RG550XXX Anniversary over priced and pointless??

[GuitarAkuma]

When I first saw that Ibanez were re-releasing the classic 550DY from the 80's I thought "cool! I used to have one of those". But when I saw the price I thought "hold on, I can buy the ORIGINAL in decent condition for £300-£400 why should I spend nearly £1000 ON THE SAME THING".

Big problem is they won't be worth more than £400 in a couple of years time anyway. There are lost of them turning up in unmentionable places on the internet here in the UK. And no one is buying, there is one now for £700 and its still way too much for an old RG.

Am I alone in this opinion? Should they have been priced around the RG1550 ish price (£400-£550)??

Are they REALLY worth having compared to the cheaper (and slightly battered) original??

[richard1973]

check out the thread i made a few days ago '20th RG550 ordered' scored it for £585 brand new, I could only get black, though they have option for RFR but none in stock of them. Bit of luck it'll be there when I get home from work.

Being limited it should help retain its value if kept in mint condition.

[RGR570]

^^^ I got the last RF . Just received my tracking info, ETA is Monday 20th.

£585 for a RG20th in RF, brand new, it's all goooood.

So, in response to the starter of this thread:

Overpriced? - Depends where you do your shopping. @ £849+ ,Yes. @ £585 definitely no.

Pointless? - Subjective really, I think lots of happy owners would disagree. I think the general consensus here amongst enthusiasts, would be a resounding 'thumbs up' to any Ibanez reissue.

[mike80sguy]

I have asked myself that many a time.

1) I could buy a decent one used for 400-600 euro.
2) I could buy an RG2550 new for 900 euro.
3) I could buy something non-ibanez (but lets not get into that right now).

For 1:
Yes I could. But its not new. Does it REALLY matter? Playwise, no. Colorwise; its damn hard to find DY and RFR. Overall state wise, depends on condition. BUT ITS NOT NEW. The added extra is that is limited. It may or may not influence prices that just a gamble youd have to take. \

2) Yes I could but it wouldnt make me happy. Since im an 80sfreak (hence the name) heavy metallic finishes, dome knobs and near black shiny hardware dont make me tick. The Neons rule

Hell yea they aint cheap. But this time I wanna buy a guitar using my balls' insticts. My balls tell me that this guitar rocks. My balls usually dont lie to me.

Then my gut tells me that the 20th looks really cool. My ears say that the pups in my DT series sound good and those happen to be installed in the 20th too. My DT is equipped with the edge trem which obviously is one of the best.

Then I started thinking what you are.
2 weeks later I still didnt know what to do.

Today I said: screw it im ordering this neon monster. It suits me, it suits my music. And moreover, for once in my life I wanna go into a store and buy a brand new guitar. Im sick of driving all over the country to check out guitars that other people beat up before me. And this is the only kick ass, 80s rock.metal guitar that money can buy. And for that you also get a case, some other junk youll never use (but still cool) and a receipt.

But yes, they should have been cheaper

[RGR570]

You just can't beat that 'new guitar smell' when you open the case

[richard1973]

Originally Posted by RGR570

^^^ I got the last RF . Just received my tracking info, ETA is Monday 20th.

£585 for a RG20th in RF, brand new, it's all goooood.

So, in response to the starter of this thread:

Overpriced? - Depends where you do your shopping. @ £849+ ,Yes. @ £585 definitely no.

Pointless? - Subjective really, I think lots of happy owners would disagree. I think the general consensus here amongst enthusiasts, would be a resounding 'thumbs up' to any Ibanez reissue.

Did you order after me? if so I'm gonna cry, I'd prefer the RFR but figured the website hadn't updated and I thought knowing my luck I'd put an order in then a week later I'd get an email saying 'sorry we no longer can get hold of the reds' and then i'd try and go for the black to which point they'd probably be out of stock. So I thought 'best go for the black'.

[RGR570]

Originally Posted by richard1973

Did you order after me? if so I'm gonna cry, I'd prefer the RFR but figured the website hadn't updated and I thought knowing my luck I'd put an order in then a week later I'd get an email saying 'sorry we no longer can get hold of the reds' and then i'd try and go for the black to which point they'd probably be out of stock. So I thought 'best go for the black'.

