Ibanez RG550

A fine 24 fretted instrument with 2 v7 v8 humbucker pickups and a s1 single coil. Flyod rose licencd trem. The cream fret board is an excellent touch which screams class and dignity.

A fine sounding instrument but lacks slightly when playing in a heavily distorted effect, best sound is acheived when played clean.

When i bought my guitar the tremlo was set slightly to high, this was easily ajusted by resetting the springs at the back.

This guitar can take quite a beating but the springs have a tendancecy to release the strings when the tremlo is being used excessivly but lets face it we cant all play like Steve Vai and those of us who can are more likely to own Ibanez Jems.

I have been playing guitar for four years and have found that the RG550 suits all my needs, my overall rating is 8 out of 10 due to the lack of quailty in distorted sound and the set up of the springs. A fine crafted instrument which will suit anyones needs.

I am the original owner of a 1990 white RG 550. The previous reviews have beat the specs up so we'll skip that. This was the first guitar I Purchased new. Being a beginning player, I didn't have a huge backlog of cash. I sat at the House of Guitars in Rochester, and must have played 25-30 guitars of all different makes and models. Many over $1000 dollars, out of my range. When I first felt the neck on this guitar, I had come home. I bought it the next week. One down side of any floating bridge guitar is changing string guage or tunings is a half day job.

The basswood bodies on these guitars sound big and warm without being mushy. The stock pickups, well that's another story. I upgraded to DiMarzio Evolutions, as soon as they came out, and the volume and sustain I get out of this axe is great. This guitar run the gamut from metal, to blues, to reggae, and responds well to all.

The guitar played great right out of the box, and stays in tune with very little tweaking. The neck on this guitar is what made me an Ibanez player from word one. It's fast, narrow smooth, and I love the unfinished maple fretboard, it's just silky for doing big in tune bends. The finish WAS flawless (it's got some mileage on it now).

13 of beating the piss out of this axe has not taken it's toll on the sonic end of it. It plays and souds as good, or better than it ever has. The knife edge pickup select tends to break knobs occasionally and needs to be cleaned frequently, but then I have that same problem with my Jems. Currently I string it with 11s, and use it for my half step down guitar (SRV, Aice in Chains, VH, etc.) and it sounds fat with the bigger guage strings, great sustain.

N/A I've never had a problem with this axe. I bring it in for an annual setup/checkup, and that's it.

13 years down the road and 4 guitars later ( RG470(Traded) Jem7VWH, UV7BK, Gothic Explorer) this guitar fits like an old pair of shoes you don't want to get rid of. I thought about upgrading to another Jem, but didn't want to get rid of the RG. So instead, I am shipping the old girl to Herc Fede for a facelift. The swirl paint job will hide years of abuse at my hands, and I will keep this guitar for a long time.

My axe of choice is a purple neon RG550 with a maple neck.A friend of mine picked it up at an auction for R600.00(South African currency).He swopped it with me for an acoustic(sucker).It has a maple fretboard, no skunk stripe and outfitted with standard h/s/h v7-v8 pickups.The neck joint is angled, pre all access design, thinner at the high "e".Made in Japan and doesn't have the RG logo on the headstock.Trem system is definitley "lo-pro edge" as i've owned a Jem.Purchased in ibanez case with all tools included.

I play in cover bands and the sound is tops. In a midi based band I use a Roland GP-100 and with a live band a Marshall V200 combo.My favourite clean tone is definitely the front humbucker and most rock tones come off the rear humbucker.

Well it's all been said before but the playability of this guitar is stunning.I had to set it up myself but when I got it I could not get it to feel good until I noticed that it had a factory installed shim under the lock nut. Once removed the "beast" softened up nicely.I find that the distace between the fretboard and bottom of the string at the nut should not exceed 1.4mm, if it does the guitar will never function at it's full potential.

This guitar is well up to gigging conditions but just look after it, nothings gonna last if you drag it to gigs behind the van. The "pots" are still very smooth. My only complaint is the wearing out of the chrome on the "e,a & d" bridge saddles.

Would like to replace the saddles and knife edges at some stage,but no-one seems to be able to assist me.

I've been playing for 15 years and this guitar does not take second place to either my E series American Strat or my Ibanez S1670FM Prestige except for the new ZR trem on the Prestige.

What could i say that hasnt been said before, you all know the features to this bad boy! I have a Ibanez RG550 Lake Placid Blue with a blue mirror pickguard and this thing is a monster. The only thing is the stock Vintage pus are a little weak but not enough for me to replace them.

