Raven RSM-5000

Mine is an '05 RG5000 strat style body,made in Korea.It has 24 frets and is a neck-thru model of Alder and Walnut.H/S/H pickups with 1 vol and 1 tone and a 5 way switch.
It has a Floyd Rose bridge in gold along with gold Grover tuners..
This model just has a thin oiled finish which shows the wonderful color contrast of the light(Alder)and dark(Walnut)woods that were used,and it makes the neck oh so smooth..
The neck is a very comfortable medium size,not as thick as my Gibson Les Paul but not as thin as my Kramer-Nightswan.

This guitar would be great for most types of music,but in my possesion its strictly Metal..from Black Label Society to Zeppelin and all in between.
I run it through a Digitech processer and into my Randall 4/10 combo
or a Line6-Spider2 depending on the mood..
It has a great sound..great for the bluesy Zeppelin sounds or the dirty pinch harmonics of BLS...
I dont play any country or jazz so I cant comment there...
I dont know if there is anything to dislike about it at all...I love it...seems my Les Paul might be spending some extended time in its case...

I had to adjust the Floyd Rose a little lower my my taste..but it came from factory set up nicely..
The finish is spotless,but being that its just a thin oiled coating there isnt alot to mess up..
The Floyd Rose is one of the nicest I have played..for being a licensed under model its very solid..It doesnt compare to the original FLoyd that is on my Nightswan but its a good one none the less,very sturdy and stays in tune,thats the main thing..
As for PU's they sound great..may change at some point to some EMG's but for now they will do just fine..

Well, I would assume if it made it through the UPS system from CA to IA it will withstand being played live in a rowdy bar..
The finish doesnt look to ever be a problem but the gold on hardware Im sure will wear off(always does)at some point,but that is just character and besides the price isnt even close to a PRS or Gibson so its not really alot to worry about.
I can go years without a breaking a string..so I would gig it without a backup...
Now I guess as far as different tunings it would definatly be better to bring multiple guitars to any gig instead of spending the time to keep tuning the Floyd..

It has life time waranty on body but limited on hardware...havent had it long enough to deal with them..
I treat my guitars like they are my babies...so Im not expecting any troubles..

I have been playing for somewhere around 25 years(the 80's are still a little blurry) and own several guitars including Gibson,Kramer and BC Rich and I have a few different amps as well as a Digitech processer and a Zoom MRS-1266 digital recording studio...
If this guitar was lost or stolen I would definatly get another one..
I love the finish and the overall playability..
I have played about every major brand out there...and this holds its own against any of them...

No idea of the year it was made... My guess is 2000 or 2001. It was made n Korea

24 frets, solid top guitar. It has 1 volume and 1 tone knob with a 5 way selector switch like a Strat. The pickup configuration is Humbucker, Single, Humbucker. The pickups are stock...no idea who makes them and they are passive.

The body is Maple with a Walnut Top and is a Neck thru... Simply the most gorgeous guitar I have seen! The fretboard is maple with a rosewood fretboard. The body is unifinished with a slight sealer coat on the wood. The body style is Strat like or Ibanez RG style. The bridge is a licensed Floyd Rose copy in gold as is all the hardware. The tuners look to be Gotoh. The neck style is very thin ala Wizard style neck. It has jumbo frets and the inlays are what appear to be Abalone Arrowheads. A Dean hard shell case was included with a tremolo arm that was black.

This guitar suits my musical style perfectly which is Classic/Hard Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. I play alot of Van Halen, KISS, AC / DC, Ozzy Osbourne, Priest and Maiden.

I play thru a Marshall JCM 900 Duel Reverb High Gain 100 Watt combo and a Boss GT-6 Multi Effects Processer.

The guitar sounds very full rich sound and it sustains for days.... Very solid instrument. The pickups are not Hot and have a nice tone. It seems to play clasic rock very well and its neck pickup has a very clear and smooth bell like tone. This guitar seems more suited to Classic Rock and Country then Screaming Heavy Metal but I like that it is versitile. Playing Van Halen on it comes out very well.

I reall like the sound and was very pleasently surprised to how well it played and the richness of its tone. The harmonics up and done the neck ring out extremely well and it sounds really good unplugged.

Guitar was setup great from the Pawn shop I got it from... Tuned it up and it played great! It looks as if it was a player but it has no real battle damage to it apart from looking like it had been played.

The pickups seemed to be balanced well and the finish, top and routes were perfect!

It had a minor flaw with one of its back plate screw holes but nothing major. Some of the hardware needed to be cleaned up but all in all it came in great condition.

Definitely withstand live playing...this guitar is SOLID!

The hardware seems very good and the bridge tuned up tight as a drum and stayed in tune. I was really impressed with how quickly I got the action and play of the instrument up to speed.

This finish is FLAWLESS and it looks like it will last until the next Ice age. The guitar is just beautiful! I believe that this is a very dependable guitar!

You never gig without a backup.......Stupid question.

Company no longer exists

I have been playing seriously for 4 years.. I own 17 electric guitars, 2 amplifiers and various effects pedals..

Nothing I wished I would have asked before purchase...I knew all that I needed to know about this guitar.

If it were lost or stolen I would try and buy a replacement of the same exact model in a second!

I love the look of this guitar the most it is STUNNING! The Walnut top, neck-thru design and gold hardware, Rosewood fretboard with abalone arrow head inlays make this one of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen! I hate nothing about this guitar... My favorit feature on the guitar is the unfinished neck... It plays like butter.

I compare this to my ESP Skulls and Snakes.. It has IMHO as good a build quality and sound. I chose this particular model Raven because of its looks. You cannot find these anymore and I waited 3 years on eBay to come across one with the original Abalone Arrowhead inlays.

I wish it had Active pickups which Raven advertised it did... The pickups are passive...but that is no big deal. The newer model of this guitar claims to come with active pickups... don't knw if that is true or not.

I would just like to share that it is a real shame that Raven is no more... I have 2 other Raven guitars... a RX 620 and a RSM 1000 both AWESOME guitars for the money. I feel extremely lucky to have come across this one... Good things do come to those who wait!