1986 RG530 Roadster II

gideond · #1 05-08-2012, 10:44 PM

Well it's my birthday soon and I was looking at a very interesting guitar on ebay. It's a 1986 RG530 Roadstar II in white/purple flame burst. I wasn't seriously considering it but a friend thought I was so he bought it for me as a gift. I think he paid too much at $365 but I won't complain.

Anyway, it's structurally sound and the finish on top is almost perfect. The headstock is fairly beat up. I'll know more when it gets here in a couple of weeks. Does anyone know how the neck on these compares to a Wizard or Wizards II? I've never played one of them. Also, it looks like an original Edge tremolo on it but from what I'm reading it could be a pre Edge trem. Any input on that?

I'm looking forward to fixing it up. I may sand the paint off the neck to get back to raw maple and tung oil it. I've never been fond of painted necks.

robbiano · #2 05-09-2012, 08:03 AM

Can't put my finger on it but there's something i like about that guitar... Dare I say it, that's a nice historical piece??

taracatac · #3 05-09-2012, 08:40 AM

That's an original edge. The neck is more rounded like a strat, but very thin. I have an '86 Roadstar II - RG410 that I have had since it was new. I love it.

gideond · #4 05-09-2012, 09:05 AM

I'm glad it really is an Edge trem. Easy enough to find parts for if it needs a new knife edge for example. Anyone know what kind of paint is on this? I'm assuming it's probably a lacquer, not an enamel. I'll need to do some paint touchups.

Fastmerc · #5 05-09-2012, 12:27 PM

Looks pretty sweet!

musikron · #6 05-09-2012, 09:32 PM

Please don't mutilate this awesome and rare guitar. LEAVE THE FINISH ALONE.

Swirltop · #7 05-09-2012, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musikron

Please don't mutilate this awesome and rare guitar. LEAVE THE FINISH ALONE.

Yup I'm with musikron... It looks beautiful the way it is dings and all. If you absolutely need a smoother neck you can use some very fine sandpaper like 1000-2000 grit and very lightly scuff up the back of the neck to get more of a satin feel that can still be buffed back to gloss if need be. Otherwise I wouldn't do anything else at all to it if it was mine

LonePhantom · #8 05-09-2012, 09:57 PM

Yeah, don't do anything to this guitar. It's a pretty neat time capsule, and I don't think I've seen a finish like that on them before. Just play it and enjoy.

gideond · #9 05-09-2012, 10:17 PM

I'll certainly try it before messing with it too much. I've never been able to stand a painted neck so far though, even when matted with steel wool or sandpaper. If it was worth more than it is I wouldn't touch it but if I find it needs some tweaking to make it more enjoyable to play I'm not really afraid to mess with it at this price point. I'm figuring on taking the back of the neck down to bare maple and tung oiling it if need be, but I intend to carefully sand the line into the headstock so the paint on both front and back of the headstock stays intact. My big concern is the pickups. I haven't found a stock Ibanez pickup I really like yet but I'm hoping these may surprise me. Unfortunately everything I read about the pickups say they are nothing special, like most other IBZ pups. Still, if I do end up swapping the pups I may attempt to swap the covers over to keep the original appearance.

I'll hold off any plans for it until I have it in hand and play it for a few weeks.

Hikey Mikey · #10 05-10-2012, 12:19 AM

Chips and all, that is a very cool guitar.

Peace

Mike

sniperfrommars1 · #11 05-10-2012, 01:04 AM

I debated buying this one for my girlfriend and i was like "ill check jemsite and see if one of my old friends bought this". I love the color and she was crazy about it. Its of course an original edge as someone stated, but if I recall correctly their isnt much in the way of a trem route so not alot of pullup range. Might be a good guitar to put a d-tuna on though if thats your thing. The necks on these arent bad at all, although I prefer an unpainted neck. Think a thinner strat profile.

gideond · #12 05-10-2012, 07:01 AM

I have an RG270DX which I believe is a Wizard II and I also have a 1993 Strat Plus. I'm comfortable with both necks so if this one falls somewhere in between it will be just fine for me. The paints the only thing that worries me, but I'll give a chance before doing anything drastic. In the end though it comes don't to how well it plays for me.

musikron · #13 05-10-2012, 10:40 AM

Don't be a dick, just buy a replacement neck, PLEASE DO NOT MUTILATE THIS GUITAR.

gideond · #14 05-10-2012, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musikron

Don't be a dick, just buy a replacement neck, PLEASE DO NOT MUTILATE THIS GUITAR.

I'm not being a dick. It's my guitar and I'll do with it what I feel comfortable doing. Like I said, I may just leave the neck alone. I'll know once I play it a while. The playablity of a guitar will always be more important to me than any vintage value. I don't intend to ever sell it.