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Ibanez RG550MXX 20th Anniversary
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Ibanez RG550MXX 20th Anniversary

STC-Shaped Guitar from Ibanez belonging to the RG Standard series

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heads on fire heads on fire

« Perfect shred axe for the price. »

Published on 11/22/11 at 10:30
Made in Japan
Slim, fast Wizard neck
Maple fretboard
Jumbo frets for easy leads and chording
Lightweight basswood body with upper edge sculpted for comfort
Floyd Rose-licensed Edge tremolo with die-cast saddles
Pickups include Vintage 7 and 8 humbuckers framing a high-output single coil
5-way switching for a full range of instantly selectable sounds
1 volume, 1 tone
Special RG20th hard shell case


UTILIZATION

This instrument screams SHRED ME from the get-go. The bold styling brings back images of the guitars of the hair-metal, solo technical heyday of the 1980s, and it delivers in both sounds and playability as well. Ibanez's original Edge system is prominently featured on this guitar, and I feel like it's the best trem system Ibanez has yet made. It can do up-pulls of a fifth on the G string if properly setup, and it can also divebomb down into the depths, and then come back up to pitch with no problems. The 24 fret neck is easy to play on, from the first fret all the way to the last.

SOUNDS

Most Ibanez guitars feature Ibanez brand pickups. They usually are not that impressive, but they get the job done decently. These pickups are actually pretty nice - I was surprised. I didn't want to replace them, and that's saying something, because I have a lot of spare pickups laying around, and I've gotten to where I can change a whole set of pickups out in a guitar with string change and all in under 15 minutes, so it's no hassle or problem for me to do so. The fact that I didn't want to means that these pickups really work for the sound of this guitar to my ears. The 5 positions are very versatile, and one can find good Strat-like in-between tones, as well as singing solo and raging rhythms inside.

OVERALL OPINION

For anyone doing anything that is heavily 80s metal influenced, this is a perfect axe. For any modern guitar instrumental shred, this is a perfect axe. It can do other styles, but the looks of the guitar might get people to look sideways at you at a gig. I highly recommend this guitar.