Hello all....after first seeing the RG-ART-1 at the 1997 NAMM show, I went on a 2+ year seach for one of the guitars. *By the time I decided to actively pursue a purchase some time in 1999 , I found out they were only produced in 1997....good job on my part. *I thought I found one through the internet in Germany and arranged a purchase after MULTIPLE CONFIRMATIONS that the guitar was THE GUITAR I was looking for. *I sent pictures from NAMM and the RG-ART picture from the
Ibanez catalog that some of you might have seen on the web. *So $2200 on my Visa and 2 weeks later, the guitar arrived. *I opened the box and stared in disbelief at this NASTY, NASTY metallic red guitar with gold hardware, gold fret dots and SUPER NASTY gold FRIGGIN GLITTER around the entire edge of the guitar including the headstock!! *Perhaps I could understand some language barrier from the US to Germany but VISION BARRIER??!! *Also, shipped from Germany with NO CASE!!! *I had sent no less than 3 pictures of the guitar....geometric wood stain vs. that ugly red glitter thing...what a screw-up. *So, LUCKILY was able to return the guitar to an affiliate store in the US and thanks to VISA's charge dispute department, got my money refunded. *Well, long story short, a few more months searching and I found the actual guitar is MALAYSIA for a little over $2400 with case and shipping to the US. *GREATEST thing is that in 2000 when I finally found the guitar in Malaysia it was BRAND NEW, NEVER TITLED, NEVER USED. *Really lucked out 3 years after they were produced!!
So, I've seen only one piece of information indicating that only 24 of these RG-ARTs were produced. *Can anyone confirm this number or have another number??
Thanks!
Scottso
