Great video! A quick tip for the tremolo arm, you can use plumber's teflon tape to wrap it around the bushes, that will help the arm to stay in place like you want to, hope it helps!
Thanks! It does and I actually did that when my rg5320's trem was wearing out. It helped for a while. I'll be blocking the bridge on this just like I ultimately did for that one too, just personal preference
Of my small collection of 12 guitars two of those get played everyday. My 1991 RG550 and my 2023 Murphy lab R9. The RG550 was ibanez's closest model to the old original JEM guitars.
Good review and update thanks. I had a similar issue on my rg565. It took about a month for the wood and trem springs to settle. It travelled from swamp to desert so I'm going to blame climate but no idea really.
once you get the hang of them trems are easy and totally stabile. i havent tuned my desert yellow in months and i play it everyday with trem bar usage. MIJ ibanez are some of the best out there.
I own two Genesis models, the 550 (Purple Neon, bought 2021) and the 565 (Laser Blue, bought 2023) and both were absolutely stable from the beginning. The only things I had to do on the 550 were intonation and lowering the bridge slightly. On the 565, I only lowered the bridge. Everything else was already perfect. Truss rod adjustments are only needed during significant seasonal changes. A lose vibrato arm can be "fixed" by heating up the plastic bushings. The plastic will expand, which creates a tighter fit. I do this with a candle; the bushings are still attached to the vibrato arm while I hold them over the candle at an appropriate height. We just want to heat them up, not burn/melt the plastic. This process can be repeated multiple times before I'd have to actually replace the bushings. I haven't had to replace one yet.
I have a 2018 RG570 Genesis, I set it up once and haven't had to adjust it since over the course of almost 7 years now and where I live we definitely get 4 seasons - same thing with my 8570z (love your garnet one!), the 5 piece Ibanez neck are usually super stable IMHO. You should have gotten some little plastic clips for the trem that pop on when they wear off, if you don't I think they are pretty cheap on Amazon, Stew Mac etc... I setup one of these for a friend a few years ago and with my LEDs in the studio it always looked orange as well for some reason. I have EVOs in my Genesis, they sound great, they work great with the basswood and are a little less hot than the PIA.
Nice, sounds like you've got a fantastic guitar! Thankfully now my 550 genesis has maintained stability. Bummer that the bushings need frequent replacement but I'm thankful for no horrific issues. Evos are legendary, that's awesome!
Hey man! Quick tip for the loose trem arm… I use a lighter and heat up the area where the bushings are for a few seconds. This makes the rubber bushings expand in the slots (when it cools down after heating it), and the trem arm usually stays in place in the trem. It’s a quick diy solution I learned from a random guitar setup video I saw somewhere. Only drawback here is that the bushings get darker over time, but it’s irrelevant because it’s not even visible when the trem arm is in the guitar.
@@HighZ yeah man! It’s worked for me and stayed stable for the past 4-5 months after heating up the rubber bushings maybe once or twice. It’s maintained it’s stability so far, with no issues. It stays in position without moving around. You’re right, it’s a bizarre fix, but it works!
Nice recap, its interesting that this is the guitar that I appreciate more as time goes by. So much so that I just sold my prestige. It just wasnt "enough " better to justify. It was great, but so is this one...my J Custom is safe..lol..
I totally get that. This guitar plays so well and is overall such a solid package that it's tough to justify a prestige if these are in stock. My lrestiges are safe for now but I could see myself doing what you've done in the future! The j custom is of course in a league of it's own
Plumbers tape. I am used to the trem bat being loose. When i was constantly playing live, one layer wrap of plumbers tape with a tiny bit of over lap will keep it in place during a live performance of movement. Depends on the tape lol I been using rg55020th since 2007. The trem does need more knowledge to utilize it. I can set it up easy and i know it well. I literally rarely have to adjust it. Stretch strings fully before you lock it. Wailing will have little effect on it. I love my rg550dsy quite the journey we had so far
That'll work for sure. A bummer you have to do something like that but it is what it is as they say. Sounds like the guitars been working well for you overall though, that's great! These really are pretty dang good guitars despite the little quirks
I had an RG2550e as my first really good guitar and the arm was the entire reason I sold it… I had to replace those bushings basically every month. Later on and I had an S540 that was way better in that regard, and I actually put on the Vai Edge arm he uses
Great review! I have a used Laguna acoustic that I love. Stays in tune, sounds great, is simple, just wish it had the cut away for playing high notes fluently (need all the help i can get in being smooth and fluent)
Great review! I'm curious, how would you compare the 550 against the PIA? I have an RG550 and a Prestige RG3550 which I love to death, but I don't think I could justify a 3.5K guitar that, based on reviews I've read, is not that far from the non signature MIJ guitars quality wise.
Thanks! It's true that the higher priced guitars start to have diminishing returns on how much better the quality gets and you can have a whole career on a prestige or a 550. But playing the two back to back, the PIA is in a whole other league. More stable, solid, and amazing playabimity. Also important to recognize the neck and body shape are different on the PIA
I had powder blue PIA and I hated how muddy the pickups are and compared to my RG550, the RG 550 plays much better and sounds much better. I got rid of the PIA and bought 2 more RG550’s. The PIA looks fancy but it’s a pig in lipstick. I also owned 2 white PIA’s before that and they sounded muddy and also played crappy compared to my 550’s. A complete waste of money in my opinion.
