Ibanez RG550-DY

This was a now or never kind of purchase. I'm not professional but I had the money and been admiring the RG550 since I was teenager, so I went for it.
Pros: Walnut reinforced super wizard neck is the thinnest neck you'll find and a super flat radius. Built for speed but a nice variety of tones make it very versatile. Excellent build quality. This feels like a solid, well-crafted instrument.
Cons: True to the original it has the square neck joint. Even the newer, cheaper Ibanez models provide a better cut out and improved high fret access. But it is a re-issue so they can be forgiven.
A re-issue of the late 80s/early 90s shred machine, the so-called "poor man's" JEM, this is very faithful to the original. More than that, there is a wide enough variety of tones, especially the cleans, to make it a perfect multi-style work tool. For high gain the pickups are more 80s/90s phrased, you may want to change for modern genres. The quality is nothing less than excellent, what you would expect from a made in Japan instrument. A guitar for a lifetime.

I added this to my rapidly-expanding collection of guitars, and it's one of my favourites.

Pros:
+ If you like really thin, super-flat necks (and I do), this is outstanding. It's ever so slightly thinner than my old Jem.
+ The fret ends are perfectly finished. You really won't see this level of attention to detail out of the factory without spending a lot more money.
+ The full-spec Edge trem is probably the best double-clocking system ever made. It's a real challenge to make it go out of tune.

Cons:
- The pickups are very slightly bland to my ears, but perfectly useable.

I'd like to see some sort of gig bag included, but given the quality of the components and the unbelievably good finish on the frets, I can forgive that.

If you're into hair metal, need a guitar that people can see where you are from the far end of a stadium, or a Steve Vai fan without the budget for a PIA, get one. If you're not... get one anyway.

Perfect guitar right out of the box.
It looks stunning, fretwork is fantastic and the edge tremolo feels better than an original floyd.
The only improvement it needs is a new set of pick-ups. These are not bad at all, I am waiting a bit not to lose immediately the warranty on the whole instrument , but no doubt this axe deserves something better.
The other thing to consider is the vintage neck joint. Other models can probably offer a better access to higher frets. I love how this reissue looks, so I have no problem at all adapting my playing.
Gorgeous and great craftsmanship! It sedated my GAS for quite a while (I am writing this almost a year after the guitar arrived... maybe it's time to get a new HB now!)
This RG can't be praised enough, thanks Ibanez and Thomann

The paint and wood look perfect, the neck plays great, the EDGE trem feels great, the frets are all at level, the knobs are fast and smooth, the tuners and locking nut feel great. The tuning stability is great!
I like the sound of the pickups both clean and high gain and I will keep them. The pickups are articulate and sound balanced and pleasant.
The guitar arrived with a decent set up and only needed some tuning. I will perform a more fine-tuned setup later though.
I am very happy to have bought such a good guitar for a reasonable price.
My goal was to get the original EDGE trem and wizard neck and I didn't care about the other parts, but I really like all the other parts and I won't replace any of them.
For my tastes this is the best locking tremolo guitar in this price range by far.

Having been a long time Fender Stratocaster player, its all change now.
I will never buy Fender again.

From initial unboxing, the guitar was perfect..
Vibrato unit level
Intonation perfect
Action was very low but actually went even lower.
Neck finish, perfect, no fret issues, polished and even rolled edges.
Neck relief, spot on.
Diadario strings were silky smooth.

And, it was in TUNE...

I unboxed it, plugged it and played for hours with no tuning or setup issues.

My only complaints are that removing the protective plastic from the pickguard was a nightmare as well as the other plastics, the pickguard feels cheap and marks easily.
And the Neck pickup is devoid of any real character.

Fender, take note... this is how guitars should ge built, setup, checked for quality and shipped.