As promised, here's my review of the RG 20th. Lazy people look away now, this could be lengthy, though I will attempt to keep it brief!
This particular beast is the Road Flare Red model, delivered to me on the exact date I got my first one. How's that for timing?! Having owned the original RG550-RF back in the day, I thought I'd stick with it and take a good, long trip down memory lane. I love Road Flare Red. As you have probably heard or read already, no picture can ever capture the effect of this finish, and it's no different with the Desert Yellow. In the images I have provided here, the guitar looks more orange than usual, but actually it's a little more red. You have to see these colours in person to appreciate how visually striking they are. I have tried taking pictures outside in bright sunlight and there's still no hope of my girlfriend's Canon Ixus digital camera recreating the way this colour radiates. Everyone who sees a freshly painted Road Flare or Desert Yellow always comments on how it looks. Seeing this one today, and it's been almost two decades since I've seen a brand new Road Flare, reminds me exactly why I loved and missed my original so much. Ibanez really should bring these colours back somehow, and I don't want to hear anything like "get out of the 80's!" -- great colour is great colour, period. To me, this guitar doesn't look dated at all, it just looks as fresh and vibrant today as it always did. I hate to say it, and I will slap myself as soon as I have typed this, but the RG550-RF looks... sexy. I usually don't use that word to describe an inanimate object, but there you go.
This 550 is pretty much flawlessly finished. After meticulous inspection (and the inability to stop staring at this thing for hours on end) I have seen very little that looks less than perfect, which is great because I'm super-picky about this kind of stuff. I would say this one is painted better than my original, and that wasn't bad by any means. This guitar has less paint in the neck pocket, which, for the anally retentive among us, means better contact between neck and body, and better contact in this area can only mean improved transfer of resonance. The paint is evenly applied, it doesn't look too thick nor too thin, and there's not much else to say except it's close to perfect... where it counts. Now, this review is not the words of an over-enthusiastic fanboy, and I will point out anything I am not happy with. Fortunately, there are very few things, and those things are either easy to fix, improve, or ignore.
The edges of the bridge cavity route are not as perfectly finished as the rest of the guitar, but this is a seriously minor issue and I really am nit-picking. The paint actually does look a little thinner here, plus there's the usual white powdery stuff that always seems present on Ibanez guitars, but there's not much chance of anyone peering into the cavity anyway. It's not like there's basswood showing through, most of the cavity is covered up by the bridge, however, a little fine sanding in this area and a little bit more attention to the paintwork would have been an improvement. Again, this is a very minor issue that few of us will care about and it's barely worth mentioning.
The fretwork is good, but by no means is it exceptional. Many of us were expecting Prestige finishing here, after all, these guitars are found in the "Prestige" section of the Ibanez website, and their cost ($1,199 list, $900 street) places them among the Prestige-priced RG's. These 24 jumbo frets are clipped off at an angle, but the angle is steep enough so they do not become intrusive while playing. I feel that Prestige finished frets are a luxury rather than a necessity and this is another minor niggle, just like the aforementioned trem cavity. Put it this way; the original RG550 didn't have Prestige fretwork, nor did my RG750 which cost considerably more back in 1990 than I paid for this 550 17 years later, and both of those guitars felt exceptional. I am still using the RG750, too, and after so many years of intense playing the fret ends have worn down smoothly, so maybe by the 40th anniversary the RG 20th will feel as good as a Prestige finished neck! The frets on this particular guitar will be polished later using 0000 grade steel wool when it comes to the first restringing will improve playability. It looks looks great! *If you want to try polishing up the frets yourself and have never done it before, please follow Rich's guide here. There's no need to do the whole fretboard, of course. Remove the neck from the body (steel particles get everywhere, they especially like pickup's pole-pieces) and mask off all areas except the frets themselves.
