Looking for a player's guitar, thoughts on a RT?

[austintx05]

New to the site and I need some direction.

When I was younger, I lived with my parents and I had a job at a local Guitar Center. I bought and sold a lot of gear. I went through a vwh back when they had ebony boards, had a mystic jpm6, prestige 1570, and I finally settled in on a EB JPM6 Lava Pearl w/piezo and a Nomad 212 with burgandy vinyl. That was my rig. I played in various bands and did a lot of open mic nights for fun.

I came upon some troubled time and had to part ways with my rig. So now I am playing on a Brantley guitar that my brother has left with me and it is time to get a new rig.

I live on my own now and money is a bit tighter. I used ot have the freedom to throw down $1500-$2000 on equipment at a time, but I cannot afford that for now. Sucks I know, but that is my situation.

I remember jammin on an old Ibanez RT model and it played pretty well. I have seen some go on **** in the $250's-$300 range and that would definitely fit my budget. I see a RT 650 currently on ****, but I wanted to get some feedback form the posters here and hopefully from those who own/have owned one.

What I am looking for in a guitar, alder body, maple unfinished neck, wilkinson style bridge will suffice(used to be big on floyd/edge, but I don't need to have them),prefer rosewood board, sperzel locking tuners...

sperzel's and such I know would be an upgrade, but I thought the RT fit m specs thus far.

My music influences are Metallica, Satriani, DT, Petrucci, Vai, Timmons, Gilbert, E Johnson...

Hope to meet some friends here and get some help on my new gear search!

Thanks.

Also, I will be going to the Dallas Guitar Show to see Timmons again( I saw him and Gary Hoey perform at the Grenada last night ) so any insight/direction that might be helpful while attending the guitar show would be great!

[rty13ibz98]

the rt series is just plain awesome. i own 2 currently. an rt650 and a project rt150 for a beater. i used to have a blue rt650, but the one i currently have is red...with andy timmons sig. on the headstock. mine is loaded with duncans, stag mag in the neck, vintage staggered middle, and custom bidge. with the coil tap factory on this guitar, the stag mag gets awesome strat tones and the custom does anything you ask it to. it is just amazing, even the trem on it works great, not that it will act like a lo-pro, but will give you dives, scoops, vibrato, and flutters if properly setup. the magnum locks definitely assist in this, although they are a pain. i can't recommend this guitar more. especially since they are pretty rare.

rich

[austintx05]

Originally Posted by rty13ibz98

the rt series is just plain awesome. i own 2 currently. an rt650 and a project rt150 for a beater. i used to have a blue rt650, but the one i currently have is red...with andy timmons sig. on the headstock. mine is loaded with duncans, stag mag in the neck, vintage staggered middle, and custom bidge. with the coil tap factory on this guitar, the stag mag gets awesome strat tones and the custom does anything you ask it to. it is just amazing, even the trem on it works great, not that it will act like a lo-pro, but will give you dives, scoops, vibrato, and flutters if properly setup. the magnum locks definitely assist in this, although they are a pain. i can't recommend this guitar more. especially since they are pretty rare.

rich

thanks for the responses bro. I'm gonna keep my eye out at the guitar show for one...

[rastachild]

hey man, i was at the andy show too! he was awesome as usual.

dude, the rt series is one of many hidden jewels in the history of the ibanez line. only offered for one year i believe (92), they came in 3 model numbers: rt650, rt450 & rt150. i think all 3 models were made in japan (the 450 & 650 for sure though). the 650 was of course the top of the line, with it's crushed pearl pickguard, bound neck and body and faux flame maple veneer. it's a beautiful guitar and i've owned about 4 of those at one point. the 450 supposedly has the same neck and electronics, but without the binding, faux veneer and with a leopard style pickguard. but honestly, i've found the necks on the 450 and 650 feel completely different. they both have about the same thickness, but the 650 neck seems a tad wider and the radius is definitely flatter. the 450 neck feels a lot like my js neck, which is why i prefer the 450s. my best friend on the other hand prefers the 650s. one other thing i've noticed, even though the pickups are supposedly the same on the 450s & 650s, the 650s sound noticeably hotter. i had heard that ibanez had many different versions of the v8s & v7s, so maybe this accounts for it, but my friend's stock 650 screams.

anyway, i've got about 7 rt450s, most with different pickup configurations. i've found them to be amazing players and very consistent from guitar to guitar. you may want to switch the locking tuners out to something with a better ratio (i have sperzels on one of mine and it never goes out of tune).

[DaniJem]

I had 3 RT650.... now, only one.

for me this guitar isn't big cuality but looks cool. and I dont like the small frets (many buzz on them. i must to fix that ). the sound is good. the flame maple top is a 'photo', no true maple. body is alder. viper neck. 42mm nut. bad electronics.

cheers.

[austintx05]

thanks for the info guys. Man I think a RT650 would be a solid guitar, but I was looking at my old pics of my lava pearl ebjmp6 and damn, I really miss that guitar....

[austintx05]

lookin over these old photos, it makes me wanna save up and get a jem or my old jpm.....damn gear costs so much!!

[austintx05]

how low wil the action go on these RT'S?

I prefer low action, lower than factory. 12th fret I had 1/32 of an inch on my old ebjpm. Can I get that close?

[rty13ibz98]

Originally Posted by rastachild

hey man, i was at the andy show too! he was awesome as usual.

dude, the rt series is one of many hidden jewels in the history of the ibanez line. only offered for one year i believe (92), they came in 3 model numbers: rt650, rt450 & rt150. i think all 3 models were made in japan (the 450 & 650 for sure though). the 650 was of course the top of the line, with it's crushed pearl pickguard, bound neck and body and faux flame maple veneer. it's a beautiful guitar and i've owned about 4 of those at one point. the 450 supposedly has the same neck and electronics, but without the binding, faux veneer and with a leopard style pickguard. but honestly, i've found the necks on the 450 and 650 feel completely different. they both have about the same thickness, but the 650 neck seems a tad wider and the radius is definitely flatter. the 450 neck feels a lot like my js neck, which is why i prefer the 450s. my best friend on the other hand prefers the 650s. one other thing i've noticed, even though the pickups are supposedly the same on the 450s & 650s, the 650s sound noticeably hotter. i had heard that ibanez had many different versions of the v8s & v7s, so maybe this accounts for it, but my friend's stock 650 screams.

anyway, i've got about 7 rt450s, most with different pickup configurations. i've found them to be amazing players and very consistent from guitar to guitar. you may want to switch the locking tuners out to something with a better ratio (i have sperzels on one of mine and it never goes out of tune).

all rt's are japanese. my rt150 is japanese. the rt650 is the crown jewel, tho. i remember playing an rt450 and 452 in a store and they were very strat like. can't remember if they were like the 2 650's i have own/ed. the rt150 is a similar neck, but slinkier due to the lack of binding and the lacquer being worn down. i have replaced the tuners on my 150 with schaller locking that retrofit the gotohs perfectly. that and it has graphtech saddles. when i finish the refin, i hope it kills. still at odds with pickup selection, tho.

rich