buy Rg320 or not to buy Rg320

pace520 · #1 11-10-2002, 02:57 PM

i was thinking of buying a new guitar.Rg 320.
. but then i found these pages! many people here say
that Lo-Trs II is a crap! should i buy a 550 model or a better?
i have already saved some money and i would need it pretty quick
´cos i must play something in my school at christmas.
Should i save 200$ more to get edge model and play with my
old crap yamaha? I live in finland and here is pretty expensive!
Rg 320 is 550$ and Rg 550 is 750$!
What should i do?

spacenuke · #2 11-10-2002, 03:29 PM

save up the extra money for at 5XX, you'll be a lot happier.

Since you already have what you call an old crap yamaha, you don't need an old crap ibanez as well.

have you considered getting a used 5XX? It might cost around the same as a new 3XX.

Knightmeir · #3 11-10-2002, 03:57 PM

I have a 320 and it sucks. I haven't played it in about 3 years. I'd be lucky if I could get $200 for it. Save some money and get something better : )

BZ Beetle · #4 11-13-2002, 12:48 AM

knight, may I ask exactly what you dislike about the guitar? in a little more detail please

im just curious as to why people like or dislike things.

Globbits · #5 11-13-2002, 11:00 AM

I quite like mine, though i can see whats wrong with it.

RG320- powersound pickups. muddy and ill-defined
RG550- V7/S1/V8 pickups. Tight and well defined.
RG320- Lo-TRS II. A good trem, works pretty well for divebombs, only
about a 1 1/2 tone pull up and goes a bit out of tune.
RG550- Edge trem. After you play this, you'll hate any guitar with a
Lo-TRS. Keeps the guitar completely in tune, makes articulation a
dream.
Basically, aside from these major differences (which are much more serious than the difference in cost) it's just a general difference in build quality and standard.

hyesac · #6 11-20-2002, 11:02 PM

Dude in all honesty, save the money and get the RGxxx, i'm telling you i have a RG320QS and it is terrible, pickups are crap, trem is always out of tune, input jack is always loose, pots are crap too sound always shorting out, tuning machines paint came off, i am so glad i got my trusty RG570, i have only had to tune it once in a month, which is great considering how i shred the guitar constently. Totally worth the money im serious!

Knightmeir · #7 11-21-2002, 11:39 AM

Sorry for the delay:

Pickups = yucky
Feels like I'm playing a bat. Horrid Trem. Poorly made (in my opinion). I don't play it and it still formed cracks in the neck pockets, BOTH of them.
It's not the worst guitar in the world, and maybe I'm spoiled because of my Jems and UVMC, and even my strat... Overall I just don't like it.

Globbits · #8 11-21-2002, 12:39 PM

Just sold mine for £250. That's much more than it's worth. Am upgrading to a jem555/rg550 and am very glad. If you do likewise your fingers and ears will thank you many times in the years ahead.

stratman219 · #9 04-29-2003, 11:45 PM

i don't understand a lot of crap people say. it's like any cheaper guitar is crap. i have a friend who loves his rg 320DX(but he also put emgs in it)

i'm sorry, but it makes me mad that the way it is is that you have to spend a lot of money for a nice guitar. come on, can a guitar really get that nice? and there a lot of people that say the trs trems stay in tune just fine. not as good as the edge or OFR, but it works. and the pickups are bad. ever hear of EQs on your amp? unless its muddy, thats a different story as with cleans

and there are a lot of people who say the neck is so crappy and blah blah blah. i'm sure there are a lot of people who like the wizard II more than the wizard. i'm not directing this towards anybody, but there are a lot of people who think that you need to spend money on something good. like squiers are pretty good guitar(except pickups) especially for the price. one of my friends spent 1500 on a pc1 and gives me crap cause my rg570 was 400 and his is so much better than mine. i love my guitar. and my other friend has an rg 320DX and he is god on guitar. he has a les paul, couple bc riches, a kramer, and a shecter and he likes the ibanez the most and i think its one of the cheapest guitars he owns. and it has no flaws anywhere on it and it is just as good quality as my rg570.

i guess the point of this is not to listen to anybody when going to buy something. everything is opinion and there are certain guitars that have flaws in them. even prestige guitar i'm sure do. look at all the recent edges, none of them even work and i bet the trs stays in tune better than that. so don't think of price as a deciding factor(besides being able to afford it) when buying a guitar.

