GodBlessTexas

Mikro, that's AWESOME! Congratulations!

No such animal exists. The only color they come in is black. Sorry.

Pictures!

BBE Sonic Maximizer 882i

1980's Marshall Valvestate 8100 Microstack - Made in England

RG Sharktooth neck pic #1

RG Sharktooth neck pic #2

RG Sharktooth neck pic #3

RG Sharktooth neck pic #4

RG Sharktooth neck pic #5

My wedding ring (size 12) is in the last two pictures to give you some idea of the size of the dark spots. I'm also including a set of tuners with the neckl, so it is 100% complete.

Digitech Whammy

Boss MT-2 Metal Zone

OK, back in town and picked up some new gear! Pictures will be up shortly.

I know some of you have asked for pictures, and I planned on taking them last night, but I forgot we were heading out of town today and didn't have a chance after I was packed. I'm currently in Houston and won't be back in Dallas until Tuesday night, but I'll post pics then. Don't be afraid to make offers if you're interested. I love to haggle!

Happy New Year!

GBT

I've never done it before, but if you're willing to pay for it I don't have a problem. PM me with what you're interested in.

Hello everyone. I'm clearing out some stuff that I've taken in trades or bought and never used. I've got the following for sale:

2004 Digitech Whammy pedal. In excellent shape with one small finish chip. Comes with A/C adapter, but box and paperwork got tossed by my ever cleaning wife. Asking $150. Sold.

2004 Ibanez RG320DXQM sharktooth neck. Maple with bound rosewood fingerboard. 24 frets. Includes locking nut and tuners. Has a couple of wood discolorations/dark spots on the neck, but they appear to be under the finish. Asking $125.

Metalzone MT-2 distortion pedal - Virtually mint - $50 SOLD!

Ibanez RG1570 Prestige body. Gray nickel finish. 2003 model with some slight finish dings (no wood damage or cracks) - Asking $45.

BBE Sonic Maximizer 882i. Mint condition with box and papwerwork. Paid $250 at GC 9 months ago and used only once - $175 Sold.

Ibanez LoTRS - Made in Japan and a drop in replacement for any LoTRS II equipped Ibanez import guitar - $35 Sold.

Willing to take Paypal (preferred), money order, or cash for folks in DFW. I'll ship the smaller stuff USPS priorty for cost, and larger stuff for whatever UPS quotes me. More stuff later.

A Scarab! Man, those are interesting body shapes. What really gets me, though, is the paint scheme. I have an 80's BC Rich Warlock copy that has a very similar red/black scheme. At $350 it's not a bad deal at all. You just don't see many of them today.

Wes, if you get the chance, I'd definitely spend some time with a 5150 or 6505 (post-EVH endorsement model #) on your search over the next year. The clean channel of the 6505/6505+ is better than the 5150 models that haven't had the bias mod performed, but it's really a one trick pony that's all about brutal distortion.

In a perfect world, I could get a 3 channel amp with a JC-120 style clean channel, a fender style clean-to-breakup channel, and a 5150 style distortion channel. Now that they have a 6505 model for the POD XT, I have models of all of them, and while they are similar, they aren't exactly the same.

The XXX is anemic and definitely not what I'd use for metal. I had a chance to pick one up from Brooks Mays before they went out of business for $900. That included head, cab, and all cables/footswitch/accessories. But when I played through it, the modern channel just didn't do anything for me. It's good to hear that the JSX is better. My personal favorite of the Peavey line is the 5150/6505. It's absolutely brutal, and the 6505 has a very good clean channel to boot. I regret selling my 5150 combo.

You know, I've always wanted to try a Kahler trem. I guess it's getting closer to the time I do. I remember when I was a kid back in 1988, a guy in a small guitar shop in Livingston, TX telling me about why the Kahler was superior to Floyds, but all I could think was "man, that looks ugly." Now, I think I'm finally beginning to see the beauty of it. Ah, the hubris of youth and the wisdom of age.

i totally agree about the difficulty of retrofitting...i just feel that it needed to be in the list because it is soooo cool...hehe

Fair enough. It is a very, very cool trem. Personally, I've always hated free floaters until I got my first ZR equipped guitar. It helped me take the plunge to actually taking an interest in them after I got comfortable with the ZR. So, now only my drop C Ibanez guitars are blocked.

i guess when i install it i will test it and see if it is useful as a free floater and if it goes back to zero accurately..i guess i also need to see if my heavy handed palm muting is going to vary the pitch.

That's exactly the problem. Any pressure on the bridge causes it to move because of the ball bearings. It's butter smooth, but I think the the design doesn't work well without the return bar/tension.

i have no problem leaving the stabilizer springs on it though..if i need too.

somebody told me it was difficult to flutter with those stabilizers on though...which is why i consider experimenting.

