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Ibanez Genesis Collection RG550 - Desert Sun Yellow

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Basswood Body, Maple/Walnut Neck, Maple Fingerboard, 2 Humbucking Pickups, and 1 Single-coil Pickup - Desert Sun Yellow
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Ibanez Genesis Collection RG550 - Desert Sun Yellow
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A Worthy Reissue of a Hard Rock Classic

First built in 1987, the original Ibanez RG550 is revered by rock and metal guitarists. This Genesis Collection reissue takes its ancestor's classic design and adds a few modern touches. The original's 1-piece maple neck has been upgraded with a 5-piece laminated maple/walnut one. Its versatile HSH pickup configuration has been overhauled with modern V7 and V8 humbuckers. The RG550 features a comfortably contoured basswood body, resonating with a warm growl and enough midrange definition to cut through a dense mix. Twist, bend, and dive-bomb to your heart's content, thanks to an Edge locking tremolo. Loaded with aggressive styling (including eye-grabbing black hardware), the RG550 is a fast-playing, hard-rocking tone machine.

Incredibly fast Super Wizard neck

Back in 1987, the original RG550 featured a 1-piece maple Wizard neck. This reissue takes that design to the next level with a 5-piece maple/walnut Super Wizard neck. You'll be able to execute lightning-fast runs, arpeggios, and hammer-ons with ease. Capping the Super Wizard neck is a 24-fret maple fingerboard, loaded with jumbo frets that are perfect for big note bends. Beyond that, the RG550 features a classic-style tilt neck joint with a stamped metal plate rather than the sculpted All Access neck joint found on most modern RGs. If you crave the feel of a classic RG, you'll love the RG550.

HSH pickup configuration yields a wide range of tones

There's no denying the massive array of tones you can coax out of the RG550. A V7 in the neck delivers a tight, biting sound that's tailor-made for chording and rhythm. An S1 in the mid position exhibits a traditional-sounding yet high-output single-coil tone. A V8 bridge pickup supplies a warm yet articulate sound with sizzling overtones. These pickups yield excellent harmonics without excessive brightness, even in extreme high-gain situations. Although the RG550 is clearly voiced for rock and metal, its fast playability and tonal variety make it a great guitar for almost any style.

Ibanez's Genesis Collection delivers classic RG performance

The Ibanez RG series has been a rock and metal standard since the late 1980s. The Genesis Collection celebrates these legendary axes with classic RG550 and RG570 reissues, as well as the throwback RG550 model. You'll love these sleek and comfortably contoured guitars — not only do they hug your body and forearm, but their deep treble-side cutaway offers unrestricted access to all 24 frets. Guitarists here at Sweetwater love the feel and playability of Ibanez's classic RG guitars. You will too.

Ibanez RG550 Solidbody Electric Guitar Features:

  • Basswood body produces a warm, growling tone with defined mids
  • 5-piece maple/walnut Super Wizard neck enables easy playability
  • Classic-style tilt neck joint with stamped metal plate provides classic RG feel
  • HSH pickup configuration yields a wide range of harmonic-rich tones
  • Ibanez Edge locking tremolo provides complete control and solid intonation
  • Gotoh MG-T locking machine heads maintain stable tuning
  • Eye-grabbing black hardware

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Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody
  • Body Shape Genesis RG
  • Body Material Basswood
  • Body Finish Gloss Polyurethane
  • Color Desert Sun Yellow
  • Neck
  • Neck Material 5-piece Maple/Walnut
  • Neck Shape Super Wizard
  • Neck Joint Bolt-on
  • Radius 16.9"
  • Fingerboard Material Maple
  • Fingerboard Inlay Black Dots
  • Number of Frets 24, Jumbo
  • Scale Length 25.5"
  • Nut Width 1.692"
  • Nut Material Locking
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece Edge Locking Tremolo
  • Tuners Gotoh
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup V7 Humbucker
  • Middle Pickup S1 Single-coil
  • Bridge Pickup V8 Humbucker
  • Controls 1 x master volume, 1 x master tone
  • Switching 5-way blade pickup switch
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings D'Addario, .009-.042
  • Case/Gig Bag Sold Separately
  • Manufacturer Part Number: RG550DY

