Last week I decided to play around with the JS30 by throwing in the stock DiMarzio humbuckers from my RG2550E. I wasn’t very excited about how these pickups sounded in the RG so I didn’t expect much. It would obviously sound different in the JS30′s alder body (as opposed to the RG’s basswood) but what I did not expect is how these pickups really brought the guitar to life. I mean it didn’t just sound a little better, it sounded like a different guitar altogether!!

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Last weekend all major changes to the RG2550 were complete but it took some tweaking during the week to perfect the setup for my style of playing. Overall, I’d say it’s as good, if not better than many £1500 guitars out there – glad I didn’t spend that kind of money on a JP6/JS1000 ;)

The modifications:
1. Pickups: Installed a Breed bridge but it wasn’t as hot as I expected it to be, so I switched back to the Tone Zone. My ears are quite happy with the Evo neck + Tone Zone combo so I doubt I’ll be making further changes.

2. Custom H-H Pickguard: Shielding a pickguard isn’t fun but I’m glad it’s a one-time affair. The smoked gray mirror looks really good against the galaxy black finish, better than the stock bronze pickguard.

3. OTAX VLX91 super-switch: Wiring the OTAX wasn’t as easy as I’d expected and took over an hour – one reason I don’t want to change my pickups again lol. The new coil-tapped switching positions are really sweet though especially for clean guitar.

4. The Edge Pro locking stud mod is awesome and a must-have, providing 100% tuning stability no matter how much I use the whammy bar. Makes you wonder why the hell Ibanez stopped using locking studs in their Edge trem systems.

RG2550E before the upgrade:

Nut shim – pickguard w/shielding, locking studs, OTAX switch – studs installed:

RG2550E customization complete:

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A list of mods planned for my Ibanez RG2550E, parts have arrived but I need a whole day to complete the work and get the guitar fully set up.

1. New pickups: Been testing many pickups since the guitar arrived and will settle on something soon. I’m convinced about the Evolution neck and I’m removing the single coil, but after checking out a DiMarzio Evo 2 and Tone Zone I’d like to try a Breed bridge before finalizing which pickups I use.

2. Custom pickguard made by Jeannie Pickguards, USA – primarily to remove the mid single coil, but it also happens to suit the galaxy black finish better than the stock pickguard.

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Both pickups arrived yesterday so I took them for a spin and the Tone Zone sounded so much better than all the demos I’ve heard of it. While it doesn’t look as cool as the other DiMarzios I own it certainly lives up to it’s name. The Tone Zone nails everything from classic rock to 80′s metal without compromise, which is all I need.

The Evo2 wasn’t bad but whenever I’d switch to/from the Evo neck, it would sound like I was playing a completely different guitar. Put the Evo2 up for sale since I won’t be needing it anymore.

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Ibanez RG2550E Galaxy Black:
Since I have already talked a bit about the RG2550E-GK here, I’m going to make this a quick subjective review about why this guitar was worth every £ I spent on it.

What I liked (besides the great build quality):
- Perfect fretwork: Supposedly same frets as the RG1570 but for some reason this guitar had better fretwork
- Acoustically sounded better than the RG1570 which has the same basswood body
- Pickguard mounted pickups: I was concerned how this would affect tone, but it has worked out better than the rear-routed pickups of the RG1570. In fact, the DiMarzio Evo pair will not fit an RG1570 without modding the body because of the increased pickup height
- Stock DiMarzio/ibz pickups sounded good, not as hot as I’d like them, but they’re way better than the V7-S1-V8 pickups on the RG1570
- Cosmetic: Ghost sharkin inlays, Cosmo hardware, Bound rosewood fingerboard

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Ibanez RG1570 Mirage Blue:
Mirage Blue is truly an eye-catching finish and just like other Prestige guitars it is well built but slightly over-priced in the UK :) The Prestige 5-piece Wizard maple/walnut neck was a welcome change from Jackson and Fender necks. The RG1570 is clearly built for shredding but too bad the biggest letdown with this guitar was the terrible fret buzz of the wound strings in the lower frets (including open string buzz). The action was set quite low by the store, which accounted for some of the buzz, so I added some neck relief to reduce the fretted buzz and shimmed the nut to resolve open string buzz.

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Among all the guitars I received in the last two months, these were my top three. The one thing they had in common was the exceptional build quality and a very good finish. It was tough choosing one but I eventually had to so I could get on with my recording projects.

At first I was really tempted to buy a used JS1000 or EBMM JP6, not because they’re my favorite guitarists’ signature models but because both guitars are well crafted, play like a dream and are bloody brilliant in general. However, I didn’t think it was a good idea because I knew I’d be experimenting a lot to get the sound I want out of it.

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I bought these DiMarzios a while ago waiting to install them in the right guitar, and when I started to like the RG2550E I had to pop the Evo/Evo2 in right away.

The Evolution neck has been nothing short of impressive with it’s aggressive yet smooth/balanced tone, and maintains great presence even at high volumes. It also produces cool harmonics, which is unusual for a neck pickup. I doubt I’ll ever change this pickup but I’d love to try an Air Norton someday.

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I spent the last couple of months looking for my next guitar, primarily for rock but capable of handling some blues and metal too. After going through a string of Jacksons and Ibanez guitars, an RG2550E-GK arrived 2 days ago. It wasn’t perfect (hey, no guitar is!), and the factory setup was a bit sloppy, but I started to like her within a few minutes of playing.

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I’ve canned the old guitar site that I started back in ’99 because it is too much work to clean up, and a large percentage of the information I shared then may not be interesting anymore ;) Technology has really evolved, especially for music production, where the line between a home studio and a professional recording facility has been blurred to a large extent.

The cost and performance of instruments, effects units and other hardware have moved firmly in favor of musicians on a budget. Besides, home computing has also advanced dramatically in terms of speed and functionality to a point where anything is possible when you’re talking about digital media.

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