KentBrockman
Bite back with Kent Brockman!
So I think I have purchased 6 guitars in the past ~2 years that I still and I have not posted an NGD for any of them that I can recall. I got this one online a couple of weeks ago.
Here is why I like this guitar - it is SIMPLE. I like the finish that looks black initially and then sparkles blue in the light. It is the same finish as my 2007/8 RG1527, so I think it is the Royal Blue finish. The dotted inlays keep with the simple theme. but I would have preferred the small dots that the later RG1570s had. The trade-off is that these earlier models have the powder-coated hardware (powder cosmo). I have powder-coated hardware on an RG3120 and it has very little wear on it for a 23-year old instrument. The later RG1570 and RG1527 models have the cosmo black hardware that does not last as long. Last year, I bought the RG1527 and purchased a new Edge Pro 7 for it immediately because of the wear on the existing bridge. Similarly, I had a used RG1527Z with the Edge Zero and it was corroded beyond belief and worse than the pictures - I sold that one almost immediately.
I am totally aware that some people may describe this as one of "bottom of the barrel" Prestiges, especially when compared to the Prestiges of the late 90s (such as the RG3120). That is not an issue. There are no frills with this instrument.
The pickups are not the stock V7/S1/V8 pickups that were stock in these guitars. Based on the pole pieces, it looks like the previous owner put Dimarzios in this guitar. Not sure what the neck or middle pickups are, but the bridge is either an X2N or a D-Activator-X based on the pictures on the Dimarzio website. I took the humbuckers out but could not see anything I could use to identify the pickups. I have not opened the back cavity yet, but I am hoping there is a label on the wires for identification.
The neck is a three-piece Super Wizard Prestige. I am not going to lie - I have five 6-string Prestiges with various necks and they all feel similar (from a geometry perspective). That is fine with me because I happen to like these necks. The neck is a little glossy though, but I can learn to live with it. I do prefer the unfinished neck on my RG2550Z because I can slide around easily on it.
The guitar arrived in a condition that would make me think that it had been sitting on a stand for a long time. It was dusty and the rosewood fretboard had been dried out. I took the bridge and nut out and did some dusting. Then I tried to polish the frets (the key word is TRIED). Finally, I conditioned the fretboard a bunch of times to bring out that nice dark rosewood color. The volume knob is discolored compared to the tone knob too. I actually have a full set of powder cosmo hardware for an RG3120 in a box in the room next to me (including a powder cosmo Lo Pro bridge) so I can pinch a knob from it if I felt so inclined. There are some scuffs and a loss of finish in some locations, but it's fine with me. This is a guitar that can be gigged without much guilt from me.
The neck was "shimmed" for some reason, so I removed the neck and remove the "shim"...which was a thin 1" x 1" piece of sticky foam that you could probably find in an arts and crafts store.
The volume and tone knobs feel stiff. Both of my RG3120s are the same way but this is not the case for my later RG1570 and the guitars I have from after that. Looks like Ibanez reduced the stiffness sometime in the mid 2000s.
Other: the serial number indicates this guitar was produced in 2002, which makes this one of the first models. It also came with what I believe is the M100C case from the late 1990s - can someone please correct me if I am wrong? I actually much prefer the M10RG and M20RG cases (the red-lined ones) where the top of the body sits flush with the plush interior, but the black plush looks cool. One of my RG3120s came with this case too. I am yet to acquire one of the blue-lined ones.
Bonus picture of one of my RG3120s - I bought this last year and it appears that the previous owner put cosmo black hardware on it. As I wrote above, I have a spare set of hardware to sort this out when I can be bothered. Also in the picture - an FE review manual that I have no use for anymore (I passed it ~4.5 years and then passed the PE exam a year later. I live in a state where I can take the PE exam before having the experience requirement), a copy of a building design code (ASCE 7-10), a copy of Private Eye that I had a friend get for me from the UK, an old copy of Total Guitar magazine that I bought when I lived in the UK, a couple of James Bond Car Collection models. Also, the cab behind the guitar is a Marshall Silver Jubilee 2536 2x12 cab. The head is a Blackstar S1-50 tube head - an extremely underrated head.
