I am looking to purchase a new guitar and have been impressed by Ibanez's offerings. Ideally I am looking to spend no more than £600 and have been looking at used prestige models which seem to be really nice guitars for the money.
At first I was looking for fixed bridge but decided I wouldn't pass on a different bridge for the right guitar. I have another guitar I can use for drop tuning and may still purchase a drop pedal at some point.
Can anyone pass on any wisdom on finding a nice used Prestige Ibanez for around my price range? What would you say are the best models to look out for?
As you said used Prestige is the sweet spot for sure where you get good pricing for the good Ibanez stuff that someone else has possibly barely used. My advice is to choose body shape & then make sure the bridge meets your needs - if you only want an Edge/LoPro/Pro trem look for those whereas if you don't mind the EdgeZero that gives more choices. Some Ibanez fanatics obsess over the neck dimensions but to me that is often splitting hairs.
Your location is not shown but £600 is not here so what used availability is in your region is another story. In the USA Prestige Ibanez litter the market (in a good way) it's amazing people have so little regard for them and will pay sometimes 2x for indo Ibanez with grossly inferior tremolo, wet wood, etc. Good luck.
At £600 the only way you will get Prestige is to go used as £800 is around the entry point for a Prestige, the cheapest I think being the new RG521 Genesis Re-Issue at about £799.
Thanks for the info! I've updated my location and just been browsing the general sites the past couple of days to see what is around.
There is one for around £600 not too far away from me but think I might go looking in shops at the weekend and play similar models to see what I like. In terms of bridge I am not that concerned as I don't plan to change tunings on the guitar once set up and only use for the trem and they all seem to be of a good standard!
Yeah if you get an original Edge or Lo-Pro Edge then that's about as good as it gets with locking trems. On the used market then sure you will find a lot of good stuff within that price range.
Don't overlook used Japanese RG from before the premium era. You can pick some smoking deals on those. Wizard necks, Edge trems with locking posts, & stock pups weren't too bad during that time.
Basically your looking for 5 series & above before 2002. It'll say made in Japan on the back of the headstock. For example 520, 550, 570 etc. Prestige models of those would be like 1550 etc. If you go to look at one, take your smart phone with you & verify the serial number.
Thanks snaggleyoda I'll see if any pop up near by.
The two I have my eye on are a SV5470A which starts at £450 but has had a mod done and an additional switch put in putting me off slightly! The other is a RG2570E-VSL (2007) which is fixed at £620 and seems to be in good condition!
As far as feel goes they're about the same. Main difference is is hardware & pups. Just Google the ones you're thinking about, & you'll get plenty of info.
Yeah, I got a used ~2008 RG1570+case (like yours) for about the same price as a new RG421 + case. While it's cosmetically knocked about, it seems really sound - and has much better nut height and intonation than a brand new RG652KFX-KB that I have. [I'll get that sorted, but if it wasn't for the RG1570, I might not have realised it was an issue.]
Really glad I bought the RG1570. It was a good purchase.
TBH, I'm not sure about the Edge vs Edge Zero debate. Non-Zero seems to have the kudos, but the Zero seems more likely to stay accurately in tune.
Also not sure if I'll stick with the Ibanez pickups. Easy to change, though.
Tuning stability is about the same in my experience. The Edge zero was a little stiff on my rg470mhz, till I whammied the hell out of it & broke the springs in.
There is a 2004 RG2570 going for £595 on guitar guitar used - it's listed as a RG2570Z but the pictures show an Edge pro trem lol. It doesn't come with the case but worth enquiring about see if you can drop the price down, it's been sitting there for a while.
On Andertons - a used 2004 S1625 with a bare knuckle installed in bridge thats going for £499
There is a 2004 RG2570 going for £595 on guitar guitar used - it's listed as a RG2570Z but the pictures show an Edge pro trem lol. It doesn't come with the case but worth enquiring about see if you can drop the price down, it's been sitting there for a while.
On Andertons - a used 2004 S1625 with a bare knuckle installed in bridge thats going for £499
Hi, I was looking to buy a RG 1570, but I could not find any prices of new ones to compare to the price I’m offered. Does anyone know what is the price in the US? And why I can’t find any new there?
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