Owning an original Wizard neck gives me a good point of reference to compare directly to this new one. Apparently Ibanez made the RG 20th neck to the exact same dimensions as the 1987 Wizard profile, a neck well known for it's speed and certainly one of thinnest guitar necks ever made at a mere 17mm at the first fret and 20mm at the 12th. Ignore the website, it states incorrect dimensions. Oddly enough, the RG 20th neck feels very slightlly thicker than my 1990 Wizard. I don't have my original 1987 RG550 to compare it to (and I haven't for a long time) but the 750 also features the Wizard. And here's the curve ball I was thrown -- the 20th neck is thinner! Yep, I couldn't believe it myself when I measured it, but this beauty of a neck is around 1mm thinner at the first fret and maybe 0.5mm thinner at the 12th. I am guessing I got a one-off, and this is not uncommon because I've seen such tolerances on a few older RG necks which were based on the same profile. So, the fact that it feels ever so slightly thicker must be down to the setup, brand new frets, etc. Regardless, it is easily as enjoyable to play as the original and just as fast. Construction is without a doubt superior. This baby is 5-piece maple and walnut with dual titanium rods running either side of the truss rod for added strength and therefore has less tendency to warp, as opposed to the 1-piece maple original with scarf-jointed headstock. I am not aware of a similar neck to the RG 20th's being featured on anything except very high-end J Custom's. There's no scarf joint on the new 550. You'll also see there's a front-mounted lock nut this time. It's easy to see where and how Ibanez have improved the Wizard, and in my book the changes are very welcome. Does this all add up to better playability? Yes, of course! A guitar neck that is less likely to warp over time (it happened to my original RG550, unfortunately) and remain straight will play better for a longer period. Simple as that. Some may argue that this neck is not enough to convince them to buy an RG 20th, and that's a fair point if you prefer to save a your money, but if you were to put each neck side by side and told to pick one, which neck would you choose? Good luck finding that mint RF or DY on e-Bay (never mind 1,987 of them). That's if you can beat off the other 40 bidders! This neck feels stiffer, and pushing the neck away from the body while in the playing position I can see that there's less bending. Awesome stuff. This neck is a major selling point.
This particular beast is the Road Flare Red model, delivered to me on the exact date I got my first one. How's that for timing?! Having owned the original RG550-RF back in the day, I thought I'd stick with it and take a good, long trip down memory lane. I love Road Flare Red. As you have probably heard or read already, no picture can ever capture the effect of this finish, and it's no different with the Desert Yellow. In the images I have provided here, the guitar looks more orange than usual, but actually it's a little more red. You have to see these colours in person to appreciate how visually striking they are. I have tried taking pictures outside in bright sunlight and there's still no hope of my girlfriend's Canon Ixus digital camera recreating the way this colour radiates. Everyone who sees a freshly painted Road Flare or Desert Yellow always comments on how it looks. Seeing this one today, and it's been almost two decades since I've seen a brand new Road Flare, reminds me exactly why I loved and missed my original so much. Ibanez really should bring these colours back somehow, and I don't want to hear anything like "get out of the 80's!" -- great colour is great colour, period. To me, this guitar doesn't look dated at all, it just looks as fresh and vibrant today as it always did. I hate to say it, and I will slap myself as soon as I have typed this, but the RG550-RF looks... sexy. I usually don't use that word to describe an inanimate object, but there you go.
This 550 is pretty much flawlessly finished. After meticulous inspection (and the inability to stop staring at this thing for hours on end) I have seen very little that looks less than perfect, which is great because I'm super-picky about this kind of stuff. I would say this one is painted better than my original, and that wasn't bad by any means. This guitar has less paint in the neck pocket, which, for the anally retentive among us, means better contact between neck and body, and better contact in this area can only mean improved transfer of resonance. The paint is evenly applied, it doesn't look too thick nor too thin, and there's not much else to say except it's close to perfect... where it counts. Now, this review is not the words of an over-enthusiastic fanboy, and I will point out anything I am not happy with. Fortunately, there are very few things, and those things are either easy to fix, improve, or ignore.
