Ibanez RG550 PN Electric Guitar - Purple Neon

Wanted an RG550 since I first saw them in the '90s. Does not disappoint in any way. High quality finish for the money. Trem is better than the cheaper edge versions on some other mid-range ibanez. v8 and v7 pickups arent bad for off the shelf and unless you are fussy (like me) you wont need to change them, although they sound a little thin on totally clean settings. The colour is almost luminous, pictures dont give a true feel really, its almost like '80s luminous socks! Switch gear and pots are smooth and solid. The star of this instrument is the neck. Action was pretty good out of the box, just a smidge high for my liking but very playable. Frets are very large and allow a lot of fast finger work and accurate bends. Im finding myself nailing bends especially well. ... MoreWanted an RG550 since I first saw them in the '90s. Does not disappoint in any way. High quality finish for the money. Trem is better than the cheaper edge versions on some other mid-range ibanez. v8 and v7 pickups arent bad for off the shelf and unless you are fussy (like me) you wont need to change them, although they sound a little thin on totally clean settings. The colour is almost luminous, pictures dont give a true feel really, its almost like '80s luminous socks! Switch gear and pots are smooth and solid. The star of this instrument is the neck. Action was pretty good out of the box, just a smidge high for my liking but very playable. Frets are very large and allow a lot of fast finger work and accurate bends. Im finding myself nailing bends especially well. This neck is better than my s420, the scale length feels a little longer than the 420 (I havent looked up the specs) but there is plenty of room at the top to fully exploit all 24 frets; the 420 feels a bit of a squeeze right at the top compared. Tuners feel very solid and the locking nut is placed with precision; no noticeable pitch change when tightening the nut bolts. This is a very comfortable and usable instrument out of the box. Serious pro's will probably want a setup and the fret edges stoning a little.

Just took delivery today - it arrived in mint condition and the intonation was nearly perfect - only required a small adjustment on 1 string! The finishes on this guitar are beautiful - the purple color is deep & rich and the black hardware really compliments the overall look, I can tell that when stage lights hit it, the guitar will be stunning. Action was set very low and it has very minimal fret buzz - no need for adjustment. Ran it through all the paces using every effects pedal on my board both "clean" and "dirty." It sounds great with everything. After string-stretching I could gig with the guitar just as it is now.The Ibanez pickups surprised me both with their power and clarity. Yes this thing shreds - that's why I bought it, but ... I was totally ... MoreJust took delivery today - it arrived in mint condition and the intonation was nearly perfect - only required a small adjustment on 1 string! The finishes on this guitar are beautiful - the purple color is deep & rich and the black hardware really compliments the overall look, I can tell that when stage lights hit it, the guitar will be stunning. Action was set very low and it has very minimal fret buzz - no need for adjustment. Ran it through all the paces using every effects pedal on my board both "clean" and "dirty." It sounds great with everything. After string-stretching I could gig with the guitar just as it is now.The Ibanez pickups surprised me both with their power and clarity. Yes this thing shreds - that's why I bought it, but ... I was totally unprepared as to how great it sounds clean. Has a better "dumble" sound than my Strat. Can play it distorted with the selector set to both the middle and bridge pickup without any "muddiness." Neck is VERY comfortable and fast - you don't have to worry about sweaty hands sticking to it at hot gigs. The shape allows easy access to the upper frets with little effort. Output on the humbuckers is good - I could turn down the drive-settings on both my OCD Overdrive and the ProCo Rat and not lose anything in tone. Ergonomics are great, I don't find myself hitting knobs with the right hand and the tremolo arm stays put in all positions. This guitar is LIGHT and perfectly balanced.The pickups are quiet when using compression combined with dirt, without extra humming or other noise during rests.Will probably upgrade the pickups, but for this price point, the instrument was better than I expected and sounds better than 2 of my other more-expensive guitars already.I will be playing this thing a LOT and I bought it for gigging, jamming, practicing. Am very happy with this purchase!

Overall:I've been playing Ibanez guitars for over 30 years and have owned many models in that time including the original 500 series guitars some of which I still own. This guitar is superb. I have had the guitar for a couple of days now and can say after playing it almost non stop. The build quality is excellent I haven't found any flaws yet and will have to say that this particular guitar is absolutely flawless. I have gone over and over the guitar and there are literally no flaws. When I received the guitar which was 3 days earlier than promised I unpacked the guitar and went over it with a fine tooth comb. Flawless fit and finish. Everything is exactly as it should be. I have been ordering guitars for years online and this one was the most flawless one I ever ... MoreOverall:I've been playing Ibanez guitars for over 30 years and have owned many models in that time including the original 500 series guitars some of which I still own. This guitar is superb. I have had the guitar for a couple of days now and can say after playing it almost non stop. The build quality is excellent I haven't found any flaws yet and will have to say that this particular guitar is absolutely flawless. I have gone over and over the guitar and there are literally no flaws. When I received the guitar which was 3 days earlier than promised I unpacked the guitar and went over it with a fine tooth comb. Flawless fit and finish. Everything is exactly as it should be. I have been ordering guitars for years online and this one was the most flawless one I ever purchased. I always find something on guitars when ordering online like at least some minor flaws or even major ones that are deal breakers. I've been comparing this guitar to my original 550 and it does have some differences. The neck is slightly thicker than my old one and the volute on the neck is there. 5 piece neck is different from the one piece with scarf joint. These are all excellent improvements to the original the other thing that I noticed was the fretboard edges are rolled which is awesome! I love it. I actually like it better than my old 550 which is blowing my mind. The only complaint is I really wish it was offered in a hardshell case. But I'm in the mindset that all guitars over say 500 bucks should have at least a gig bag. Thanks zZounds for getting me a great guitar super fast!