My RG4EXQM1 experience

[alkoz]

Hi All,

This post is sort of an intro, too. I'm a longtime player who had Ibanezs back in the 80's. Lately, I've been playing parts guitars. I saved up some money to get a new guitar.

I did some research online, and decided I was going to get a Blackberry S420. It looked nice for $500. I went to a local Guitar Center to see if they had one,,,,they did not. But they did have a new RG4EXQM1 in Blackberry that looked sweet. They only wanted $338 for it. The setup was horrible, but I'm familar with setting up a Floyd trem and decided to buy it and take it home to set up.

I did a rough setup by lowering the bridge and setting up the spring tension with my normal strings. It played decent, but I like my action a bit lower and the trem stability wasn't coming back perfectly in tune. I then shimmed the neck and sanded the nut ledge down to get to my normal action. The guitar played like butter, but the trem still wasn't coming back in tune. I then sanded smooth the studs and checked the pivot points on the trem. They were a bit rough so I filed them smooth. I lubed the studs and reassembled. It was much better, but not perfect.

Then I started reading the Jemsite and gathered a lot of info about Ibanez trems. It seems the Edge 3 gives a lot of problems to people. Even though it's returning to pitch "ok" right now, I fear that I'm always going to be tweaking it to stay in tune.


I'm probably going to return it to GC and upgrade. I'll probably get the S420(any opinions??) or save up for an RG3XXV 25th aniversary model. It would be the PERFECT guitar for me.

Any opinions??

thanks,

Al

[fly_with_v]

The S420 has the ZR bridge. It is very stable but also is a bit stiffer in feel. Sabers are my favorite guitars by far. My first was a S570 which is very similar to the S420. I really like it.... then I bought a 91 S540 and realized that it is just a better guitar all around; better wood, better trem (Edge Lo-Pro), better pickups, better neck, and almost just as stable. The trem is the normal Floyd Rose type that is very high quality. The guitar is 21 years old and as stable as any Floyd type trem can be. I also feel the sound is a bit thicker and sustain and resonance is better. They can be found in excellent condition for about the same price. Just search a bit. I have bought three of them (91, 92, 97) and they are my main players. I still play the S570 but have replace the neck and pickups. Although I have changed most of the pickups is the other Sabers the stock pickup are very good, especially the Ibz/USA F2.

The Edge three and Edge LO-TRS are considered the weak link in Ibanez trems, so if you are going to use the trem you might want something else. I had an Edge III and it did OK, but was never really that stable, so I returned the guitar.

The difference between the RG and S is relatively big. I am not a big RG fan, but I have had a few. They just aren't for me. The S body is different then anything else and you will need to try it. Standing up the S is great, sitting the RG is a bit more stable becuase of the wider design, but the S is fine sitting for me. The RG's are mostly basswood, the S is mahogany. I feel the S is a bit thicker in tone. I have many Les Paul's and so the S is more along that line of tone, however because it is so thin and is 25.5 scale so it still fits in the super strat category and can be thin and provide a great Strat(ish) tone.

Hope this helps and do not be afraid to look and both late 80's and 90's RGS and Sabers. You will not regret it for the money you have budgeted.

[alkoz]

FWV, thanks for taking the time to give the info. But,,,,,,,you're gonna kill me. I went with a non-Ibanez guitar. I went back to GC and returned the RG3EX without any problems. There was an ESP/LTD there that I also liked and it was $40 cheaper so I figured I would make the trade and have some cash to get strings and stuff.

The salesguy tells me there's an issue with the marked price of the LTD. The system showed it at $70 less than the marked price so he gave it to me for the lower price. I used the cash to get a new Tone Zone.

thanks again,

Al

[ironfistx]

So what'd you end up getting?

[alkoz]

I ended up getting an ESP/LTD 100FM. It has two humbuckers, red flame maple top body and headstock, Floyd Rose Special. It's not a bad guitar. I ended up walking out the door with a $229 guitar that I really like.


I'm still going to save up for the S420 or the RG3XXV reissue.