Ibanez RG550

Year Unknown. Made In Japan. 24 frets. Laminated Top. Controls: Volume, Tone, and 5-way selector. Maple Neck. Neon Yellow Finish. Dont know what style you would call this, just a normal guitar i guess. Double Locking Tremolo, Jumbo Frets. Case and tools came with it.

This is great for hard rock music, awsome sound. I use a crappy Hohner Amp and a Zoom1010 pedal. Its Great on B.1. and but sounds even better with a Boss Metal Zone I tested out. The guitar would so SOOOOOO much better if i had a good amp but its fine as it is and great pickups. The Only think i dont like witch isnt really with sound is the locks at the top, makes it unable to tune to a differnt tunning when needed so i have to use 2 guitars, But the lock keeps it tunned good for about 2 weeks or more

The RG550 is set up great as far as im concerned! The Pickups work great and everything seems to great but one little neck in the wood at the 9th fret. No flaws on this that i can really think of.

This guitar will most diffently withstand live playing and it seems like it will last a long time. The finish seems great, havnt nicked it yet so i cant see what would happen. Strap buttons are very solid as of now and can be depended on. I would use this at a gig without a back up, well a back up set of strings but not guitar.

Havent Had To Deal With Them =o)

I have been playing for a little over a year. I also own a Rockerster(no namer) electic and this is by far WAY better then it would ever be. If i hadnt got this i would have gotten a ESP probly. If i could i would like a Gibson: Gothic Flying V/Explore, or SG. but to much money =o( if it got stolen i would get this guitar again if i could. I love the sound of it and so smooth and great. I tested other Ibanez's and a couple Jacksons(felt WAY to small) and this was one i liked cause the sound and the color of it was so rare, i plan for my next guitar to be a weird color to. The only thing i would take off would be the locking at the top but i dont think its made to be without it and my untune to easily(that and my dad would B**** =o) GET THIS GUITAR, ITS AWSOME!

1998 RG550BLK, black (only color available that year) basswood body, maple neck, 24 jumbo frets, H/S/H pickup configuration with 5-way selector - V7 neck, S1 middle, V8 bridge (which I believe are Ibanez's second-best stock pickups), Floyd Rose-licensed double locking tremolo, Wizard thin neck. This guitar is more or less the vanguard of the RG line, the strongest performer and seller. I compared this guitar extensively with other guitars - I was looking for a strong value at a reasonable price, and I'd say this guitar did a great job and surpassed my expectations. I might have preferred a different color, but that's it. I'll give it a 10 because of the features and performance in relation to the price.

I play 60s-70s-80s rock, blues, some classic country, and it handles all of these very well. My guitar teacher was impressed with the blues and jazz sounds from the RG. With this guitar, I can easily rock out with distortion, lay back and play clean, or gritty, crisp, thin, thick ..... I don't know if there's anything that this guitar can't do well - it even does jazz! The five-way selector and excellent pickups gives the RG plenty of variety, from lead to rhythm to thin to almost acoustic.
I was 30 when I bought this, my first guitar, with no prior experience with the instrument or any idea if I'd keep it up. I did have an idea of what I wanted in terms of sound - and I didn't find it in the thin-sounding Strats, chunky Les Pauls, or anything close. The Ibanez S540 with solid mahogany body and spicier pickups was a runner-up, but I felt it would be too limited at a point where I wasn't ready to limit my style.

I had the store where I bought it double-check the set-up and make sure it was all ready to go, so I can't speak to what the factory did. Everything else was set up fine - the tuners, tremolo, pickups, etc. In short, no flaws.

I can't speak to live playing, because I haven't done it. I doubt there would be a problem, but maybe someone with more experience has a different perspective.

The company is near-impossible to reach, and their Web site stinks. They made it tough to evaluate the guitar or get an impression of whether they'd stand behind it. I haven't had a problem to date, so no dealings with them.

In the 18 months I've been playing I've come to appreciate that I really did make the right choice, given my needs at the time. My goal was to buy a quality instrument that sounded good to my ears, made it easy to learn to play, would stay with me as I got better, help me express myself and "my" sound, and not be worthless if I had to sell it. I bought it as if this this would be the only guitar I'd ever own, so it had better do what I needed it to do. There are plenty of other guitars I wouldn't mind having, but they are specialized for certain applications. I believe this guitar is still more versatile than any other choice, and holds its own in just about any playing situation. What I also like is that I feel as if I have more freedom to create my own sound, the one that reflects what I hear in my head and try to communicate when I play. I have had one or two people sniff at the guitar for being black, Japanese, or not being a PRS; but I'm in it for the sound, not for appealing to someone else's personal hang-ups about what makes a good guitar. In all these respects, the RG550 does an excellent job for me and I'm damn glad I met it.
Let's face it - buying a guitar when you'e a newbie is a real hassle. The manufacturers, retailers, magazines, and even your friends all have their own agenda, which rarely coincides with yours. This Harmony Central database was by far the most helpful tool in my search, outside of my own two ears. I can't tell you how much I appreciated having so much information from players to help me draw my own conclusions. Kudos to a great site!

