Just bought a new RG520!!! Opinions here.

Vai God · #1 06-30-2002, 11:13 PM

Hey guys, I just bought a new transparent blue RG520QS!!! Hell yeah! I'm really excited for it to come

...Anyway,who plays one of these things? Could you state some of your opinions of this? I think I'll definitely like the sound of the stock pu's(especially when I get that new tube amp

),but I might end up changing em out for the JPM pu's. Anyway guys, any opinions would be appreciated. Later.

musicdr · #2 06-30-2002, 11:33 PM

I got 3 of them,love the mahogony.Tz in one,evo's in the others.Great guitars.You will like.

Vai God · #3 06-30-2002, 11:39 PM

I just posted in another thread about your RG520 lol. Did you like the stock pu's in it before you put the DiMarzio in it? So, you like this more than a JEM,eh? Sweetness...I'm quite excited to get this,then start to build my kick arse rig

!

musicdr · #4 06-30-2002, 11:59 PM

The stocks were not bad sounding.I am just used to the extra kick the dz give my triaxis.I just picked up a rg3120 in red.I am very impressed with this guitar also.I am real into mahogony lately.

germX · #5 07-01-2002, 06:58 AM

mahagony inclined? count me in

however, my current fav squeeze is my S540, that slick body simply kills!! haven't found a mahagony RG that i like- yet...

ChrisReedSmith · #6 07-01-2002, 08:49 AM

Ibanez NEEDS (and I mean wow needs) more mahogany bodied RGs. Especially a nice mid-range fixed bridge with full binding and baritone scale....hehehe I need a few of those!!

Just so I add something to the topic, the 520 , must be a nice guitar. Never played it before...But you know how I feel about RGs and.....mahogany...Ooo....

Vai God · #7 07-01-2002, 03:17 PM

I also think it has to be a real nice guitar. I mean, it has the super shredable Wizard neck,best trem bridge in the world(side by side with the lo pro), looks, and sound to match! I'm totally digging this guitar!!!

RGN · #8 07-01-2002, 03:31 PM

For the money this is one of the best guitars period. A tremendous bargin. Musicians Friend is running these for $499 now! I have nicer guitars (ESP custom shop, Jem 7VWH, Charvels, etc..) but still use this one about 30% of the time. Mine is wired really cool. It can sound like a tele, strat or really anything. I wanted this guitar to be flexible.

In the bridge it has Duncan Custom Custom and in the neck a Alinco Pro II. I never tried the stock picups. It has a three position switch versus the stock 5 (my guitar tech's idea) because I only use three positions anyway. Both the volume and tone are pull-pots. When I pull-up the volume it lowers the output to sound like the coils are split- with this I can get a really cool strat tone or push in the pot to get that classic humbucker sound. The coils aren't really split so I don't get noise. When I pull up on the tone pot my pickups go out of phase with each other. Sounds cool for some things but I don't really use it that much. I like the guitar's neck and looks. I hear people say RG's don't stay in tune that well
when gigging and rehersing. This guitar lived in a studio for two years and was subject to some pretty heavy use and I never experienced any tuning problems.

Drew · #9 07-01-2002, 05:42 PM

Used to own one... Pretty guitar, the only electric i've ever owned that my dad thought was attractive. Top wasn't all i hoped it'd be, though (an ibanez quilt, especially a comparatively cheap one, isn't going to be as pronounced as a PRS 10-top, for instance, and the stain was a little dark to properly show it off), and i found the Wizard neck a little too thin for my hands (it was screwing up my wrist), so when i got a shot at a 7620 at a good price, i let it go. I still go back to the store i sold it to every once and a while and play it, although it always makes me want to cry- i'd chipped the finish quite a bit in the few months i'd owned it, but there's no excuse for the amount of additional abuse it's gone through since i sold it to them- there's a few more chips on the back,. the neck is filthy (as are the strings), and there's scratches all over the top. Not to mention a horrific setup (the bridge went back into thje body quite a bit- the dude who set it up saw the bridge was starting to rise, so he simply popped another spring in the back. I wanted to shoot him, because it played damned well when i sold it.)... I even offered to re-set it up for free, but they didn't let me.

And the kicker is, they're still asking $450. *shakes head* Hell of a player, but that guitar is trashed, cosmetically... I'd offer them two hundred tops, and then get it professionally refinished.

-Drew

germX · #10 07-01-2002, 11:10 PM

i second the proposal for the 3-way switch. some of us simply has no use for a split tone, IMO, the best single coil tone comes from a single coil equipped guitar- the reason why i bought a fender. BUT ibanez is still top on my list... anyway, the current RG620 is dual humbuckered & has a 3-way switch.

**jemsite** · #11 07-01-2002, 11:12 PM

the 520 is a great bang for the buck. i recommend leaving the 5-way, unless you prefer a more limited sounding guitar. pickups are a personal thing, so choose whatever ones you like if the stock PUs are insufficient

...glen

Vai God · #12 07-01-2002, 11:20 PM

I'm so happy to see positive opinions of this guitar! I'm still looking towards replacing the pu's with the JPM setup, but am still excited to hear the stock ones

Rich · #13 07-01-2002, 11:23 PM

It was always my pick as best bang, then they raised the price. But now that they're on blowout they're a no brainer as best best bang for buck

Rich · #14 07-01-2002, 11:24 PM

BTW Glen, you been slackin, check the post count

**jemsite** · #15 07-01-2002, 11:27 PM

hehe... i saw that... gotta get my fingers moving