It's virtually impossible due to the nature of the design with all the springs engaged. With them taken off, it's very, very easy, at the cost of stability. Then again, I may not be subtle enough with my picking hand.

i am told that the rout is difficult to make and that it has to be very accurate...i am going to look into it carefully before i purchase...but yes i do have a source that i have a bit of a relationship with...in that i have bought from him before and he is very quick and fairly well priced...but thank you.

No worries. The route is not exactly difficult, just involved. On the back side, it's longer and narrower, but has a step towards the heel of the neck as the spring assembly has a lip that screws into the step that holds the tension adjustment allen bolt (v1) or thumb knob (v2) close to the cover plate for easy adjustment without taking the cover off. BTW, if you get one, you'll probable want a V2 with the thumb wheel instead of the allen bolt. I hear they have a habit of breaking, though neither of mine have *knock on wood*.

"Hijack?" Dude, are you kidding? This info is awesome! Plus all this talk about trems (all of which I am now going to be looking into for the final version of the project) keeps *bumping my thread! Nope; no complaints here!

I'm glad you're finding the information so useful. It's good that all this crap in my head can be useful to someone.

you forgot the zr trem...imo the best trem ibanez ever designed...from an engineering standpoint.

Actually, I didn't. I left it out intentionally. It's my favorte trem by far, but after toying with the idea, I don't think it's worth retrofitting to an existing guitar. The routing required for the double tension mechanism in the back requires special routing to mount, as well as a larger trem cavity. I believe that the trem post spacing is the same as the Edge models.

i have only minimally had experience with th zr(about 5 minutes in guitar center...i plan on further testing because i wish to put one on my explorer project)but it felt very smooth and nice.

now TECHNICALLY i know some don't consider it free floating because of the stop gismo they have in the back that adds the stability...but i am told you can remove that piece and make it a full free floater...in wnhich case it becommes a very fine piece of machinery...

I'm one of those people, though you are correct in that you can remove the two spring responsible for bringing it back to zero while leaving the other two springs that counteract the string tensions in place. However, I found it much harder to get setup than a normal knive-edged trem and they move entirely too easy in this configuration because of the ball bearings.

anyone with one of these trems let me know if i am wrong on any point about the zr...because i am planning on a purchase of one very soon,as i hate knife edge designs

Nope, they rule. Do you have a source for the one for your project? If not, I come across them from time to time, and I don't ask nearly as much as what Rich at Ibanezrules asks for them.

Must-have requirements:

Good cleans

Good vintage & modern distortions

Good EQ tweeks

programmable delay timing

the usual chorus/flange, tremolo and reverb

floor foot unit that works well in live situation

Price is no object.

Price is no object?

Preamps: the previously mentioned Mesa Triaxis

Pros: Wide range of MESA tones, infinite tweakability, and full MIDI controllability.

Cons: infinite tweakability. High cost, even on the secondary market.

Rocktron Voodoo Valve

Pros: 12ax7 tube for real tube sounds. Rock solid build quality. Lots of different tones. Full MIDI support. Half the cost of the Triaxis.

Cons: Can be difficult to configure without spending some time (like all preamps, really). Lots of effort to change out the tube;

Rocktron Piranha

Pros: Made in the USA with old school Rocktron build quality. Controls are laid out like an amp control panel with knobs, switches, and buttons. Three tone categories: Clean, Crunch, and Modern Gain. All sound good. Relatively inexpensive for a good preamp. Pairs well with MESA power amps (I ran mine through a Mesa 2:50).

Cons: Harder to find (one in the For Sale forum here right now), end of lifed by manufacturer. Lots of effort to change out the 12ax7.

I've tried a handful of preamps and I sold them all because my POD XT Pro is so versatile and sounds perfect to me (and I've spent a lot of time on my own patches).

For effects, I'd go with the TC Electronics G-Force ($1499) before looking at anything else. They also have a floor unit/MIDI controller called the G-System ($1499), which Steve Vai is curently using.

If you don't go with the G-System and need a MIDI controller, then I suggest the Behringer FCB 1010 (~$130)

Thanks...

I will have to refinish the body because I finished it not very good. 1.Nitrocellulose - high gloss 5 layers, 2.400grit sandpaper, 3.Acrylic can spray That´s all... I did only 3 layers of acryl because there was no money... But even that it has nice full tone almost like some hollow body. Oh by the way...the humbuckers are all the same

Well, finishing isn't easy when you have limited supplies and money, and I think you did an excellent job. It could be better, sure, but there's something satisfying about getting good results with limited resources and having to improvise.

I do feel sort of silly about the whole thing because it is just a MIM Strat neck. But you know that really cool "broken-in" sort of pool-cue feeling? It'd take me years just to break in a new neck like that.

