# RG8 vs RG2228?



## Pfalz (Jan 12, 2013)

Hey there guys, I've been wanting to get an ERG for a long time now, and I've narrowed my choices down to two options. The RG8 is much cheaper, but I'm guessing the RG2228 must be wonderfully crafted for it's price. If I get the RG8 I plan to do some mods to it, but I think I'll the RG2228 plain. I'll primarily be playing Death Metal, but I'll be using cleans a bit too so that's important.

What's your guys' opinion? Is the neck, bridge and the EMGs worth it on the RG2228, or should I just mod out the RG8?


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## HOKENSTYFE (Jan 12, 2013)

You could buy the RGA8 and swap the pickups. It would be cheaper than buying a 2228 and only a few hundred dollars more than the RG8 by it's self. 

I think you get a better build than a RG8, with the RGA8. And, a good enough build that pickups would make any further changes marginal, to the 2228.


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## samhell12 (Jan 12, 2013)

mate its alot beter to get the rga8 second hand and mod it the emg 808x are great btw thats what ive done on mine ... 

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/extended-range-guitars/224150-custom-rga8.html


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## HOKENSTYFE (Jan 12, 2013)

Yeah. I got a late-model RGA8 2011. Installed Lundgren M8's in it, 13-70 gauge, tuned to E-B-E-A-D-G-B-E.

It does all I need it to do.


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## NoMod (Jan 12, 2013)

It's not just build quality - the neck profile on the RG2228 is different:

*RG2228*

Scale/Length: 685.8mm/27"
Width at Nut: _54mm_
Width Last Fret: _78mm_
Thickness 1st Fret: 20mm
Thickness 12th Fret: 21.5mm
Radius: _430mm_

*RGA8 & RG8*

Scale/Length: 685.8mm/27"
Width at Nut: _55mm_
Width Last Fret: _80mm_
Thickness: 1st Fret 20mm
Thickness: 12th Fret 21.5mm
Radius: _400mm_

As you can see the fretboard is not as wide on the prestige model - it is only millimeters but that does make a difference, as does the radius....something to consider at least


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## Experimorph (Jan 12, 2013)

I'm comping NoMod here: the major difference between the guitars, aside from wood and build quality, seems to be the neck radius. That's one thing you check on both guitars if you have the chance.

Usually you'd expect guitars in the ~2000 buck price range to be of extreme build quality. While I'm sure this is true of RG2228, its price hardly ever seemed justified to me. My RGA8 seems to be just as sturdy at ~700 bucks.


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## facepalm66 (Jan 12, 2013)

not modding that guitar...
It's like refusing to have sex, but even worse...

The pups, and the tuners HAS to be replaced tho. Other than that is debatable


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## Pfalz (Jan 12, 2013)

Thanks for your help guys, the little change in size isn't a big deal for me, I have pretty big hands, so I don't think a couple millimeters will make much of a difference. An RGA8 with 808s slapped on is essentially the same as a RG2228 but for half the price? I'm going to be using whichever guitar I get as my primary one, so I want to make sure it's good.


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## muskybread (Jan 12, 2013)

I owned both and ultimately returned the RG8. Though significantly less expensive, it felt very cheap and was not nearly as much fun or easy to play. That, and after getting new pickups and a case, the total cost just seemed not worth it for the overall guitar quality. The 2228 (A model in my case) is expensive but I felt it was worth it. It brings me such more joy to play and the quality speaks for itself in feel, sound, and looks.


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## Gregadethhh (Jan 12, 2013)

I'd go down the RGA8 route, pickup swap and a tone pot makes a world of difference


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## simonXsludge (Jan 12, 2013)

I own an RGA8 and RG2228A and put a lot of extra money into my RGA8, got a beautiful replacement body, new pickups and had it set up professionaly several times but it continues to feel a little off to me. My 2228A played much easier right out of the box. It needs virtually no changes at all. It feels way superior, the neck is finished much better and has a much more comfortable profile, although it doesn't look dramatically different on paper. It sets up so effortless as well.

Moral of the story: The 2228 is worth every Dollar. You may wanna wait for the Iron Label series RG 8-string to hit stores, which comes with EMGs stock but at a price point that should be quite affordable. I can not recommend the RGA8 and I'm not sure about the RG8 either.


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## Konfyouzd (Jan 12, 2013)

There's nothing better ab the RGA8 over the RG8 in terms of build. I've owned both. They're almost the same aside from the body shape and bridge. I guarantee the difference in the prices of those bridges plays a bigger factor in price than mahogany vs basswood or any other BS ppl like to bring up. 

The 2228 on the other hand will probably be a nicer guitar than the RG8 but I've never played one to confirm. The RG8 works just fine though.