It is about 5-7 years old, made in Japan; ya know basswood body,maple fingerbord, 24 frets, wisard neck, H/S/S pickup configuration (too bad it isn"t H/S/H wich is mucho better), passive electronics some Ibanez pickups (not ......V7/S1/V8!!!??@!%&"?), Edge Tremolo, Goth tuners, locks & turbo eXXXtra jumbo frets!! Originaly it came with some shitty green finish, like the guy said, he painted it black. He said like he"s the first owner ,but guitar looked so awfull(was schraced like 20 people had owned it before him(lousy mothafucker).

The neck is great, but body is full of small holes like termites ate it. Neck pickup has nice clean, litlle bit hollow, but nice with high treble. That's because body is made of basswood and has nice sustain. The mahagony body is better because of greater attack and heaviness( I PLAY HEAVY METAL ONLY !!!) . Single coils are good for blues, and jazz, especially midlle one(like Telecaster sound). I"m using MAsrshall VS30R), and zoom 505 and Boss Metal zone. Only tremolo is little bit rusty(old muthafuckin vibrator) . Federi are too extendet end dej wont last tu long enimor.

SAME sHITTTT!!!!!!!1

When I bought it the tone button was broken. Hardweare is OK, but periodicly it needs to bee changed. It's too bad that it hasn't 2 humbuckers and one single. Singles are pretty mucho noisy. Good for gigs and live.This Guitar Took lots of hits & drops and it"s still alive.Ibanez Build long lasting stuff.

Never dealed with 'em.

I've been playing guitar for 500(I'm a Nosferatu, Vlad Tepes is my cousin, haha) years, and this is my first Ibanez(I had Eppiphone before it, with DiMarzio Steve Mores pickup). Neck is very, very fast and action is pretty mucho friendly. It's nice for ripping and cutting edge solos and riffs. It's OK for metal heads but it's too shame it hasn't neck humbucker. I'll put EMG-81 humbucker, the best pickup for HM(HEavY MEtaL, dude!) ever made. I"m looking foward to buy Gibson Explorer ( don"t have money for ESP nooooo!!! )I"ve got preety lousey guitar efects( except MT-2 ; a real killer ,earpiercing distordion)-got no money - i"m only a Law student from Croatia; a very poor land ((hehehihihoho)) in southeastern Europe (near Bosnia & Hercegovina,Serbia,Kosovo-Fucking warzone man) I"m a real one crazy HM guy, so friends E-MAIL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's an Ibanez RG. You know the drill on the wood, frets... whatever. Standard H-S-H config which is really good. Mine came with Dimarzio's in the H slots and a stock in the middle. Definately get rid of those godforsaken Ibanez pickups is my first advice. Japanese-made, really good quality.

The sound, honestly, is pretty killer. I'm surprised that in the two years I've owned this guitar, it took me two years to find a guitar in a decent price range that surpassed it (used Jackson KV-1 Mustaine for six bills... Man, don't even get me started!). The Dimarzio pickups (Tone Zone in the Bridge, Steve Morse in the neck) are killer, very versatile. I use my neck pick up for rhythm (Hetfield/Iommi) playing, and the Steve Morse is nice and punchy, especially thru my Laney 50-w head. Even thru a Ibanez practice amp, this guitar burns. For the price... buy it(used!)if you play punk, metal, hard rock, whatever. Change out the pickups first thing- Stock Ibabez pickups are good for nothing(my single coil snapped a winding and is out of commission at the moment- and the axe hasn't seen a gig yet!)

I was lucky enough to get a free setup from the store I bought it from. I use 10's on it now, and you have to adjust the trem settin to almost max tension for it. The trem bar does it's job, but if you don't like whammy bar stuff block the cavity behind the bridge- it's not worth the trouble. The thin neck is fast, but you might want to look elsewhere if you have large hands(as I do). If the guitar didn't sound and play as good as it does, I'd go for a Gibson. As for the finish, I refinished the guitar recently (stain and tung oil) and I have some advice. First, the finish on these guitars is extremely hard, and this translates into cracks if you aren't careful(I know from experience) and is hard as hell to get off, even with a strong(hand-burning) paint stripper. Second, if you refinish, get it repainted, because these guitars don't take well to staining. Also, Ibanez hardware rusts easily. Expect some.

