Ibanez RG350M?

[IndyWS6]

Greetings
Anyone have any experience with the Ibanez RG350M guitars? I have an RG770DX that I love, but I don't necessarily want to gig with it. Granted, it's not a $2K Prestige, but it is flawless and it would be nice to keep it that way. The RG350M is very similar (it has the RG body style and maple board that I like) and Sam Ash has them for $400. Can these be setup to play well and be reliable as gigging axes? I won't really care if I get a little "character" on a $400 guitar...

 

[Erock]

no direct experience with that specific guitar, but I can tell you the Edge III is very hit or miss. You'll get mixed opinions on them, but the knife edges on the Edge III aren't made from hardened steel like the original Edge, Edge Pro, Edge Lo-Pro, etc... I've heard some people have great luck with them, but my experience with them has not been good. If you use your tremolo with any regularity, the knife edges will wear, and tuning stability will suffer greatly. The only way I would trust one for gigging is if you blocked it off, used a tremol-no, or greased the knife edges with graphite very regularly. Not even sure the graphite would help over time however, hardened steel is a must for knife edges IMO.

 

[Mudder]

If you're trying to keep price in the under $400 range why not an older RG? 550s go less than that all day long?

 

[Erock]

If you're trying to keep price in the under $400 range why not an older RG? 550s go less than that all day long?

+1, would much rather have the older RG5xx series, they are basically what's now the prestige models. I have an RG570 from 89 that still has the original Edge that came with it, tuning stability is rock solid after all these years.

 

[IndyWS6]

I'd be fine with the "right" RG5XX, but finding one is the problem. I've not had good luck looking for used lower-cost guitars in the past. It seems like they are always in worse shape and play a little less smoothly than advertised. If I go to a Sam Ash store, I can play them and find the one in the best condition (you know, the one with the fewest WWE belt buckle engravings on the back).

I certainly wouldn't be opposed to buying a used older RG - if I had a pretty solid notion of what it would be like when I got it.

 

[Erock]

I'd be fine with the "right" RG5XX, but finding one is the problem. I've not had good luck looking for used lower-cost guitars in the past. It seems like they are always in worse shape and play a little less smoothly than advertised. If I go to a Sam Ash store, I can play them and find the one in the best condition (you know, the one with the fewest WWE belt buckle engravings on the back).

I certainly wouldn't be opposed to buying a used older RG - if I had a pretty solid notion of what it would be like when I got it.

well if you can't find one in the condition you want at a store, as much as ebay is hated, it's really a far more buyer friendly place these days. If the description isn't accurate, paypal and ebay will almost always side with the buyer. It's gone so far in that direction, it seems like it's more risky to sell stuff on there at this point.

 

[IndyWS6]

I'd be fine with the "right" RG5XX, but finding one is the problem. I've not had good luck looking for used lower-cost guitars in the past. It seems like they are always in worse shape and play a little less smoothly than advertised. If I go to a Sam Ash store, I can play them and find the one in the best condition (you know, the one with the fewest WWE belt buckle engravings on the back).

I certainly wouldn't be opposed to buying a used older RG - if I had a pretty solid notion of what it would be like when I got it.

well if you can't find one in the condition you want at a store, as much as ebay is hated, it's really a far more buyer friendly place these days. If the description isn't accurate, paypal and ebay will almost always side with the buyer. It's gone so far in that direction, it seems like it's more risky to sell stuff on there at this point.

Thanks
It's an option...

Anyone else have opinions on the RG350M guitars? Assuming the Edge III's are "iffy", can better trems from other Ibanez guitars be used on the posts? I wouldn't want to do that out of the gate (defeats the purpose of buying a lwer-priced axe...), but would that be an option if it goes south in the future?

How well do the Tremol-No systems work on the Edges?

 

[Erock]

lol, I know this wasn't directed at me, but....

Ibanez made sure the routing for the Edge III won't fit other Ibanez trems. It should fit a floyd as I recall, but there will be gaps around the routing where the Edge III is bigger. The saddles should still line up correctly, but the radius is a bit different too as I remember.

They made that mistake with the Edge Pro II, which was the predecessor of the Edge III. I had one in an RG320FM, and it was a perfect swap for the Edge Pro, fit like a glove. You could basically turn their budget guitars into a prestige model with a pup swap and Edge Pro upgrade. They put an end to that however.

 

[IndyWS6]

lol, I know this wasn't directed at me, but....

Ibanez made sure the routing for the Edge III won't fit other Ibanez trems. It should fit a floyd as I recall, but there will be gaps around the routing where the Edge III is bigger. The saddles should still line up correctly, but the radius is a bit different too as I remember.

They made that mistake with the Edge Pro II, which was the predecessor of the Edge III. I had one in an RG320FM, and it was a perfect swap for the Edge Pro, fit like a glove. You could basically turn their budget guitars into a prestige model with a pup swap and Edge Pro upgrade. They put an end to that however.