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## Konfyouzd (Jan 12, 2013)

Experimorph said:


> I'm comping NoMod here: the major difference between the guitars, aside from wood and build quality, seems to be the neck radius. That's one thing you check on both guitars if you have the chance.
> 
> Usually you'd expect guitars in the ~2000 buck price range to be of extreme build quality. While I'm sure this is true of RG2228, its price hardly ever seemed justified to me. My RGA8 seems to be just as sturdy at ~700 bucks.



It's justified bc ppl pay it. 

And bc ppl seem to believe more expensive always = highest quality. Not that the 2228 couldn't possibly be nicer, I just feel like some ppl need to justify dropping that kinda $$$ to themselves.


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## tsar nicholas (Jan 12, 2013)

I'd definitely take the RG8. The pseudo-Floyd fixed bridge on the RGA8 and RG2228 is a straight up monstrosity and I think it sucks tone. I've played both fairly extensively; the RG8 is a better-designed guitar.


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## Pfalz (Jan 12, 2013)

I think I've decided. I'll get the RGA8, swap out the pickups for 808s, and do a couple other mods to it. I'm looking at a price range of $1200 or so, so that's nearly half of what I was prepared to spend. Thanks for the help guys!


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## Philligan (Jan 12, 2013)

Pfalz said:


> Thanks for your help guys, the little change in size isn't a big deal for me, I have pretty big hands, so I don't think a couple millimeters will make much of a difference. An RGA8 with 808s slapped on is essentially the same as a RG2228 but for half the price? I'm going to be using whichever guitar I get as my primary one, so I want to make sure it's good.



Like Konfyouzd said, there's no quality difference between the RG8 and RGA8, just specs. If you do this (which is an awesome bang for your buck, and will sound great with new pickups), get the RG8. It's half the price for the same guitar. With the RGA8, you're paying for the bridge. And honestly, it's not bad, but I'd rather have a Hipshot. Even for the same price. This bridge is finicky, doesn't seem to function any better, and costs a buttload to fix/replace. I'd rather take a regular nut (that you can recut/replace) over a locking Floyd nut any day, too.

An RG8 with new pickups is a great budget-friendly guitar, but the 2228 is hands down in a totally different league. Some guys on here were mentioning the neck profile difference as well as the hardware - a guitar is more than the sum of its parts. The 2228 has better woods being put together by attentive humans who have better hands than the factory machines do. The 2228 is gonna feel different in pretty much every way, and sound different, and hold up better.

Having said that, the 2228 is also 2 grand. It's an awesome guitar, but for 2 grand you can spec out one of the craziest Carvin DC800s you could imagine. A barebones DC800 will run you right around $1000, which is basically the cost of an RGA8 with new pickups. The DC800 is gonna be as good or better than the 2228, and you'll likely get a much better looking guitar for significantly less money.

Also, noticed you're in Canada. If you look at a Carvin, don't let their expensive shipping fool you. That includes import fees and everything, so you don't get surprise bills from the government a month after your guitar shows up


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## Philligan (Jan 12, 2013)

Pfalz said:


> I think I've decided. I'll get the RGA8, swap out the pickups for 808s, and do a couple other mods to it. I'm looking at a price range of $1200 or so, so that's nearly half of what I was prepared to spend. Thanks for the help guys!



Dude, I just saw this now, check out my post above man. If you're budgeting for $1200, get a DC800. $1200 will get you a base model one along with an upgrade for a 5 piece neck and maybe some other stuff. That guitar is gonna totally destroy an RGA8 in every way, and the stock Carvin pickups are better than 808s.


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## Given To Fly (Jan 12, 2013)

I imagine RG2228 owners will say "Yes, its worth $2000" and non-owners will say "No, its way over priced." I have an RG2228 with EMG 808x's and I would pay $2800 for the same guitar if Ibanez were to produce one today as a production model.
The specs can't account for the quality. You could buy a Fender Strat or a Tom Anderson with the same specs. Which guitar is going to be better? The RG2228 has a freakishly good neck. You have to play it to fully understand. I can't say that about any other production guitar. Its truly a freak of nature which is head and shoulders above everything else. The guitar isn't perfect; I put new pickups in and have a love/hate relationship with the bridge but the playability makes up for it.


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## HOKENSTYFE (Jan 13, 2013)

Pfalz said:


> I think I've decided. I'll get the RGA8, swap out the pickups for 808s, and do a couple other mods to it. I'm looking at a price range of $1200 or so, so that's nearly half of what I was prepared to spend. Thanks for the help guys!



And you still have enough to buy a RG8, plus D-Acts. So now the argument will be, do you buy a 2228 or buy a RGA8 with pickup upgrades AND a RG8 with further mods?

Two with upgrades, for the price of one....