The edges of the bridge cavity route are not as perfectly finished as the rest of the guitar, but this is a seriously minor issue and I really am nit-picking. The paint actually does look a little thinner here, plus there's the usual white powdery stuff that always seems present on Ibanez guitars, but there's not much chance of anyone peering into the cavity anyway. It's not like there's basswood showing through, most of the cavity is covered up by the bridge, however, a little fine sanding in this area and a little bit more attention to the paintwork would have been an improvement. Again, this is a very minor issue that few of us will care about and it's barely worth mentioning.
The fretwork is good, but by no means is it exceptional. Many of us were expecting Prestige finishing here, after all, these guitars are found in the "Prestige" section of the Ibanez website, and their cost ($1,199 list, $900 street) places them among the Prestige-priced RG's. These 24 jumbo frets are clipped off at an angle, but the angle is steep enough so they do not become intrusive while playing. I feel that Prestige finished frets are a luxury rather than a necessity and this is another minor niggle, just like the aforementioned trem cavity. Put it this way; the original RG550 didn't have Prestige fretwork, nor did my RG750 which cost considerably more back in 1990 than I paid for this 550 17 years later, and both of those guitars felt exceptional. I am still using the RG750, too, and after so many years of intense playing the fret ends have worn down smoothly, so maybe by the 40th anniversary the RG 20th will feel as good as a Prestige finished neck! The frets on this particular guitar will be polished later using 0000 grade steel wool when it comes to the first restringing will improve playability. It looks looks great! *If you want to try polishing up the frets yourself and have never done it before, please follow Rich's guide here. There's no need to do the whole fretboard, of course. Remove the neck from the body (steel particles get everywhere, they especially like pickup's pole-pieces) and mask off all areas except the frets themselves.
Owning an original Wizard neck gives me a good point of reference to compare directly to this new one. Apparently Ibanez made the RG 20th neck to the exact same dimensions as the 1987 Wizard profile, a neck well known for it's speed and certainly one of thinnest guitar necks ever made at a mere 17mm at the first fret and 20mm at the 12th. Ignore the website, it states incorrect dimensions. Oddly enough, the RG 20th neck feels very slightlly thicker than my 1990 Wizard. I don't have my original 1987 RG550 to compare it to (and I haven't for a long time) but the 750 also features the Wizard. And here's the curve ball I was thrown -- the 20th neck is thinner! Yep, I couldn't believe it myself when I measured it, but this beauty of a neck is around 1mm thinner at the first fret and maybe 0.5mm thinner at the 12th. I am guessing I got a one-off, and this is not uncommon because I've seen such tolerances on a few older RG necks which were based on the same profile. So, the fact that it feels ever so slightly thicker must be down to the setup, brand new frets, etc. Regardless, it is easily as enjoyable to play as the original and just as fast. Construction is without a doubt superior. This baby is 5-piece maple and walnut with dual titanium rods running either side of the truss rod for added strength and therefore has less tendency to warp, as opposed to the 1-piece maple original with scarf-jointed headstock. I am not aware of a similar neck to the RG 20th's being featured on anything except very high-end J Custom's. There's no scarf joint on the new 550. You'll also see there's a front-mounted lock nut this time. It's easy to see where and how Ibanez have improved the Wizard, and in my book the changes are very welcome. Does this all add up to better playability? Yes, of course! A guitar neck that is less likely to warp over time (it happened to my original RG550, unfortunately) and remain straight will play better for a longer period. Simple as that. Some may argue that this neck is not enough to convince them to buy an RG 20th, and that's a fair point if you prefer to save a your money, but if you were to put each neck side by side and told to pick one, which neck would you choose? Good luck finding that mint RF or DY on e-Bay (never mind 1,987 of them). That's if you can beat off the other 40 bidders! This neck feels stiffer, and pushing the neck away from the body while in the playing position I can see that there's less bending. Awesome stuff. This neck is a major selling point.