Ibanez RG550

Great Liscensed Floyd Rose, Beautiful thin profile, flat 24 fret maple fretboard/maple neck. Locking nut, H-S-H pickup layout with 5-way strat switch. Position 1 & 5 is your humbuckers, 3 is the single coil and 2 & 4 give you that awsome in between Strat sound. This guitar is a nice ballance of Van Halen shred machine and Fender Strat.

Don't let people tell you that the trems on these won't stay in tune, these are just people that have no idea how to set up a floating trem. I set this up following the instructions in "Guitar Player Repair Guide" (great book BTW) and I've stayed in tune for 4 weeks and counting now with moderate trem use (a dive bomb here and there too :-)

The humbuckers are pretty raunchy, but you can get a nice clean sound with the 5-way in positions 2,3,4. This guitar is a hard rocker/heavy metal, but you can squeeze some nice strat sounds out of it too.

Nice low action, beautiful finish, excellent apointments. Great purple finish :-)

This sucker is a tank! It's a 1992 model and It was used by the kind of guy who put stickers all over it and didn't take great care of it. A couple of hours of cleaning and setup and she was ready to rock for another 10 years.

Ibanez doesn't seem to reply to their emails and the one Ibanez dealer I tried to get parts from were useless knobs :-( So, who cares, learn to fix 'em yourself and scour eBay for parts like I do
;-)

I've gone through around 30 guitars in my near 30 years of playing and this sucker is the most fun versitaille guitar I've EVER picked up! This is hands down the best bang for the buck I've ever gotten on a used guitar!!! If I ever lost this guitar I wouldn't hessitate to run out and buy another one (or 2).

2001 Made in Japan
Black basswood body with black pickguard and maple neck.
Ibanez V7,S1,V8 HSH Pickup configuration
Edge Double locking tremelo
Hardshell case

As someone already stated, this guitar has a very defined purpose...playing hard rock/metal. Technical playing and shredding. It does that well. The pickups are not very clean, the neck pickup is very muddy. The bridge pickup doesn't have as much bite as I would like. I am definately going to trade out the pickups, but keep a HSH configuration. The pickups seem to hold this guitar back.

The wizard neck is no surprise, thin and fast. The action is very low, fretwork is great. The neck in general gets a 10 plus. The Edge bridge is the only "non-original" Floyd Rose that I've tried and the only one that I've wanted to try. It stays in tune well, but I have to make fine tune adjustments more regularly than I did on an original Floyd Rose. The fit and finish of everything was flawless, top-notch. Setup was done professionally at a guitar store, and a good one at that.

I bought this guitar used. Only 6 months old and obviously not used very much. But, not a scratch, ding or paint chip anywhere. It seems very solid, although very, very light.

From what I've seen and heard, Ibanez doesn't have customer support. Their website even falls short in product information. With one exception, the online help pages offer some useful information. Just don't need anything not covered.

I bought this guitar because I wanted a strat-style guitar and got a great deal. 6 months old, hardly used, no scratches or marks, new condition with hardshell case for $400. I wouldn't have paid more, guitar stores are asking $550 plus 60 for the hardshell case. If stolen I wouldn't buy it again unless I found as good of a deal on a used one. Even at $400 in new condition I kind of wish I hadn't bought it. Not because it is a piece of crap, it isn't. It is a nice guitar with some excellent strengths, especially the neck and the Edge bridge. Just too limited for my taste and the pickups are near worthless to me. Once I get a good combination of pickups in it, it may be my favorite guitar.

Its a stock (and one of the original) RG series.... great basic guitar... bang for buck they are the ducks nutz! They stay in tune... they sound great and are a piece of piss to play! What else do you need? Maybe a JEM77FP or JS1 :-) They're finish is excellent!