Its night and day really, I was playing a tele for regular tuning and this thing ate its shit and soared over the fender. Like i stated before the stock pus allow a lot of sounds, but it lacks a little presence. But this guitar doesnt have any extra humming or anyting. Real quiet guitar

I have played a Gibson Les Paul Studio guitar, and in my opinion this thing kicks its ass if you know how to set the action. The edge trem gets down and dirty. The only thing i see in these guitars is that almost all of them begin a crack in the body where the neck bolts on. Yes, all of you check your guitars and stop that crack. But the finish on this guitar (if taken care of) is rock solid and very tight.

I ve been having problems with the bottom strap button. but other than that these guitars could take care of you. I m finally buying another back up now. its another Rg550!!

too old!!!

Final note: if you want an awesome guitar for your money, but an rg550 and nothing else, look at the prices, they sell cheap and these guitars use to sell for 700.00!!

Best guitar ive played , no contest. With a few mods... this guitar could be the best on the planet!!

1997 RG550BK,You all know the specs....Original pickups V8,S1,V7...Black finish,Original Edge Tremolo, Cosmic Or Cosmo black or smoke finish, what ever they were calling it back then...All acess neck joint Super Wizard neck with Bubinga reinforcement.Cam with Aftermarket Hardshell case that weighs a ton empty..and a $4.99 ErnieBall strap...HOw decadent...LOL

Works for the music I playe, Rock, to Metal, with influences of Jazz, blues and Clasiical...Works well with My Boss ME33 wich between the pickup selection and the FX I can get any sound (within reason...Still love the Edge, but I really love the LOPro edge on my RG 570...The 550 will get one of those soon ....

Guitar was used, and "Posed" with as far as I can tell, the frets and the neck are like new, seemes the previous owner was a open tuning I dont want to learn to ACTAULLY play type of guitarist...Its apparent that the guitar was assembled properly from Ibanez, OS thats not an issue...This was however teh period of time taht I beliee Ibanez got cehap on their paint jobs and the paint has not fared very well, lots of nicks and scuff all of which do not effect the payablitiy of the guitar at all...Bad paint give mes the excuse to get it painted in the color I want anyhoo..LOLTypical Bubbling of the Tremolo, PU selector works perfect, and guitar guts are quiet..

The guitar will withstand just about any abuse dished out to it, thats what most Ibanez RGs are known and loved for, besideds the good looks and grat sound..Hardware has many years of use left..Finish is rough, but Has no bearing on the sound or the play of it..Strap buttons are in original place, and are tight..DEPENDABLE AS ALL $%%$ (well you know)I NEVER GIG with out a back up...To do so is asking for a red face of humiliation...Now DO I thin the guitar would perfom and not leve me high and dry, YES...But there must always be a back up , even during Studio time, You gots to have reinforcements...LOL

Never needed them, but Im sure they would do what they need to if ya have a new or still waranteed instrument...

Playing since 1985.Knew waht I was buying , no questions asked..Would always rather replace and Ibanez WITH an Ibanez...NO comparison needed..Previous Ibanez RG ownership...Favorite features of the Ibanez..The Ibanez Edge and LoPro edge..Best tremolo setup EVER MADE!!!!!

Hello, I think we all know the main features here from great trem to wizard neck etc.My main one is a 92 model purchased from the music store I worked at.I have owned many right from the start of their production.Japan of course. The others are no better or worse than other off shore models.

As far as tone goes the original pickups in my opinion will cause high end hearing damage.Sorry guys.However if you spend some money on Duncans or EMGs you will be more than happy with this instrument.There is no question if you set this guitar up correctly it smokes most others for playability.It's hard enough being proficient without fighting the damn guitar.I can play all night without experiencing fatigue.By the way I am a touring musician see..thejdproject.com...so I have put these guitars through their paces.I play Jazz/funk/fusion and work with some heavy cats.This is not to brag but to lend some legitimacy to this review. note(6) is prior to changing out the pickups.

This guitar is now famous for it's low action and playability see:Satriani, Gambale, and Vai etc. My two main 550's are canary yellow believe it or not.My jazz buddies think I am nuts but it has become somewhat of a trademark.If they don't remember me they certainly do the guitar.Only major complaint...high fret access is hampered by the neck joint. They have since solved this but I like the old ones.

These guitars are bullet proof.From stupid me letting people use it on jam nights in the past to broken stands and clumsey roadies they are still ticking so to speak.Local gigs are gig bags and planes are road cases and they have withstood both modes. (excuse the spelling here and there as I skipped that class for guitar practice)I just played a huge outdoor festival in Michigan as a headliner and used only the yellow beast all night. Quick story....when these instruments first hit the market I sold them.I bought one right away after years of out of tune trems struggling. Once I became really good at setting them up I used to hand them to the customer while holding only the trem system bar.(don't try this at home,the bar is a pull out)The customers could not believe this guitar would play in tune right after this display of seemingly disrespect.Anything for a sale huh lol.

When I was in retail I had no major problems with the Canadian distributer. They were great. As a player I have never had a issue come up so I can't really speak to that one.

