# NGD: RGA8 custom project is done!



## simonXsludge (Jun 17, 2010)

yo!

i just went to the luthier today and picked this beauty up. it looks awesome, plays and sounds like a dream and smells like a tasty pie, thanks to the tung oil!

the luthier alex did an awesome job with this and i can't wait to get into another custom project in the future.

specs:

-RGA8-shaped sipo mahogany body with flamed maple top
-tung oil / wax finish
-lundgren M8
-volume knob
-maple headstock veneer with lasered ibanez logo
-stock ibanez fixed edge III-8 bridge
-stock ibanez RGA8 neck

i named it RGA8SH-OL. on to the (crappy cam phone) photos:






















some more recent photos:





















enjoy!


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## Ironberry (Jun 17, 2010)

That is amazing...


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## Xiphos68 (Jun 17, 2010)

Wow!
That looks phenomenal!

GOTM!!!


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## technomancer (Jun 17, 2010)

That looks fantastic, congratulations 



Xiphos68 said:


> Wow!
> That looks phenomenal!
> 
> GOTM!!!



Unless it was changed only 7s are eligible for GOTM


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## 77zark77 (Jun 17, 2010)

wunderbar ! congrats dude !


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## marday (Jun 17, 2010)

hey my friend, i love ur ibby tooooooo....hope i can see and test it very soon. ;-)


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## baboisking (Jun 17, 2010)

that is amazing!


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## Beardyman (Jun 17, 2010)

Wow, that thing is gorgeous! Congrats dude.


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## ShreddingDragon (Jun 17, 2010)

Looking awesome! Congratulations  Very good looking headstock there too!


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## Enter Paradox (Jun 17, 2010)

Congrats! love the simplicity of the electronics and the flamed maple is awesome on that!


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## TMM (Jun 17, 2010)

Very nice!

How much did that customization cost you?


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## simonXsludge (Jun 17, 2010)

TMM said:


> How much did that customization cost you?


you got PM'ed.


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## Customisbetter (Jun 17, 2010)

That flame is awesome. I love natural looking flames more than the hardcore tight ones.


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## Rick (Jun 17, 2010)

Wow.


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## thefool (Jun 17, 2010)

holy shit thats awesome! i wanna redo mine now


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## leftyguitarjoe (Jun 17, 2010)

I almost cried when I saw that guitar. Its too amazing for my fragile human sensory systems.


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## jaretthale78 (Jun 17, 2010)

awesome guitar, i think the whole guitar would look better with the headstock color tho IMO


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## s_k_mullins (Jun 17, 2010)

That is so fucking awesome!  Congrats dude


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## Kayzer (Jun 17, 2010)

Simon, thats the most über awsome ibby ive ever seen! Congrats!

Aale dick wie Wale Alta!


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## BrainArt (Jun 17, 2010)

Oh my.  That looks amazing, dude!


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## Defsan (Jun 17, 2010)

Holy shit.


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## Decipher (Jun 17, 2010)

Very nice!!


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## LamaSabachthani (Jun 17, 2010)

Is the body custom-made? or did you buy an RGA8 and then have the luthier strip it down and rework it? (I suspect the former is probably the case as I see only one small electronics cavity on the reverse)


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## Despised_0515 (Jun 17, 2010)

If you were in the states, I'd be harassing you for his contact information ASAP but my bank account is crying "NO!" 

That this is GORGEOUS.
Best Ibby 8 I've seen.


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## simonXsludge (Jun 17, 2010)

thx for the overall positive feedback, i appreciate it! 



LamaSabachthani said:


> Is the body custom-made? or did you buy an RGA8 and then have the luthier strip it down and rework it? (I suspect the former is probably the case as I see only one small electronics cavity on the reverse)


we tried to strip it down first, but the quality and look of the wood wasn't really something to work with for a nice natural finish, so we decided to build a new body.


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## Gitte (Jun 17, 2010)

ey simon, das teil is der oberknalleeeeerrr!!
you really have to let me try this!! greetz aus tempelhof


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## Cheesebuiscut (Jun 17, 2010)

Fuck.

I had to do a triple take using my scroll wheel.