Sounds like a gibson les paul and a Mark Knoffler strat on steroids.... no FX required... just straight into my JCM800 50 half stack... or for small gigs a Trace Elliot Supertramp 2x12 amp! There is a pommy guy in one of the reviews saying they have no natural sound... yet he was putting it through processors, power amp and then into a quad.... if he didn't have all that shit in the way of the guitar's signal he'd be able to hear the fuckin guitar! Excellent single coil rhythm sounds and shit hot bridge pickup for rock solos :-) I use it for blues, rock and bloody hard rock!

Action is low and smooth... feel like I haven't played after four hours of gigging! They are excellent! I always tickle the guitar to just how I want it regardless of factory settings... plus I bought this second hand... so that questions pointless! No flaws... excellent finish! No wrinkled paint like on Les Pauls next to the neck on the body.... no knobs hitting screws that stick up like on US strats.... no necks built like logs on PRS's..... AS I said before... bang for buck... these are extremely excellent value!

I picked mine up secondhand about 1990... and have gigged all around the central australian desert.... Adelaide.... Sydney and the south coast of NSW.... recorded on a soundtrack for a film (To the End of the Earth... crap movie :-) and this guitar has survive one theft attempt! Can it take it... yes it bloody can! Everything is still orginal.... it goes on and on and on and on etc. You get the idea!

I vist their site every blue moon just to perve on some the of new gear.... asked a couple of questions which they answered... got some bridge saddles for my JEM77FP!

Been playing since Pink Floyd put out Dark Side of the Moon... or just before... play RG550 (workhorse), JEM77FP when I get socially excited... and a JS1 when I want to get a groupie :-) MArshall JCM800 50w halfstack, JCM900 50w 2x12 combo and Trace Elliot Supertramp 100w 2x12 combo.
They are simple and sweet... no bullshit... just keeps on working! They will be a collector in the future! Like the 750's etc!

You can see how popular they are by the number of reviews here!

My RG550 was made in 2000 and was built in Japan.
It has 24 xj frets with a Maple neck and fretboard.
It has 1 volume and 1 tone with a 5 way selector.
The pickups on my RG550 are Ibanez,s own pickups. H/S/H
Super Strat shape with a solid black finish.
The tremalo is a Edge and uses Non Locking tuners.

The sound of this guitar is near perfect for the style of music I play (Rock,Metal,Blues).The pickups don,t do the Blues sound very well but with the gain cranked up these pickups come to life.I will be changing the pickups soon as these pickups can sound muddy.If you want a Steve Vai sound with out the price then the RG550 is just right.Im using a Laney Tube amp with a Boss MT2 Metal Zone and Ibanez Delay/Echo pedal.
The is capable of so much but due to my taste and the fact im a tone freak I feel that a pickup change would boost my sound and make the guitar that much more versatile.
Other then my personal tastes, this guitars sound is perfect for shred and other types of Rock and Metal.

When the guitar was taken out of the case the action was spot on and the spring tension for the trem was just right.
I play with 10 gauge strings so after I took the 9 gauge striges of it onley took a matter of minutes to change strings and set up.
The pickup height was also perfect for me.
The finish was in black and felt it was perfect and found know problems with it but I still feel that the finish is to weak as iv already put a few chips and marks in it.But this could just be my bad luck and not the guitar.

This guitar can definatley do the job both live and in studio or in your bedroom.The feel of the guitar is amazing and playing this guitar in a live situation could,nt be easyer. The hardware is very strong and strap buttons feel strong but the screw keeps coming loose on myne but shows no risk of falling out.
I can depend on this guitar and can see my self useing this same guitar in 10 years from now.

Iv had know troubles and Im very good with building and rebuilding guitars with out having to call Ibanez.

Iv been playing guitar now for 11 years and Im a true lover of guitars and feel that this guitar is perfect for my styles of playing.
If the guitar was stolen I would buy it again.
I will be putting new pickups on soon,although theres nothing really wrong with the pickups, Im just finding my tone and sound.
If your in to fast necks and jumbo frets with Floyd Rose Type trems and a tone that could scare your parents then this guitar is for you.

