Ibanez RG550

My RG550 in black finish with black pickguard, maple neck, an amazing edge bridge, H S H pickup configuration, Ibanez stock pick up.

The sounds is great, no buzz, the factory setting is just perfect to my personal taste, the pickup is quite surprise to me, its sounds close to the Dimarzio PAF Pro. Sweet tone from the neck pick up and cutting teeth tones.

Thx Ibanez for making the Super wizard neck, its extremely fast and not too thin. the body is light weight. the floyd is extremely keep in tune and born to play Vai and Satch's stuff.

I will bring this guitar as my main weapons from my arsenal of axe. I dont feel tired even I play this guitar for 6 hrs non stop playing. This Guitar is born to shredd.

Never deal with Ibanez

This is a serious guitar for shredder, and acceptable price, Closest things to Vai's JEM (550 is the original of JEM, right?) If I lost this guitar I will get another one, in Desert Yellow Finish (I love this color, I am old skool) I own about 20 guitars include Gibson, MusicMan, Jackson, Yamaha, Fender, etc. I enjoy my EB John Petrucci before I meet this RG550, This guitar provide more sound that i could choose than the Petrucci. honestly, I love this guitar.

Double locking blocked LO pro edge Floyd Rose, stock IBZUSA pickups (H,S,H) manufactured by Dimarzio. The humuckers are equivalent to a souped up PAF Pro, and teh Single coil is the same as the HS-2. Excellent neck. Very low action. Unbelievable.

It can be used to play anything. Mostly metal and instrumental solos, but is pretty versatile. With my cheap Johnson acoustic amp, it even sounds great. These pickups are awesome. Now that I blocked the tremolo the sustain is much better and it stays in tune for the rest of your life.

Action is low and awesome. Pick ups are awesome. Excellent look. CLosest thing to the JEM, if not the same thing just without the monkey grip.

Reliable and durable for anything, anywhere, anytime. Hardware is high quality, finish is long lasting.

Never dealt with them

Its really a JEM without the monkey grip. In Fact, Steve Vai built his JEM based on the RG550 platform. I have two rg550's, one with stock action, and the other with slightly lower action and a blocked tremolo(awesome). Both really are shred masters!! If any one of them were stolen, there will be a big war between me and the thief. To put something into consideration, www.warmoth.com with make any custom guitar. I will have them build me a JEM7VWH.

This is an ibanez RG550 jap guitar. It has 24 jumbo frets that leave room for options (fretless...). strat figure bit a little sharper with a pick shield.
It has a volume and tone knobs, a 5 way switch.
H/S/H.
It has locking on the edge of the riff and double locking with a floyd rose tremolo on the bridge.
It has a super wizard thin neck maple made.

I like all kinds of music, from rock, blues, jazz to eastern off scales music.
The guitar gives great sound on all configurations, clean or not.
i'm using a crate 60W amp, it is really bright, i like it. and a korg ax100g multieffect.
If you turn the gain up to full and use the single coil s1 pickup it might sound a little buzzy but noone really uses that pickup like that.
It has amazing sound with soft dreamy effects like chorus and reverb.
It has amazing feedbacks and screming posibilities.

If you like soloing and different types of melodies she is for you.
You can easly get the joe satriani sound out of it and more.

The super wizard neck came perfectly fit to my needs low profile action with no buzzing. It's fast free and easy to play it with those jumbo and flat frets.
The floyd rose tremolo with the double locking keeps the guitar always in tune. you can bend 2 tones and raise an octave do a dive and it's perfectly in tune!!!!!!!!!1 unnormal!!!

The guitar is just diamond solid! i would use it on any ocation.
It has great finish to last for years. I got myn used from a second jand guitar shop and it was in perfect shape no complais.

never used ibanez.

iv'e been playing for 5 years. i started with a old samick classic guitar and moved to a start fake by discovery electric guitar that had 21 frets on humbucker and two singles. roundy frets and noise g string. so i think moving up to this RG 550 made my life easier. it gives you space to improve. i would go up the rg ladder to a prestige model after all you have to advance.

