Budget shred stick

[JB_From_Hell]

Haven’t had a Floyded guitar in a long time. What’s the best way I could spend about tree-fiddy ($350 for the non-South Park crowd)?

Been looking at used RGs, old MIJ Jacksons, stuff like that. It won’t be my main guitar, so doesn’t need to be premium.

 

[Top-L]

Haven’t had a Floyded guitar in a long time. What’s the best way I could spend about tree-fiddy ($350 for the non-South Park crowd)?

Been looking at used RGs, old MIJ Jacksons, stuff like that. It won’t be my main guitar, so doesn’t need to be premium.

I don't think you'll get a used MIJ anything of good quality for 350.

6-7 years ago, I got a Chinese Dean superstrat with Floyd Rose Special for 250. Its a great sounding guitar, but it needed some work. Unfortunately, prices of the chinese stuff has gone up.

I think your best bet overall if you don't want to deal with any problems would be a Harley Benton:

https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley..._fch.htm?sid=794fc2c1048031f2992c329c02fabae9

Maybe a LTD M-200 on sale.
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/esp-ltd-m-200fm-electric-guitar?rNtt=LTD M-200&index=2

If you really want to hit your 350 target, you might find a used MIC with a Floyd Rose Special for around 150-200, upgrade the tone block to OFR, new pickups, and DIY crown/level.

 

[Artie]

I hope it isn't inappropriate for me toot my own horn, but my MIJ RG is going to be up on the chopping block real soon, right at that price point. I was going to do $400, but I'll entertain $350 to you. I'm just waiting for the missing locking nut clamps to arrive. Should be here this week. I'll post pics if you want.

This is the guitar that you can see a little segment of in the "tuning a Floyd" thread.

 

[Masta' C]

Love the South Park reference, ha ha!

Are you looking for a particular style? V, super-strat, etc?

The standard MIJ Jacksons were "ok" guitars, but some of the newer Jacksons are actually a little more refined and nicer to play out of the box. If you're planning on swapping electronics, etc., then there are several decent models that fall in that price range new.

A used 400-series ESP LTD is almost always a safe bet. You can also find excellent Korean-made Schecters in that price range.

EDIT: Artie's RG might tick the boxes for a good price, also!

 

[ErikH]

The Ibanez RG350 and RG470 are solid guitars for the money. They can be had in that price range all day long. They aren't MIJ but don't let that steer you away.

 

[Top-L]

The Ibanez RG350 and RG470 are solid guitars for the money. They can be had in that price range all day long. They aren't MIJ but don't let that steer you away.

I would steer away from those because the trem is licensed Floyd with atypical shape and route. They can't be swapped or upgraded with even a FRS. Thats the problem with Ibanez in general, the proprietary trems.

Also, you could grab one of these for 450.
https://www.proaudiostar.com/featured-deal/esp-ltd-m-400-solar-fade-metallic.html

I bought one and its a great guitar.

 

[Sirion]

In general, I would advise extreme caution when it comes to budget guitars with Floyds. It is in fact the one place where I would dissuade anybody from getting one. Why? Because a Floyd Rose is an expensive beast, and the Ersatz solutions in my opinion just don't work. I've had trouble with too many guitars like this (guitars with OFRs or other decent trems like the Schaller FRs were hard to come by at one point).

I say save the money, or buy a budget guitar with a simpler bridge design.

 

[ehdwuld]

Harley Benton at Thomann makes some nice new ones
I got my RG4 with the Edge IIl tremolo used some years ago for around that

Charvel and Jackson have models in that neighborhood

I think I saw a Guitar Max video recently where he had one for an odd builder
He liked it

 

[The Dali]

I would steer away from those because the trem is licensed Floyd with atypical shape and route. They can't be swapped or upgraded with even a FRS. Thats the problem with Ibanez in general, the proprietary trems.

Also, you could grab one of these for 450.
https://www.proaudiostar.com/featured-deal/esp-ltd-m-400-solar-fade-metallic.html

I bought one and its a great guitar.

This isn't 100% true, there are some Ibanez RG-series guitars that will accept licensed floyds (like a nice Gotoh). Depends on the year and location of manufacture.