THIS IS A JAPANESE MODEL PROBABLY MADE AROUND '96 OR SO. IT HAS A MAPLE NECK/FINGERBOARD WITH 24 FRETS. IT HAS A 5-WAY SWITCH, H-S-H CONFIGURATION. I BOUGHT IT WITH DIMARZIOS IN IT. IT ALSO HAD A COUPLE OF SWITCHES THAT WERE PHASERS OR COIL SPLITTERS THAT I HAD DISCONNECTED. THE HARDWARE IS A DARK CROME, COSMO BLACK I THINK THEY CALL IT. THE BODY IS BASSWOOD WHICH SOUNDS VERY GOOD, BUT DAMAGES EASY, SO DON'T PULL ANY CURT COBAIN ANTICS WITH IT. THE FRETS LOOK LIKE JUMBOS AND THE FINISH IS A PURPLE NEON 2-TOME COLOR WITH A PURPLE MIRROR PICKGUARD-PRETTY COOL. THE TREMOLO IS A LO PRO EDGE WHICH IS A VERY GOOD AND SENSITIVE TREMOLO.

THE BASSWOOD BODY NOT ONLY MAKES IT LIGHTWEIGHT BUT RESONANT, AND VERY GOOD WITH "WHAMMY BAR" SOUNDS. IF YOU LIKE HARD ROCK OR METAL THEN THIS IS A GREAT GUITAR. IF IT HAS IBANEZ STOCK PICKUPS THOUGH, YOU MAY WANT TO REPLACE THEM.

THE FINISH IS VERY UNIQUE AND PUT ON VERY WELL. BASSWOOD DINGS EASILY THOUGH SO BE CAREFUL. THE SET-UP(FROM WHOEVER HAD IT BEFORE) WAS SO GOOD I'VE MADE VERY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS SINCE BUYING IT. THE FINISH ON THE HARDWARE DOESN'T REALLY RUST BUT WILL SPOT UP PRETTY NASTY IF YOU DON'T CLEAN IT OFF REGULARLY. THE ONLY OTHER GRIPE WOULD BE THAT THE GREENISH COLORED GLUE UNDER THE FRETS COULD BEE SEEN.

I USE IT LIVE ALL THE TIME, THE HARDWARE LASTS, THE FINISH WILL LAST BUT DING EASILY AND IT IS VERY DEPENDABLE. THE STRAP BUTTONS ARE LARGE AND SOLID. HOWEVER I ALSO BRING ALONG MY RG570 BECAUSE EVEN WITH NEW STRINGS, AGRESSIVE PLAYING ON THE TREMOLO CAN BREAK A STRING BEFORE YOU KNOW IT.

NEVER DEALT WITH THEM.

I'VE BEEN PLAYING ABOUT 9 YEARS AND HAVE AN RG570. I HAVEN'T BEEN DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS GUITAR AT ALL. I WOULD BUY IT AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT IF I HAD TO. I LOVE THE EASE OF PLAYING, THE ACTION, THE TREMOLO, THE COLOR, BUT I PREFER THE ONES THAT ARE FLUSH TO THE BODY. MOST PEOPLE LIKE THEM TO PULL UP ALSO. I WISH IBANEZ MADE A SUSTAINER MODEL THOUGH.

Made in Japan. around 95'. 24 frets maple neck/fingerboard (not very pretty looking maple, looks like reject maple. the grain patterns are ugly) H-s-H. V2 bridge pickup, V1 neck pickup, S1 middle single coil pickup. Basswood body. Aqua blue/green finish (a shity color).Black pickguuard. Floyd rose bridge. I love Ibanez floyd rose bridges. They do bar flutters really well. The neck is the thinnest i've ever played. I wish it were a bit thinker. I think its a wizard II neck. really fast

I bought this particular guitar for stuff like Steve Vai (u can get real close to the Whitesnake slip of the tongue with this guitar), Paul Gilbert, Dream Theater, (any other artist who uses an ibanez for that matter) and all other metal stuff. It really does those kinds of sounds well. The bridge pickup was hot enuf for Steve Vai, Dream theater. it cuts on the highs. The middle pickup is sounds like a strat. high output single coil that produces solid tone. you could play SRV, Hendrix, CLapton and still sound decent with this guitar. The neck pickup is round and creamy without any muddiness. Great for Vai leads. Just listen to Whitesnake's Slip of the Tongue album and this guitar sounds exactly like it. This guitar sounds solid and fat like any other ibanez. This guitar gets a 10 for both Rhythm, lead and clean tones.