I have 2 Ibanez 550DY Desert Yellow - black pickguard.
1984??? I think and 1994 I think?
Both have FREDS in the Bridge pickup.
double locking EDGE Trem keeps these in tune for ever!
Old I bought used. And the New one I bout off Ebay.

They both sound great!
The FREDS make them scream on solos. and they have a very heavy thick and bright. The newer 550 does sound a bit thicker.
I use 10's on the new 550 and 9's on the old one.

I play so much on the old 550 I have acquired a nice buzz when I play the second fret. But It's almost 20 years old!

Action - Low as can possibly be.
Extreamly Fast.
I adjust everything my self since I put my own pickups in.
there was no flaws on the New 550. They look great as long as you like yellow! :)

Live Playing - hell yeah!
Well it's almost been 20 years on the old 550 and It's been throuhg one fret Job and needs another and the phone jack is starting to loose connection. Few Nicks and dents. Paint cracked at Neck Joint after someone droped it but the paint is still looking fairly new. I have never tighted a strap button.
the new 550 is still mint. 0 flaws.
I use both live. The phone jack on the old 550 is driving me crazy but that can be easily fixed!

never!

I have been playing about 20 years.
I wish I had asked if I would have been addicted to yellow after I bought this. ha!
I love the sound the speed and percision I can play at. I hate that after 20 years I have to retire it and the fact that they seem to only come in Black now.

Hello Ibanez I want another new one but I don't want it black. I like yellow! Actually I wish they would build this guitar. basicaly a 550 with the shark tooth inlays. Or can I buy the EDGE trem and put it on a guitar with the shark tooth inlays? I could Care less about the pickups because I am going to put a FRED on it!



I love playing this damn thing.

I think anyone who is serious enough about guitars knows what features this one has :)

From metal to jazz, anything is possible with this guitar

I only got mine about three days ago, new for only $375 and it's very well set up, very low action and it sounds great.

Hopefully this guitar will last ages. I use to have an ibanez jpm1 model and it was a dream. After selling it back in 2000 I've pretty much been without a guitar since. The reason I bought this one was mainly becuase it sounds and feels very similar to my old jpm. A few things I like about his guitar in particular, compared to some older and more expensive ibanez models, such as the old jems and jpm models would be the newer neck joint for easier access, and also on the newer ibanez range, most of them have the babinga reinforced neck which is very reasuring. This is certainly a rock solid guitar for the serious player; now if only I was good enough to fall under that phrase "serious player" hehehe

Not sure, never had to contact them. Only if I'm putting in an order; I work for a large music store back home in England www.vibesmusic.co.uk

OK I dont know if I've got the right model here, but it is an RG. Bought it second hand. Don't know where it was made. It is a dark purple colour (almost black). I haven't changed the pickups H,S,H. 22 threts. Floid Rose trem, locked tuning, 5 way switch, 1 tone, 1 volume, pasive pickups. I like the metal nobs on this, as they seem alot sterdier than those plastic Fender ones.

This is definately a rock/metal guitar. As that is what I play most of the time through a Marshall Valvestate, it is the business. The sound isn't particularly bright, not like say a Les Paul. However, it is powerful especially the neck pick up which has a warm bassy sound and the whole set up is very responsive. On clean tones the Humbuckers are very fat and flat sounding.. You need to fiddle around with the EQ to get a nice clean tone. That may be different on other amps. Marshall are known more for the overdrive.

The action is realy low and the neck is fast. This is a confortable guitar to play quickly. I like the weight and general shape. It's pretty light and and pointy. One problem though is the Floid Rose. The bar wobbles in the nut. Also the tuning does slip especially the G. However, it was second hand so I wouldn't blame Ibanez for that.