Overall this is the ultimate workhorse guitar for me.

Everybody knows the specs on this guitar by now, for Gods'sake; it's been in the lineup for years now! The only diffrence between this model( a 2002 ) and the original ones from the 80's is the "All-Access" neck joint, and bubinga reinforcement in the neck itself.
Everytime I look at this guitar I get a woody, and I haven't even done any mods on it yet! Seriously; it's the best-looking RG Ibanez makes! I love the maple fretboard; maple just feels better to my fingers than rosewood. I also seriously dig the pickguard because I'm SOMEWHAT a traditionalist when it comes to instruments. Plus; you can swap out guards and make a custom look for your Axe with only a few dollars investment!

Acoustically, the sound is great; it resonates in your hands and fingers as you strum. God, there is a MAJOR diffrence in quality between the guitars Ibanez makes in Korea and the ones that are made in Japan! I will NEVER own another Korean-made Ibz again; I'm spolied now!
Of course; the stock pickups completely suck, but that is just normal fare for Ibanez unfortunately. I use EMG's exclusively now, and I believe my usual setup will work great in this guitar.

Even from MUSIC 123, the guitar arrived set-up good, and the intonation was spot-on. THAT is a MAJOR testament to the quality of Ibanez guitars. I made a string-height adjustment, set the trem even, and I was ready to jam!
Everybody knows that the EDGE Trem is just "The SHIT" when it comes to locking-trem systems, so I won't go on and on about how cool it is; you already know!
The pots are smooth and have no audible "gritch" in them, so that's cool. You can just tell that this guitar was put together really well, and the paint job is superb( Glossy Black! ).
Fretwork is tight as well with no rough edges. Maple neck feels like Buttah'!

It feels solid as a rock, and I've seen a TON of old 550's that are still in service to this day. A lot of touring guitarists swear by the RG, so I think it's safe to say that this guitar will stand up to just about anything that's thrown at it.
NEVER gig without a backup kiddies( jeesh, why was THAT question included? )!

I've owned a couple of other Ibanez guitars before this, and I never HAD a reason to deal with customer support. If I need something done though, I go see my local tech( he kicks ass!!! ).

I've played and owned too damn many guitars! I finally figured out what works for me( thank God ), and this guitar fulfills the requirement in spades. Once I replace the pups and do a few minor mods, this will be my main guitar.
By the way, you simply cannot beat this guitars' Price/Performance ratio; ther's just nothing else that comes close.
FINAL NOTE:
The regular RG 550 has been retired from the Ibanez line and has been replaced with the RG 1550. It's basically the same guitar, but with a "Prestige" neck. It's still a bargain though. You can get one new for about $470.00 to $500.00 depending upon the dealer/whosaler.
I plan on making my 2001 "S" series stock again and trading it in for the Prestige 1550; I'll be GLAD to see that Korean P.O.S. go!!!
LOL!!!!!!!!

I must review my baby here. I have an ORIGINAL, 1987 Desert Yellow RG550 with a Maple Fretboard. That's old enough that the v7/v8 pickups don't have v7/v8 on them... (of course, they are long gone, replaced with DiMarzio Tone Zone and PAF pro). This guitar is 16 years old and plays just like always. Original Edge Tremolo, same black chrome gotoh tuners, angled neck joint, not rounded...
I picked it up at Starving Musician in San Jose about six years ago, and it has been my main guitar ever since. At the time it was the best bang-for-the-buck guitar around. EVERYONE has imitated it, but none have stood the test of time FEnder HM Strat, Yamaha Pacifica, Charvel and Jackson korean and jap models galore, Fenders Heartfields - man, talk about your knock-offs... Anyway... It's the "poor-man's JEM, and yet it's so much more!

I'm 34 - grew up in the age of shred: Vinnie Moore, John Petrucci, Vai, Satriani, and most cool metal bands are my still my line of work... The original pickups are okay for garage rockers and woodshedders, but Ibanez clearly means for the gigging/recording musician to replace the pickups (Tone Zone/PAF Pro are mine on both m RG's -I have a new RG1550, too.
With stock pickups, I give it about 6 or 7 for sound... with replacements of your taste, it rates a big fat 10... it even gets a decent clean tone at the neck pickup... Since the world clearly understands that RG needs pickups on purchase day, I will rate it a 10 for sound because every 550 fanatic has their own...

