NGD, Ibby Content

JordanM82

JordanM82

New member
Well I was hunting for an RG some of you may have seen the threads, I ended up getting an insane deal buying this RG920 Premium. I will say this, I love everything about this guitar.... except the lack of sustain. The neck feels amazing, the tone is great, it plays incredible but it just does not sustain like my Carvin CS4 or my Strat. It has the Edge Zero II bridge with ZPS for those of you that are more familiar with Ibby bridges... the bridge feels really smooth and stays in tune well enough, but I can't help but feel like that is where the sustain is getting killed... I WANT this guitar to be a keeper because of how good it feels and plays but as it stands with the current sustain level, I would sell it provided the chance (and since I got a crazy good deal on it I would come out on top still).

Any advice on improving RG sustain? I didn't get to play it first because it was not local and the price offered made it worth a shot regardless... guess that might be a lesson learned on ordering guitars you have not played :banghead:... I have setup the guitar, adjusted the truss rod (was too straight, needed a slight bit of relief), set intonation, action needed to be raised, frets are fantastic already, pickups were WAY too high, lowered them considerably... after all this, sustain is still a serious issue... it literally feels like the note dies prematurely, like it doesn't naturally sustain out it fades out really fast... Any advice is appreciated here...

Pics to see how great the guitar does look, sorry for crappy quality...
 
Re: NGD, Ibby Content

My Charvel has significantly more sustain when I block the trem. Give that a try . . .
 
Re: NGD, Ibby Content

Floating trems are sustain robbers. I'm not too familiar with the zero bridge, maybe that's the one that has the mechanism in the back to stabilize the trem. What you want to do is block the trem so it only pushes down and does not pull up. You can do this with the mechanism in the back, if it has one. If it doesn't, then get a Floyd Rose trem stop, it's an L shaped piece of metal that bolts in the back, with a screw so you can block the trem to only push down.

Also, what would make a huge difference is a Big Block. Go to floydupgrades.com, email or call Adam and see if he has a big block for your trem.
 
Re: NGD, Ibby Content

I guess play it real loud? That always helps with the sustain.
If you've already got fresh strings, lowered pickups and good frets... Not much else left to blame.
 
Re: NGD, Ibby Content

Those are so beautiful! Happy NGD! Wish they made the red and purple in 7string too... Hardtail would also be nice :D
 
Re: NGD, Ibby Content

I dont get this "floating trems are sustain robbers" thing. None of my floating trem guitars ever sustained noticably less than most of my hardtail guitars.

I have the exact same issue as you with a cheapo BC Rich Warlock, its a hardtail and the sustain is really bad. Im assuming its something to do with the bridge - you could try swapping the saddles for something else maybe?
 
Re: NGD, Ibby Content

How about a pro setup to get the guitar playing and sounding to its full potential? They may have additional advice as well.....
 
Re: NGD, Ibby Content

GuitarGuy503 said:
How about a pro setup to get the guitar playing and sounding to its full potential?
Click to expand...

This is the best idea - you could spend money on upgrades only to find the problem is something else entirely.
Hopefully a good tech would find your problem and be able to solve it.
 
Re: NGD, Ibby Content

^ Ditto...


Also, for a possible quick fix, try tightening the saddle lock screws (The ones that attach the saddles to the base-plate) Try and get them as tight as possible without stripping the threads. Makes a big difference to tone/sustain having those saddles sit tight against the surface...and they often come pretty loosely fitted on new guitars.

Awesome looking (and sounding) axe btw....I played one of those a while ago...very nice!
 
Re: NGD, Ibby Content

ok - so you have set it up just as well as your other axes:

no sustain = bad wood.

sell it and save yourself a lot of frustration
 
Re: NGD, Ibby Content

The one I played sustained for days. It's their premium series ...I doubt it's made from bad wood.
 
Re: NGD, Ibby Content

There's lemons and gems in all price ranges.
My SZ sustains until the cows go home and it's a cheap model.

Have a pro set it up as suggested, and if that doesn't help, don't bother with trem blocks made of unobtanium.
Sell it, find a guitar that sounds, plays and sustains like you want it to,
and THEN splurge in top hardware to improve it even further.

Good luck man!
 
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Re: NGD, Ibby Content

The pickups don't have good sustain. Change them out with Dimarzios or Duncans to improve sustain and tone. You should also check the Ibanez forum and see what those guys suggest. I was reading a few threads about how Ibanez puts some rubber inserts under some of their trems which robs sustain. They claim to have removed them to solve the sustain problems.

I have played 3 of the Premiums and all of them came farily well setup from the factory and sounded great. I didn't notice a sustain problem like you describe and I can only think it's probably the setup. You need to adjust the bridge height and neck curvature. If you're down-tuning real low, you're going to kill the sustain too. I wouldn't play an Ibanez tuned down more than 1/2 step.

They're great guitars and almost as good as the Prestige models. You should keep it and find a way to solve your sustain problem. You won't find a better guitar for the money.
 
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