Ibanez RG560

24 frets, Floyd Rose, s/s/h. Now the first thing that made me pissy with this is that it didn't even have the tremlo arm on it when I got it. (It was a present) Tone knob does next to nothing to change sound in the slightest. Wizard style neck. That's about it.

The sound is weak and thin, though it could be used for some brighter leads, it's useless for all else. The low end muds up under distortion. I play neoclassical and death/black metal. I can't do either, the Nu-metal kids might like it though, it's weak enough for them.

Well action is the best thing about this guitar, the neck is thin and fast. The wood is of rather poor quality, but after all this time it still works.

Rusts fast, though it can take a FEW beatings. I'd not use this live, no way. The strap buttons are of good quality The finish is poor and has not lasted. Gone through a few tremlo arms.

Haven't dealt with them.

I've quite a few other guitars, this is honestly the one of the guitars I pick up and play the least.

Mine was bought from Guitar Center in 1989 and it's made in Japan. 24 jumbo frets and a thin neck make this a lead players dream! Mine is metallic red with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard. The body is bass wood. I left it totally stock with the single/single/humbucker configuration. It has a Floyd Rose licensed whammy bar and I'll say right now it stays in tune along with the locking nut. I bought a case 6 months later from the same Guitar Center in Torrance, CA which has many gig stickers and such.

When I bought it, I was an inspiring up and coming rock musician raised on a desire to play like Jimmy Page and Rhandy Rhoads. Of course, today I still have the desire but haven't got there! This is a rock guitar for sure. When I bought it, rock music had plenty of lead guitar work in it such as Dokken, Ratt, GNR, Yngwie, Scorpions, Motley Crue, etc. Coming from Los Angeles, I wanted a rock guitar to learn shred on.

This guitar became a one trick pony for me as I found the humbucker sound to be beyond excellent. The neck pickup is okay, but the humbucker in it really rocks with a full, rich sound. The guitar is light, so it has a slightly brighter sound but the sound comes from the wood and you can really hear it through the amp.

Then there's the whammy bar. Man! This puppy just can't go out of tune. It's very reliable once you strings are streched properly. When I restring the guitar, I keep the locking nuts off for a day or at least an afternoon. I pull,then tune, pull then tune, then play, tune, play tune, etc. Also, with the whammy system, tune from high E to low E. I found that if you tune low to high, by the time you're done, the low is out of tune again.

This was my only guitar during the time I bought it and into the late 90's. I since then graduated from college and have a job. I now have other guitars to round out my tone arsenal. I kept this guitar because it has the whammy bar. I notice that when I take it out to play, people really dig the dive bomb thing and all the tricks I can do with it. Besides, it's very easy to play, looks cool and sounds great.

This guitar is versatile as well. I only play rock stuff with it and use the whammy bar for a gimmick. I have other guitars better suited for my blues jams and such. But, you can bring this out as well too! It plays itself as the neck is to nice and easy to play. I can really cook on this fretboard and so can anyone trying to find one of these!

When I bought it, it went out of tune after a year. By bandmates complained I was playing lead out ot tune but saw my fingers in the right place on the higher frets. I brought in in to a technician and he did a full set-up and tross rod adjustment. It made a difference and to this same day, it's the only adjustment I ever had done to it. I have some oxidize volume and tone knobs as the the black paint wore off somewhat. The body has a couple of chips in the paint, but not too bad. Since this guitar has sharper edges than a strat, this is to be expected.

I had this guitar stored under my bed for a year in it's case. When I took it out it had rust on the tremelo system. I took it apart and sprayed everything with WD-40 and the rust was removed. I store it in my closet now. No further problems here.

I never used a backup with this guitar. Knock on wood, but I never broke a string on it. I feel this guitar will last me my lifetime. A little lube here and there on the mechanisms, wax for the body, a cloth everytime you finish playing on the neck and fretboard and this guitar will serve you further.

I've been playing 22 years now. I also play two strats, one with lindy's and the other with EMG DG-20 in it, and a Les Paul deluxe. I bought the others for more tone options. I use a Dr Z Maz 38 2-12 combo amp. I still rock out with this guitar and it's the only whammy bar system around Portland! I can't believe how people forgot about them here!

I've always been happy with Ibanez. I would buy another one in a heartbeat if this one where stolen. Heck, at $300 or so, it's a steal!!! Mines 15 years old and still rocking. That's a great value for sure.