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## metal_sam14 (Jun 17, 2010)

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

FUCK!


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## Tirell (Jun 17, 2010)

Looks beast, but I have 1 thing to whine about.
Considering the fact that you've built a custom body AND put a lundgren m8 in there, why not place the pickup directly next to the bridge, where the lundgren sounds at its prime ?
Please, don't take me as a meshuggah fanboi, I'm just telling you what my ears tell me.


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## JaeSwift (Jun 17, 2010)

Sickest fucking flame maple top I have EVER seen. It looks so 3D, it's almost as if someone layed a beautiful blanket of awesome-spunk on that guitar.


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## Guitarwiz2k (Jun 17, 2010)

Beautiful finish... That work looks real classy. Kudos to the Luthier...


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## yevetz (Jun 18, 2010)




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## HumanFuseBen (Jun 18, 2010)

GOTM!!!! wwwwwwwoooooowwwww!!!!


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## ra1der2 (Jun 18, 2010)

wow congrats very nice


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## loktide (Jun 18, 2010)

wow, nice


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jun 18, 2010)

I think we all know who the new go-to luthier in Berlin is now


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## swayman (Jun 18, 2010)

LIKE!


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## Aris_T (Jun 18, 2010)

Amazing  !!!

Congrats!!!!


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## AVH (Jun 18, 2010)

Nice job, it's gorgeous, congrats!


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## HANIAK (Jun 18, 2010)

Man, that guitar came out so beautiful! Moar pics please!!!!!


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## Fred the Shred (Jun 18, 2010)

WTF? That thing's gorgeous!


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## powergroover (Jun 18, 2010)

looks amazing, but IMO it will be better if the headstock had the same color
and i can see that the body is recessed a bit for that fixed edge bridge, what advantage does it give ??


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## Deadnightshade (Jun 18, 2010)

I think this project is literally semi-custom  or semi-production if you wish


Gongrats man that's a really sexy guitar!It could easily be a LACS  If i were you i'd go from the start for a neck pup also,but i guess you can always pop a housing for it later if you change your mind on the single pickupness


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## Louis Cypher (Jun 18, 2010)

Ironberry said:


> That is amazing...



Exactly.... That is some quality milky goodness in guitar form right there


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## guitareben (Jun 18, 2010)

Oh GOD that is good looking. I would kill for something like that :O


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## Xiphos68 (Jun 18, 2010)

technomancer said:


> That looks fantastic, congratulations
> 
> 
> 
> Unless it was changed only 7s are eligible for GOTM


When did that happen?


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## digitalpig (Jun 18, 2010)

Stealthtastic said:


> I think we all know who the new go-to luthier in Berlin is now



Err... actually no, unfortunately. But I would REALLY like to know, because I live in that city! 

Who is the luthier?

Cheers from Friedrichshain! 
Felix


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## SD83 (Jun 18, 2010)

WOW!


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## vampiregenocide (Jun 18, 2010)

That is gorgeous man! Do want.


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## jsousa (Jun 18, 2010)

awesome, awesome!!! man, my 8 string gas is getting unbearable 

we need a quality vid to demo that lundgren--


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## Napalm (Jun 18, 2010)

Thats sweeet! Man great choice of woods.


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## Hollowway (Jun 18, 2010)

Really really nice! Awesome wood. Not sure why you'd want to put the Ibby logo on there, since it's at minimum semi custom, but other than that I really like it!


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## Tristoner7 (Jun 19, 2010)

Dude, that is amazing. Awesome looking guitar !


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## Daggorath (Jun 19, 2010)

Fantastic! Not a big fan of the aesthetics of the Ibanez 8s; if they look anywhere near that cool I'd own one.


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## simonXsludge (Jun 20, 2010)

powergroover said:


> i can see that the body is recessed a bit for that fixed edge bridge, what advantage does it give ??


the neck is actually a little further recessed than on the stock model and everything else is adapted to that.

once again, thx for all the positive feedback. i appreciate it and will let the luthier know for sure.


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## AstonAston (Jun 20, 2010)

One of the coolest eights I've seen here! 
Could you record some clips maybe?