Plus, some of the Ibanez floyd-style bridges are pretty solid.

OP, could also look at a used EVH... They come with a EVH-branded floyd but I think they are pretty solid. I found an older one that featured a German original Floyd.

 

[Top-L]

Plus, some of the Ibanez floyd-style bridges are pretty solid.

The high end bridges are great. Anything with a number after it II, III, etc, pretty bad from what I've read. They have proprietary parts so its not as easy to fix issues. And anything that is not an Edge or LoPro has a piddly little sustain block.

I used to exclusively play Ibanez, and in the late 80s/90s they made some of the best guitars (and you could get an Edge on a $600 RG 570), but now they are generally overpriced for what you get. IMO.

If you know exactly what you are looking for, you can probably find something good, but it is usually bid up to more than its worth from all the Ibanez fanboys.

 

[The Dali]

The high end bridges are great. Anything with a number after it II, III, etc, pretty bad from what I've read. They have proprietary parts so its not as easy to fix issues. And anything that is not an Edge or LoPro has a piddly little sustain block.

I used to exclusively play Ibanez, and in the late 80s/90s they made some of the best guitars (and you could get an Edge on a $600 RG 570), but now they are generally overpriced for what you get. IMO.

If you know exactly what you are looking for, you can probably find something good, but it is usually bid up to more than its worth from all the Ibanez fanboys.

Yeah, I had a used Prestige with an Edge and it was a pretty sweet bridge.

I know what you mean about the costs... the Indonesia-made guitars are all running $600 - $1000 now, but that is the case for most manufacturers now.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

I hope it isn't inappropriate for me toot my own horn, but my MIJ RG is going to be up on the chopping block real soon, right at that price point. I was going to do $400, but I'll entertain $350 to you. I'm just waiting for the missing locking nut clamps to arrive. Should be here this week. I'll post pics if you want.

This is the guitar that you can see a little segment of in the "tuning a Floyd" thread.

Hey Artie, I’m interested in your RG.

 

[Artie]

I'll get some pics and more detailed info up.

 

[ehdwuld]

Used Schector Sun Valley
OMG
I want one now

 

[Artie]

I wanted to take these pics out in the sun, but it clouded up and the humidity fogged up the lens and guitar. So, these aren't great. I can always take more, later if you think you're interested.

There's several web pages that decode the serial number, and they don't all jive, so not sure of the actual year. It appears to be either late 1987 or early 1988. There's also some oddities in its configuration. HSS with no pickguard. 24 frets. Note the volume control that's been moved back a bit from the bridge pup, which is something they say they didn't start until 1989. Also, the factory wiring includes a push-pull on the tone pot to split the bridge, and a factory "blower" switch to send the bridge straight to the V/T controls. It has RG665 stamped into the neck, but it clearly isn't an RG665. I think it's an RG560.

The chips and dings in the paint don't look like they're from playing, but more like what would happen if this bounced around in the back of someones car or van. Which is a darn shame because it's one of the most beautiful paint jobs I've seen. It looks like a metallic purple, with some kind of burst sprayed over the top so that its deep, deep purple in the middle, while allowing the underlying purple to show through around the edges.

Fret wear isn't bad. The D string is the worst, but there's no buzzing. It plays great. Locking nut clamps should arrive this week. Trem cover missing. I think I'm going to make another with Plexiglas to show off those red springs and brass claw.

 

[Artie]

More. The white rectangle is a reflection. That's not on there.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Don’t bother making a cavity cover, and mark that bad boy sold. We’ll settle up on a price.

Your inbox is full. When you have 20 minutes to delete everything 3 times, shoot me a PM and I’ll give you my phone number.

 

[Artie]

Cool. I'm trying to figure out how to clear my PM's. I don't want to just delete them because I have too much contact info in there.

Gimme a sec. I'll figure something out.

 

[Artie]

Wow! That was excruciating. There's got to be a better way to handle PM's. (Like going back to the old way.)

Try me again, JB.

 

[idsnowdog]

These aren't bad https://offerup.com/item/detail/945342405/ if you aren't necessarily looking for a Floyd.