself." *LOL *There is NO filler between the pieces. *Also note that the word "Ibanez" is also inlayed in the headstock.

But wait...there's more...

The grooves in the top are ALSO cut with the laser. *To do it with a router or by hand, *you'd probably have missing chunks from the edges. *Plus, cutting through ebony with ANY tool sucks. *That's some seriously dense wood.

Here are the specs from my J-Custom sheet:

Neck: *3-pcs. Maple (no volute)
Neck Shape: *Wizard
Fingerboard: *Rosewood (with WICKED abalone standard dot inlays)
Fret Wire: *Jumbo
Machine Heads: *Gotoh
Neck Joint: *AANJ
Body Material: *Mahogany
Body Shape: *RG
Bridge: *Lo-Pro Edge
Hardware Color: *Pearl Gold Plated (different than the gold we're used to like on the JEM7VWH)
Front Pickup: *DiMarzio FRED
Middle Pickup: *DiMarzio Blue Velvet (tasty single coil)
Rear Pickup: *DiMarzio Super 3
Controls: *1-Volume, 1-Tone, 5 Way (Split-5) Switch
Strap Buttons: *Gotoh Free Lock *(these suck and were quickly replaced with gold Dunlop Straplok's)

The sustain on this rivals any LesP*ul. *The price on my site of $3600 was the LIST price back in 1997. *$2100 is a great street price esp. if you get the J-Custom case with it. * Also, remember that these were done in VERY limited numbers (my guess: *about 12 of them on Earth).

Wicked guitar, craftsmanship that makes the guys at Tom Anders*n go, "Damn! *How'd they get that so clean?", and rarer than pics of Nikki Cox pre-implants. *:biggrin:


(Edited by Kevan at 9:18 am on Dec. 13, 2000)

[darren wilson]

How were the grooves laser cut without scorching the wood?

I've seen laser-cut paper sculptures and there's a slight fringe of yellowing around the ****
where the laser did its work. I would imagine to cut thick mahogany, they'd have to really crank it up, and as a result, it would probably cause more burning.

[jemsite]

I don't know... is this Ibanez' official "shredPaul" model. Gibson's are no bargain either, and all of these "customs" are overpriced nowadays but until Ibanez learns how to build quality guitars with a FIXED bridge i think I'd take the real thing myself. I look at that axe and ask myself "what is the point". *Sorry to interrupt the J-worship :biggrin:

[jay ratkowski]

Glen,
Wow.

Between grill marks on my arm and a Gibson... I'll take my Tom Anderson. *:biggrin:

Personally, I think any guitar with a floyd rose, string retainer and locking nut has horrible sustain. *I must agree that few of the Ibanez fixed bridge models... if any, offer anything too pleasing for a sustain freak.

Back to the GEAR... it is actually not that difficult to cut with a laser. *Burning the guitar is a challange even. *You can program all of the cuts and grooves into a computer in several easy steps (easy for a math major hehe). *The laser only uses the energy needed to go through the top layer of wood. *It is the same way a laser can cut through the lens in your eye without frying your brain.

[ytsejam]

12 On Earth...Oh Yeah...
Well my price was WAY OFF!!!
I think the price was actually 3670$ or something...

Thanks for the specs Kevan!
I have to start selling my mother for this one...:biggrin:
****e! It´s been ½ years since my last visit to the store.
I bet someone buyed that thing off the wall and is playing it right now with a stupid smile on his/her face !:angry:



(Edited by ytsejam at 3:36 pm on Dec. 13, 2000)

[jemsite]

Jay - i wont say "horrible" sustain but pickup differences aside the fixed bridge will always win. I think Ibanez needs to rethink their "tremolo on every guitar" stance if they want to create LesPauls for the shred generation. Just my $0.02... glen

[Kevan]

I'd pit my CST against ANY fixed bridge guitar and compare sustain.

"Just bring it."

[jay ratkowski]

Do we need to start a "let's buy Kevan a blueshawk for Christmas" fund?

Your CST huh? *Can I use my Guild? *How about my bass? *:cheesy:

Thanks to the way that tremelo saddles and locking nuts are not at all conducive to sustain... the m ***
of your guitar is usually increased for other downfalls... sorry, but I think the CST would have to be about 75LBS of wood in order to match one good LP style guitar (which, coincidentially is already about 75lbs of wood). *

[jemsite]

Rumor is the CST and J-Customs are about 75lbs (give or take a few ounces) before they take the laser beam to them, whiddling them down to the weight of a box of toothpicks

[bob oakman]

I understand why a fixed bridge and a massive, dense body should be superior for sustain purposes. *Here’s the weird thing… *I have owned and played several LP’s. Except for the one with the bridge bolted to a giant chunk of br *** (EDIT: b r a s s) embedded in the body, my UV has superior sustain. *I’m not saying it makes scientific sense. *I’m just claiming that it IS so.

The scale on the UV is a bit longer. Maybe that’s a contributing factor. *I don’t know… I’m just trying to be scientific.

I will concede that the G string looses some sustain in the upper registers on my UV. *Once again, I don’t know the scientific reason.


(Edited by bob oakman at 5:05 pm on Dec. 13, 2000)