I have one of these RG550s and I think if ibanez had chosen to put their all access neck joint on it (it has been featured on later 90s RG550s already) it would be one of the best guitars on the market for the price.

i have the 570 Genesis and like before with the originals the neck joint doesn't keep me from reaching any of the frets I don't have paul gilbert fingers and I still reach them no problem, and w/ the tilt it's quite comfortable. I mean if you think about it. Vai, Satch, Timmons, Gilbert, Blaze, Batten, CC, Cody, Allen, Beach, Frusciante, Skolnick, Moore, Petrucci, Turner all played Rg's back in the day and many more axe slinger type guitarists. And they were all fine w/ it.. :) I have a Jackson soloist as well, and the Ibanez feels way better in my hands than the Jackson. I forced myself to play nothing but the Jackson for a few months and it still doesn't feel as good as my 570.

I've got an s1070pbz and a 92 rg550 and the rg550 has the older "under floyd rose patents" edge bridge with the pop in arm and the newer s1070 has the newer edge 2 trem with the screw in arm. The neck joint on the s1070 is amazing compared to the blocky rg

did the exact same thing you did with the 1070fm

Jackson is the better!!!!

Yea I love my genesis I have a road flare red

Same i bought like 2 weeks ago and it's a beast

The paint will chip off on the hard corners if it takes a bump there and also any of the harder angles of the guitar. Trust me I owned one for over 20 yrs. You have to take good care of them. the paint is really thick like a half mm.

It's paint man!@@MICKEYISLOWD

@@MICKEYISLOWD We call that "character" Lol. I'll take an Edge trem over a FR 1000 every time.

Could not agree more.

I just got one last week and I agree 💯

Meh. Whatever you like is what's better for you. I can make a 200$ guitar sound like a 2 thousand dollar one it's just what you know. My little Jackson js12 loves to eat les Pauls and other brand snobs and also likes to fight the big dogs who like to trash talk less expensive guitars cause everyone knows its the player not the guitar let's be real.

@@shanebiggs1888 What you just said - everybody knows that already. This particular 'KZfaq channel' is just telling you "what you get for the money you spend", he said that right at the beginning of the video (in different words). He didn't say anything about "You're going to like this guitar better and hate that one".

@@shanebiggs1888 les Paul kills a Jackson

@@shanebiggs1888 yep and its still pile shit of shit eventhough you put cherry on top of it How does cheap tremolo system become more reliable if its played by pro?

@@shanebiggs1888 had a Jackson is 11 it was bad to be fair rg550 all day long

Thanks my dude!! Appreciate the support. Share the vid If you can!

I agree with this!! Thanks for the insight

I have one of those old Dinkys, and that bridge is still holding up great! I'm not usually too bat shit crazy with the trem, but it still comes back true to pitch after a few Eruption-like dive bombs. That's good enough for me, lol!

Hey Charlie! Thanks for stopping by. Yeah, the RG is always a great choice

I agree, they would probably sell wagons of them.

Hey Brian! I appreciate it!

An HM Strat has a neck that isn’t QUITE as thin. Another would be a Schecter Sunvalley Supershredder

This sums up the rg’s value to a tee. Phenomenal statement my dude

Hey Edwin. Thanks for stopping by. I do see your points with the HSH. I actually own the Genesis and to be honest, the HSH is just about the only thing I hate. I would like to switch it to a HH sometime.

@@nikaxeguitar If you're good with wiring, I suggest you try installing a switch (in a push-pull pot, perhaps) to bring in the pickup of your choice. I should have done that with my Ibanez, but I'm NOT good with wiring! That's one reason why I bought TWO Ibanez guitars. One is the older EX370 with H-S-H and the other is an RG220B with H-H. Both are heavily modified; I just haven't done that one mod on the EX. Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to do!

sounds like a lot of crapola my guy

How many instances do you need a 7 combination in a superstrat guitar? Buy a Suhr then.