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## samhell12 (Jan 13, 2013)

Pfalz ive spent about 1200 for my rga8 and thats a emg 808x and emg 808 and a ibanez case ... at the end of the day i have to say that i love my guitar because the mods on it make it mine unike and if you want my opinion if you are not going to use the guitar for live use and profesional use in any way to justify the money spent get the rga not the 2228 . at the end of the day its your cash ... 


(ps i didint mention the rg8 because i love the fixed brige on the rga8 and 2228 and m8m )


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## Tom Drinkwater (Jan 13, 2013)

Budget for the 2228 but buy two Carvin DC800's instead.


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## Draceius (Jan 13, 2013)

I love how throughout this whole thread people have brought up the RGA8 when the OP said RG8 vs RG2228, anyway I concur with philligan, check out carvin.


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## HOKENSTYFE (Jan 13, 2013)

I'll take credit for that.  There is too huge a difference between the two he was looking at. It seemingly made no sense to pick one over the other. Or at the very least, I implemented a little chaos.  

I have a RGA8 and I loves it... 

I wasn't going to say anything when someone else brought up Carvin but, you did so... Why spend the money and time for something marginally different? Order it now, get it...summer(April/May, maybe)? Get a RGA8, make some upgrades and make it a workhorse. Which all can be done by the end of this upcoming week.

The Carvin can wait...


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## Pfalz (Jan 13, 2013)

HOKENSTYFE said:


> I'll take credit for that.  There is too huge a difference between the two he was looking at. It seemingly made no sense to pick one over the other. Or at the very least, I implemented a little chaos.
> 
> I have a RGA8 and I loves it...
> 
> ...


I'm going to be using this Guitar as my primary one from here on out, but since it costs so much less, I'll be able to be upgrade my amp and buy a mesa boogie much sooner. I can't buy the RGA8 just yet, I'm still short a couple hundred bucks, and I want to spec it out as soon as I get it. But thanks again everyone!


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## simonXsludge (Jan 13, 2013)

Once again, maybe wait and check out the new Ibanez Iron Label RG 8-string that is coming up with those EMGs stock.


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## MikeH (Jan 13, 2013)

The RG8 has been hit and miss as far as quality goes. Luckily, I got a nice one. I'm sure that if you're able to play it first, you'd be surprised at the quality. That being said, I've also owned the 2228, and it's a completely different instrument. Quality is amazing, and its materials are of much higher quality. If it came back to it, though, I'd probably use the $2k to buy another RG8 and mod the shit out of it, while still pocketing a large sum of cash. You could do an endless amount of things to the RG8 while still coming under budget. Depends on if you'd rather have a ready-to-use machine, or something you want to work on. And even still, if you do buy the 2228, I'd go used.


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Jan 13, 2013)

Do a carvin dude


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## HOKENSTYFE (Jan 13, 2013)

Damn that Iron Label looks good! The stock picture is making me want to buy one and mod the bridge & frets(hardware) gold.


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## NoMod (Jan 13, 2013)

shitsøn;3357818 said:


> I own an RGA8 and RG2228A and put a lot of extra money into my RGA8, got a beautiful replacement body, new pickups and had it set up professionaly several times but it continues to feel a little off to me. My 2228A played much easier right out of the box. It needs virtually no changes at all. It feels way superior, the neck is finished much better and has a much more comfortable profile, although it doesn't look dramatically different on paper. It sets up so effortless as well.
> 
> Moral of the story: The 2228 is worth every Dollar. You may wanna wait for the Iron Label series RG 8-string to hit stores, which comes with EMGs stock but at a price point that should be quite affordable. I can not recommend the RGA8 and I'm not sure about the RG8 either.


 


Given To Fly said:


> I imagine RG2228 owners will say "Yes, its worth $2000" and non-owners will say "No, its way over priced." I have an RG2228 with EMG 808x's and I would pay $2800 for the same guitar if Ibanez were to produce one today as a production model.
> The specs can't account for the quality. You could buy a Fender Strat or a Tom Anderson with the same specs. Which guitar is going to be better? The RG2228 has a freakishly good neck. You have to play it to fully understand. I can't say that about any other production guitar. Its truly a freak of nature which is head and shoulders above everything else. The guitar isn't perfect; I put new pickups in and have a love/hate relationship with the bridge but the playability makes up for it.


 
Have to agree with these guys, having a RG2228A means I don't even have an issue with the pickups and having played floyd rose equipped guitars since forever I get on fine with the bridge too.

Is the RG2228 'worth' the hefty price tag? It's pretty subjective and personal, to me, it was worth it to get a guitar that 'I personally' am 100% happy with, would I like it to have cost half as much? of course lol, but I paid out for a brand new one and I have no regrets whatsoever. The neck and build quality on this guitar is phenomenal, the Japanese Ibanez makers really seem to care about quality in the smallest details, hardly suprising given Japan's history of perfectionism. You cannot really compare the prestige range with other ibanez IMO.

