Ibanez RG550

1993, made in Japan Body: basswood neck: maple fingerboard: maple Ibanez passive pickups v7-s1-v8, Ibanez edge tremolo (Floyd Rose style) Gotoh tuners, locking nut, 24 jumbo frets

I play through a Marshall jtm combo, no effects. I use much more distorted sound, so I don' t care a lot about clean sound of my guitar. However, here' s my opinion: Clean sound VERY dark with the neck pickup, VERY dirty with the bridge one. Better sound in distortion, but sustain=0. I can't have larsen from my amp!!!!

Quite nice set-up at the factory, nearly perfect finish except from a loosened screw.

No problems at all, I would use it even in war.

One year warranty, only for electronics. Never had the slightest problem.

Five years of intensive use. Excellent neck, excellent fretboard, excellent brigde: you will not be able to put it out of tune, in any way. On the other side, sound is weak and the lack of sustain is often unbearable for me; the situation is not desperate only thanks to my great amp. Since it's my first guitar and I bought it when I knew nothing, well, I admit I could have chosen something worse. But the great rock sound lives in another place. At the least, it needs two real humbuckers!

1987 model- Made in Japan 24 frets H/S/H ibanez v1 s1 v2 pickups floyd rose lockin nut tremolo 1 voulume 1 tone 5 way selector Color is bright orange and black.. can you say 80's metal?
Purchased it for about $250 from a family friend, included a soft ibanez case, 20 foot amp cord, crybaby....was missing locking nuts which i had to separetly purchase.. pretty good shape for being used

Use it with a marshal s80 amp, get a great heavy metal sound out of it, sounds great with heavy distortion and clean....i haven't had any problems with getting the sound i need.. being it is my first quality guitar, i get the sound i need at the right price

My only problem, being it is used, are the rusted screws, There aren't any chips or anything in the finish which is good, but i guess the appearance of it doesn't really matter. I would DEFINATELY buy this guitar new..... if i had the money!!!! t

Very dependeble i guess, I guess you would need a backup if playing live... the hardware is original i beleive, which shows this guitar can stand up.. everything seems in good shape

Haven;t had a problem....yet.

This is my first real good guitar, im not an expert, ive only been playin for about 6 months... i would definately buy anotehr if i had the money... i really do love this guitar, the sound is great, lightweight, i'd definately purchase a new one!!!

1995 model (I think) White Finish, Black Pickguard, H-S-H Pickup config, 24 fret maple neck.. Ibanez stock pickups (presently), Edge Tremelo, etc.. (see previous reviews for more detail

Stock Pickups are V1-S1-V2 which aren't really that bad.. VERY acceptable for a semi-professional musician who can't afford to fork out $ for new pickups. If you don't know any better the V2 would be fine for rock music, even metal. However, I own 5 other guitars and use a variety of pickups-- EMG on some, Seynour Duncan JB and '59 (neck) on some and Dimarzio Tone Zone and X2N on others. I am going to replace the pickups because I intend to use this baby for playing live (more on this later).. Overall, considering this guitars price range, I have to rate it pretty good here, the pickups are dipped in wax which is nice.

Bought used so not really applicable. The Wizard neck is devestating. Truly great. The bar is great also. Better than the new Floyd's I get on my Jackson Custom Shops. The finish isn't awesome or anything (not what you get on a $ 1500 Jackson).

Seems solid enough to me. Everyone and their cat is using Ibanez these days. I can tell it isn't a piece of shit (like a Fender, Washburn or Dean). The strap bottons sucked so I put on Shaller strap locks (and put the actual Locks in a box because I have like 3 pairs of these things I am not using- you only need a couple staps w/locks, just but the pegs on all of the actual guitars). The 5-way switch seems a little shaky.. the bridge pickups cut out a few times until I cleaned the switch. Hope that shit doesn't happen on stage. Would NEVER use this (or any) guitar without a backup. If you don't have a backup guitar you aren't ready to gig.