The overall playability and tone of the guitar is splendid. My only complaints are with thwe finish and cosmetics. The maple chosen for the neck is ugly. it would actually pass for reject wood. but it still sounds great. its just the looks. I consdier the sound as more important

I think guitars dont really encouonter problems like amps. Basically all guitars would last through a gig except when strings snap.

I've been playing for 8 years. I also own a Fender strat plus with lace sensors for Clapton, Hendrix, SRV, Yngwie, and Deep Purple. I also have a Washburn Nuno Bettencort model which i use for anything(its my most versatile guitar I own). I got the RG550 for playing technical/shred music which this guitar was built for. This guitar is really versatile but it really aint for blues. It would sound alright i guess but the feel of the neck (really fast), Jumbo frets, the floyd rose bride just counts it out. If it were stolen I would b\buy another because it the best u can get at its price range. I wish the neck were a bit thicker. other than that, its perfect

dont know what year it was made. made in Japan. maple neck/fingerboard. H-S-H. Metallic blue with black pickguard. Stock pickups. Floyd rose locking trem.

For this guitar, I play metal, shred, NOT BLUES. This guitar was built for shred and technical music. The pickups are great. real hot. The neck is smooth and creamy. great for steve Vai leads. The middle pickup is hotter than the regular single coil. u can play Van Halen and Vai stuff well though

I've never played Ibanez guitars before and it felt really 'edgy'. I've used strats exclusively for 8 years. These guitars really feel like metal/shred guitars. This guitar is for ala Paul Gilbert, Gambale, Vai, Jason Becker type of stuff. I think u need big hands to play this guitar well. I dont't.

I dont really like the feel of RG's in general. Too edgy.

I own 5 rg 550's ranging in years from early to late 90's with the original heel joint and the all access joint, two black, one yellow (signed by steve vai), one natural finish, and one that I personally painted like EVH frakenstien. All guitars with maple necks (if it's not a maple neck/fretboard then it is not an rg 550). Edge tremolo (the best).

Sounds great for my musical taste (vai, halen, satch). V1, V2 and V7, V8 pickups are all alike, drop a screamn' demon in the bad boy and watch out! I collect guitars and recently purchased the stevie ray vaughn fender strat. Guys, dont buy it. Fender sucks with their cheap trash, the sound blows also, I wouldnt let that guitar wipe the ass crack sweat off my rg 550.

Action action action. I love the action super low and you can obtain it with this guitar. Easily adjusted. Super thin necks, jumbo pickups, nice set up. I would recomend a different color than black however (this guitar has been discontinued by Ibanez)

Super reliable. I throw the thing around, pound on it, drop it, they all take abuse well. HOWEVER, the early EVH frankenstien painted one was purchased with a cracked neck at the head, and hasnt broken off with over 5 years of constant playing, divebombs and misuse. Just be weary of that head/neck joint.

Never had to deal with them. Ive been playing for 17 years, and all warranties are scams anyway.

I just happened across the first guitar by chance. I owned a couple of les paul standards, but didnt like the quality. I mean if I pay 2,ooo for a guitar it better have a vagina. Go out and get this guitar, it has all the features you are looking for, low action, maple fretboard, all access neck joint, jumbo frets, the edge tremolo with the trem arm that stays in via friction and not the bull sh/t screw in type (all other guitars) so it never strips out! This guitar out performs the wolfgang (no floating trem, fat neck), the JEM (same guitar with a monkey grip, scalloped frets, marginally improved tremolo, and vine of life inlay).