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

Ibanez RG550 Genesis, Desert Sun Yellow

I have wanted a RG550 since they came out in the eighties I believe. Well so glad they decided to reintroduce this model as it definitely does not disappoint!! My friend has a 1987 RG550 and it sounds and plays every bit as good as his!! Thank you Ibanez for reproducing this guitar!! Couldn't be happier with my purchase!! The picture contains my friends 1987 RG550 with the custom monkey grip he added and my new RG550 Desert Sun Yellow!!
Music background: Band Musician
Rated 5/5

Sweet guitar

Love this guitar!excellent service. Packaging was very good. Double boxed with ample space cushion between boxes.
Rated 5/5

This thing ROCKS!!!!!!!

I had one of these back the 80's. My first guitar at age 11. And now I'm 44 and here we go again. When I saw these were back I just had to get one. Let me tell you this guitar is bad to the bone. The construction and finish are impeccable. NOT ONE SINGLE FLAW!!!!!! This made in Japan Ibanez is totally AWESOME. You can tell they really care about their craftsmanship. I have Several made in the good ole USA and this one blows them away except for my Fender Customer Shop Gt 11!!!! It's a Fender Custom Shop. Enough said! But this rg550 will go toe to toe with it. The pickups on this thing sound great. This is a very Versatile guitar. And Mr. Dan Vranic my gear advisor has done it again!!!!! He nailed this one out of the park! His customer service is Phenomenal!! I got this rg550 Desert sun yellow with a plek job and the guys at Sweetwater did a top notch job! The neck relief,action and the nut were perfect!!! The trem was set just right being perfectly parallel to the body. The color.....oh my god it's freakin bright and beautiful. Stop looking and wondering if you should get or not..... BUY IT NOW!!!! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!! I PROMISE!!!!! I haven't put this thing down since I opened the box. My Fender Custom is getting Jealous, I haven't played her once today after get this one. Don't shop anywhere else. Sweetwater is where it's at. Call them today and ask for Dan Vranic and he will hook you up like he does for me every time!!! GET IT NOW!!!!!
Rated 4.5/5

Hair Metal Machine

So, I'll start this off by saying that this purchase was based on pure nostalgia. I had an original RG550 in desert yellow when I was a pre-teen, my first real guitar in fact….. and I wanted it again.

What's different? The headstock was painted black on my original with a white Ibanez logo. Also, the neck had more of a gloss feel on the original. The original also had a true Floyd Rose.

What's the same? Pretty much everything else. The neck carve is still super slim, and I honestly prefer the satin finish, and your hand no longer sticks to the neck. Also, these Seymour Duncan pickups sound amazing.

Do you have a personal guitar tech on hire at all times? If you aren't a rich and famous musician with that luxury, THIS SHOULD NOT BE YOUR PRIMARY GUITAR. However, it is a fantastic instrument to have because it sounds and feels great. The maintenance is just way more difficult that a fixed bridge guitar.

In the video below, all rhythm was done with this guitar, where the lead was done my my tele.
Music background: Rock / Punk
Rated 5/5

Outstanding Quality, Addictively Playable and Incredible Tone

I didn't expect this to kind of be the guitar of my dreams. I've played Ibanez (and other brands) for years, own several guitars, most of which are more expensive than this one... and this one is hands down better quality, higher tolerances, and absolutely the best playability out of the box than any others that I own or have owned.

The pickups seem perfectly paired with the guitar, and where I have other guitars with this kind of pickup layout, I typically find that only a couple of switch positions are useful - with this puppy I find myself using almost all of the settings.

I really can't put this thing down! A classic, shreddy, thin wizard neck, excellent weight and balance, surprisingly sustainy... and perfect action and intonation on arrival.

If you are even remotely considering buying this guitar, do yourself a favor and go for it.
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