Ibanez RG Prestige

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Ibanez RG Prestige
Manufacturer Ibanez
Period 1987 — present
Construction
Body type Solid
Neck joint Bolt-on, Neck-thru
Woods
Body Basswood, Mahogany
Neck 5pc Wizard Prestige Maple with Walnut
Fretboard Rosewood
Hardware
Bridge Edge Pro Double Locking Tremolo, Edge Zero, Gibraltar Plus Bridge
Pickup(s) H-S-H or H-H DiMarzio IBZ or IBZ V7 & V8 pickups
Colors available
Regal Brown Burst, Stained Oil, Natural Flat, Dark Amber, Aged Natural, Cubed Black Pewter, Vital Silver, Galaxy Black, Mirage Blue, Mirage Red, Royal Blue, Black Pearl, Sapphire Blue & Violin Flat

The Ibanez RG Prestige series are the highest quality guitars in the extremely popular RG series. They were introduced in 1987 and are well known for their characteristic thin necks and hard-edged tone, which is generated by high-output humbuckers. The guitars are custom-made in Japan and according to Ibanez, only the best wood and mechanics are used to make the guitars. There are three different groups: The RG, which is the regular design, the RGA, which has a fixed bridge design, and the RGT which has a neck-thru construction.

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[edit] Origins

The RG series were first introduced in 1987 as a derivative of the Ibanez JEM and Universe series by Steve Vai. The RG guitars became very popular after a while and many artists started using the guitars both live and in the studio. Hard rock and metal bands have used the RG Prestige for many years, and are still using them today. The RG Prestige series has been running for over 15 years, and is still thriving.

Though the RG Prestige guitars are the highest-range Ibanez guitars, they are slightly more affordable than top classed Gibson guitars, which can cost up to two or three times more than the Prestige series. The RG Prestige series' main competing models in the hard rock world are the Jackson Soloist series, the Schecter Hellraiser series and the ESP M series.

[edit] The RG Prestige Guitars

[edit] RG Series

2007 standard RG Prestige features include:

  • Basswood Body
  • 5-piece wizard prestige bolt-on maple neck
  • Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
  • Jumbo frets
  • HSH - Two humbuckers with a single coil in the middle
  • IBZ V7 neck, IBZ S1 middle, IBZ V8 bridge pickups
  • Back routed wiring with body-mounted pickups
  • Edge Pro tremolo
  • Team J. Craft hard case


Model-specific information:

  • RG1520G - Two humbuckers, Roland GK output - $1399.99 List
  • RG1550 - Maple fingerboard, pickguard, guard-mounted pickups, no case - $749.99 List - Discontinued
  • RG1820X - Two humbuckers, piezo bridge - $1329.99 List
  • RG2620 - Two humbuckers, DiMarzio IBZ pickups - $1506.65 List - Discontinued
  • RG3120F - Two humbuckers, DiMarzio IBZ pickups, mahogany body with flame maple top - $1929.99 List - Discontinued
  • RG1527 - 7-string, two humbuckers - $1199.99 List
  • RG1570 - Standard RG Prestige model - $999.99 List
  • RG1570L - Lefty version of RG1570 - $1199.99 List
  • RG450LTD - Limited Edition of the RG450 with special colors and sharktooth inlays
  • RG2550E - Bound fingerboard, DiMarzio IBZ pickups, wedge sharktooth inlays, pickguard, guard-mounted pickups - $1173.32 List
  • RG2550E - Pre-2007 models do not have bound fingerboard, wedge sharktooth inlays, and does not have case
  • RG2570E - Bound fingerboard, DiMarzio IBZ pickups, wedge sharktooth inlays - $1173.32 List
  • RG2610E - Bound fingerboard and body, single Seymour Duncan TB-10 bridge pickup, wedge sharktooth inlays - $1333.32 List
  • RG2620E - Non-US model, appears to be same as RG2620 along with bound fingerboard and sharktooth inlays
  • RG2228 - First ever mass produced 8-string, fixed Edge III bridge, two EMG 808 pickups - $1999.99 List
  • RG550RXX - See below
  • RG550MXX - See below
  • RG2EX2- Fixed bridge, bound fingerboard, 2 Body mounted EMG designed passive humbuckers - $299.99 list

[edit] RGT Series

  • RGT320Q
  • RGT220A
  • RGT220H

[edit] RGA Series

  • RGA121
  • RGA321F

[edit] RG550XX 20th Anniversary Model

In 2007, Ibanez is producing a low-number run of guitars built to the specs of the original RG550, first released in 1987. They tout original finish formulations, but only in the colors Desert Sun Yellow (DY), Road Flare Red (RF), and Black (BK).

While all the specs from the original RG550 are mirrored in the 20th Anniversary run, Ibanez have addressed one important issue. The original RG550 models sometimes suffered from catastrophic neck warpage, owing to the ultra-slim carve of the neck - the very thing that made the RG550 such a unique instrument in the first place. Instead of recreating the 2- or 3-piece neck of the late 1980s, which usually had a head piece and a longer neck piece glued together obliquely just behind the nut, Ibanez have revised the entire neck construction with the 20th Anniversary model. The neck on the new RG550 is a 5-piece laminate, with three strips of hard rock maple and two thin strips of walnut. The maple strips are arranged so that the grain on the outer two pieces is parallel, while the grain of the center strip is perpendicular to the other two, thereby granting the neck far more resistance to warping than the originals had. They also feature 2 titanium rods going down each side of the truss rod for added strength and rigidity.

Other than the neck construction, the XX model is cosmetically and functionally identical to the original 1987 issue of the RG550, including a return to that year's Edge tremolo system, a licensed version of the ubiquitous Floyd Rose double-locking bridge system.

Cases sold with the DY and RF Anniversary guitars are covered with matching-color tolex.

Ibanez announced the RG550XX at the 2007 Winter NAMM show; the first guitars were delivered to distributors in April 2007.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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