I didn't know the history, thanks.
I figured that I wouldn't be able to swap a better quality trem in place, but thought I would check to be sure. I think I'll go play one to see what they're like. If the trem works well and it stays in tune, $400 isn't bad, even if I have to swap a good pickup in place.

 

[Erock]

lol, I know this wasn't directed at me, but....

Ibanez made sure the routing for the Edge III won't fit other Ibanez trems. It should fit a floyd as I recall, but there will be gaps around the routing where the Edge III is bigger. The saddles should still line up correctly, but the radius is a bit different too as I remember.

They made that mistake with the Edge Pro II, which was the predecessor of the Edge III. I had one in an RG320FM, and it was a perfect swap for the Edge Pro, fit like a glove. You could basically turn their budget guitars into a prestige model with a pup swap and Edge Pro upgrade. They put an end to that however.

I didn't know the history, thanks.
I figured that I wouldn't be able to swap a better quality trem in place, but thought I would check to be sure. I think I'll go play one to see what they're like. If the trem works well and it stays in tune, $400 isn't bad, even if I have to swap a good pickup in place.

Well, an OFR should work, it's just a little fugly with the gaps, not horrible though. I used one on an RG570, and it was pretty decent. If you're not a big trem user, blocking it off should work well too. As long as the knife edges aren't seeing a lot of motion, it should be fine.

here's the 570 with the OFR Pro:

here's the 320FM with the Edge Pro swapped in:

 

[IndyWS6]

lol, I know this wasn't directed at me, but....

Ibanez made sure the routing for the Edge III won't fit other Ibanez trems. It should fit a floyd as I recall, but there will be gaps around the routing where the Edge III is bigger. The saddles should still line up correctly, but the radius is a bit different too as I remember.

They made that mistake with the Edge Pro II, which was the predecessor of the Edge III. I had one in an RG320FM, and it was a perfect swap for the Edge Pro, fit like a glove. You could basically turn their budget guitars into a prestige model with a pup swap and Edge Pro upgrade. They put an end to that however.

I didn't know the history, thanks.
I figured that I wouldn't be able to swap a better quality trem in place, but thought I would check to be sure. I think I'll go play one to see what they're like. If the trem works well and it stays in tune, $400 isn't bad, even if I have to swap a good pickup in place.

Well, an OFR should work, it's just a little fugly with the gaps, not horrible though. I used one on an RG570, and it was pretty decent. If you're not a big trem user, blocking it off should work well too. As long as the knife edges aren't seeing a lot of motion, it should be fine.

here's the 570 with the OFR Pro:

here's the 320FM with the Edge Pro swapped in:

Thanks for the photos
The route is obviously too big for the Floyd, but it doesn't look that bad. Especially on a $400 guitar - I think I could live with that if the Edge turns out to be a dud...

 

[Tone Ranger]

I have a black 370dx im selling. Lookin to get $325 out of it. comes with a GFS Power Rails and gig bag.

 

[9ball]

I have an RG570 from 89 that still has the original Edge that came with it, tuning stability is rock solid after all these years.

same thing with my rg520 (from 2001)

 

[Gorehog]

i have that guitar.rg 350mdx.white.maple neck.exclusive to sam ash only.i got it 3 yrs ago.i replaced the pups with dimarzio's(check sig).sounds quite warm.

played out with it many times.i'm not a big whammy bar guy.never blocked it.hardly used it.i never had a problem with it at all.keep an eye on the neck.temp changes had me adjusting the truss rod here and there.

never a problem with whammy bar or any electronics.was a good buy.i keep it tuned to 1/2 step down and my rg 2550 to a=440 and i'm set.

 

[IndyWS6]

I have a black 370dx im selling. Lookin to get $325 out of it. comes with a GFS Power Rails and gig bag.

Thanks for the info.
It looks like the 370DX models have a rosewood board and I would prefer maple...

 

[IndyWS6]

i have that guitar.rg 350mdx.white.maple neck.exclusive to sam ash only.i got it 3 yrs ago.i replaced the pups with dimarzio's(check sig).sounds quite warm.

played out with it many times.i'm not a big whammy bar guy.never blocked it.hardly used it.i never had a problem with it at all.keep an eye on the neck.temp changes had me adjusting the truss rod here and there.

never a problem with whammy bar or any electronics.was a good buy.i keep it tuned to 1/2 step down and my rg 2550 to a=440 and i'm set.

Thanks for the info
I'm going to try to get to Sam Ash and check one out. If it feels close to the same as my RG770, I'll consider it...

 

[Nico]

Does somebody know the history of the RX series, was that the pre-RG line? I have one that I got pretty cheap as my first guitar, still have it, and it sounds really good, have not seen them around though...