Considering this is second hand and I've played it pretty much every day for the last 7 years, it's stood up realy well. However, I do take care of my guitars and don't chuck them around or drop them. I can feel confident in playing this live.

I've never delt with Ibanez. The only work done on this is the occasional service. I change strings every few weaks. I had to get one of the locking nuts replaced as when I first had it I put the lock thing on round the wrong way and chipped off some of the metal. Dummy!

If some one stole this, I'd beat them to death with my old strat copy. If I lost it I'd cut of a hand. I haven't tried the newer Ibanez RGs but if there still the same quality I'd definately get another.Although I admit I'd be torn between replacing it or saving up my pennies to get a PRS, )lots of pennies that is)

Mine is a 1989 made in Japan 24 fret standard rg 550. Standard H-S-H pickup config. Super thin and fast Wizard neck. the color is a very bright orange. Still has original pickups.

I play everything from blues to progressive rock to jazz and my 550 does all of them superbly. I play through an array of effects too numerous to mention but the highlights are an analogman comprosser, original 808 tubescreamer, vox wah (modded to true bypass), voodoo labs sparkle drive. I've been meaning to replace the pickups with some newer dimarzios but just haven't gotten around to it but the stock pickups aren't bad considering that they're stock.

I bought this guitar used a few months ago and had to have it set up since the person who had it before me played extremely light strings. Once the guitar was set up for heavier strings it plays wonderfully. the neck is very flat and thin. The edge tremolo stays in tune extremely well and has a very fluid range of motion. The body shape is also very comfortable to play and allows for excellent access to the upper frets. It does have several dings and scratches, as most 13 year old used guitars do. but other than that it looks great.

This guitar is extremely well built. the hardware does show some signs of wear but like I said its 13 years old. This guitar is a workhorse that was designed for night after night gigging. I would definitely depend on it but I would never play a gig without a back up.

Can't really say much about this Ive never tried to contact Ibanez. General opinion seems to be that they are pretty useless. no such thing as a warranty on a used 13 year old guitar.

I have been playing for over 15 years. I own several other guitars and too much gear to list. If it dissapeared I would be dissappointed but not destroyed. I love this guitar but finding another on ebay doesn't appear to be to difficult. I would most definitely replace it. I wish that it came with better pickups but for the price it's hard to find another guitar that plays that smooth and is this comfortable in my hands.

Bought mine new in 1989. Atlantic Blue color; never seen another in this color. I bought it because it was one of the first mass produced guitars with H-S-H pickup configuration, 24 frets and a recessed Floyd.

Original V1 and V2 humbuckers are OK, but I shoulda replaced 'em years ago with something better. Good guitar for metal, though.

No complaints here

Replaced the p'up switch a few years ago. Everything else has held up pretty well, EXCEPT(here we go) the neck. Early RGs had deeper holes drilled for the Floyd Rose nut, making for a very unreliable headstock. Mine has cracked 3 times. The first two it was repaired easily, but the last time rendered it unrepirable.

HORRIBLE!!! I've tried to get a replacement neck through Ibanez directly and through 2 dealers, all with no success. Yes, I offered to pay for it, not turn it in on the warranty. Now I have a guitar that is totally useless until I can find a used one to rip the neck off of!

I've been playing for 20 years, and also own an SRV Strat.I liked playing my 550 and miss gigging with it,but next time I'm guitar shopping, I'll make sure I buy from a company that actually CARES about their customers. Anytime you can't decide between an Ibanez and some other guitar, pick the other one!!!

'92 Japan, in the Fujigen Factory! 24 frets, solid top, standard H-S-H. I bought it off some guy on ebay and he'd replaced the pickups with a Dimarzio Air Norton in the neck and a DiMarzio Evolution in the bridge. Mine also came with a Lo Pro Edge, although I'm aware most of the 550's come with the Edge. Don;t know if the orignal owner did the mod himself.

I'll give it an 8 without my mods, a 10 with them.