That’s awesome dude! I agree with the treble bleed circuit

Absolutely dude

that's why I bought the 570 when it was available ( only for 2017-2018). It's a solid body Rg but w/ rosewood fretboard and yes it came w/ those Ibanez pups, which I took those out and put in a set of Seymours Tb6 bridge and Sh2 neck.And the pups are directly mounted on those..I left the middle pup cause I actually like that middle pup and not worth a hundred bucks replacing it. The Edge is by far the best trem on the planet at least in my opinion. And as for the tilt joint I was concerned about that even though I had played the originals back in the late 80's early 90's, but I have been playing mostly neck throughs and the AANJ's for a couple decades now. But once i got it, it felt so comfortable and i have no issues reaching higher frets, just as easy as any of my other AANJ's. it's not as blocky as it looks.

original edge

Wow. I didn’t know that about the Whammy bar! I’m going to add that to the ebook I’m about to publish. Thanks!!

@@nikaxeguitar You should also totally check out Red Bishop. They do whammy bars and sockets that fit in all Double Locking Tremolos and they make both FR and Gotoh/Ibanez shaped bars. The sockets themselves and how the bars plug in are the same as the Ibanez Edge Zero but made with better quality. Made in Japan too!

Which did you ultimately decide?

This is what I’m taking about. Amazing man!

@@nikaxeguitar Cheers mate 😀🎸✨

Or just using teflon tape on the bar works wonders.

Those serials ran in sequence: They hit 9700000 circa '03 and 9800000 circa '07. If you have chrome hardware and a VERY low 96 serial it may be a late '90s considering the DK2 began in '98. Black hardware and real Duncans replaced chrome/Duncan Designed in 2006. My 9853xxx DKMGT is stamped 2011 in the neck pocket....months before the shutdown of Jackson MIJ's in 2011.

Chrome hardware, jb in the bridge and Duncan designed singles in the mid and neck (no idea if the bridge pu is original though) and serial is 9622xxx. What do you think? I haven’t taken the neck off to see if there’s any stamping (and probably won’t just for that as I’m not curious enough).

@@Andrew_182 Well, you're actually one of the few that originally guessed correctly. It most likely is a late '90s. I compiled a list of serials confirmed by neck pocket date stamps years ago while I was on the forums daily and here's the numbers I have from that time period.... 9615xxx 1998 9629xxx 1999 Jan/22 Occasionally, an oddball will come along that doesn't 'follow the rules', but generally the list is pretty accurate. DK2's started in '98 with Duncan Designed pups and chrome, so someone changed the bridge pickup. Those 7 digit 96xxxxx serials started around '96-7ish, though some of them WERE date coded, the majority weren't. 6 digit serials and neck thru body serials are a different story, though. If you ever check used Jackson MIJ's online, you'll notice how many are '90s'. This is by far the hugest misconception about used MIJ Jacksons. Almost none of them are actually '90s, and oftentimes people DON'T want to hear that. lol

Thank you for all the info! I had done some digging which is why I believed it actually was a 90s model, but obviously not to the extent you have. I also wouldn’t have been crushed if it wasn’t lol. But I know most of them listed weren’t 90s, my buddy had one that had a 98 serial and black hardware and full Duncan’s, he didn’t believe it wasn’t a 90s. I found a link to dating the pickups through logos on the baseplate and stickers, so one day I was working on it and checked and showed him. He was bummed about it (I honestly don’t know why) but accepted it after I showed him evidence.

“Tone wood” doesn’t exist with electric guitar imo, and it seems people are starting to figure that out more and more lately. The reason I mentioned basswood being a downside is due to it being much softer than other options which makes it prone to dings/dents and other issues. For example, I have a good friend who got a basswood body Jackson and after a little over a year, the posts for the floyd started stripping out. I know that isn’t the case for all basswood bodies, evh loved them, etc etc, but basswood is softer and there’s a reason a lot of other manufactures don’t use it in premium instruments or refuse to use it all together (Kiesel for example won’t touch it for the reasons mentioned). As for QC, I don’t agree that the 1000 series is somehow inferior to the 550 there. A good chunk of them are still made in Korea at world music which has a really good reputation for quality and I haven’t heard many if any complaints about them, or even worlds qc coming from indo (from people who have actually put hands on the guitars). Anecdotally, I got to directly compare an MiI and MiK ec1000 last summer and both were flawless. I went with the MiK just due to the fact that it was a little lighter and because rightly or wrongly people look at MiKs as higher tier, but Im sure would have been just as happy with the MiI one. And the fact is, there is no free lunch. What you’re paying extra for Japanese labor on the 550 is coming out elsewhere to hit the price point hence why the 1000 is able to be specced better with stainless frets, better body woods, ebony boards instead of maple (arguably preference, but there is a cost difference associsted) and name brand pickups (fishmans, SDs, emgs) for similar prices. Its a better bang for the buck hands down. And to say that the only difference between a 550 and prestige level Ibanez is the pickups is hilariously untrue. Otherwise, Ibanez would be costing themselves a lot of money just selling the 550 as anyone who was wanting a similar prestige would be dumb not to buy the 550 and swap out the electronics instead of buying a prestige. Again, there is no free lunch and you’re sacrificing features/specs/wood quality and hands on time in exchange for a lower price point than a prestige (or e-ii). If that’s a worthy trade off is up for everyone to decide for themselves, but for me, there is no discernible benefit in quality of having a Japanese worker assemble the Ibanez vs a Korean/Indonesian worker with the ltd as they are all perfectly capable of making extremely high quality instruments at this point. This isn’t all to say the 550 is junk by any means. If it’s what calls to you over other options, get it because it’s going to be a great guitar too. And it does have some nice appointments that I’d say are better than the LTDs like the five piece necks and gotoh locking tuners, but it is lacking in features for the price and just because it’s assembled in Japan does not make it inherently better than the 1000 series by any measure. Tl:dr - the LTDs objectively better specced, and there’s no real difference in QC. If you like the 550 more, that’s perfectly understandable, but the ltd is the better bang for your buck and just as quality.