Sent an e-mail requesting info on getting a new tremelo bar and haven't heard back.. The idiots at the pawn shop gave me a chrome bar and the Edge was black (looked like hell). I ended up buying a black bar at Guitar Center. A quick note: YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BE THE BUYER AND NOT THE SELLER AT A PAWN SHOP. You can get some great deals and most of the idiots don't know shit. They had the guitar marked $ 395.00 I told them I could buy a new one for that because the guitar was one of the cheapest guitars ibanez makes.. then offered $ 200.. they maintained it was a 550 (which it was), I eventually convinced them they got screwed and walked out of the store with the guitar for $ 220. Not a bad deal huh?? PAWN SHOPS SUCK. If you've ever seen them offer some obscene price to someone who is totally broke you'll agree.. they pray on losers who pawn shit to buy drugs and stuff.

My original intention was to use this as a "beater" guitar. I own several $1000+ Jacksons and didn't want to leave them at my rehersal place (temp variations really mess with them). Anyway, I cleaned this things frets (with a Dremel wire attachment) and the neck looks brand new now. IT PLAYS GREAT and I am sold on Ibanez. I am putting a Dimarzio Tone Zone in the bridge and an Evolution in the neck. (I am normally strickly a EMG for rythym, SD JB for leads guy) The bottom line: I don't think a Jackson SL1 or RR1 is worth the money. Sure, they are both neck-thru body guitars but they are more than twice as expensive. I am buying a RG 520, swapping the pickups and using this 550 and the 520 as my main guitars. I'll keep the Jackson's because they are great guitars-- just not worth the money I spent. My advice: Buy Ibanez (and don't make the mistake of being a real expensive model- get the 520, 550 or 570), put in pickups you like, and add strap locks. Trust me (20+ years playing heavy metal) you'll laugh your way to the bank. Screw the Prestige and Jem models-- the neck can't be much better than the WIZARD neck the pickups can be easily changed to you liking. The Evolution (JEM) pickup doesn't sound that good for heavy metal music anyway.

Made in Japan 1991, Candy apple red finish, Ibanez Wizard Neck - maple/24 frets, Basswood body, Ibanez Edge Bridge, H/s/H pickup config - Bridge- Ibanez V2, Middle- Ibanez S1, Neck- Ibanez V1. Gotoh Tunners, Black scratch plate, 1 vol pot, 1 tone pot, 5-way switch. I bought this guitar new in Feburary 1992. I came with an Ibanez Hard flight case, Allen Keys and Manual for adjusting bridge. Great features considering all components are of a high quality standard and are still working good today. This was my second guitar when I bought it back in 92. It was really a pleasure to play because my first guitar was a beaten up $150 job - utter shit.

It has a good Heavy Metal sound. The bridge and neck pickups are very fat and hot, great for lead. The single coil in the neck is nice too. I think all the pickups are perfectly matched to the guitar because all of the 5 positions sound great! On a clean setting, this guitar is ultra clean! I mean it, its great on the neck/middle pickup position, dosen't sound like a Fender Strat at all here. In fact is wont sound like a strat now matter how you treat it. This guitar is the total opposite to a "round" sounding guitar. It is only good for blues playing on the bridge pickup. All other positions sound anoyingly thin. To conclude here, I;ll say this: Brilliant for heavy metal lead guitar ( which is what I wanted at the time I bought it), but lousy for anything else. If you have the G3 video or cd, notice how when Steve Vai comes in to solo on Red House, his sound for blues is completely different to Satch's and Erics ? Well thats the same tone you get from an RG550. Good for distorted leads, and ultra clean chord work, but nothing special for much else.

I can't remember how it was setup when I bought it but I remember taking to it with allen keys not long after and totally putting everything out of place. hehehe. Well... I had to find out how all this new hardware worked!! Anyway, after a few months I found out how to setup a floating bridge and it wasnt easy, but at least all that frustration has payed off, becasue I can do it really quickly now. The Wizard neck it great to play on but very likely to need constant trus rod adjustment due to the fact that it is so bloody thin, any major change in climat will warp it. The finish is great now, but when I bought the guitar, the paint began to flake off. I remember being so sad. I could see the paint was only a really thin layer, and it would just flake, even without bumping it. I had to send it back to the factory to be replaced with a new body. We'll I've had it for 6 years since then and the finish has held up great.