Soundwise, I like the humbucker a lot. I lucked out because mine just sound great at the store I bought it from. The tremelo bar is a neat feature too. It's not the Les Paul or a strat, so it I want those sounds I need one of them. In general, you can use the Ibanez for anything if needed.

This guitar is a great secret and if you love playing lead guitar, then it's a great guitar and easy to play good with.

Japanese, 24 frets, single(Ibanez s-1)/single/hum(ibanez V-7) configuration (Passive), Don't know much about wood, but the fingerboard is rosewood. Sharp strat shape, Floyd Rose locking and an incredibly thin neck! It is the slimmest i have seen, pure delight to play! I think i would like a split-function on the humbucker to obtain single coil sounds in bridge position, also, individual tone controllers would be nice. Lovely Jumbo frets!

Its good for hard rock, but not smooth or extreme enough for dark metal or smooth Satrianistyle music. The single coils are tame,and noisy of course, and I consider replacing them with Fender or something. Good sustain. Bright/medium sound. Somewhat thin sound, but not too much. Would like individual tone controllers, and single coils with more personality.

Bought it second-hand, nothing to complain about. I love the Jumbo frets and the easy, fast handling. Some people don't like Ibanez because of the fact that the top and bottom strings tend to go off-course by slipping if you are unprecise. This problem is eliminated by simply getting used to the instrument. Takes little time. Nothing to complain about. Very basic, but solid, Finish.

I have never had any problems. Finish seems Good. Very solid strap buttons, I use it without backup.

Playing for 3 years, this is a decent instrument for someone at my level. Not too expencive. I love: Floyd Rose, Locked Tuning, Jumbo frets, ultra-slim neck! Would like Individual tone controllers, maybe other pickups. Don't think I would buy it again, I bought it mostly because it was a very good deal. I think I will buy something more advanced later, like something with 7 strings and sustainer or something. Good for people that have played for a couple of years and doesn't want to spend all their money on flamed finishes an boutique pick-ups.

I/m not shure when this guitar was made, but i'm guessing around '89. i bought it in a local guitar shop were it was traded in. when i bought it, it looked awful. the paint (white, yuck!) was in a very bad condition and there was a sticker on it saying "super 7" or something (haven't got a clue if this was done it the factory as some kind of limited edition idea, or by the original owner, if anyone knows: please tell me!)anyway, i spraypainted it myself, and it didn't looked bad at all, but i decided to have it redone by a proffesional some time ago. it's now cherry red.(and a lot more atractive to look at...)it has black hardware lo-pro edge locking bridge, (lot better than the original FR bridges in my opinion)H-S-S configuration and a wizard one neck, wich is - as stated in other reviews - far superior to the necks ibanez used after the 80ies.
as far as i know this is the only RG with a single coil pickup in the neck position.
all hardware is top notch stuff: gotoh tuners, great bridge and as far as the neck is concerned: you won't be able to get one thinner then this. for fast playing, it's the best.

when i got it, the sound was not bad, but it had to much "middle" in my opinion. i ordered some new pick-ups (seymour duncan hotrails for the neck pos., vintage rails for the middle pos. and a dimarzio super distortion for the bridge) and now it sounds amazing. full, thick sound with lots of attack and yet it stays very clear and bright. it's very versitaile, but ofcourse if you want a real les paul sound, you have to buy a les paul. it comes pretty close though.

i use it with a rathamp retro 80 solid state amp, a crybaby and some pedals, and it sounds pretty good. i'm planning on buying a marshall though.

since i bought it used, i'm not shure how the factiry setup was. by all acoounts it's ok, like most ibanez products. it never hurts to fine tune it yourseld though. as i said, the guitar was in horrible condition when i bought it, so i just stripped it completely and rebuild it again.

this is were the ibanez products kick major ass: they're real workhorses. even this one, wich is almost 15 years old, is unbreakable. you can play it, smash it around, drop it on a concrete floor and bake an omelet on it, and it won't go out of tune. never broke a string in 5 years. the only problem i had was a loose wire. but that's not due to ibanez; i replaced the wiring once and hadn't attached it properly.
this is the major reason why i love ibanez products in geeral and RG's especially: the will never let you down on stage. ofcourse i always carry a backup guitar on a gig, but that's become more of a symbolic gesture since i have this baby..

never dealt with them. i ordered a whammy bar once trough the importcompany, and that took pretty long, but i guess that doens's have anything to do with the ibanez customer support..