I won't give an opinion of the sound since I've nvere heard the stock pickups. I still have the S7 single coil and it sounds like $hit, though I'm not sure how the humbuckers would sound.

Do yourself a favor and swap in a couple of DiMarzios. I'd give it a 10 with those upgrades.

Simply incredible. If you have not had the chance to play an early 90's RG 550, you're missing out. No problems at all with fret buzzing or misalignment commonly assoicated with Korean guitars (my JS-100 and SA-160QM can attest to that).

It just feels incredibly solid. The neck on this guitar is better than most Fender Strat USA necks. Very smooth and the high quality maple. Even the newer Japanese necks don't look this good. I've seen a few JEM 7VWH with necks that don't look as good as this. My guess is that Ibanez eventually scaled down on these guitars to save costs. My two Korean Ibanezes don't even come close, and my Korean JS cost twice as much!

Veteran collectors will tell you, most early 90's Japanese guitars are superior to USA made guitars(e.g, Ibanezes and Fenders) I can't vouch for the validity of that, but I will tell you this guitar plays and feels better than any US Strat I've ever played.

The Ibanez Lo Pro Edge is the most amazing Floyd Rose i've ever had so far. A far cry from my Lo TRS II equippeed JS-100. I have yet to go out of tune with this thing, and I set this up myself, not professionally!

Pickup adjustment is as easy an on any guitar. I've busted this open on a few occasions to swap pickguards.

I did this really funky thing where I put an Evangelion Japanese Anime graphic image onto a custom black design-a-guard pickguard from Jeannie pickguards. It just looks incredible. Since the guard is clear, it really looks like a custom paint job I had done, unless one inspects it closely and discovers the paper cutout ^_^

The owner also had straplocks installed so this thing is a marvel of modification ^_^ The hardware has some oxidation and wear after 10 years in existence, but that's to be expected I suppose.

Never Gig without a backup, that's a golden rule! That said though, I probably wouldn't need a backup, but I keep my JS for that purpose nonetheless. Its funny that a signature guitar plays second fiddle to a mid-priced guitar, but that's how it is.

Dunno. Heard it was pretty bad though.

I've been playing for 10 years. I do stuff from Vai to Metallica, and Stevie Ray vaughan. The RG is really a Rock guitar. It sounds incredible for that type of music.

Some people claim this guitar has absolutely no tone when played clean. Unfortunateley I must agree. If you're looking for a bluesy Strat tone, you won't find it here, nto even with the pickups replaced.

If it were lost, the heavens would weep(or at least I would) ^_^; i would probably buy another one or a 570. Probably the nicest Ibanez guitar you can get short of getting a Prestige or JEM, or Universe(jeez who has the money for these?). The fact that it resembles those guitar shapewise doesn't hurt either.

2000 model made in japan,24 frets,black with black pic guard (scratches very easy )volume tone 5 way selector switch h/s/h pickup conf,basswood body,maple neck,locking floyd rose bridge,wizard 2 neck.

sounds great played through my marshall avt 20 very rich full sound when using the neck p/u (v7). I like classic rock above all and this guitar gives me all the tone I need for this.personaly I dont have a problem with the p/u sounds v7 s1 v8

this guitar was set up great with low action and no fret buzz.as with many reviewers here my strap buttons were loose also I bought a Daddario strap that is supposed to fit all guitars, it has plastic locking ends that ratchet in place (cool idea)but this is not made for the RG 550.AFTER MUCH STRUGGLE TO GET THE STRAP ON I CHIPPED THE PAINT ON THE GUITAR.all leather is the only way to go for this guitar.that aside, everything about this guitar feels good and i realy love the neck.

i dont play live so i cant comment on that. the hardware seems very solid and i wipe everything down after playing,i also use some lemon oil on the neck to keep things like new.i think this guitar will last a very long time if looked after.the strap buttons came loose on me again and i think i will try adding some wood glue to the threads

never delt with them.