I hear that man. I threw a Nazgul and sentient in mine

Don't be so sure man....try them. The stock are actually really close to Dimarzio tone.

Hold on man. Give the pups a chance. They are really really good.

An RG565 is my next guitar Ive decided. It looks too damn cool

lucky.. I tried to order one and they said out of stock, will get more at a later date.. NOPE.. all of a sudden they were taken off most of the websites that I buy at. so frustrating.. cause that is one of my dream guitars.

Unfortunately the model is no more on Ibanez 2022's lineup. It's why there's no stock. The QC is awesome. Ibanez has the best QC, even better than ESP japan and having such a quality for less than 1000€ (I'm in France) is a great opportunity

Bro Hearing this is painful I have an rg5120 😂

You’re right. The new ones are much better than the originals.

Dude I want one badly!

The 570 too if you like a rosewood fingerboard and more of a 90s look.

I think it weights less just because it has less pickups

@@OrkhanJulfa very possible either way i prefer over it the rg550 lol

@@naegleriafowleri2230 I think to convert my 550 pickup configuration to 565. I mean full sized humbucker in bridge and single sized rail pickup in neck with 5 way switch. Just need to find good rail pickup that will work with DiMarzio Evo 2.

Hey brother, thanks fo stopping by. I agree with you. And thats kinda the point with these videos. In an overpriced market, companies make guitars that are really hard to discern. You have to look at them closely to get the most value. The Ibanez is just a little better in this instance.

@@nikaxeguitar Indeed! And this of course is if one is shopping online, if there is an option to try the guitars then this is the obvious choice cause there are quite a few personal preferences that may tip the scale in both directions.

That’s super interesting dude

I've been waiting for months for them to come in stock here in the US. I figured you guys would have easier access to them. Guess we're all waiting :-/

I wouldn’t worry. PRS SE series are pretty awesome. I highly recommend them for the price 🙂

Great to hear man!🤘

Hey Buck. I appreciate the comment. Thanks for stopping by.

@@nikaxeguitar no problem. Enjoy the comparison, but where is the proof? Not a lick in the video.................

Hey Igor! Thanks for stopping by. I agree

Man DK2M is one of the best guitar ever made

Yeah I agree

You know. I’m with you dude. The black pick guard is the ONLY thing I don’t really like on this guitar

@@nikaxeguitar The only guitar I think looks good with a black pickguard is an already black guitar like the vintage inspired Fenders or an SG

@@ImThe5thKing I feel you. You like the new fender Luxe series?

@@nikaxeguitar Yeah they're not bad. That all black Tele with the maple fingerboard looks badass with a Floyd haha and you can never go wrong with an HSS Strat

thats why prestiges don't have pickguard, neither do the jcustom, rg565 doesn't either, only tacky looking guitars like jem and pia do lmao and thats why it has a pickguard is a poor mans jem

Ibanez can do both and more unlike the dinky.

All Jackson tuners are the same they suck lol

@@nonserviam4813 yeah you may be right.. thanks for the info

😂😂😂

The mythology lives on.