I've been playing for 8 years now, and i own a couple of other guitars.'i bought this one because i wanted to move out of the cheap crappy guitar range, but didn't have any money. i invested another 250 euro's and for a grand total of 430 euro's i am now the proud owner of the most beautifull, versitail and top quality guitar i've ever played on. i've played on everything from custom jacksons to prs's and from les pauls to gibson's but i the only thing i would trade it in for would be a VERY high end ibanez model (an s 2020 or a JEM 7vwx or something) the only thing i missed on it was a little power in the neck position but the Hot rail pick up settled that.
all in all: a very good and pretty rare you don't see too many 560's nowadays) guitar that has served me very well.

I got my 560 in 1989. Quick features overview: made in Japan, rosewood fingerboard, Ibanez pickups, Floyd-Rose licensed Ibanez floating trem w/ locking nut, "hum-sing-sing" pickup combo w/ 5-way toggle switch.
As far as I know, this is the only RG series model with the HSS pickup configuration. Perhaps that's why it's held its Blue Book value more solidly than other RG models.
IMO, the most pleasing feature of the 560 is the Wizard style neck. Since the early 90's the Wizard II has become standard on most RG's, but the original Wizard is ridiculously flat and slim. I love it. With its fat frets and thin neck, this is truly a performance machine. It's built for playability at all costs.
The body style is patterned after the notorious "Jem" series. If you play jazz, country, or blues this could cause an image problem (assuming you care); but given the fact that the RG560 doesn't have a fat neck pickup (as you would need for most Jazz) and doesn't facilitate twangy pedal steel-like phrases (because of the FR tremelo), Jazz and country guitarists are barking up the wrong tree if they're considering the 560 anyway.
The tremelo is a FR licensed Ibanez Edge. I've heard other players assert that the FR is inferior to the Kahler, but my experience with the FR has been nothing short of superb. It holds its tune quite solidly, and with some wear has developed a delicate flutter for special effects. Of course, I could have just gotten lucky with this particular unit.
I didn't like the weight and slipperyness of the volume knob, which is almost identical to a tele knob. I like to be able to make lightning quick adjustments with the side of my hand, so I replaced the knobs with Knobease, then finally switched to Strat-style knobs. I like them for their feel, but I have to admit they look pretty classy too.
Because there are no cool features over and above what you'd expect, such as a bound fretboard or a coil tap, I can't give the instrument a perfect score. But the RG560 is an exemplary specimen from the "shredder" period of the late 80's, so it's above average for that reason.

There's nothing special about the RG's overall sound, but it doesn't suck either. In the thirteen years I've had mine I've never replaced the original pickups, even during a busy local performing career. The single coils are nice and quacky. With some creativity and a good rack system, I've been able to coax just about any type of sound I've wanted out of the guitar. I believe that 80 percent of tone comes from the amp, anyway. The single coils might hum just a tad more than they should, but it's controllable under most circumstances.
The HSS pickup configuration is a must for gigging musicians. You can't find an RG today with that setup, which is why I haven't thought of replacing this guitar yet.

As I develop as a musician, my taste for a particular setup changes. Therefore it's difficult for me to say whether I would like the original action if I travelled back in time to when I first bought it. All I know is that it's been adjusted every which way since then and I've always been pretty satisfied.
There might be a slight burr in the saddle where the first string lies (hey, that sounds like a cool line for a song!), but I change strings once every gig and rarely encounter breakage. The pickup selector has gotten noisy a few times during the last decade, but a little WD-40 is a good contact cleaner.
Big points for the super sleek compound-radius neck. It's the ultimate rock instrument as far as action goes. I'll stop one point short of a perfect ten only because I am aware that slightly more comfortable necks exist, like those found on the Parker Fly or Hamer Artist.

I didn't have much faith in the light materials and bolt-on neck, but this baby has held up through more than a decade of intense gigging, even under crappy conditions like crowded frat parties and rainstorms.
Some small pieces of hardware have been replaced.
The finish is not unlike that of an auto. It's essentially a thick plastic sleeve. Regular wear and tear can't dig into it all that badly, but my finish has chipped off in spots where I have slammed the guitar into a doorjamb or dropped a tool on the guitar while changing strings.
I have used it on just about every gig w/o a backup, but I have had to borrow an instrument at a couple of gigs where I broke a string. As you all may know, string breakage completely incapacitates the Floyd Rose-fitted instrument.
Plus points for durability; minus points for the lack of a fixed bridge, which eliminates any chance of playing five-stringed.

