RG570's--are some made of mahogany? - Question du jour

[bduersch]

While auction-surfing today (as I'm often prone to do during my lunch break), I noticed that someone is selling a mahogany-bodied RG-570. I always assumed that all 570's were made of basswood.

Anyway, the question is, are come 570's made out of basswood and others made out of mahogany? Is there any easy way to tell?

I'm curious because I bought an older 570 last week and assumed it would be made out of basswood. I have yet to actually get my mitts on the guitar. If it helps any at all, here are pics:





The type of wood will largely determine what pickups I put into the guitar, assuming that the stock Ibanez pickups won't give me that special feeling. Regardless of what type of wood it is, I'm pretty stoked to have a 570 with a lo-pro, AANJ, and direct-mount pickups.

Thanks,
--Brent

[Noodles]

I thought they were all basswood to but maybe that one was offered for a limited time or it's a cutom project. I'm sure someone else could tell you more. Nice guitar though.

(Edited by Noodles at 5:10 pm on Dec. 26, 2000)

[jono]

That looks to me, like a RG570 CTAM, that would make it a gravure Maple top on an alder body with a pau ferro fingerboard.



(Edited by jono at 12:34 pm on Dec. 26, 2000)

[bduersch]

Anybody know anything else about the 570 CTAM? I've never even heard of it before (but it must be cool, since it has four letters after the model number...)

--Brent

[Doink]

The CT's were made in 94 and 95. They had alder bodies with a fake picture flame top. AM is just the color code, the other one was a TB, transparent blue. I have one of each. I've got a DiMarzio SD 100 Super Distortion in the brigdge of my 94 AM and I still have the stock V8 in the bridge of my 95 TB. Stock pickups are usually just fine for me in the neck and middle. The former owner of my 95 TB put a DiMarzio of some kind in the neck. I'm not sure which model it is, but I measured the impedance with my DMM. I don't have the results handy though. It didn't match up to any of the pickup specs on the DiMarzio website. I eventually want to try a Tone Zone in the bridge of my 95. And if it makes a difference, the AM top looks much more believable than the TB top. In fact, until a thread popped up about a year ago, I though my AM top was real. The TB top, however, is obviously fake. I'm actually going to strip the TB down and give it a dark natural stain. It's got really nice grain.

Is pau ferro a relative of rosewood? My two fretboards look very similar to rosewood.

[bduersch]

Thanks, Jono & Doink (sounds like a crimefighting duo from a bad action film...)

I knew I'd be expecting a lot for it to be a 1/4" slab of flamed maple on the front, but I'm glad to hear that the CT finish is relatively convincing. And it'll be pretty cool to have another alder-bodied axe around the house, too.

Doink--how do you like the super distortion in the CT?

For the record, my USA custom has a Tone Zone direct-mounted in an alder body. It's pretty dangerous--it sustains for days. I like it a lot though, because it will cut through almost any mix. (The PAF Pro's pretty nice in the neck, position, too.) I highly recommend it!

--Brent

[Vaibanez]

Doink....PaoFero is a type of Rose Wood. It's more of a milk-chocolate colour than the typical rose wood and a bit denser in the grain. Beautiful when used with natural finishes.

J>

[Doink]

Sorry for taking so long to reply, my phone got disconnected!

I love the super distortion in my CT. It doesn't quite fit in there right, so I had to get a slab of wood and some longer screws to get it high enough to the strings.

Come Jono, we must rescue the JEM's from the evil clutches of the Romanizer!

[ripl3y]

BTW,
Sweet guitar my friend

Steve

[bduersch]

Gracias! It only took about a week to warm up (gotta love that "high in the 20's today weather", but it was worth the wait. I did a little set up work on the guitar, and it's quite a player. I'm planning on putting an Air Norton/Blue Velvet/Steve's Special into it, whenever UPS gets around to delivering them. Oh well...

Hey I think this is my 50th post! Kick a$$!

--Brent

[gkelm]

Brent-
I spied that one as well on ****...let us know how you like it. *Greg

(Edited by gkelm at 11:47 pm on Jan. 4, 2001)

[bduersch]

I like it even with the Ibanez pickups (which is more than I can say for any other guitars I've owned with Ibanez pickups, except for the Artstar--Super 58's aren't too bad). But I'll post more details once I get it wired up proper with Dimarzio's.

--Brent