and think about this when comparing a 2000 and 400 dollar guitar. is the neck thats a little more comfortable really wroth 1600 more dollars? is that flamed top worth that much? or the trem that works a tad bit better?
in my opinion, the answer is no. i'll never spend over 1000 dollars on a guitar....

frankfalbo · #10 04-30-2003, 12:21 AM

I agree that in art, you use what you like, and what you can afford. But there's a basis for the comments that you have missed. The factories that build these guitars are very different. Things you think of as "quality issues" aren't always really the source of the problem. Just because a guitar plays and sounds great and stays in tune doesn't mean it IS great.

The Japanese guitars are superior to the Korean ones. With Taiwan, Indonesia, and China behind them. It's not an opinion, it can be shown in statistics, like measurement tolerances, number of warrantee claims, quality level of wood purchased wholesale, fret hardness, etc. The arrogance you see is birthed out of that fact. And some people are just that way. They have to have a $1500 guitar. Some people want to find something to make them feel better about themselves. But their behavior doesn't make it less true. The alloys are crap on the trs bridges, and everyone admits it. Korean guitars will need refrets sooner, the knife edges on the trems will wear out faster, the softer lock nut material is more prone to stripping, etc. The wizard II is thicker because Korea can't make a neck that thin without major problems and/or exposing the truss rod channel. The Korean stuff has gotten so good, that it is a really close 2nd to the Japanese stuff. The new Korean trems are made in Korea, but the molds were made in Japan, and the new trems are very, very good. The TRS problem is dead. But spending more money doesn't mean anything, because guess what? Those Brian Moore guitars for $1100 and up are made in Korea! I about peed my pants. Where do they get off charging that much?! I'm not saying they are bad, but I know how much a guitar like that comes in for off the boat. And lots of expensive American guitars are worse than Korean ones. So you're right, but you can't ignore the truths of it either.

Petie · #11 04-30-2003, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Globbits

I quite like mine, though i can see whats wrong with it.

RG320- powersound pickups. muddy and ill-defined
RG320- Lo-TRS II. A good trem, works pretty well for divebombs, only
about a 1 1/2 tone pull up and goes a bit out of tune.
Basically, aside from these major differences (which are much more serious than the difference in cost) it's just a general difference in build quality and standard.

I like the Powersound pickups for what they are (cheapies on a cheap guitar), but I concede my amp is particularly ballsy and doesn't have a lot of mushy low mids.
I got a 320 on the weekend to beat up and Jemify, and I can go up two and a half steps on the g string with the trem set at the usual angle. I think the big problem with Korean stuff is it's inconsistent from one example to the next. One guitar may be quite good, while the one next to it on the shelf can be a complete turkey.

germX · #12 04-30-2003, 01:08 AM

maybe it'll be more prudent to get the RG320, 2003 version. it's not a TRS in there & maybe you'll like it from the start...

Petie · #13 04-30-2003, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by germX

maybe it'll be more prudent to get the RG320, 2003 version. it's not a TRS in there & maybe you'll like it from the start...

Good call.

little wing · #14 04-30-2003, 07:08 AM

Men get the RG5xx's. You'll love them. Like the rest, TRS II's might be making you upset a little..
I agree with petie men, better get the 2003 model if you want one.
All the best in making your choice.

DirtyBird31 · #15 04-30-2003, 10:46 PM

I got a 470, love the guitar, but the TRS has made it practically useless until I get my Edge for it later this week. (If you really want to know what happened, do a search on my posts or pm me)

But the honest truth is the 570 is a BARGAIN for the amount of guitar you get. $500 guitars are pretty much MID LEVEL and a RG570's are some of the most solid guitars out there. I dont know of many other brands that put out a product that nice at that price point. And you can get em for $250 used. It's great...

That said, I still cant justify spending $500 on a guitar, and got a 470 on sale for $300, and ended up paying $150 to get an Edge for it, and after routing will destroy the value of the 470 (or maybe not... hmm). But in the end Im only paying NORMAL retail price for it since it was on sale! But still...

Trust me, the 570 is worth it. Hard to find a better mid line guitar than an Ibanez.

Of course some may disagree with me, but that's my opinion.