cheap rg550 alternative?

There is the RG350 and 450, but neither are going to have the same specs because they are lower end. Only other one I can think of is the RG2550, but it is a higher end model.
 
Yeah, the thing about the lower end models is they don't have the neck profile. The Wizard II or III or whatever the lower end have or have had throughout the years is not as thin/fast.

Otherwise, 350's are pretty bang-for-the-buck.
 
I have spoken to Alund about it but I remember as a teen starting out playing a white roadstar with a trem, hsh, bound neck with shark teeth inlays…I always thought how awesome that guitar was back then…can’t remember what model it was but would love to have one. I think it was roadstar and I believe it had dimarzio’s…that was many brain cells ago though…
 
I was talking about the 520 qs when I said mahogany. And sure seems like edward made basswood sound pretty good to me also satch and vai.
 
demondestroyer said:
I was talking about the 520 qs when I said mahogany. And sure seems like edward made basswood sound pretty good to me also satch and vai.
Click to expand...

It's my opinion. Dave Friedman calls it ASSwood, too. Ed sounded much better with Frankie, which has a Northern Ash body. Northern Ash has a fast, hard and bright attack that I really like. The only basswood guitars with locking trems I like are Peavey and EVH brand Wolfgangs with a thick maple cap. I hate Ed's tone on "Live Without a Net". Basswood has a spongy attack in my experience and I don't like it. YMMV. My main guitar is a maple body 1987 Kramer. It's bright and clear but not shrill... still has a ballsy midrange and no mud in the low end.

_ UK Guitarrist, september 1993. pag 63; 7V WH Construction: "This one I spent a lot of time and energy in developing". Steve continued. "I had Ibanez make me two guitars that were identical; same pickups, same strings, except one guitar was mede out of alder and the other was made of basswood. Then I went into my studio and played and recorded both guitars. Compared them by A/B-ing the tape. I happened to like the sound of the alder better, so now the new JEM is alder instead of basswood". (...) "I had DiMarzio make me two dozen pickups. I put a set of pickups in a guitar and played on one track of tape, then i changed the pickups on the guitar and played on another track, then i changed the pickups again and again, until i had about 12 tracks of guitar playing the same thing with different pickups. I used the same amplifier, the same microphone, the same cabinet each time. Then i would make some notes and send them to DiMarzio for another set of pickups! What I ended up with was these pickups which are called EVOLUTIONS. They´re named after the Harley Davidson motorcycle engine. (...). I experimented with mounting the pickups into the pickguard instead of mounting them into the body of the guitar. For my taste, I liked the way they sounded with the pickups mounted onto the pikguard. (...). I wanted to see what a Jem sounded like without a tailpiece, so i had two identical guitars made but one with a tailpiece and one without. A lot of people have said that it´s much brighter and cleaner and there´s more sustain without tailpiece, but I actually found the opposite".



no harm no foul oh well.gif
 
Last edited:
Any lower RG will not feel the same as 450-500-700 series from Japan. It is about neck shape and finish and of course Edge trem. Wizard II or III has weird shapes and they are too glossy/sticky or raw/unfinished.
 
i probably shoulda bought this when i had the chance. thing played and sounded awesome. modeled after his red grover designed charvel. the bridge was worn and likely hard to replace thus the reason i passed.
IMG_1391.jpeg


the first new store bought gtr i purchased was an ibby rg140 “asswood” exactly like this from GC santa ana in 86-87 because i liked the vinnie moore/jake colors
IMG_1165.jpeg

replaced the neck with a killer carvin pointy stock ebony, graph tech saddles, and pickups with classic stack, hs-2 and original pearly gates.
my live bread and butter for a decade.
 
mentoneman said:
speaking of vai and ibz

is this something cool for jem aficionados?

View attachment 303216
View attachment 303219
Click to expand...

Sure is and that’s a pretty damn good price on that. That’s one of the rarest JEM models ever produced, due to the yellow vine inlay/rosewood board. The only other DSY’s they did had the pyramid inlay/maple board. There’s not a lot of these out there at all.
 
JackBootedThug said:
not really familiar with the ibanez lineup....Is there another lower tier model that specs up with the 550?
Click to expand...
I've got a 2003 570 that I love.. plays great and like a JEM. I have a buddy that collects JEMs and has over a dozen of the different models. I've played them all and it is very similar.. actually they all felt and sounded the same to me. I wouldn't know one from the other if blindfolded.

About 15 years ago I bought an RG350 for $100. This guitar plays and sounds great. Other than the trem it is very comparable to my 570. I really love this guitar. The neck is a little thicker but still feels and plays great. I haven't even changed the pickups. Mine looks just like the one in the video except I have upgraded nothing. They are very upgradable as the video will demonstrate but I've found no reason to upgrade it yet. This YouTuber is a phenomenal player.
 
Anything RG5__ and above is going to have the same general specs; either an Edge or a Lo-Pro and then variations on pickups/fingerboard materials, but they’re all pretty great guitars in that range. Most will have the thin Wizard neck, but they’ve done a few models with II’s and III’s. Personally, I love the III because it’s much closer to a JEM neck, still wide but not as thin.

There are some killer MIJ RG450’s out there, I snagged one for $60 in a pawnshop a couple years ago, I just have to throw a Gotoh 1996t on that thing and it’s basically an RG570 with a neck I dig more than the Wizard, but I’m going to turn it into the green/black swirl JEM eventually.

I’d just be on the lookout for MIJ RG’s and snag one when the price is right, they’re all over the place from $500 to $1300.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top