It will stay in tune forever! Its really is amazing in this aspect. After I resting, tune up and lock the nut, this guitar stays tuned even when playing Steve Vai on the bar. As I said before, I think the hardware on this guitar is second to none. I have treated it like shit and nothing has even shown the start of any wear in over 6 years. I have used other guitars with similar hardware, but none seem to be as strong as this. The Ibanez EDGE bridge really has to be comended. I have had floyed Rose bridges on other guitars, and all of them wear and tear. I think also the fact that the EDGE has these little plastic brushes that fit on the end of the bar, so when it becomes loose, you just slip on a few new ones. This is great because you dont have to purchase new hardware when it wears down. I have played live with this guitar on a number of occasions and it seems to hold up well. I would give a 10 here if it were not for a crack in the neck that has developed recently, but that was because I swung around into a wall with it. I guess no neck would withstand that and it only means that one day its going to need replacing.

oh here we go. Well if you can get on to Ibanez themselves your ok, but where I am ( Australia ), I have to go through their distributors who take their time. When I needed my body replaced, they took 6 months getting it back to me! I mean come on! This was ridiculous. I have however contacted Ibanez via email to get the dates my guitars were made, and they have replyed promptly and thoroughly.

I like it, but dont love it. I have been playing since 1989, and have bought 4 guitars since then , this being the second. When I bought it , I played the absolute shit out of it, to the point of wearing down the gloss on he neck and making it green with my hand oil and sweat. Today, I am not so crazy when It comes to playing. If I was to save any parts of this guitar in a fire , it would be the Gotoh tuners and the Ibanez EDGE bridge. These two peices of hardware would have to be to best money can buy. I strongly stress this. The origianl Wizard neck is the fastest, thinest neck known to man, but is likely to need attention constantly with climat changes, although I recently heard that Ibanez have reinforced these neks now to last longer. The stock pickups are great and havent ever made me think about replacing them with dimarzio's or anything. Well, in the end I just can't say enough about the Ibanez EDGE tremolo. It is definitly the highlight of this guitar.

This is one of standard Ibanez strat-shape guitars. It has HSH Ibanez pickups, 5-way switch with volume and tone, double-locking Floyd Rose-type tremolo, basswood body, pretty fast neck with rosewood fingerboard. Actually, I'm not sure about that fingerboard wood - I think it's rosewood, but I am still not an expert on telling the wood material.

It is definitely more suited for metal/hard rock type sound. The HSH setup is pretty versatile. The sound is warm and the output is pretty high. However, the pickups are pretty noisy and they do get muddy especially with either of humbucking pickups - if you want to do complex chords on lower strings. Because it is thick and warm sounding, it does not have brilliance or presence of more traditional strat/single coil sound. Anybody interested in getting this guitar should know what this guitar is good for. (as with any guitar)

It's been so long since I got the guitar that I cannot comment on factory setup - I also sanded the finish off so can't comment on that either. The guitar is overall built solidly and can take a lot of beating. The tremolo is stable. This guitar can be used for pro gigs, I think, if the pickups are changed.

Again, the guitar is pretty solid - reliable for live settings. I don't like the Ibanez's five-way switch though. It is a little different design from Fender kind and I had to open it up a couple of times because the connections start shorting once in a while.

Never dealt with them.

This is my first real guitar so it is at least 8 years old (made in 1989-90?). This guitar is suited for rock/metal/hard rock mainly and if you want a solid guitar for that this guitar can deliver, maybe better so with better pickups. My guitar style changed from following generic 80's pop rock/metal to much more earthy, single-coil oriented originals, so I don't use this guitar very often any more. Someday I will change pickups and instal coil taps and it will be much more useable for me. I'm too sentimental to sell my first guitar!

This is the newer one made in 1997 and it's made in Japan. The 24 jumbo frets are the best ever. Just one volume and one tone knob but thats all you really need. It has 2 Humbuckers and 1 single in the middle. Its basswood body in kind of heavy but it sounds great. Also the edge trem is the best one ever made.

It is the best soundig RG guitar and its way better then the RG570. Its very quiet and has a thick sound. Its mostly for heavy metal or rock but it can get good jazz sounds.

The action was set up ok from the factory but it needed a little adjustment. The finish was perfect.

The buginga strip on the back of the neck makes it much stronger than previous RG guitars and everything else on the guitar seems to be built excelent.

I haven't called them at all.

I think that this is the Best RG guitar ever and if it were stolen I would definitly buy another. Even if it wern't stolen I would buy another.