This guitar has withstanded me bashing it around in basement and garages, on several cross town bus trips to jam sessions, three trips across the US(it survived both Greyhound and Delta. 'Nuff said) and it still sounds and plays great. So far, the only mods are the humbuckers, the finish, and the addition of straplocks. These are mandatory for rocking out, take my word. I can't count how many times I saved this guitar from crashing to earth when I was using the stock buttons. I use Dunlops and they work really well. As for gigging, ALWAYS have a spare on hand with one of these. A broken string on any floating-trem equipped axe will stop the momentum of a gig faster than you can say "Spinal Tap". However, if you're at one of those gigs where the audience starts chucking full beer cans at the stage, you can't ask for a better guitar to hide behind.

My advice is avoid dealing with any company unless you have a warranty and all of your paperwork in order. Otherwise, go with a trusted repair shop, or, if you're handy, DIY.

If you wanna rock but don't have the groupies, limos, and stadiums nailed down quite yet, this is an excellent guitar for the price. Get it used, get it cheap, and modify it to your tastes. I've been playing since I was sixteen(about three years), and I've played this guitar thru a variety of amps(no-name, Ibanez, Marshall, SovTek, Laney), both tubed and solid-state, and it never fails to deliver. I've been standing by this guitar for most of my playing career thus far, and I see no reason to stop now.

1989, Japanese solidbodied guitar. Basswood, maple, maple, yadda yadda yadda, you know the score here. Comes with HSH pickup config, but I modified it (See below). I got with a gigbag and strings. Wow-Ee. Has an Ibanez EDGE trem. The best. EVER.

Okay, first of all, I bought this guitar for one reason, to modify and get a killer crunch tone (think Machine Head or Slipknot) out of. First thing I did was disconnect the middle pickup and sink it in the pickguard, and lower the neck pickup completely. I don't use em on this guitar. The tone knob= nothing. Just not there. The volume knob, I switched places where the tone knob was cuz my picking gets in the way otherwise and by the end of a song my volume is nil. Fuck no! I put a Seymour Duncan JB pickup in the bridge (Scott Ian uses it- it's good!). I play through a marshall JMP-1 setup and it's killer. Tons of crunch, but I want to get either a Dual Recto or a Modified JCM series, just to get some more tube crunch as opposed to that kinda sterile rack sound you sometimes get. Oh well. With my "B" tuning (String gauges: .62, .52, .46, .36, .16, .13) (don't call me a korn ripoff. I don't play that style.), and the JB, I get a VERY bassy tone. TOO bassy sometimes, so I back off the bass a bit and use some more treble. CRUNCH up the ass now, very very thick tone. Amazing. NOT versatile at all in my setup though. I have basically 2 sounds. Distortion and not-distortion. And that clean sound isn't very great. But oh well.

I dunno. I got it used. I re-set-it-up. It doesn't matter.

I've owned 3 Ibanezes in the past (an RG-560, now retired, an RG-570 which i sold, and a JEM7, which is my standard tuning guitar), and they will withstand any live assault AS LONG AS THE STRINGS ARE STRETCHED and not more than 2 days old at a gig. I play VERY hard sometimes, but I am also an exceedingly TECHNICAL guitar player when I need to be (Yngwie + Dave Murray + Steve Vai = my lead style), and my whammy bar useage can be excessive. Ibanez guitars ARE the second most premier live guitar, only behind a rock-solid Gibson. Oh yeah.

They suck. End of story.

It serves it's purpose and it serves it well. I don't really enjoy 7-strings that much (small hands), and i really like having that low "B" note when I need it. So an Ibanez is perfect for that tuning- i get a great trem, lovely neck, and a rock-solid live axe. For $130. beat that with a stick, mofos.

iam not sure on the year but it was made in japan. 24 frets. it has one volume and one tone, and a five way selecter. h/s/h. it has a v7 for the neck position, s1 for the middle position, and a v8 for the bridge position.passive electronics. it has a one piece neck with a maple fret board and jumbo frets. the body is made of basswood. it has a cosmo black finish with a floyd rose locking bridge. it has gotoh sg 38 die cast tuners. i got mine with a hard shell case and a allen wrench for the bridge and nut.

if i play it through the middle and bridge pichups it sounds good for my musical style. i can usually get my guitar to sound like tom morello (Rage) or larry ladonde(primus). it can get a little noisyon the neck pickup and has an overall rich/full sound. i think if there was another volume nob i could get white noise and the tone nob dosent fuck around with the sound.

the action is a little high and one of the pickups sounds funky but other than that it it is setup fine. there were a few scratches probably from the previous owner.

i havent had it all that long but it seems to be durable. the hardware seems sturdy as well as the strap buttons, but the finish seems a little thin.

n/a never called them

its a good guitar, i got it used and it sounds pretty good the actions is a little high but i would recomend it to anyone who likes heavier stuff i still use my strat for blues because the rg is more of a metal guitar.