On a related note a Carvin was not really an option for me, living in 'screwed-over-on-import-taxes-England'...


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## Philligan (Jan 13, 2013)

HOKENSTYFE said:


> I wasn't going to say anything when someone else brought up Carvin but, you did so... Why spend the money and time for something marginally different? Order it now, get it...summer(April/May, maybe)? Get a RGA8, make some upgrades and make it a workhorse. Which all can be done by the end of this upcoming week.
> 
> The Carvin can wait...



Because Carvin quality is leaps and bounds ahead of any Indonesian-made guitar. An RGA8 can be made to be decent, but a Carvin is gonna be awesome right out of the box. It's a semi-custom US made guitar with a great rep. Entry and mid-level Ibanezes are Indonesian made guitars with an okay rep.

An RGA8 may be good for the price, but on an objective level, it's nowhere near the quality of a Carvin. For the price of an RGA8 + EMGs, the OP could get a Carvin, which is a higher quality guitar with almost as many options as a custom (like stainless steel frets) and dudes who own them say the stock pickups smoke EMGs.

EDIT: And to the dude who said you'd get a Carvin by May or so. Build time is 6-8 weeks. Ordering a Carvin now would get it to you by mid-March at the latest.


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Jan 13, 2013)

Philligan said:


> Because Carvin quality is leaps and bounds ahead of any Indonesian-made guitar. An RGA8 can be made to be decent, but a Carvin is gonna be awesome right out of the box. It's a semi-custom US made guitar with a great rep. Entry and mid-level Ibanezes are Indonesian made guitars with an okay rep.
> 
> An RGA8 may be good for the price, but on an objective level, it's nowhere near the quality of a Carvin. For the price of an RGA8 + EMGs, the OP could get a Carvin, which is a higher quality guitar with almost as many options as a custom (like stainless steel frets) and dudes who own them say the stock pickups smoke EMGs.
> 
> EDIT: And to the dude who said you'd get a Carvin by May or so. Build time is 6-8 weeks. Ordering a Carvin now would get it to you by mid-March at the latest.



Bingo. To say a Carvin is marginally better than a $400 indo ibby really shows how little a person knows what they are talking about. Thats not ment as an insult, but the truth. Must have not ever played the 2 side by side.


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## HOKENSTYFE (Jan 13, 2013)

It's not that I don't know what I'm talking about at it pertains to Carvin. It's about getting what you want. I never said one was better than another. Also, I have yet to hear how Carvin owners are beyond satisfied with their Carvin's sound, after the honeymoon. Plenty of threads asking about routing to fit alternate pickups. Of course, for those that are still impressed, to think of further modding is their choice.

Semi-custom Carvin + Swapping of pickups + routing + getting preamp for actives if Carvin came with passives + tax, of time to get build and further time to do mods = 2228 Stock < A RGA8 & RG8 + pickups.

Sorry guys, Ibanez Fanboy here.


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## Wyvern Claw (Jan 13, 2013)

Honestly, I'd go with this. A little more than the RGA8 + mods, but much better, and no wait time.
Carvin.com : In Stock DC800 Eight-String Extended Scale Guitar Serial Number 110429

However, if there are things about this one that don't appeal to you, there are 3 or 4 others in stock, and I'd still say it's worth the wait to order your own if those don't do it for you either. And I know this thread was about the RG8 vs. the RG2228, but since Carvin has been brought up multiple times already, I figure it's safe to give my opinion. I am actually one of those people that are beyond satisfied with my DC800, everything about it is as good as a USA Jackson for the same price as the 2228 (and I'm talking after mandatory case purchase and shipping - my total was a little under $2100, this one is even less) and I personally don't see a need to change the pickups other than just to try something different.

Also, Carvins do come with actives, which as mentioned, are better than the 808's. That's obviously subjective, but I'm not the only one who thinks so at least. So the need for swapping pickups is likely to be non-existent, depending on personal taste, and they are indeed set up to take other active pickups. So if that's what's going in there anyway if you did want to change them, no routing necessary for EMG's, at least as far as I've heard.


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## Philligan (Jan 13, 2013)

Wyvern Claw said:


> Also, Carvins do come with actives, which as mentioned, are better than the 808's. That's obviously subjective, but I'm not the only one who thinks so at least. So the need for swapping pickups is likely to be non-existent, depending on personal taste, and they are indeed set up to take other active pickups. So if that's what's going in there anyway if you did want to change them, no routing necessary for EMG's, at least as far as I've heard.



This  new pickups won't require any routing. EMGs and Laces drop right in, and passives fit with gaps. You can hide the gaps with soapbar covers or pickup rings for $10 or $20.


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