RG550.....Frankenstrat-style (not talking about the paintjob though)

[failsafe306]

Well, I got bored today, and did this:





It's kinda weird, I started off with just wanting to change pickups. Then, somehow it turned into what you see above, lol. I just thought it would be cool if they were mounted to the body instead of a flimsy pickguard, and then I had a brainstorm: FRANKEN-RG BABY!!

So, I went to work on the pickguard, installed the Quantum's that had been sitting in my tool box for years, and strung it up. First impression is....I def like this sound much better than the 18v EMG's I had in it before. Also, it's pretty unique; I've never seen an RG with QM's in them (not saying it's never been done, just that I've never seen it myself). I bet there's no other Ibanez's like mine! Haha.

Flame away!!!!

[CosmicDebris]

No flame m8. To Each His Own.

[Chritar]

i actually think it looks cool, it has a theme that works. right on

[jono]

Originally Posted by failsafe306

Also, it's pretty unique; I've never seen an RG with QM's in them (not saying it's never been done, just that I've never seen it myself). I bet there's no other Ibanez's like mine! Haha.

Flame away!!!!

Well I hope that the damage wasn't intentionally done but rather the result of years of hard gigs

And the QM's were a regular feature on higher end RGs in Europe in the mid 90s such as the RG670DX which also had them direct mounted

[Stygian]

I've noticed the relic look is really popular, but I don't see the appeal in it enough to do it to one of my guitars. I'm too vain for it. Let me just say, you make me feel really good right now about my beater RG560. I bought it at pawn shop a few years ago, and I've done tons to it. Changed all the pickups, removed the neck finish down to the bare wood, spray painted the tuners black. Hell, just tonight I spent hours trying to polish the finish to gloss black again. It's got plenty of dings (basswood is soft I hear?) and nicks along the edges, but posts about relic looking guitars always make me admire it again. How much of that wear did it have before you wreaked havoc?

Edit: Just noticed in the title, you didn't do anything to the paint, just pickguard. The rest is natural wear? Awesome, I have a fondness for that much more than a relic anyday!

[failsafe306]

Originally Posted by jono

Well I hope that the damage wasn't intentionally done but rather the result of years of hard gigs

Hahaha, I bought it "pre-relic'd" from a pawn shop 3 years ago for less than $200. It's an '87 model, so I'd imagine it's seen some pretty crazy gigs in it's day. I'd never intentionally deface a guitar. But on the other hand, if a scratch or ding happens, I could really care less. I like a guitar that has that "well-played" look.

Originally Posted by jono

And the QM's were a regular feature on higher end RGs in Europe in the mid 90s such as the RG670DX which also had them direct mounted

Oh cool, I thought that they mostly came in the S series guitars.

[failsafe306]

Originally Posted by Stygian

Edit: Just noticed in the title, you didn't do anything to the paint, just pickguard. The rest is natural wear? Awesome, I have a fondness for that much more than a relic anyday!

Would you believe that with all that abuse (literally chunks of wood missing in places) that there are still ZERO cracks around the nut or the neck joint?!