Manufacturer Ibanez Body type Solid Body Basswood, Mahogany | Period 1987 — present Neck joint Bolt-on, Neck-thru | |
Neck 5pc Wizard Prestige Maple with Walnut |
The Ibanez RG Prestige series are the highest quality guitars in the popular RG series next to the J-Custom 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. There are three different groups: The RG, which is the regular design, the RGA, which has an arched top and a slimmer body, and the RGT which has a neck-thru construction.
Contents
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.
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.
RG Series
2007 standard RG Prestige features include:
Model-specific information:
RGT Series
RGA Series
RG550XX 20th Anniversary Model
In 2007, Ibanez produced 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.