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## simonXsludge (Jun 20, 2010)

AstonAston said:


> One of the coolest eights I've seen here!
> Could you record some clips maybe?


thx!

will try to do that this week.


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## Trespass (Jun 20, 2010)

Interesting input jack location. I'd personally find it uncomfortable and unwieldy, but it's your custom.


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## JaxoBuzzo (Jun 22, 2010)

That's gorgeous.I approve!


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## Hesitateanddie (Jul 19, 2010)

wow.. i mean wow!! thats looks so good i just wet my pants a little... (dribbling)


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## cwhitey2 (Jul 19, 2010)

thats one of the prettiest 8's i have ever seen!!!

have fun with it you lucky mother


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## cyril v (Jul 19, 2010)

holy shit! how did i miss this thread? 

congrats man, that looks slick as hell!


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## Necromechanical (Jul 19, 2010)

That is a beautiful guitar!!


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## Angelus1988 (Jul 19, 2010)

Very awesome


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## xJeremiahx (Jul 19, 2010)

Looks great. I love natural finish guitars.


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## Jexey (Jul 20, 2010)

Jawdropping, I've been scheming up a refinish for my 2228 and would love to know that luthier's name and how much you coughed up for that thing. Send me a PM!


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## drmosh (Jul 20, 2010)

Who's the luthier?




Tirell said:


> Looks beast, but I have 1 thing to whine about.
> Considering the fact that you've built a custom body AND put a lundgren m8 in there, why not place the pickup directly next to the bridge, where the lundgren sounds at its prime ?
> Please, don't take me as a meshuggah fanboi, I'm just telling you what my ears tell me.



Well here's me telling you that I find the pickup to shrill in that position and that people have different opinions. Saying it sounds at it's prime there is simply not true


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## simonXsludge (Jul 20, 2010)

the lundgren is very high output and it does sound more than mean where it's at right now. i didn't care about the meshuggah layout / setup, i just wanted a good passive 8-string pickup and heard nothing but awesome stuff about and a killer audio clip of the lundgren, that's why i got it.

anyways, the luthier's not really fancy website is this:

alexguitars

there you'll find his telephone number and email adress. 

and thx a lot for all the feedback, i appreciate it. i love this guitar to death!


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## Gitte (Jul 20, 2010)

du musst mir unbedingt ma die chanze geben die mal anzuspielen


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## QuambaFu (Jul 22, 2010)

HumanFuseBen said:


> GOTM!!!! wwwwwwwoooooowwwww!!!!


 
I second that opinion. Awesomely Rad!!


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## josh pelican (Jul 22, 2010)

HOLE. E. FUCK.

That thing is DAMN sexy.


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## leandroab (Jul 22, 2010)

HOLY SHIT! SON!


*see what I did there?


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## chucknorrishred (Jul 22, 2010)

the paint jobs amazing


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## lava (Jul 23, 2010)

I think the natural headstock is totally awesome, and the light-colored Ibanez logo is a nice touch.


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## simonXsludge (Aug 3, 2010)

just took a few more photos today, for those of you who care. 






















now that the tung oil is all soaked in and dry the wood doesn't look like caramel anymore.


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## -K4G- (Aug 3, 2010)

Sexy.


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## JaeSwift (Aug 5, 2010)

Hey dude,

I'm in the proces of building a custom body for my RGA 8, and I read that you had to do something with the bridge (sink it in more I believe?) to add for some sort of compensation to the build construction. Could you explain this?


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## Mexi (Aug 7, 2010)

looks ridiculously good


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## simonXsludge (Aug 12, 2010)

JaeSwift said:


> I'm in the proces of building a custom body for my RGA 8, and I read that you had to do something with the bridge (sink it in more I believe?) to add for some sort of compensation to the build construction. Could you explain this?


pm'ed you.


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## abadonae (Jun 2, 2011)

That looks incredible. Honestly incredible. I'm looking into a custom soon that will pretty much look exactly like this !!! CAnt wait!!! 

Beautiful NGD Man you must be blown away!!


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## Zei (Jun 2, 2011)

Ooooohhh that's the best Ibanez 8 I've seen. Sex in guitar form.

I think if I ever played that you'd have a sticky situation on my hands.