And your explanation is exactly why you shouldn't feel silly about it. FYI, those 90's MIM necks were actually made in America and then finished/assembled in Mexico. There's lots of good stuff during those years, and one of my biggest regrets is selling my 1995 MIM Strat. Not only was it virtually perfect, but I sold it for less than it was really worth to me (though more than I paid). But it doesn't really matter where it was made. It matters if it feels right to you.

Ah, the wonderful world of Cosmo Black. Visually, it's a beautiful finish, but it's not even remotely resilient. I wipe down my guitars after playing, and I still have wear on the Cosmo parts. Of all the guitars I've parted out, nearly all of them have had finish wear on the Cosmo parts. I'm not exactly sure what the specifics are of the Cosmo Black finish process, but whatever it is, it is just a coating they put over a hard chromed finish.

I'm not exactly sure why they don't use a much more wear/sweat resistant Titanium Carbide Nitride finish (TiCN). When polished, it looks very similar to Cosmo Black but it wears a lot better and is virtually the same price when doing large runs. I only wish I could find a place that would do small runs of TiCN.

Your Ibanez looks like it has the LO-TRS. You may want to consider upgrading with an Ibanez Edge trem.

Lo-TRS (made in Japan, hardened) is fine.

Lo-TRS II (made in Korea, not the same quality) is worth replacing.

The Lo-TRS and Lo-TRS II are interchangable without making any changes to the body since they share the exact same dimensions. You can also replace either of them with a real Floyd Rose II, which also shares the same dimensions and drops right in.

Putting in an Edge, Lo Pro Edge, or Edge Pro will require body modification and refinishing, but they are great trems. Basically, the rule of thumb with Ibanez Trems is that anything with a II after it is worse than a trem without it. So, and Edge Pro (current double locking trem on Prestige and MIJ guitars) is better than an Edge Pro II or III (current on Korean and Indonesian guitars), though the Edge Pro III is definitely better than the Pro II. Confused yet?

If I were ranking the Ibanez free floating trems in terms of quality, it would go:

Edge Pro

Edge/Lo Pro Edge

Edge Pro III

Edge Pro II

Lo-TRS

Lo-TRS II

It looks pretty good. The only obvious problem is that it appears your finish has some orange peel, but beyond that it looks great. I've always liked that body design, and the overall package looks good. How does it play?

Woah! It's Westhemann. Good to see you back. 14 months was way too long.

I don't understand what's happened at Ibanez. They now have Prestige guitars made in Korea with MIJ prices, virtually everything comes in Black Pearl, paying $800 or so for a guitar that comes with an Edge Pro II or III (RGT42)...

People on the Ibanez forums are begging for guitars they quit making. Personally, I picked up an 89 RG550 and it's a better guitar than any of my guitars made after 2000.

Howdy. I part out lots of Ibanez guitars, so I can concur that you definitely need the ziploc bags when you take them apart. However, given your list of modifications, I have two questions.

1) Why did you release the tension on the truss rod? I'd have left it as it was, especially if you plan on putting it back together. If you wanted to release tension on the strings, $1.50 at Guitar Center will get you a string winder and you can release all the tension in less than 30 seconds. I have one for my drill which works even faster than that.

2) Why did you remove the locking nut from the neck? Completely disassembling the guitar seems a bit of overkill and a great way to lose parts, especially if what you plan on doing with the guitar doesn't require it.

Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing how your project turns out. If you need any small bits in case you lost something, let me know.

Oh god...they should of atleast screwed up a SG rather than an LP.

I believe it was the SG Menace, followed closely by the SG GT, followed closely by the entire line of guitars with the huge mirror pickguards.

Although saddened at the fact that Canada will never get to see him..

Why? At the end of the video, he thanks the clients who hired him to perform parts of those clips, and one of them was The Royal Bank of Canada. So while he may not have any tour dates for Canada listed on his site, he has been there before.

Drak, please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please don't feed this one to the WOD if something should go wrong. With sugar on top.

Add another vote to the "It looks right" camp. It's an asymetrical body, even beyond a normal single cut design, so your carves are coing to be different. You either have a carve based on the center line which puts the treble side carve too wide, or you carve based on the perimeter (which is the correct choice in my opinion) and end up with similar sized carves but an overall off-center look, but given that the waist areas on each side are at different spots, this isn't a problem; on the contrary, it's how it should look.

Personally, I think you did the right thing and it looks gorgeous. It's like a cross between the ESP/LTD single cuts and a Washburn Idol. I personally wouldn't change a thing, but that's me.

Hmm, it looks like Best Decals doesn't make the Ibanez ones anymore. That's a shame, as I was hoping to order two of them. I have two pre-AANJ RG 500 series necks that had their front logos removed, but still have the serial and model numbers on the back. I hear Hoshino will put new logos on for $35, but I'd rather do it myself.