I havent been playing this guitar for very long but i love it.if it were stolen i would indeed buy another,or atleast an rg 570.then i would hunt down the person who took it and shove a cattle prod up his but and drain the batteries on it.I will soon buy an effects processorto finish off my gear.

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

1989 model RG550.. Body is pinkish with white pickguard, Wizard maple neck w/ maple fretboard.. Pickups came stock V7, S1, V8. Only visible flaws were a few shallow chips on fretboard that did not affect playability. standard "Edge" tremelo (better than a real Floyd in my opinion)..

You can see the modifications I've made to mine in a few pics at www.dreamwater.org/rockguitar (first 2 pics)

I mostly play rock influenced / instrumental music, ala Jason Becker, Greg Howe, George Lynch, Paul Gilbert, etc. In my opinion the RG550 is the STANDARD for technical rock guitar music - the stock pickups are OK until you hear what others can do - I replaced the neck pickup with a Dimarzio Air Norton (AWESOME for really clear sweep-picking) and replaced the bridge pickup with a Dimarzio Super 3 (ala Greg Howe - gives smooth mids similar to a Screamin' Demon, but with a little extra upper end 'bite')

guitar was used by action was nice and LOW, just the way I like it... This guitar was VERY little trouble to setup to my taste.

well it's already over 10 years old, and I think it's the best guitar made. Edge trem works like it was new (the only thing I reccommend for them is adding a little teflon tape to the little plastic washers every few years to make the bar fit 'tight').. Finish is still great

I've had to deal with Ibanez once... I bought an RG450 new from an Ibanez dealer - I was convinced the fret buzzing was a defect - Ibanez happily replaced the neck within a few weeks at no charge... However, I've heard that are hard to get in touch with, and not timely in most cases.

I've been playing for nearly 14 years, the same style of music.. I have yet to see a guitar with this high of quality features, especially at the price you can find one on eBay.

Usa made. 24 frets. 1 volume 1 tone.You know guys, it's the same guitar you all have!!!!

I play metal, rock, pop, blues, nu metal, grunge.... whatever comes to my mind. The guitar sounds great for metal sounds, but for clean is definitely not good at all. Bad tone. Still a great choice.

It came prefectly well.

Great for live gigs. I recorded an album with my band with this guitar and definitely the sound was killer.

I have not tried it.

It's a great guitar, very easy to use and very comfortable. Great metal soundssssss

My latest axe-quisition (HA!) is a 1989 Ibanez RG550. Made in Japan out of basswood with a 24 extra-jumbo fret maple neck (w/maple fretboard) attached by 4 bolts. Pickup configuration is H-S-H (Ibanez stock passive V7,S1,& V8) controlled by a single volume and single tone controls. Mine is a green (with matching green headstock) model with a black Ibanez Edge whammy bar. The original green mirror pickguard was replaced by the original owner with a proper Ibanez style white pearloid job. Body style is strat with some improvements. Tuners are Ibanez grover-style (non locking). The "Wizard" neck is extrememly thin.

I play hard rock guitar-based music in the style of Vai, Satch, Gambale, Van Halen, etc... and this guitar works just fine for my tastes. Good Ibanez guitars have a sound all of their own...they're a different animal altogether from the Strats/Les Pauls that everyone and their brother are buying these days. I had originally planned to replace the stock pickups with some PAF-Pros like my Ibanez Jem had, but the V-series pickups don't sound that much different. The Ibanez sound isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I sure enjoy it.

This was purchased used and while it was in excellent playing condition, the finish had some damage that I really don't give a shit about. It's a player's guitar. I can't comment on the factory setup and finish, though.

This guitar is a veteran of many live performances. I don't play live so that's not really a concern. Everything is professional grade and of high quality. No worries.

Bought used. Ibanez doesn't give a shit about it and probably shouldn't.