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## mountainjam (Jun 2, 2011)

Wow, im glad someone bumped this thread. That guitar is stunning. Everytime I google image search the rga8, a pic of that guitar comes up, I've always wondered who's it was.


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## HighGain510 (Jun 3, 2011)

Wow I missed this thread the first time around, that thing is very nice!


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## vansinn (Jun 3, 2011)

Lovely build, choise of woods and finish. Ibanez themselves must be drooling by now..

Looking forward to the soundclips - and I salute you for the pup position; I'm sure, depending on picking position and technique, you can get both ample aggressiveness and a nice full sound


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## SenorDingDong (Jun 3, 2011)

So glad this was bumped, that guitar is beautiful.


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## simonXsludge (Jun 3, 2011)

thanks, guys, i appreciate it!

for everyone who's still interested, here is an early home recording of the RGA8 / Lundgren combo. it's not perfectly tweaked, but i guess it works:

another early home recording attempt. by Moulder Masters on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

plus two live shots of the axe:


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## Zei (Jun 3, 2011)

Ooohhhhh beautiful..
That tone. Reminds me of early Meshuggah. Catch 33 era. I could see this being absolutely CRUSHING live.


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## Alwballe (Jun 3, 2011)

have my babies?


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## jon66 (Jun 3, 2011)

Take note ibanez. This is what we (the people) want. lol
What a beaut...


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## Hyliannightmare (Jun 3, 2011)

that body


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## Levi79 (Jun 3, 2011)

holy shit man. That's a beauty. It's missing a pickup though.


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## thatguy87 (Jun 4, 2011)

Fucking amazing


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## ticklemeasian (Jun 5, 2011)

one second i have to change my pants before i say anything clever because i came hard in my pants


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## Dead Undead (Jun 6, 2011)

Rick said:


> Wow.



Pretty much says it. 
That's unbelievable.


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## JamieB (Oct 2, 2011)

This is awsome, but is that and rga8 body stripped and treated

or a completley new body?

Errmm yeh any more details would be cool may think about doing something like this with mine.


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## simonXsludge (Oct 2, 2011)

JamieB said:


> or a completley new body?


this!


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## Konfyouzd (Oct 2, 2011)

I would just like to say  to everyone that ever told me not to get the RGA8...


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## Konfyouzd (Oct 2, 2011)

JamieB said:


> This is awsome, but is that and rga8 body stripped and treated
> 
> or a completley new body?
> 
> Errmm yeh any more details would be cool may think about doing something like this with mine.



Reading the OP would suggest that this is a new body. 

@OP... If you still have the original body... Whatcha gonna do with it? I'll take it.


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## simonXsludge (Oct 2, 2011)

Konfyouzd said:


> @OP... If you still have the original body... Whatcha gonna do with it? I'll take it.


Gave it to the other guitarist in my band. He's gonna try and refinish it.


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## MaxSwagger (Oct 2, 2011)

So sex.


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## jaco815 (Oct 2, 2011)

This guitar is awesome but the sad thing is that Ibanez could make something this good easily. Instead they offer only one color and zero options on their guitars. 

Really sweet guitar man. Good job.


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## Slunk Dragon (Oct 2, 2011)

And only one pickup? You're cheating yourself out of so much that you could do with that guitar, but the Lundgren pickup was a nice move. I've never heard what one of those sounds like, but I've heard good things. Hope you're enjoying that beauty.


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## ESPfanboy (Oct 3, 2011)

OMG that is fucking sexy!


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## Riggy (Oct 3, 2011)

That looks amazing.


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## Ancestor (Oct 4, 2011)

dude, you just did what i have been thinking might be possible. you took everything good about the ibanez and ditched the stuff that sucked and now you have a great guitar.


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## 8stringthrash8 (Oct 4, 2011)

someones a meshuggah fan......


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## simonXsludge (Oct 5, 2011)

8stringthrash8 said:


> someones a meshuggah fan......


If you're referring to the Lundgren PU, I've swopped it for a DiMarzio DA8 in the meantime. I am a fan of Meshuggah, but not down to überworship.


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## otisct20 (Oct 6, 2011)

my god how much did that cost you? it looks amazing!


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