Yo just got mine yesterday but yeah man the arm is already loose. Is it normal for the little cylinder in the hole you put the arm in to move and unthread when you turn the arm counter clockwise?
Not sure but my does that too half the time. Might be worth taking apart the bridge or looking for something to tighten but I've just blocked the bridge for now
@ thanks yeah been reading some guides on that but I think I am going to buy a new trem arm holder and tremolo arm that stays tight. I’m looking at one called red bishop magik arm that looks promising.
The bugaboo of the Ibanez Edge... those arm bushings getting loose. I've never seen one quite that quickly, but I've broken my fair share of them on an older Roadstar I bought back in 1987... 🤣
@@em_the_bee Not sure... I'll have to give that a shot! They do make a heavier bar now that I think comes with the Satriani models or maybe it's just aftermarket or something.
It sure is! It's probably the one thing I dislike about these bridges. Thankfully I prefer the bridge blocked but it sure is disappointing all the same
@@HighZ The funny thing is I like it more than the more "fancy" Ibanez Floyd-like bridges (even though they're all really from the same planet, so to speak), but they all hate me so much... 🤣
That guitar looks beautiful. I like that the color of it and the background match
Thanks! Definitely on purpose
Cool video...cool guitar! You're a likable character.
Thanks, I appreciate the kind words!
Great video!
A quick tip for the tremolo arm, you can use plumber's teflon tape to wrap it around the bushes, that will help the arm to stay in place like you want to, hope it helps!
Thanks! It does and I actually did that when my rg5320's trem was wearing out. It helped for a while. I'll be blocking the bridge on this just like I ultimately did for that one too, just personal preference
Of my small collection of 12 guitars two of those get played everyday. My 1991 RG550 and my 2023 Murphy lab R9. The RG550 was ibanez's closest model to the old original JEM guitars.
Makes sense, the rg550 is fantastic both original and genesis!
Good review and update thanks. I had a similar issue on my rg565. It took about a month for the wood and trem springs to settle. It travelled from swamp to desert so I'm going to blame climate but no idea really.
That's probably it but who knows. Some days it seems like guitars don't feel like behaving 😆
once you get the hang of them trems are easy and totally stabile. i havent tuned my desert yellow in months and i play it everyday with trem bar usage. MIJ ibanez are some of the best out there.
Yep! If you get the setup right they're very stable
I own two Genesis models, the 550 (Purple Neon, bought 2021) and the 565 (Laser Blue, bought 2023) and both were absolutely stable from the beginning. The only things I had to do on the 550 were intonation and lowering the bridge slightly. On the 565, I only lowered the bridge. Everything else was already perfect. Truss rod adjustments are only needed during significant seasonal changes.
A lose vibrato arm can be "fixed" by heating up the plastic bushings. The plastic will expand, which creates a tighter fit. I do this with a candle; the bushings are still attached to the vibrato arm while I hold them over the candle at an appropriate height. We just want to heat them up, not burn/melt the plastic. This process can be repeated multiple times before I'd have to actually replace the bushings. I haven't had to replace one yet.
Nice to know you no longer have to adjust the truss rod constantly. That is one of my biggest concerns.
Yeah it was a bit alarming. Thankfully after those adjustments and playing it in some it's stable
This guitar is beautiful!
Thank you!
I have a 2018 RG570 Genesis, I set it up once and haven't had to adjust it since over the course of almost 7 years now and where I live we definitely get 4 seasons - same thing with my 8570z (love your garnet one!), the 5 piece Ibanez neck are usually super stable IMHO. You should have gotten some little plastic clips for the trem that pop on when they wear off, if you don't I think they are pretty cheap on Amazon, Stew Mac etc... I setup one of these for a friend a few years ago and with my LEDs in the studio it always looked orange as well for some reason.
I have EVOs in my Genesis, they sound great, they work great with the basswood and are a little less hot than the PIA.
just got a 550 good to know i wont need to set it up alot
Nice, sounds like you've got a fantastic guitar! Thankfully now my 550 genesis has maintained stability. Bummer that the bushings need frequent replacement but I'm thankful for no horrific issues. Evos are legendary, that's awesome!
Consider having magik arm for replacement for the bridge.
Thanks I'll take a look
Hey man! Quick tip for the loose trem arm… I use a lighter and heat up the area where the bushings are for a few seconds. This makes the rubber bushings expand in the slots (when it cools down after heating it), and the trem arm usually stays in place in the trem. It’s a quick diy solution I learned from a random guitar setup video I saw somewhere.
Only drawback here is that the bushings get darker over time, but it’s irrelevant because it’s not even visible when the trem arm is in the guitar.
