Opinions on rg2550e or rg2610e

[metalfrk]

I have both of these right now, and have to send one back. More on that below, and later I will post a full comparison of the two. At the moment I have a dilemma and need some opinions.

(Sorry if anyone saw a duplicate post in the Polls forum. That thread may have been deleted before anyone could read it)



I got a great deal on a blemished rg2610e and jumped on it. I loved this guitar immediately out of the box, and it played beautifully unplugged. No cosmetic flaws but it turns out there may be a problem with the ducan, or the ground wiring and I would need to fix that or possibly replace the duncan TB-10 (which I might want to do anyway). The place I bought it from was really cool about it and since they did not have any more 2610s they sent me a NEW rg2550e. Now I have to send one back but I love both of them.

Which one would you keep?

They have more in common than not. Same body, neck, fretboard, inlay, headstock, tuners, bridge/trem. Differences are just the pickups and cosmetics, and I assume the rg2550e is front routed since it has the pickguard.

The Dimarzio/IBZ pups in the rg2550e are not bad at all and sound better with my setup than the SD full shred on the 2610, although I think there is something wrong with that one. The 2550 e may also be more versatile since it has 3, but to be honest I use the bridge 99% of the time anyway and have other guitars if I need a neck sound or single.

Not sure why the 2610 is $120 more than the 2550 new. It has two less pickups, 1 less pickguard, 1 less switch, and the single OEM pickup should not add that much, plus there is less wiring and body work.

I really love the style/look of the rg2610e, even more in person than the pics, and the longer you have, the more it grows on you. The simplicity of 1 pickup and 1 knob makes it really sleek, and it is noticeably lighter than the 2550. I know there are others here that disagree with this, but I prefer the clean look of no pickguard too, but this is not a big deal to me. I also like the black gloss with binding better than the sparkly paint with no binding. Everyone comments on the cheap knob, and it is cheap, but that has to be intentional. A better knob would cost them $3 more at the factory which is nothing on a $1000 guitar.

So anyway, which one would you keep in this case? Same price, one is new, one was previously returned and has an minor issue. And then there is the style/aesthetics.

[jim777]

I'd rather have the 2610e myself, as it's different enough from my other guitars. The 2550e is too much like my Jem, which is perfect, so it would just gather dust

[Bonsaischaap]

This is a really tough one and if I were making the decision I think I'd go for the 2610e.

Personally, I love the neck pickup, but owning several guitars with neck and middle pickups, I'd probably choose simplicity.

There's something very pleasing about a guitar which is that simple; just a pickup and a volume knob.

The only two complaints I could think of after trying this guitar were:

-the afore mentioned lack of the neck pickup

-the fact that you can't split the humbucker; which I find a disadvantage on the clean channel

On the other hand, it's an incredibly solid instrument which also has it's charm.


I guess the choice really is up to you; if you already have a few other guitars with neck pickups, or you feel like you don't use it, I'd say go for the RG2610e.

If you're looking for an all-round great guitar, get the RG2550...


Finally there's the matter of feel; which one feels best to you, regardless of the electronics.

[mike570]

Originally Posted by metalfrk

Not sure why the 2610 is $120 more than the 2550 new. It has two less pickups, 1 less pickguard, 1 less switch, and the single OEM pickup should not add that much, plus there is less wiring and body work.

I have no idea why either! If 2610 was cheaper I bet it would sell like hotcakes!
I'd keep the 2550. IMO, it's a better instrument; not to mention more versatile.

[waylay00]

I'd go with the 2550e!

[Team J Crafter]

I use the neck pick up so the 2610 wouldn't cut it for me. You prefer the bridge pu so keep the 2610.

[xklusivly4u]

2610 with Dimazio, EMG and Sustainer Mod from Ikebe.

[metalfrk]

Hey that modded 2610 looks pretty cool. What Dim is that in the first one? I sometimes like the active EMG sound, but not always. Anyway right now I need something that will be good out of the box. If I was going to mod it right away that's a completely new topic and my question would not have been relevant.

I wanted the rg2610e for fast riffing and some solo/shred, and the full shred is made for this purpose. At first I was not getting the right crunch on power chords out of the full shred but after setting it up correctly and changing my amp settings it was much better, and this pup is much more articulate and defined than the Dim/IBZ on the 2550 (or most other pups for that matter).

With the correct setup, the SD full shred in the rg2610e sounds much better than when I posted this. This took a lot of changes on my amp, effects, and especially adjusting the pup height and pole pieces to balance the strings. The spring tension on the trem needed to be corrected and either that or the pup height may have been causing an intonation problem (remember someone else had this before me so who knows what they did).

The amp settings are also key, especially since I was comparing this back to back with the rg2550e and it's stock bridge pup. These guitars need completely different amp settings to sound good, especially shifting the mids. In the end, (IMO) the Dim/IBZ has a bit higher output and a slight edge on crunchy power chords but also has a muddiness that I could not get away from no matter what I tried. This is completely a matter of taste/opinion, but the SD pickup has the sound I that I wanted this guitar for. As for the neck pup, well I have plenty of other guitars with one if I need it, and I certainly wont miss it on the stuff I bought this one for.

I also discovered that the loud pup hum (I thought was a grounding or other wiriing issue) was coming from a laptop computer about 6 feet away. Strangley, it does not interfere with any of my other guitars but I noticed by chance that when the SD was pointing at the laptop, the hum was loudest and pointing away from it, no hum. Laptop gone... hum gone.

Thanks for all the replies. They really did help me with this tough decision.

[GregCrowe]

Ahhhhh, Ikebe ruined those 2610s. They ruined what makes it cool, 1 pickup/1 knob, simplicity with class and body binding. Sure, put a DiMarzio or EMG in it but don't hack it up for more knobs and switches.

As for me, I want a 2610 BAD !!!! However, I can't justify the price they ask for it. For that kind of money I can buy something nicer. One of these days I'll have one but no way would I spend the $1000 they want for it. Wasn't it $899 last year?

[screamndemon69]

Originally Posted by xklusivly4u

2610 with Dimazio, EMG and Sustainer Mod from Ikebe.

That is a smooth idea IMHO.

I can see what you mean about "ruining" that guitar for what it is. It would be nice "as is" for those of us that already own HH, HSS, HSH and HxS RG's but for someone who doesn't own one of those other RG's, it becomes an axe they can get far more use from.

I'd say go for the RG2550e just for versatility in your shoes. I would have waited a little longer to get the new Edge Zero trem version (Rg2550z) but I understand that you jumped a good deal when you saw it

[metalfrk]

Yes, all good points.

The rg2550e has been sent back. If anyone is looking for a 2550 and wants the name of the online store they can PM me. They will no doubt be selling at a very discounted "blem" price, but it's brand new. I had it for less than a week, and actually sent it back in better shape (setup) than I got it in.

As for my rg2610e, one pup / one knob is the way I like this axe. Clean, nothing you don't need in the way, very light on the shoulder. If you route it for 2 pups, it's no longer a 2610. There are plenty of HH out there, just get that instead.

If you change the single pup, you need to be extremely careful about what you put in there. At first I didn't understand the choice of the single pup. For the price of this guitar they could have put anything in there. But since the guitar itself is not "versatile" you'd better make sure the one pup is. The FS can go from heavy riffing to solos without skipping a beat. Sure, you could throw an EMG in there if you are going to only use it for rythms, or don't mind fuzzy solos, but if I had to pick a single pup for everything this one would be near the top of my list (especially now that I have found the right amp settings).