Japanese made, probably about 10 years old. White/cream finish, black headstock, black pickgaurd. H-S-H pickup configuration. I got rid of the old pickups and now use a Dimarzios. I use the Evolution in the bridge and Super Distortion in the neck. Stock Ibanez single coil is still in the middle position. One volume and one tone pot, 5 way pickup selector. Has the Edge tremolo on it as well. Body is basswood. Maple fretboard and neck, 1 piece. 24 frets, probably jumbo, not sure though. Has black Gotoh tuners.

This is an update on my previous review I made a little while back. Since my last review, I've replaced both the bridge and neck pickups. Now the bridge is a Dimarzio Evolution and the neck is a Dimarzio Super Distortion. The guitar sounds even better now. My tone now w/ my setup is very very reminiscient of Steve Vai. I might even go as far as saying that it practically nails Steve's tone, both rhythm and lead. I'm using a Kittyhawk Quattro preamp thru my Marshall 30th anniv head model 6100B. I get huge sustain w/ both pickups and awesome tone. The Evolution has a great midrange and bass response. Pinch harmonics are a sinch to get also. The neck position offers huge sustain while not being muddy or overly dark. As I also stated, I love the Edge tremolo, its amazing. My guitar almost never goes out of tune, and if it does its by a tiny amount, almost not noticeable. The only thing better is the LoProEdge trem. Its like the Edge but has an overall looser feel but performs the same. Hats off to Ibanez, these old RG 550's are killer rock/metal guitars. They can even do clean well, that's why you've got a single coil in the middle position. Its tone is a bit thin but nonetheless very clear and crisp. Good for vintage type stuff. This guitar is great for me. The wizard neck is the best too. Its totally flat and wider than the neck on my Strat Plus which is also more curved. I can't say enough good things about this guitar. Its a little beat up but that's just 'cause its about 10 years old. I'm thinking about getting one of those swirl paint jobs on it as done by Herc Fede. Check out his page, www.fedecustomshop.com The man does some amazing things to your guitar. For my purposes this guitar gets a "10"

I just had it setup not long ago and its great. I got the action set pretty low. I'm using 10-46's on it and so its easy to bend, plus I keep it in standard tuning all the time. Pickups are just at the height that I like 'em too.

Sure its extremely reliable and its got to be durable, I'm the third owner and while it looks like its been through the ringer, it still holds up like a charm. Finish is good enough, though I'm thinking about maybe getting it re-done. Strap buttons are solid, so solid I don't need those strap locks like on my Strat. I'd be confident using it without backup in a live situation.

Never dealt with 'em.

I've played for like 5 or 6 years now, I've got plenty of gear, a Strat Plus, a '75 Fender Mustang, a friends '82 Les Paul, various acoustics. This is quickly becoming my favorite guitar and its extremely versatile too with a ton of features. I'd recommed getting one of these older RGs, they are MUCH better than the new ones. Plus they are so cheap (price wise, I mean)! You can't go wrong for the price.

1991 Japan made guitar. 24 fret solid 1 piece basswood body and 1 piece maple neck. 1 vol 1 tone and a 5 way selector. H S H pickup configuration all passive with a duncan Jb in the bridge and V8 S1 in the middle and neck. Myh finish is bright bright yellow they call it desert sun yellow. Strat style body with sharper cut aways. Original edge trem. Gotoh tuners. With a wide and very thin neck profile and a long scale (25.5). Came with a case and thats about it!

The maple neck is suprisingly nice instead of the usual rosewood, And is nice and quiet when you play with the humbuckers on full distort. You can easily get any sound you want out of it but i like the harder sound best.

I had to lower the pickups just a bit and lower the middle one all the way down, because i need that extra room. It seems to have no flaws at all, nice guitar.

The finish on this thing feels like it has about 10 goos coats on it, i dont think it will EVER wear off. The buttons were nice and big, no need for a strap locking system, it seems very dependable, i only tune it about every 2 weeks.

I have been playing fer about 7 yrs now, and this guitar is the best ive had yet. it is perfect for getting that hard metallic sound. I couldnt have asked for anything better-- especially at this price range.