Not sure what year my guitar was made. It's Japanese, 24 extra-jumbo frets, Floyd Rose bridge, Gotoh tuners. Bolt-on neck. Volume and tone knob controls. It came with stock passive pickups: bridge and neck humbuckers and a single coil in the middle position. Came with five-way pickup selector. Neck is rosewood, body is basswood. Guitar is laminated, black, with a black pickguard. Strat-style body, pointy Ibanez headstock.

Anyone who has ever played an Ibanez can tell you how thin and fast the necks are: this guitar is no exception. Probably one of the thinnest necks I've played, yet incredibly strong. Stock pickups, however, were horrible - a perfect recipe for tonal mud. The first year I had the guitar, it frustrated me because I could hear a better tone struggling to make its way through shitty pickups. So I eventually tore out all the stock pickups and replaced them with an EMG 85 in the bridge and an EMG 81 in the neck. I left the single coil out and still have a gaping hole where it should be - Page Hamilton style, kind of. To install the EMGs, I had to shield and completely rewire the body cavity. I also installed a new toggle switch and input jack, since the stock ones are pretty sub-par. In effect, there are no original electronics left in my guitar. But I do that will all my guitars anyway.

So, I would give the guitar a 5 on its original features and a 9 when I made all the changes.

I play through a Marshall JCM 800 2205 and a 4x12 cab. I like to play with many different tones, so besides going straight to the head, I use: a Boss Blues Driver, Boss Metal Zone, Big Muff, Proco Rat and Turbo Rat, a Vox Wah, a Crybaby Wah, a Boss Octave, an Ibanex FL9 flanger, a Boss DD5 delay, a Digitech chorus/delay/flange, a Digitech Space Station and a Boss Noise Supressor.

I've had my RG for about nine years now. It has carried me through many different styles of playing. When I first bought it, all I played was metal. Since then, I've used it to play jazz, blues and now experimental free jazz/noise.

The RG550 is an incredibly versatile guitar. With EMGs, it produces one of the best "heavy tones" I've ever heard. It's naturally a very bassy guitar, which I augment by tuning it down a full step. For about two years I played with 13-guage strings, and the tone was tremendous - alomst a baritone. Only problem was, the clarity of low chords would get lost, so I went back to 11s.

I think of the RG550 really as two instruments in one. Clean, it produces a very unique, full and booming tone when using the bridge pickup. My only complaint here is that things can get a bit too bright-sounding. I prefer to use the neck pickup when playing clean. With heavier strings, you can get an almost piano-like tone, which I love.

Distorted, the RG550 is a beauty. It may be one of the most well-designed rhythm guitars, bar none. Chords roar and yet are clear and defined; single notes are just as powerful. And of course, this guitar was designed for shredders. Play fast and this guitar can handle it - things don't turn to sonic mush (you do need an amp that can handle this, however). The guitar has amazing sustain, especially on the high notes - sometimes it's almost like using an EBow.

Complaints? Not many in the sound department. This guitar is not the right choice if you're looking to play jangly-chord, clean kind of stuff. It has a dark overtone that really works well for the kinds of sounds I like. If I could improve upon the sound, I would want a bit more "thickness," like with a Les Paul. But overall, I can't ask for much more than I've gotten out of this guitar. It is definitely not a one-trick pony, and its many realms of tonal grey have been a joy to explore.

Bear in mind that my 9 rating is based on my current setup. With stock pickups and electronics, the RG550 sounds medicore at best. Muddy lows, piercing highs and not much in-between. I'm a dedicated EMG user, and one of the reasons why is based on how my guitar sounded before and I after I put EMGs in it.

My guitar was set up like shit when I bought it, but I think a lot of guitars are set up that way on purpose. Many music stores set guitars up with very low action. Nine times out of 10, they don't intonate them properly when they do this. The logic behind this is as follows: kid picks up the guitar in a store and starts to play. Most people, I find, that own RG550s play heavier, faster style of music. So when they pick it up and zoom all around the fretboard, they're immediately impressed at the guitar's ease of playability. They don't notice that the low E is buzzing and that the higher strings also buzz on the higher frets.