It played really nicely at Musicians Friend - unscratched with a a little oxidation on the back of the neck plate. Neck and frets were fine - 6100 gauge jumbos, not the 6105 medium jumbos like my 1550...
The Wizard neck is THE neck... Fast, furious and comfortable.
Who cares about set-up? we all do it our own way - I use Ernie Ball .008's and a pretty darned low action. Everybody who plays my 550 (and my 1550 now) fall in love...
The stock pickguard is gone - in its place, a PEARL GREEN Chandler replacement ($36 I think I paid for it.)The maple fretboard is all dark and stained from years of playing it (that's how it's supposed to look......)
My pick up coils are colored gre-yellow-green-yellow-green from brdige to neck, and I have yellow strat numbered knobs and a yellow thingy for the selector switch. It looks... well... beautiful... custom... sweeeet.....

1987-2003... Enough said. Plenty of live music....

Who Knows? Don't need it.

In my 20th year of playing - I'm 34 - I have owned tons of expensive guitars - Kramer Pacer Imperial, Stagemaster, ESP Mirage Custom, Fender Strat, a Peavey Vandenberg Neck thru - I loved all of them very much - but NONE comes close to my RG550(s). I plan to pick up another used one - in hot pink when I see it - and one in that cool lavender metallic, and a green one with the mirror pickguard - all w/ maple fretboards, of course - oh, and a white one w/ black pickguard to offset my 1550 with the custom white chandler pickguard, and a metallic blue one with white pickguard, and with a black pickguard, and with... and with... and with... but THIS 550 will always be my BABY.... The only guitar I ever need again is an Ibanez RG550 - I hate to be so ga-ga over an instrument, but Ibanez has something special with this model - that's why it's endured for 17 years virtually unchanged.
I wouldn't sell this Ibanez - not een for $2000 - not even for $3000 - it is BEYOND VALUE - A PRICELESS guitar. -----word.

2000 model, black, basswood body, maple fretboard, 24 jumbo frets, ibanez v7 v8 s1 pickups, Ibanez edge tremolo, super thin neck profile and gotoh tuners (not great but it's a locking tremolo so it doesn't really matter you only use them when restringing). Pretty much your standard super strat style made in Japan.

Iv'e had this guitar for 3 years bought it from my friends music store so got #50 knocked off the retail of #600 and got a cheap hardcase a strap and some cables thrown plus free setups for life. Iv'e playeds this guitar through many amps. A laney TF700, Marshall AVT 150H, Marsahll DSL 100 and a Marshall Mode Four Head. I had same trouble though slightly muddy tone on all pickup selections and I couldn't dial it out using the amps controls. I recently rectified the problem by putting a Duncan TB4 in the bridge position I can now cut through any mix. I don't really use the other pickup positions in my band but I use the neck pickup when playing bits of jazz at home it sounds great clean. Before the pickup change I give it a 7 now I give it a 9 (no guitar gets a ten)

Japenese made so amazing quality. It's getting a bit beaten up now though but it has held up extremely well.

I trust it. The finish has a few chips in it but this guitar has been dropped many times and still keeps going. I Have plaet waves locking straps to all my guitars for safety though.

never dealt with them

Iv'e been playing nearly nine years and have owned alot of gear. The RG is my main guitar I also have a schecter C1 which I gave to my Fiance but still borrow as a backup and a Gibson SG special which I am in the process of fixing up.

1989 aquamarine/maple, you know the rest, 24 frets, the full meal deal

rapes any guitar

fantastic...only a fool will say this guitar can't play EVERYTHING...how can anyone dislike this thing?

setup is perfect from factory, as always with this model...flawless...but really who cares about all that, it's an RG550 after all...this is the greatest guitar of all time, period

as solid as the day I bought it. As with any guitar, if you are careless and smash it into a doorway it will get dented, if you drop it something might break, but even then you hear so many times how solid the crasftmanship is, and that's just a fact regardless, but you will really want to baby a beauty like this...just plug it in and it's earth-shattering perfection time and time again

never had to even try, that's why I give a 10, it's such a good product there will never be a need for customer support

I got this sublime creation 12 years ago, played for a few years without ever getting serious about it, then didn't play for ages, and started dabbling again in late 90's without any passion, then quit till early 2002, and now pretty much full-fledged again. This guitar will run circles around absolutely anything else you will ever find in your life. Checking out new guitars in shops make you realize what utter shit anything else is...everything else is just a slop twang module by comparison...don't waste your time.

This thing won't get stolen, I'm not showing it to anyone, taking it anywhere. It's my greatest possesion to say the least. There's nothing to hate about it unless you can't shred and are jealous of those who can, this is the one and only choice if you can really play. My first and last guitar, I don't need another one, but I might get another RG550, or another classical guitar, but I don't need to get anything else really.

it rips...the only limitation that concerns this piece of perfect machinery is your ability to unleash whatever you may upon it...it will take anything, and beg for more...feed it, it's hungry...and I have gone over a year numerous times without changing strings...I don't pick hard, I barely skim the string, my picks never ever wear down, so my strings don't either unless I bend too far on a high fret, but otherwise it's smoother than fuck 24/7, the ultimate conception...