No mate, I pre-ordered it last Wednesday, as I was waiting for funds to clear in my bank. I spoke to the guy and explained to him the situation, and kindly he reserved the last RF for me. As soon as we'd spoken, the 'In Stock' icon was removed from the RF. Very helpful guy and spoke perfect English too, which made it very easy to sort out.

[richard1973]

ah thats cool then, i thought you may have used the link i put up. Not that it matters, i like the black anyway but RFR and DY are pretty striking and look great, the DY and RFR are more rare too what with the ratio being 1/4 DY, 1/4 RFR and 2/4 black so again that would of been nicer too (for a future selling point if I do do that).

I just know i'll get home and see the dreaded card saying 'no one was home, please pick up at the depot that is miles away and you have no car' grr hope its gone to my neighbours!

Anyway here's to our orders 'k-ching' bargain find price wise

[dickieboy]

sure, the rg20th is over priced, but i think they're worth it.. and i think they'll retain a good price due to the limited numbers .. like all limited jems etc do, i love mine, and i'm confident the majority of owners if not all love theirs too!! its a case of what floats ya boat.. and what you like spending ya dosh on..

[Minimum Bob]

Originally Posted by GuitarAkuma

When I first saw that Ibanez were re-releasing the classic 550DY from the 80's I thought "cool! I used to have one of those". But when I saw the price I thought "hold on, I can buy the ORIGINAL in decent condition for £300-£400 why should I spend nearly £1000 ON THE SAME THING".

Big problem is they won't be worth more than £400 in a couple of years time anyway. There are lost of them turning up in unmentionable places on the internet here in the UK. And no one is buying, there is one now for £700 and its still way too much for an old RG.

Am I alone in this opinion? Should they have been priced around the RG1550 ish price (£400-£550)??

Are they REALLY worth having compared to the cheaper (and slightly battered) original??

Depends if you're OK with used items and how much you like the guitar.

Me? I hate used stuff (think of all those times the previous owners have put their left hand down their pants to scratch their backsides in-between songs at rehearsal). And the RG550 with original profile maple-boarded neck is the *only* guitar I feel comfortable with.

So yes, they're worth it. To me.
If they're not worth it to you, don't buy one. Easy, really.


Oh. And who cares what they'll be worth in a few years' time? I'm getting buried with mine.

[Minimum Bob]

Originally Posted by RGR570

^^^ I got the last RF . Just received my tracking info, ETA is Monday 20th.

Sweet.

[richard1973]

If anyone is having difficulty trying to find a DY (me), its Bob's fault

Grrr

lol

[courtney2018]

I didn't read ever reply in here, but I'll comment with this. For me it was well worth the price I paid, and I bought 3 of them too - 2 DSY, and 1 RFR. I'm tempted to buy a black one and do a custom paint job on it.

For me it's the neck. You can't get a 5 peice neck that's an original wizard on a brand new guitar for less than what these are selling for. I'm also getting the original wizard and some cool factory colors to boot. I'm also a huge fan of the original Edge trem. My first real guitar was a '91 Ibanez 570. These are the specs that I grew up on, learned on and prefer the most.

I've got several other Ibanez guitars with different shape necks. I can easily play them all and don't mind the different neck shapes, different trems, etc., but to get the original deal brand new with Prestige style quality and craftsmanship, the price is well worth it.

I think that the reason they're not selling on the bay as well is because you've got a select few that really enjoy this kind of guitar. There are only so many of us in their late 20's to late 30's that liked this guitar when it came out 20 years ago. However, I think that in 20 years from now if you've got one of these guitars still in good condition you're going to see them going for maybe double, if not more, than what they cost right now.

[richard1973]

what are your plans for the black one?

[Schutzfaktor12]

In Germany there aren´t so many used NEON RGs around, and my RG550MXX was only 100 Euros more than a RG1570 or something comparable...

so, considering it´s an anniversary model, somewhat limited, and comes with a few goodies such as color-matched case, I actually don´t think it´s overpriced.

Bad thing is, I actually play that guitar, so I don´t know if I will be able to cash in on a then battered guitar 20 years from now