I've been playing 20 years. My other guitars are an '84 Japanese Squier Stratocaster (a victim of another review on this website), a Danelectro reissue 6-12 doubleneck, a Tacoma DM-9 acoustic and a Jay Turser 5 string bass. I had owned a Jem previously that had collectors value and because of that, I was scared to death to play it for fear of damaging it. This guitar is almost as nice as the Jem and I don't have to worry about dinging it because it's "Pre-dinged". HA! If it were lost or stolen, I'd buy another one. These guitars are a super bargain on the used market right now...they aren't the flavor of the week guitar at the moment, so it's easy to find a good deal. I would avoid the Korean made Ibanez guitars and stick to the Made in Japan models.

2000, Japan, 24 Frets Maple fingerboard, Solid Bass wood Black, H/S/H,
Edge Trem, added birdseye maple pickguard, and replaced stock bridge pu with Bill Laurence XL 500, wizard all access neck

This thing sounds GREAT... very versital. I mostly play Very Hard Rock,with the XL 500 I can get all kinds of pick harmonics, controled feedback, and a GREAT CRUNCH.....it really has a distinct voice all its own.....love the maple fingerboard. The maple board gives it a little more bite and is able to cut through the mix VERY WELL. Roll back the volume and or tone and and I can blues it up, and clean up well too.

Well I was the first to open it out of the box straight from the factory. It was pretty much in tue! The high E was a little flat...but it was set very nice. I have since tweeked it more for my needs ie set up with 10s and set the action just a little higher. When I took this thing apart...all the routing was percise...the wireing was clean, and the finish was flawless. Frets, fingerboard and neck are all well done.

So far so good.. so what... Yea I can't see why this wont last a very long time. I would not want to drop it though...the very thin neck and glued on head stock might snap????

na

Ok this is the second one of these that I have had. The first was an ealry 90's and a lot of people say those were beter. I would have to disagree! I loved the old one ...and missed it until I was able to get the new one...well it blows the old one away. First off this has an all access neck that is satin finished. The old one was very hard to get up past the 15th fret and it was finished in a poly that was thick like my old Fender. The trem is more heavy duty and is a dull mated gray color VERY COOL! I have been playing for 21years now. WOW. I have had all sorts of gear..but have settled to keep what I have now..the above mentioned 550, an 88 Les Paul Standard(now collecting dust) PRS CE 22 and a guild D4. my amp is a Mesa Boogie Tremo Verb with a matching 4x12 cab. various pedals and recording gear...these days I pretty much my 550 or PRS straight into the Boogie...and of course a WHA. Yea if were lost or stolen I would want to replace it ..I really do love everything about it...my friend made me a custom birds eye pickguard to replace the stock plastic one..(I hated the b/w/b stripe it had) I feel the wood pickguard and xl 500 pu are the perfect match. I can't think of anything I don't like about it. Looks cool, sounds great, and STAYS in tune. I would very much like to add a good strat to my little collection...but they don't stay in tune for me....maybe I will splurge someday and get a Melancon!!!!!!! Can not beat the Ibanez RG 550 for a Metal/Thrash guitar in this price range!!!!!!

1998 Black basswood Japanese SuperStrat, 24 Jumbo frets, 'WIZARD' Maple neck and fingerboard with Bubinga strip, HB-S-HB and 'EDGE' Floyd-Rose licensed tremelo.

After I changed the HB's for Breed's then it totally changed the sound of the guitar. It really is such an all round great sounding guitar.

Super low action straight from the factory, no finish flaws. A sexy looking guitar.

In all the time I have had this guitar I have done nothing but change the strings, clean it and a few small minor adjustments. It has never caused me any problems. I depend on the guitar as I dont have a backup and it has never let me down.

S H O C K I N G ! ! ! Don't even bother trying too get in touch with them, you will probably be dead and buried before they bother to get back to you.

I could not live without this guitar. I dont think there is a guitar availabe today that offers better value for money than an RG550. Th RG is a quality guitar and offers such great versitility. My playing has improved beyind all recognition since I bought it.