[straniero]

hello all, new to the forums, pleased to meet you lot.
I have a question and hope you can help me figure it out - I have checked the forums and there are various topics on the subject but I still have some doubts.
I also checked the ibanez wikia to no avail.



Long story short, I recently bought what was supposed to be an RG570 1995 MIJ - the neck reads 'made in japan' and has a serial starting with F52.....


However, it is equipped with a LO-TRS2 tremolo and that shouldn't be the case for the 570. therefore I checked on the heel and there is RG550#2 written on it. for all these reasons, it seems that this could be instead a 470.
However again, there are a few things that do not match. on the back of the guitar there are 3 plates, the 3rd one being for the cable jack, while the 470 (at least the same year model) only had 2. also, the cable jack is 'submerged' in the body, and it has no external plate with screws like the 470, at least based on the pics I could find on the wikia and the internet.



That seems like an hybrid between the 470 and 570 and I'm not sure what to think. any idea?


Basically i wanted to do some heavy customization on this guitar and among others replace the standard trem with the lo-pro edge. but I read on the forums that it is not possible, or at least it requires some working, and that got me worried.


thanks to everyone who will be able to help.
cheers
straniero

 

[LACS-plus]

if it has a TRS it might be a rg470
they used the same necks as the 570/550's sometimes

is it a square neck joint? I ask because i used to have a 1995 rg450 that was (to my suprise) pretty sure 1993 was the year almost all of the rg's went AANJ

I have also retro fitted a JS100 and a couple of rg470 with edge\lowedge bridges
lopro needs some wood removed for it to fit

you might consider and edge bridge in stead

 

[sepulchrave]

What does the stamp in the neck pocket say?

What pickups does it have fitted?

It does sound like the original trem has been robbed from the guitar, this is really not that uncommon because of the value of a good Lo-Pro Edge alone can almost equal the value of the guitar.

 

[Rich]

The trem rout shape will tell, the TRS is angled at the back wings, the ED/LP is not. Loot at the rout and compare to known routs.

 

[Tuga666]

The body stamp "if genuine" says all, not to mention the recessed output jack. I think sepulchrave is correct about the swapped bridge. Question is... can a LO-TRS2 properly fit the Lo-Pro rout without modifications?

 

[jim777]

I don't think there are any Ibanez RGs that aren't at least RG-5xx with 3 plates on the back. That output jack cover is a sign of a 5xx series or above. Rich, as always, can confirm

Oh, and Welcome to Jemsite

 

[Rich]

Any guitar with a pickguard doesn't have a control cover [except clear pickguard models], just the jack and trem cover, and no trem cover on the fixed bridge of course.

 

[straniero]

hello everyone, thanks for your replies (superquick!) and for the welcome.

to answer to some of your queries, the pickups are V8 S1 V7 and the neck is AANJ. I can't add links as I just joined and my post count isn't high enough.

also - english not being my first language, there are some terms in your answers I didn't really understand. anyone cares to explain what is the trem route? it seems to me it should be the way strings are inserted into the trem, but not quite sure.

anyway! I checked the stamp on the neck pocket after removing the neck and it says, RG507, which is the european version of the 570. probably the swapped bridge is the answer to my question.
time to do some work around that one then.

thanks again everyone!
straniero

 

[Tuga666]

The trem route is the wood pocket shape where the tremolo sits.

 

[straniero]

I see, thanks. as a fact, there are some sort of 'holes' - empty spaces not covered by the trem, especially in the two corners close to the bridge pickup. this makes me think it's actually not the original trem.


- 2 other posts and I can add pics, yay. will be easier!

 

[Tuga666]

Unfortunately it's not. The rg507 original trem is an edge.
2 posts... ok... So how's the weather over there?

 

[straniero]

haha thanks for the help
the weather in Paris is... how do I say... foggy? relatively cold? but we had a good summer. and over there?


anyway, it is unfortunate indeed, but I was planning to change it to a cosmo black lo-pro anyway, so it's not so bad.
let's put it into perspective - I prefer having a RG507 with the non original trem, than buying a 470 thinking it's an original 570/507 MIJ :smile_big:

 

[straniero]

some pics, in case anyone has additional feedback:

The empty spaces I was referring to are clearly visible - I think - in the two corners close to the bridge pickup. I didn't pay attention to that earlier, only after starting that thread. It is also true that the trem shape does not match the route shape.





507. never mind the hairy leg



at least the neck is MIJ



no plate and screws



AANJ



anyway, some work to be done, but I'm sure the results will be WOW. I'll post it in a couple of months, when finished

 

[Tuga666]

Seems like the wood and the trem posts were untouched, that's good. New lo-pro and you're done!!
Good luck with your project

 

[straniero]

thanks!