NGD: Ibanez content

K

Koreth

New member
So, Japan finally shipped the parts I need to fix my current Ibanez RG5EX1, so I took it into the shop today to have that fixed and get it the fret work it's needed for several months now. However, as I was getting that scheduled into my day I realized that since the RG5EX1 is my only axe, I'd be without a a guitar, period.

This will not do.

So on my way in, I stopped by another shop specializing in used gear, and found this bad boy. It's a '98 RG570, Iron Pewter finish. It is an HSH setup, just like my RG5EX1, but unlike the RG5EX1, is made in Japan. Thus it has quality wood and hardware, including an original Edge. The body shows quite a bit of wear, with chips in the finish all around the edges, but the frets are in surprisingly good shape, with almost no wear by comparison. The neck pickup has the wrong size springs on its height adjuster screws and so bounces up and down in the cavity, the body and neck are dirty, and with the strings about a mile above the frets (okay, 3mm, but close enough), it's in definate need of a setup. But all of that is correctable with a bit of TLC, and the price was right at $300.

There was another RG570 in the store, a 90-92 (I didn't check the serial) in a Purple Neon finish that didn't have nearly as much finish damage for only $400, and came with a hardshell case to boot, but it had been heavily played. All that was left of the frets were school buses. A dress crown polish can fix that, sure, but I want an axe I can play *now* darnit. I'll go back for it next week when I get my next paycheck.

An aside, don't music shops keep guys on hand that can do at least basic setups? Every axe with a Floyd style bridge was out of tune, had the bridge angle way outta whack, and stupid high action. I might not have gotten this deal if the guitar had been set up properly. There's axes that have been in that store for months with the same crappy setup and rusty strings. That can't be helping their sales any.
 
Re: NGD: Ibanez content

I thought the Rg5 had the reverse headstock

beautiful axe

EDIT
my bad should have read the entire post
 
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Re: NGD: Ibanez content

Excellent score - you have essentially paid for the bridge and pups. Only shame is that 570s came, more often than not, in incredibly boring finishes; but that is of little consequence in the end.
 
Re: NGD: Ibanez content

If you're not real familiar with the old edge bridges, make sure you unlock the trem studs before adjusting the string height. Not doing so will ruin your studs and cause tuning problems.

Not saying your dummy or anything. Just making sure you know. I've seen a lot of people have to spend $40 or $50 on new studs because they didn't.
 
Re: NGD: Ibanez content

Koreth said:
An aside, don't music shops keep guys on hand that can do at least basic setups? Every axe with a Floyd style bridge was out of tune, had the bridge angle way outta whack, and stupid high action. I might not have gotten this deal if the guitar had been set up properly. There's axes that have been in that store for months with the same crappy setup and rusty strings. That can't be helping their sales any.
Click to expand...

I think that you just answered your own question, bro. Setting up a Floyd Rose double locking vibrato system is fiddly, especially if the person performing the set up is out of practice.

Think positively. You got a good deal and the staff at that shop haven't done anything to make the set up on your guitar any worse. This time, less really is more.

In the old days, at this point in the thread, Zerberus would storm in and deliver the full FR set up lecture.
 
Re: NGD: Ibanez content

And ******. I threw a new set of strings on it last night and attempted to do a setup, but no dice.

The action is just under 3mm above the neck on the bass side and just over 3mm on the treble side, and I can't get it any lower. That's with the studs buried as far in the inserts as they'll go. I did double check that the studs were not locked with the set screws--they simply will not screw any deeper. Neck relief is fine, at around .3mm at the 8th fret per the Ibanez manual -- not that I could adjust it if I wanted to, since it appears to require some kind of nut/socket deal instead of a hex key. I did double check that the bridge angle was correct, using the knife edge inserts vs the base plate since the Edge has an angled base plate.

I've removed the bridge from the guitar, and I can't see any visible damage. The knife edges don't look unduly worn, in fact, I don't see much wear at all. Likewise with the studs. there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the inserts, the top of the inserts are supposed to fit flush with the trem cavity, right?

I've inspected the neck pocket, there's no shim, but the neck does appear to sit at a slight angle to the body when fully seated. I could attempt to shim the neck to change the angle, but I'm loathe to do so, for fear of losing some sustain because of the shim. That, and with the strings this far above the frets with the studs bottomed out, just how much can I realistically expect to gain from a neck shim? It seems like I'd have to use a pretty darn thick shim.

I intend to take the guitar to the tech tomorrow to have him take a look at it and see if it is something that can be fixed or is worth fixing. If not I'm taking it back to the store and getting my money back. I'll be pissed if I have to do so, because the neck does feel nicer in my hands than the MII Wizard II neck on my other guitar.

Does anyone have pointers on other things I should try to check before taking the guitar to a tech tomorrow?
 
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Re: NGD: Ibanez content

I've shimmed many necks and not ever lost any sustain. I use to be an old Kramer junky and that was almost a necessity on every one of them I owned to get super low action. If you go that route, try to use something that is heavy paper based, like a business card, so they still compress somewhat.

Everything else sounds like it is normal. The bushings are supposed to be flush. You might want to remove the locking nut and make sure there is not a shim underneath it. Ibanez use to do that with a lot of their older guitars. My old 550 had a .3mm shim under it and it was darn near impossible to get good action with it in there. A good tech should be able to get all your problems worked out if you don't want to fiddle with it. In my experience with Ibanez, they are tedious to get setup, but once you get them in working order, they are some of the fastest playing guitars around. Especially the old wizard necks! Good luck!
 
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