That's wild, I've never heard of that! They stay expanded after cooling down? Maybe I'll try it sometime
@@HighZ yeah man! It’s worked for me and stayed stable for the past 4-5 months after heating up the rubber bushings maybe once or twice. It’s maintained it’s stability so far, with no issues. It stays in position without moving around. You’re right, it’s a bizarre fix, but it works!
Every guitar has a running it in peroid even the higher end ones they get better and more stable over the time than the new one.
So it seems! This one was a bit longer than expected but super happy that ots good now
Nice recap, its interesting that this is the guitar that I appreciate more as time goes by. So much so that I just sold my prestige. It just wasnt "enough " better to justify. It was great, but so is this one...my J Custom is safe..lol..
I totally get that. This guitar plays so well and is overall such a solid package that it's tough to justify a prestige if these are in stock. My lrestiges are safe for now but I could see myself doing what you've done in the future! The j custom is of course in a league of it's own
I generally solve the trem arm looseness by wrapping the part that goes into the trem with a bit of Teflon tape.
I've done that in the past for my rg5320 and it worked! But I do personally prefer a blocked bridge
Plumbers tape. I am used to the trem bat being loose. When i was constantly playing live, one layer wrap of plumbers tape with a tiny bit of over lap will keep it in place during a live performance of movement. Depends on the tape lol
I been using rg55020th since 2007. The trem does need more knowledge to utilize it. I can set it up easy and i know it well. I literally rarely have to adjust it. Stretch strings fully before you lock it. Wailing will have little effect on it.
I love my rg550dsy quite the journey we had so far
That'll work for sure. A bummer you have to do something like that but it is what it is as they say. Sounds like the guitars been working well for you overall though, that's great! These really are pretty dang good guitars despite the little quirks
Played an RGA recently and the neck blew me away.
They're pretty good!
I had an RG2550e as my first really good guitar and the arm was the entire reason I sold it… I had to replace those bushings basically every month. Later on and I had an S540 that was way better in that regard, and I actually put on the Vai Edge arm he uses
I can totally see how that arm would be a deal breaker if you use it every day! Bummer that happened but glad the 540 worked out better
Have you tried adjusting the camera’s white balance setting? That could be the reason the colors are shifting. Great vids!
Thanks! I was considering it. I like how all my ither guitars look with these settings but it just might come to that to get this to look nice
Your cat is so badass, dude.
Thank you! I'd have to agree there 🐈⬛️😺
Great review!
I have a used Laguna acoustic that I love.
Stays in tune, sounds great, is simple, just wish it had the cut away for playing high notes fluently (need all the help i can get in being smooth and fluent)
Thank you! Yeah my first acoustic didn't have a cutaway either snd that was pretty annoying sometimes so I know what you mean!
Great review!
I'm curious, how would you compare the 550 against the PIA? I have an RG550 and a Prestige RG3550 which I love to death, but I don't think I could justify a 3.5K guitar that, based on reviews I've read, is not that far from the non signature MIJ guitars quality wise.
Thanks! It's true that the higher priced guitars start to have diminishing returns on how much better the quality gets and you can have a whole career on a prestige or a 550. But playing the two back to back, the PIA is in a whole other league. More stable, solid, and amazing playabimity. Also important to recognize the neck and body shape are different on the PIA
I had powder blue PIA and I hated how muddy the pickups are and compared to my RG550, the RG 550 plays much better and sounds much better. I got rid of the PIA and bought 2 more RG550’s. The PIA looks fancy but it’s a pig in lipstick. I also owned 2 white PIA’s before that and they sounded muddy and also played crappy compared to my 550’s. A complete waste of money in my opinion.
Beatuiful axe. I would love a hard tail RG. \m/
Thank you! More hard tail RGs would be a great thing
I was thinking the nazgol and sengient in my 550. I know i probably destroyed the spelling
That's gonna sound real wicked!
I was about to say when did that axe come in orange! lol, looks way diff on camera
Haha yeah really it's been a struggle. I think because of my light and that there's no sunlight, it looks orange. In daylight it looks fine
Yo just got mine yesterday but yeah man the arm is already loose. Is it normal for the little cylinder in the hole you put the arm in to move and unthread when you turn the arm counter clockwise?
Not sure but my does that too half the time. Might be worth taking apart the bridge or looking for something to tighten but I've just blocked the bridge for now
@ thanks yeah been reading some guides on that but I think I am going to buy a new trem arm holder and tremolo arm that stays tight. I’m looking at one called red bishop magik arm that looks promising.
Get a MAGIK-ARM. You’ll love it.
I'll look into it!
The bugaboo of the Ibanez Edge... those arm bushings getting loose. I've never seen one quite that quickly, but I've broken my fair share of them on an older Roadstar I bought back in 1987... 🤣
Does heating them up help?
@@em_the_bee
Not sure... I'll have to give that a shot! They do make a heavier bar now that I think comes with the Satriani models or maybe it's just aftermarket or something.
It sure is! It's probably the one thing I dislike about these bridges. Thankfully I prefer the bridge blocked but it sure is disappointing all the same
@@HighZ
The funny thing is I like it more than the more "fancy" Ibanez Floyd-like bridges (even though they're all really from the same planet, so to speak), but they all hate me so much... 🤣
😆