RG Prestige - mahagoni vs. basswood body

Marko@Rockvoice · #1 01-18-2006, 09:25 AM

Hello!
I'm going to buy myself a new RG Prestige.
The only question that remains which body wood it should have.
There are the RG 3120 with mahagoni and a maple top and the Rg 1820 with a basswood body.
I know that most of the signature models have a basswood body. And the sound of JEMs and the Paul Gilbert is what I like.
Of course I would change the RG's Pickups into Breed's or PAF Pro's or whatever.
What would you recommend?
Thanks,
Marko

King Knall · #2 01-18-2006, 10:13 AM

It's all based on preference, but if you're going something closer to a Vai/Gilbert style, I would suggest Basswood. Mahogany will have a darker and warmer tone, whereas Basswood usually lends itself for a smooth lead tone. Why don't you test out guitars with similar woods? That way you can hear the tonal difference for yourself.

Marko@Rockvoice · #3 01-18-2006, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamikaze_1

Why don't you test out guitars with similar woods? That way you can hear the tonal difference for yourself.

Yeah, of course. But I am a bit confused by the results:
I tested an RG 320 with basswood body and DiMarzio breeds vs. the JEM 7 DBK, which also has a basswood body and DiMarzio Breeds.
Both sounded extremely different. The JEM sounds great and the RG sounds awful, although it has exactly the same specifications...
In contrast to that I know the sound of the RG3120 Prestige, which has a mahagoni body, but in combination with the DiMarzios it also sounds great...
I am a bit afraid of buing a RG Prestig basswood guitar, cause it may sound like the Korean model 320. Or does Ibanez Japan use better woods?

_vaister_ · #4 01-18-2006, 03:11 PM

What about Ash.. have you tried ash? is the RGT220A made of swamp ash or regular ash?
Some say ash is too bright... is mahogany really "better" than ash or basswood?

Loopy · #5 01-18-2006, 03:16 PM

Hi Marko!

Why don't you buy a Jem at your favorite local music store?

;-)

lyconxero · #6 01-18-2006, 07:09 PM

The quality of the woods between the Prestige and the regular Ibanez guitars are completely different, so the sound is a LOT different. Also, a change of pickups can make a world of difference in the tone. Putting bright pickups with a darker-toned would like mahogany can help to even out the tone and vice versa.

_vaister_ · #7 01-18-2006, 07:39 PM

Are the ibanez dimarzio pickups bright ? the combination mahogany+ibzdimarzio tone even ?

Marko@Rockvoice · #8 01-19-2006, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loopy

Hi Marko!

Why don't you buy a Jem at your favorite local music store?

;-)

Hi and thanks... You forgot to mention one fact - I live in Germany! Local Musikstores, if they exist, don't have high-end guitars! Even the bigger ones don't. Lots of Korea-Models,...

Chud · #9 01-19-2006, 11:49 AM

I've got a Mahogany bodied RG321 (which is a hardtail, so that'll increase sustain), and i feel that it is more suited to rhythm work (riffs, etc rather then solo'ing). I also have an RG1550 which is a basswood prestige and i find that it works better for solo'ing but is also good for riffing because it's a versatile sound.

Out of the two it's hard to decide which i prefer. I'm sort of gravitating towards the RG321 at the moment, but that's probably because it's a new guitar and i prefer warmer tones.

technomancer · #10 01-19-2006, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marko@Rockvoice

Hi and thanks... You forgot to mention one fact - I live in Germany! Local Musikstores, if they exist, don't have high-end guitars! Even the bigger ones don't. Lots of Korea-Models,...

That's not just Germany, that's everywhere. We've got 2 Guitar Centers and a ton of mom and pop places here and there are still almost no Prestige models floating around. The GCs have a JEM VWH and a JS1000 each and a ton of the low end stuff, but no Prestige models.

Marko@Rockvoice · #11 01-19-2006, 03:55 PM

I've just heard that a mahagony-body guitar produces more mids.
Can one say that it is recommended to use a pickup that doesn't boost the mids for not getting a muddy sound?
In particular the standard bridge PU of the 3120 is the ToneZone, which has lots of mids...
Wouldn't it be better to use a Steve's Special, Evolution, Evo2 or something like that?

- confused -

Marko

lyconxero · #12 01-20-2006, 02:46 AM

I think it's all about personal preference as far as pickup selection goes. Some people like one kind of tone while someone else likes another. Also, I think that the RG321 could be a great lead and rhythm guitar with a simple pickup swap. The STOCK pickups do seem to lend themselves more so to rhythm than leadwork, but that really seems to be the only thing holding the guitar back. The body resonates very well and plays very easily.

JM5150 · #13 01-20-2006, 09:39 AM

So, what model pus would "brighten up" a 321 to be more of a "lead" instrument? EVOs, X2N?

rguser · #14 01-20-2006, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by technomancer

That's not just Germany, that's everywhere. We've got 2 Guitar Centers and a ton of mom and pop places here and there are still almost no Prestige models floating around. The GCs have a JEM VWH and a JS1000 each and a ton of the low end stuff, but no Prestige models.

piano n' stuff has lots of high end guitars just not ibanez high ends

but I saw an SA2020 two weeks ago.

technomancer · #15 01-20-2006, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rguser

piano n' stuff has lots of high end guitars just not ibanez high ends

but I saw an SA2020 two weeks ago.

Yeah, they do have some awesome stuff. I just wish I had made it in in time to play the EBMM Petrucci before they sold it. Anyways, that's enough thread hijacking