I'm fanatical about properly intonating my guitar and having the action and pickup heights just right. I take it to a professional at least three times a year to have my guitar set up and maintained. When I bought it, it was a mess. The action was too low, intonation was fucked up, and the pickups were sunk too deep in the body. I changed all that. I like my action was low as possible - but WITHOUT buzzing. And yes, this is possible to achieve.

The guitar's finish is great, as is the nut, saddles and hardware. As I mentioned, the pickup selector and input jack sucked and I quickly replaced them.

All in all? Original guitar I give a 3. After the work I had doen to it, an 8.

I have sweat, bled and had beer sprayed on this guitar for nine years. I have put it through hell by play prepared guitar pieces with it - playing it with screwdrivers, throwing stuff at the strings, ripping the strings out mid-song, etc. It's never let me down. Every once in a while I'll break a string - and that's where having a Floyd Rose sucks, mid-song - but when I do it's usually because I was doing something stupid.

Several reviewers have discussed the fragility of this guitar, but I disagree. I've played whole songs where I do nothing but beat on the bridge springs and I've never had a problem.

I personally don't give a shit about finishes or looks. My finish is cracked here and there, but that's because I knocked the guitar into something. Otherwise it still looks fine.

As far as strap buttons go, I installed Strap Locks. Wouldn't go on stage without them.

Can I depend on it? Without a doubt, yes. I can pound on the thing and it won't go out of tune. I've never needed a back-up. In fact, this was my only guitar for eight years.

Now, bear in mind: Ibanez necks are thin. Someone accidentally knocked my guitar off its stand when I first had it years back, and the impact cracked the neck, causing some deep hairline fractures. Replacing it was a bitch, but I learned the hard way: always keep your guitar in a case and out of harm's way. My roommate once dropped his $6,000 Gibson hollowbody - and it was in a case! - and broke the neck. He came home crying. Point? The RG550 is not a Kramer. You have to take care of it. Live, you can bash the hell out out of it, but within reason - it does have a thin neck. It is strong - two steel truss rods - but it does have its limits. Invest in an SKB case and you won't have to worry about much.

Do these people even exist? When I cracked my neck, I frantically tried to contact Ibanez to see what my repair options were. Eventually I got some schmuck who told me it take like a month to get a new neck, and that it would cost me around $400 for one. I paid $500 for the guitar! Asshole.

Apparently other people have had this problem. Ibanez should wise up.

I've had to get the guitar repaired - one of my band's noise experiments went awry and I fucked up the bridge - and I didn't even think of bringing it to the manufacturer after the neck incident. I brought it to a professional who I know and trust.

So was it ever under warranty? Who knows? Even if it was, would I trust those people with the guitar? Nope.

I've been playing for 11 years now (I'm 24). I also own an Epiphone Special - cheap little Les Paul knock-off that I like to seriously abuse.

If someone stole my guitar, or if I lost it, I'd be a wreck. My guitar playing, over the years, has been shaped by my RG. I could never replace it, after all the work I've done to it. I would want to, of course. But it's like when Sonic Youth had their gear stolen - after your hands have played a guitar so much that you've stained the wood, you just can't go out and buy a new one.

I love the guitar for its unique voice and its ability to respond to many levels of dynamics, subtle or blunt. I've hated it for some of its limitations. But you can't expect everything to sound like a PRS.

This guitar is poorly designed in that the neck is too thin and develops cracks from just holding the tension from the strings. For a replacement neck these hucksters wanted 350 clams...now why dont I just save another few bucks and get a new guitar--and I mean ANYTHING BUT an Ibeenhad. This is not an isolated problem, just go on the net and you'll see just how many ppl have been had.

sounded ok, very generic, nothing special

major flaw in the neck, that's all

do i have to tell you more?

unsympathetic money grubbing company...350? yeah right