[Just Mike]

I think I bought it in 1986. It played the Southeast Barn circuit until about '92. Obviously it's had a rough life. I'm just trying to identify it so I can sell it. It was originally a dark metalflake blue, but shortly after I got it, the paint started chipping off. I remember I could literally flake it off with a guitar pick. It's spent most of it's life in Florida so there was no extreme cold to cause the paint to do this, I guess it was just a defective paint job. For some reason, I always thought it was a RG 560, but looking around, it seems not.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Looks like a 570 from 1987 (silver sticker serial only used for that year). The humbuckers on those have always been ring mounted, and the single direct. The early RGs, up to 1990 iirc, had the volume pot pretty close to the bridge pu, too close for most. Ibanez eventually moved it a bit. The thicker V1/2 font on the pups (as well as the 'IBZ', and doming style of knobs also points to earlier version of the model. Jewel Blue colour.

I assume it looked something like this when new. This is a 1991 - note the moved volume pot, matching headstock and different style logo on the pups.

 

[Just Mike]

Thanks Ashurbanipal. Mine has a black headstock.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Yeah, I think the earlier ones tended to have black headstocks; matched was generally later (1989/90 on, something like that).