I have a RG3120 and an Ibanez Talman TC825 w/ alder body and
rosewood fretboard. I replaced the bridge pickup on the talman with a duncan custom5 a few months ago and I am going to try DiMarzio Breed next. now I couldn't be happier with my collection, one modern and one vintage. I have been playing them alternatively and come up with this idea:
It would be like an upgraded RG550. It had an alder body with ultra neck and rosewood fretboard. It had a pickguard and DiMarzio Breed HSH pickup set installed. Chrome or nickel lo-pro-edge trem and simple dot fretboard inlays.
Here's why I think this model would be completely awesome:
1) it wouldn't be expansive. it should be less expansive than RG3120 because alder is cheaper than mahogany with maple top and pickguard mounted electronics are also cheaper than backmounted. Both have
DiMarzio pickups. One single coil more is no big deal.
2) it would expand the fan base of JEM. A lot of people don't buy JEM because of the fancy cosmetic features i.e. the grip (the upper horn on my 3120 serves perfectly as a handle), the claw( how many of you pull it that much?) and the inlay. But they like the sound. And many people realize the Breed set is much better for most people than Evolution set is. So this model would make JEM much more affordable and friendly to most players.
3) it would make RG line the ultimate super strat, i.e. the alder body, the pickguard, the bolt-on neck with ultra profile and the modern/vintage sounding pickups.
I want to know what everybody else thinks of this idea. You know a lot of other companys (Jackson, ESP, Duncan) regularly get new model ideas from online user groups like this.