I have not dealt with Ibanez.
Luckily, the RG has become such a standard model that parts are available cheaply in any store that's worth a damn.

I've been playing for about fifteen years. My other guitars have included a Barrington archtop (that's right, a BARRINGTON archtop!) and a Garcia classical. I play both jazz and rock through a Hughes & Kettner preamp, Digitech TSR24 effects unit, Randall solid-state stereo power amp and Rivera 2X12" stereo cab.
If this guitar were stolen, I'd be very, very pissed off because I've developed a relationship with it; but luckily the old RG's have depreciated enough that it wouldn't be difficult to fill a room with them in short order.
Best feature: playability. Easily one of the most comfortable guitars ever designed. Worst feature: If you're looking for a solid plank of wood with great sustain and rattle-free handling, forget this one. It's got way too many moving parts to give you that satisfying, "chunky" feel that you'd get from Hamer, Heritage, Gibson, or others.
After growing out of my "I wanna be Steve Vai" phase, I really would like to see a guitar just like this but with a fixed bridge and perhaps a humbucker on the neck with a coil tap. The closest equivalent I've seen to my ideal is the Washburn Sonic 6 (which is hard to find, so if you see one, I saw it first!).
If you find one of these for under $200 used it's more than worth it, assuming nothing's broken.
Although the RG560 isn't necessarily the best instrument for the currently popular styles of music, like roots-rock (which has no place for FR-equipped sports models) or new metal (which requires a low B string), it remains the quintessential rock instrument of an era when guitarists really cared about being able to play.
I'm still considering replacing the pickups, but other than the pickups there is nothing worth noting that begs for alteration.

She was sculpted in the Early Ninties, with 24 Frets. The switchgear is simple, 1 volume, 1 tone, and a 5 way selector switch. I threw in a small DPDT microswitch between the Volume, parallel with the 5 way - it allows me to bring the neck pickup online with the bridge, a la Les Paul config. I threw in all new pickups, the standard ones weren't up to much. In both the neck and middle positions, there are DiMarzio DP181 Fast Track 1's. These are humbuckers in a single coil size body, and can be tapped for single coil use only. That gives me 4 pickups between the bridge and middle. At the Bridge, I chose a DiMarzio Multibucker, which looks the same as the Fast Tracks with those incredibly beautiful rails instead of pickup poles. This essentially looks like 2 Fast Tracks sideby side in a standard humbucker size, giving me another 4 pickups. Needless to say, DiMarzio Pickups are just extraordinary. The finish was poor until recently, when I stripped the body work, and got a pearlesce metallic white finish sprayed onto it. While she was stripped, I put a handle into the body, just like Steve's JEM guitars, its something I've always wanted. The neck is as soft as silk to play, and only half an inch thick, all guitar necks should be this good. I'm giving this 8/10 because of the poor pickups fitted as standard.

I use a Roland VGA-5 Modelling Amp for recording and performing. The amp is outstanding, if you haven't got one, get one. Its over 12 amps, and 12 speaker configurations in one, along with its own multi effects processor onboard, and remote pedal bank to launch the effects. My guitar has a symbiotic relationship with the amp. Both are equally suited to one another, and with the 8 pickups on my Guitar, it allows for a very versatile sound spectrum when recording.

The action is so so, partly because I need a refret. When I last had it refret though, I'd have rated it 10/10. At the 24th fret, I was only 2mm above the board with the strings. Incredible. The finish as stated before has been renewed with an enveable paint job. This guitar turns heads on stage.

Reliable? Most definitely. I fitted a white DiMarzio cliplock strap, and would recommend it them to anyone, solid as a very solid thing.

Never dealt with Ibanez, but by all accounts, their support, like all other Manufacturers is woeful.

I'm playing classical violin and guitar since the age of three. Rock guitar for the last 10 years. If it was lost in the morning, the only thing I could replace it with would be a JEM 7VWH. I wouldn't like to think about not having it. Its a beauty on stage, recording, and just like my ducati bike, its a work of art to look at.

bought new in 1990 for about $700
24 frets
Had bridge and middle pickups replaced in 1996(Duncan Screamin' Deamon and Cool Rails)
Silvery Blue
Floyd Rose Black
Came with hard case
The inside of the backing plate was signed by Megadeth in 1999!!!

