New to the board, sayin Hi

Hi!....I'm eagerly awaiting my new RG 2550E, it's been almost 2 months, and now it's in the country, finally!...I've been playing a while now, and I just can't wait to get this guitar in my hands. Just wanted to say hello, and I'm sure I'll get lots of good info here.

I've always been a big Vai fan, and that's probably the big reason I go with Ibanez. I'm really into fast necks, and I was looking for a newer guitar to replace my old (but loved) Yamaha Pacifica..I know, it's my first guitar!...I always wanted something with 24 frets, a good Floyd-like trem, and a great neck. To be honest, I was looking at the Jackson DX first, but I didn't like the heel which impeded upper fret access. The I looked at the RG370DX....one of the only Ibanez's in the store...these were both entry level guitars, and at the time I thought they had all I needed. I'm not much of a guitar snob, so I figured they'd be enough for me.

Not to knock these guitars, but I guess over the years, and lately with all my guitar shop browsing, I can feel and hear the difference you pay for! Thus, my next choice to look at was an S series, the S470...the price was right, Mahogany which I think is nice, although a lil thin on the looks...liked the trem, so I ordered it....and then cancelled when I (doh!) realized it had 22 frets!....luckily that same day, a fellow in the store said, hey, we have an Ibanez to show you...I was hinting at going higher end, so he pulled out the 2550E....let me tell you, my jaw dropped! I played it a bit, didn't even plug in...sold!...unfortunately, dude made a mistake, it was SOLD...and that took 6 months to get here!...so in my order went, and my patience is about to be rewarded very soon.

I got a chance to play a RG2570E at a different store...it was a lil less expensive, I don't know why, the hardware all seemed the same as mine...I guess the paint, ha! But that's the guitar I plugged in...man, am I happy!...sustain like I haven't experienced, and just playable as hell.

It's not a Jem, perhaps in the future I'm grab on too....I do remember about 10 years ago a buddy lent me his Jem for a couple weeks (the flowery Vai one..the real deal at the time!)...I chalk it up to the fact I wasn't an experineced player, because I remember the dissapointment I had with it...it didn't feel comfortable, and I knew nothing of Floyd trems...and the flowers on the neck made it tough for me to know where I was playing!...so I remember going through a phase where Ibanez didn't mean the same to me anymore. All that's changed now, when I played that RG, man! And I guess the necks on the RG and Jems are pretty much the same size, so who knows what I was thinking then!...I'm happy with my purchase, and for half the price I would have paid for my other fave guitar, the Jackson Soloist...which I still might opt for in the future.

Sorry bout the length, just want to say hi, and I'll be asking lots of questions (like how to locate a replacement pickguard...I've seen how sweet those reflective ones look!...although to be honest I think the original looks good too!)...cheers!