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How good is a Standard RG?

6K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  KennyV 
#1 ·
Hi,

I don't own any ibanez, nor do I own a locking trem guitar.

My current guitar is Mayones Duvell with hipshot hardtail (a really nice guitar I must say), but I'd really like to own an RG with edge.

I was looking at prestiges, but the ones that come with SS frets get pretty expensive. Premiums are also pretty pricey.

An interesting contender is RG550 - MIJ, but ibanez pickups with no case.

I then saw you can get a standard (RG370) for just under 500eur. Are these worth it? I suspect stock pickups aren't great, but is the build any good? Is edge on those much worse than the ones on prestiges?

Thanks in advance.
 
#2 · (Edited)
If you are used to higher quality guitars then I'd stick with the MIJ RG's... Some of the late 90's RG's that were made in Japan were just fantastic and can be found pretty cheap. Over all they are good quality, but it varies with how well they were taken care of over a long period of time.

Edit - I just checked on the pricing of your Mayones... wow! You might check out the J Custom line.

https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=ibanez J custom
 
#3 ·
My mayones is not a custom one and I got a good deal, so the price was in prestige range.

I'm sure j.customs are nice too, but I don't think I want (need) another really nice guitar.


I did some research, and I see all RG370 and premiums all use Edge Zero II; is it a lot worse than original or lo pro edges?

RG 550 costs less than premiums (that seem overpriced in comparison with standard), and comes with original edge.
 
#4 ·
I had one guitar with an Edge Zero II with ZPS, an RG3XXV, and it was a good tremolo... pretty stiff when compared to the Edge though. Which was good if you do double stop bends, etc. The other strings don't go flat as easily when you bend one. I'm not a super heavy tremolo user though, mainly adding in some heavy or slow tremolo or an occasional courtesy dive... lol.

Hard to go wrong with a 550 workhorse with original Edge. My guitars that have the original Edge or Edge Pro are so stable it is uncanny and they are from '89, '99, and '08. Like if I go a month without playing one, just a little tremolo dip and it is in near perfect tune. Occasionally requiring a tiny tweak on a string or two, or a slight seasonal spring tension screw adjustment. I just haven't bought a new one ever, as I found I could get way more guitar by buying a higher quality used one in good shape.

I'm very impressed with the quality of the Fujigen models of the late 90's, those necks were superb... though I'm no expert, just my thoughts since nobody else had replied :)

https://reverb.com/item/32975232-ibanez-rg520qs-japan-1999

https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=1998 ibanez rg
 
#7 · (Edited)
If your right handed, original 550s come and go frequently at decent prices. I'm a lefty so they are hard to find, but I still managed to get ahold of 3 of them.

I've got a road flare red from 87, a black from 88 and a black from 90.

I will probably be getting rid of the black from 88 now that I have the roadflare red.

In any case, I started on a rg370 when I was a lot younger. It lasted me over 10 years.

By the time I decided to let her go, frets were just about gone, pickups and electronics were ruined, and it had been dropped off my stand by my pets a few times.

But that guitar was a trouper. Played exceptionally well for me. At that time I was playing maybe 5 hours a day and it lasted through many outdoor highschool gigs in the parks.
It rained at a few of them hence the electronics eventually going bad.

Quality wise, looking back, the pickups are on the thin side for tone, body wood is just cheap light basswood, and neck was 1 piece maple. So they cut Alot of corners.
The edge iii that was on it held its own for me as a beginner/intermediate guitarist. But I would never go back to one now.

Either way. Used market prices on some Ibanez guitars is actually fantastic if your looking second hand.

*350/370s can be found around 200 to 300 bucks used

*450s can be found for like 300 to 400 used

*550s (what you really want) can be anywhere from 400 to around 600 used.

The 550 is a beast of a guitar is what their prestige line was born from.

Any that have survived till now proove they were built tough.

Here's a pic of mine from 90.
Musical instrument Guitar String instrument String instrument Light


And my 550 from 87.
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If your lucky, I've even seen new 2018 rg550s on reverb in the 500 to 600 range.

If however your sticking to your budget of around 500, I would recommend you go up in models.

The typical quality lines of the Ibanez guitars are something like this

100-200s models are made in China and labled Gio. Not great at all.

300s like the 370 your looking at I believe are still Korea.

400s are Indonesian, and are currently the better of the standard lines. My 370 was originally made in Indonesia so it would have been a modern 470.

I think their current 500 line is their premium or iron label models made in the higher end Indonesian factory.

Then the 1500s are prestige and made in Japan.

And their 2000s I think are j customs. Their top of the line stuff like the original Jem's and such.

The newer rg 550 Genisis models are prestige quality mij even though they do not label them as such.

So for about 500, I would say go for a 450/470 rg. Better quality.

Maybe even a Jem jr. I just got one and it's pretty fantastic. I don't even want to change the pickups or trem cause they work on this one pretty well.
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I did however change the Ibanez infinity pickups on my 450 to a set of invaders, and the bridge to a Floyd.
 