Here is why I like this guitar - it is SIMPLE. I like the finish that looks black initially and then sparkles blue in the light. It is the same finish as my 2007/8 RG1527, so I think it is the Royal Blue finish. The dotted inlays keep with the simple theme. but I would have preferred the small dots that the later RG1570s had. The trade-off is that these earlier models have the powder-coated hardware (powder cosmo). I have powder-coated hardware on an RG3120 and it has very little wear on it for a 23-year old instrument. The later RG1570 and RG1527 models have the cosmo black hardware that does not last as long. Last year, I bought the RG1527 and purchased a new Edge Pro 7 for it immediately because of the wear on the existing bridge. Similarly, I had a used RG1527Z with the Edge Zero and it was corroded beyond belief and worse than the pictures - I sold that one almost immediately.
I am totally aware that some people may describe this as one of "bottom of the barrel" Prestiges, especially when compared to the Prestiges of the late 90s (such as the RG3120). That is not an issue. There are no frills with this instrument.
The pickups are not the stock V7/S1/V8 pickups that were stock in these guitars. Based on the pole pieces, it looks like the previous owner put Dimarzios in this guitar. Not sure what the neck or middle pickups are, but the bridge is either an X2N or a D-Activator-X based on the pictures on the Dimarzio website. I took the humbuckers out but could not see anything I could use to identify the pickups. I have not opened the back cavity yet, but I am hoping there is a label on the wires for identification.
The neck is a three-piece Super Wizard Prestige. I am not going to lie - I have five 6-string Prestiges with various necks and they all feel similar (from a geometry perspective). That is fine with me because I happen to like these necks. The neck is a little glossy though, but I can learn to live with it. I do prefer the unfinished neck on my RG2550Z because I can slide around easily on it.
The guitar arrived in a condition that would make me think that it had been sitting on a stand for a long time. It was dusty and the rosewood fretboard had been dried out. I took the bridge and nut out and did some dusting. Then I tried to polish the frets (the key word is TRIED). Finally, I conditioned the fretboard a bunch of times to bring out that nice dark rosewood color. The volume knob is discolored compared to the tone knob too. I actually have a full set of powder cosmo hardware for an RG3120 in a box in the room next to me (including a powder cosmo Lo Pro bridge) so I can pinch a knob from it if I felt so inclined. There are some scuffs and a loss of finish in some locations, but it's fine with me. This is a guitar that can be gigged without much guilt from me.
The neck was "shimmed" for some reason, so I removed the neck and remove the "shim"...which was a thin 1" x 1" piece of sticky foam that you could probably find in an arts and crafts store.
The volume and tone knobs feel stiff. Both of my RG3120s are the same way but this is not the case for my later RG1570 and the guitars I have from after that. Looks like Ibanez reduced the stiffness sometime in the mid 2000s.
Other: the serial number indicates this guitar was produced in 2002, which makes this one of the first models. It also came with what I believe is the M100C case from the late 1990s - can someone please correct me if I am wrong? I actually much prefer the M10RG and M20RG cases (the red-lined ones) where the top of the body sits flush with the plush interior, but the black plush looks cool. One of my RG3120s came with this case too. I am yet to acquire one of the blue-lined ones.
Bonus picture of one of my RG3120s - I bought this last year and it appears that the previous owner put cosmo black hardware on it. As I wrote above, I have a spare set of hardware to sort this out when I can be bothered. Also in the picture - an FE review manual that I have no use for anymore (I passed it ~4.5 years and then passed the PE exam a year later. I live in a state where I can take the PE exam before having the experience requirement), a copy of a building design code (ASCE 7-10), a copy of Private Eye that I had a friend get for me from the UK, an old copy of Total Guitar magazine that I bought when I lived in the UK, a couple of James Bond Car Collection models. Also, the cab behind the guitar is a Marshall Silver Jubilee 2536 2x12 cab. The head is a Blackstar S1-50 tube head - an extremely underrated head.