It has all the necessary features but no real gimmicky things

I use it for blues, rock, and metal. It's a touch thin sounding but I can't afford anything else.
I use a Line6 Ax2 and it drives a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
WARM sound

I got my first setup just last year along with a fret dressing.
Just today the plugin jack went out. The tab going to the hot lead isn't making full contact to the plug.

The neck has been arrow straight for 12 years.
The hardware is starting to show some wear
The finish is chipped, cracked, discolored
Very dependable

Never dealt with them, but I've tried to find online material regarding this guitar with no luck

I've played for 13 years
It's great for rock but not so great for blues

JAP MADE, BOLT ON 24 FRET, ROSEWOOD BOARD. 1HB/2SC'S. BASSWOOOD BODY 4-PIECE LAMINATE.

VERY BRIGHT. TOO BRIGHT FOR MY NEW BAND- PICKUPS ARE GOING TO BE REPLACED BY SEYMOURS SOON.

PLAYS LIKE A DREAM. LOCKED DOWN THE BRIDGE AS I'M USING10'S ON IT NOW.
I HAD IT REFINISHED YEARS AGO COS LIPSTICK RED PAINTJOB WAS FADING INTO PINK. ITS NOW PETRO GREEN WOODSTAIN WITH CLEAR CELLULOSE LAQUER ON TOP.

BEST VERSION OF THE FLOYD-ROSE, EVER. MINE'S 10 YEARS OLD & I'VE NEVER CHANGED THE PLASTIC WASHERS. FLOYD TRICKY TO SET UP, BUT IT STAYS IN TUNE ALWAYS. BUILT LIKE A BRICK OUTHOUSE. MY MOST RELIABLE GUITAR OWNED EVER, OVER FENDER/YAMAHA'S ETC.

NEVER HAD TO

PLAYING 18 YEARS. IRREPLACABLE. CONSIDERING ITS A MASS PRODUCED JAP GUITAR- I HAD A SECOND ONE FROM 91, IT WAS THE SAME, BUT NEVER FELT RIGHT SO I SOLD IT TO A GUY IN A DEATH-METAL BAND. STILL MY FAVOURITE GUITAR, ALTHOUGH ITS REALLY UNFASHIONABLE. ITS DONE 100'S OF GIGS & NEVER LET ME DOWN.

great guitar. Ibanez edge trem, which has a far superior feel to a traditional floyd rose...much smoother. It originally had an H/S/S configuration, but due to my playing style I didnt need a middle pickup for my sound and I found that it got in the way of my thumb, so I filled it with wood putty and made it H/S. I put an EMG 81 and an EMG single coil in it and it screams!

super full sound. very quiet before and after the mods I made. with the single coils you can get good bluesy tones as well as metal tones with the pickup. the original pickups were hot, but I like the sound of an 81 better. I use mine to play everything from Brother Cane stuff to Death metal music. I even used it in a Jazz band setting, as well as my 9-piece blues band.

action is superb. I could have it just barely off the frets if I wanted, but I prefer to have a more medium action.

reliable. very reliable. This dude has been to hell and back and hasnt quit on me yet.

never dealt with Ibanez....do they speak english?

god, if I could find em, I would buy 10 more of these. They rule! I just cant say enough of them. They are the last of the good Ibanez guitars. everything after these started sliding downhill.

I think it was made in 1990 (or so a guy in a shop told me). When I bought it it had a h/s/s con fig but I changed this latter. I found the locking trem a pain so I had it blocked.

The sound when i bought it was thin and very 80's. I ripped out all of the pickups and replaced the only the bridge with a duncan custom custom. It sounds ace now.

I hated the colour so I got my uncle to respray it in silver/blue.
The action wasn't that low but I set i as close to the fret board as possible. The neck is nice for fast playing but I don't do to much of that.

Now that I've got the guitar as I want it it's great but if you're playing live and you snap a string you'll be ages replacing it, but that hardly ever happens on this guitar.

Parts are hard to get cause it's a jap guitar i was about six weeks when ??I needed some.

If you can set it up right this guitar is great but if you want a great guitar straight away try something else.