#8 ·
Just my opinion, but I will almost always avoid the 2xx, 3xx,4xx models. The 550 is a solid and fun guitar(probably have owned 20 of them. They were basically a "stripped" version of the original JEM guitars designed for Steve Vai. There is 1 korean model I am a fan of and that's the RGT42-DR. Its a 5-piece neck-thru, so the woodwork is really nice. They cut corners by using cheap pickups(easy to change) and a cheap-ish bridge called the Edge Pro II. That bridge can be replaced with an Edge Pro(an easy drop-in mod) and the Edge Pro is a very good bridge(I have guitars with Edge Pro, Original Edge and LoPro Edge and like all 3 of those bridges. The big "claim to fame" feature of the Edge Pro(and Pro II) was that you could leave the ball-ends on the strings, BUT doing that makes it so you have to unscrew the locking screw about 12 turns(with an allen wrench) to fit the ball in the hole. Needless to say, I just cut the ball-ends off as I do with the other Edge variants.

BTW, RGT42-DR stands for RG style, Thru-neck-Deep Red(stain) finish. There are other RGT42 versions(blue stain, solid white, red or grey). I avoid the solid-color versions as I have no idea if the woods used are as nice as those with a stain finish. On my current RGT42 guitar, I replaced all the hardware with gold(to match the Edge Pro I had). Neck pickup is an IBZ/DiMarzio(from a Prestige) and bridge is a DiMarzio as wound for Phil Collen. The photo is my previous customization that included adding the middle PU.
 

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#9 ·
I would say that you definitely want to go prestige if you can and have a great chance of finding one at around the price range your after.

But I disagree about avoiding all lower end rg guitars.

100% avoid 1 and 2s, but 3s can be found around 200 USD and is a workhorse at that price.

New 450/470 models are not that bad. Good starting point in my opinion.

Especially cause you can find them at really decent prices and upgrades to a almost premium feel is decently cheap and can be done over time.
 
#12 ·
Hi, to the OP, have you bought the guitar yet? I think Indonesian made are fine. Not all of them are bad. Edge zero ii is good too..really depends on how you play. If you really like to play with the whammy bar a lot, you will probably better get the RG 550 either genesis or the original..but edge zero ii from my experience is quite stable if you don't abuse it very much and yes, it is a bit stiffer and the materials are weaker than the original edge. Keep in mind, that if you want to swap the edgezero ii, you will probably have to re-route the cavity to fit in the edge nicely. What I like with the edge zero is it doesn't come with a push-pull arm like the edge. It is just like the FR, which I had already used it extensively on my other guitars. But some don't like it..so, it is really up to you.

From my experience, try avoid any ibanez with infinity pickups. It is too weak compared to the quantum pickups, which are quite good for me.

I have the RG 550 genesis and the quality is amazing. I chose this over another genesis RG655, because of its history, looks, material (had never played maple fretboard before) and also the sound.. RG 655 comes with Dimarzio Tone Zone and Air norton. But I never really liked the tonezone, so that is not a huge plus for me.

Contrary to the bad reputation about the S and V pickups, I actually really like the pickups. I don't know what they did with the pickups..they used to sound musshy back then, but not this one..but it is definitely not into modern metal type but really good for classic metal and rocks..just like what the guitar was built for.

Try this out or if you want to take a look at the premium..I think you should also give the AZ premium series a try..I think it is just as amazing as the prestige AZ.
Hope that helps.
 
#13 ·
I agree.
The original Ibanez pickups on the prestige lines are good.
The v1/v2 are much better then the v7/V8 but both get the job done.

I personally feel that v1/2 has a natural crunchy classic feel. Great with high gain and keeps clarity throughout, but is not meant for heavy metal tones.
The v7/8 are a bit better rounded and doesn't have the high end punch the originals have. Instead, it boosts a bit more mids through out the board and settings.
My complaint about them however is that they seem a bit flat and uninteresting.
They get the job done, but they don't have any pazaaz to it.

Like I mentioned before though,
Don't shy away from a 400 line just cause someone on the internet said it's bad.

Try one out if you can, I actually play my 450 that I modded more then I even play my 550s.

To me, maybe it's the nostalgic feel of the neck since it was made to the same specs as my first guitar. Who knows.

But it feels really smooth, and I've set it up just as good as my other guitars that are valued at 2 or even 3 times its price.

Even better, because it was a cheaper guitar I didn't feel bad gutting it to upgrade it. I have not done it on my more expensive gear because it's expensive.

But I've made the 450 my highschool me's dream guitar in a way.

As a lefty my options were always pretty much used black guitars.
And they didn't really ever have shark tooth inlay for lefties at the time.
(Now they are everywhere... But that's a different story)

So I bought myself a white 450 new in an auction.

*I think I got it for like.. 250?

*I then swapped the pickgaurd from the nasty pearloid white plastic to a black 3 ply like the ones you find on the 550s. That was like 20 bucks.

*Then I got rid of stock infinity pickups and upgraded and wired everything exactly like my other favorite guitar, the Synyster Gates Prototype I got ahold of.
3 way switch, push-pull tone for split coil and a set of Duncan invaders.
That ran me maybe 150

*Last thing I did was got rid of the tremolo and dropped a Floyd rose I had laying around from a different project. I wanted to drop an original edge but would have needed to re route.

All in I spent maybe 400-450 and made this exactly what I wanted.

Of I did that with a higher end model that would have been more then 1k and I would have had a bit of regret changing an expensive guitar.
 
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