This one is a 1987 model which is your typical 80's looking guitar. It is bright orange, or bright red (looks different under certain lights) w/matching headstock and black pickguard. Well worn maple neck w/24 jumbo frets, H/S/H setup, active EMG 81 in the bridge and Ibanez (stock) pickups for the rest. The only thing added was a new tremelo after I purchased it back in '95. Thinking about replacing the existing pickups with some Dimarzio "Evolutions"... We'll see. No added goodies came with the guitar but who's complaining for a definite steal at $50.00...

Totally awesome loud and heavy sound. It's a nice change for when I lay down my Fender, and am hungry for throwing down on some heavy stuff. I have a Roland amp which handles my other guitars a little better than the Ibanez. I would like to get a nice Marshall amp more suitable for the powerful sounds this guitar puts out.

The action is second to none. I think because it was broken in so well when I bought is why it feels so great to me. The thin neck makes for some flawless navigating for me. I get spoiled playing it. I adjusted the pickups myself after installing the tremolo....real fun stuff for an ameteur. After some frustrating moments I finally got it to where I like it. Finish is that to be expected of a 12 yr. old guitar, but still has lots of character.

Never had it on stage, but I know it's been up on stage by the previous owner(s). I would trust it as a main axe on stage as far as reliability. However, appearance wise you'll definetly attract those people like me from the 80's generation headbanger scene. Durability? I've accidently dropped it on the floor a couple of times, but I think the guitar did more damage to the floor than the guitar itself. This workhorse will be around for a looong time.

None

I've been playing on and off for over 10 years. I have managed to collect me a small arsenal of guitars. I rate my Ibanez pretty high compared to my others. Aside from the loud appearance the loud sound makes up for that.

Okay, this is a Japanese made RG 550 probably made about 8 to 10 years ago. It features a white American Basswood body with a black pickgaurd. H-S-H pickup configuration, its got a Shaller 2 in 1 humbucker in neck position, stock Ibanez S1 single coil in mid, and a Jackson humbucker in bridge (that's on its way out very soon). 1 volume and 1 tone control, 5 way pickup seletor. Has an Ibanez Edge tremolo which is simply amazing! Has a maple Wizard neck and maple fretboard, 24 jumbo frets. Comes w/ locking nut and Gotoh tuners.

This guitar is amazing! First off, I have NEVER owned or played on any guitar EVER that plays nearly as well as this one! Even the new RG 550's and 570's can't compare. It makes playing fast effortless, even my guitar teacher remarked that I can play much faster with this guitar as well as smoother. The Wizard neck is so awesome, probably because its so flat unlike the neck on my Strat Plus. Tapping is also a lot easier too than on my Strat. I don't like the Jackson humhucker in bridge, it doesn't have enough punch for me, its fairly low ouput, I'd say also. The neck pickup is really smooth, made by Shaller its about 13K ohms. Great for fast runs and sweep arpeggios. The stock single coil has a nice crisp, classic single coil sound to it. A little bit bright but still very nice. I plan on getting a Dimarzio Evolution for the bridge position for that extra output and punch. Its extremely versatile, you can cover everything from hard rock/metal to bluesy stuff and jazz. The Edge tremolo is also amazing. No matter what I do, the guitar NEVER goes out of tune! I can dive bomb till the strings go slack and then pull it up a good fifth of an octave and its still perfect! I use it with a Marshall 30th anniversary head and the Marshall 1936 2x12 cab w/ a Kittyhawk Quattro tube rack preamp and its got amazing tone, just need that new bridge pickup and I'm set.

Well, I'm the third owner of this guitar but the previous owner set the action really low which I like. The neck pickup probably wasn't put in correctly because the height cannot be adjusted. Since its about 10 years old or so its got its share of nicks and scratches. The fretboard is worn too but I think that just makes it look that much cooler!

Well, I've only had it like a week but its fine so far. I'd be confident to use it without a backup guitar. Totally solid construction and extremely light, probably only 3 to 4 lbs.

I wouldn't even bother contacting Ibanez if anything every went wrong (which I'm sure it won't). I can probably fix it myself if anything happens.

Bottom line is I can't say enough good things about it. For $210 it was a total steal. I've never found such a good deal in my life. It beats out guitars 10 times its price easily like all that Jackson crap. Ibanez definitely makes quality guitars. However, I don't think their new stuff is quite as good as older models like these. I find another immediately if anything ever happened to this one. I've played for over 5 years and own about 10 guitars and this is by far the best is sound, quality and playability. I've got strats, a mustang, a charvel copy, various acoustics, whatever- this is still the best of all. Once I get a new bridge pickup this thing will be perfect. But for now, its pretty darn close.