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Author Topic: NGD: Ibanez RG1420F BHB Prestige 10th Anniv.  (Read 8468 times)

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Systematic Chaos

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Holiday season.....pulled the trigger on my xmas present.
Beautiful Ibanez Prestige 10th Anniv. RG1420F BHB ... Black Haze Burst Flamed Maple Top RG
Limited to 120 pieces made, only avlbl in USA.....




comes with case-candy


Gonna be at my place by the end of this week.
DiMarzio and SD pups, Ibanez EDGE Pro bridge, Wizzard Prestige Neck with KTS Titanium Rod...
More pics to follow once dlvrd and un-boxed....
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rnolan

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Re: NGD: Ibanez RG1420F BHB Prestige 10th Anniv.
« Reply #1 on: Time Format »

 :whoohoo!: Go SC, tis the season for new guitars (well, you and me so far  :thumb-up: ) Still waiting to hear how MJMPs new Black/White custom explorer is going..
Hey man looks like lots of fun  >:D >:D
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Systematic Chaos

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Re: NGD: Ibanez RG1420F BHB Prestige 10th Anniv.
« Reply #2 on: Time Format »

The Ibby is with me since last week and after some cleaning, fretboard conditioning,.... I have some impressions.
The basswood/maple top combination is awesome. Whereas basswood alone is somewhat "boring" or characterless sounding, the maple top adds a real nice flavor. It´s overall still more mellow and sweet/smooth than alder but not as dark as mahogany/maple top.
She already sounds stunning when played dry without an amp and resonates like hell. (grab a guitar by the nut between your thump and index finger like a guitar wall hanger, pick the B string and put your other hands index and middle finger at the bottom edge on the input jack, feeeel it..)
Installed pups turned out to be a DiMarzio Air Norton in the neck (my fav pup in that spot) and a Duncan JB in the bridge (one of my least favorite pups....too ice picky top and too flat in the lower mids/bass).
I initially planned to swap that for a DiMarzio Tone Zone I had lying around....but then my girlfriend came back from town and told me one of the local music stores had a close out sale with everything that was left 70% off....that´s where she found a NIB DiMarzio MegaDrive DP107F (nowadays only available as special order from the Customshop) for 25€ and bought it for me.
Out goes the JB, in goes the MegaDrive....A W E S O M E.
High notes have depth, low notes are meaty but tight, high gain open chords are humongeous but still transparent, harmonic simply jump off the fretboard......KEEPER!
I wired both pups with the standard 5way blade switch as follows
1- bridge HB in series
2- inner coil of bridge HB + inner coil of neck HB in parallel
3- both bridge and neck in parallel
4- neck HB coil split
5- neck HB in series
Versatility, although simple H-H config, is not an issue ;-)
The trem is an Edge Pro and works like a charm.
The Wizard Prestige HP neck profile is also terrific and I prefer the 17" radius on this one. The neck is a 5piece maple/walnut with a rosewood fretboard and a reinforced KTS titanium rod.
Included was also a Team J.Craft Prestige Hardcase and all hangtags/case candy.
Some pics:


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rnolan

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Re: NGD: Ibanez RG1420F BHB Prestige 10th Anniv.
« Reply #3 on: Time Format »

Hey SC, great guitar my friend, and your girlfriend knew what PU to get  :thumb-up: I wouldn't describe my basswood Anderson Pro Am as boring or characterless but I get what you mean, then, right now I'm loving the maple/one piece mahogany on the JP LP (lots of depth but more my playing style, big bluesy bends etc). Maple adds a nice clean crispness, it's very well behaved for a hardwood, grains not cranky, often beautiful figure (like both out new guits), lovely to carve.
I like your PU wiring, good ideas.
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Systematic Chaos

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Re: NGD: Ibanez RG1420F BHB Prestige 10th Anniv.
« Reply #4 on: Time Format »

Been working some more on this guitar.......not that there were any issues or whatsoever. Just some slight modding/adjusting to suit my preferences.
I don´t like finished necks....not at all. High gloss, body-matching colored,....you name it. I just don´t like it. Although the Ibbys come with an ever so thin satin finish it´s still not what I prefer.
Think EBMM unfinished oiled/waxed necks....now we´re talking.
So,...sanded down the back of the neck starting with 600 grit. This also got rid of some tiny scratched and bumps.
After that I applied a coat of Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil (gunstock oil). Let it soak and dry, re-sanding with 600 grit, next coat...(done 4 times).
Thereafter, another coat of Tru-Oil mixed with Birchwood Casey gunstock wax. Rubbed it in, let it dry for 20mins, buffed the remains off. Sanded with 1200 grit, another coat of mix, same procedure, but this time sanding/buffing off with 0000 steel wool.
Cleaned it thereafter (steel wool remains) and applied another 3 coats of the gunstock wax only (in between buffing with a cloth)
Night and day difference. Feels A W E S O M E.....



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rnolan

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Re: NGD: Ibanez RG1420F BHB Prestige 10th Anniv.
« Reply #5 on: Time Format »

Go SC !!, personally, a good nitro cellulose finish works for me, but I get where you coming from  :thumb-up:
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rnolan

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Re: NGD: Ibanez RG1420F BHB Prestige 10th Anniv.
« Reply #6 on: Time Format »

Hey SC, how's the new neck finish going ? I like the concept (I'm not fond of sticky necks) and I prefer unfinished finger boards (I like rosewood as it resists me a bit) but I've not played an oiled neck as in the way your doing it.
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Systematic Chaos

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Re: NGD: Ibanez RG1420F BHB Prestige 10th Anniv.
« Reply #7 on: Time Format »

Well, the neck finish is finished  ;D
And it turned out awesome. Compared it to the oiled/waxed neck of an EBMM JP6 and it feels almost the same.
I´ll do a side by side pic with a regular satin finished neck tomorrow.
Out of pure curiosity I also experimented some with a shim in the neck pocket. Not that the playability and setup weren´t great the way it was, but I thought there was some tiny room for improvement.....also inspired by some tech tips and tricks from Rich Harris´ www.ibanezrules.com
Instead of the factory shim as depicted in that thread (mine had none) and the folded paper or business card, I used a 0.3mm locking nut shim I found in my bits and pieces box. WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT!!! even though very thin and subtle, the improvement in terms of low action/no buzz is huge. I was also able to set the truss rod/neck relief almost straight.
Totally happy with the end result  :thumb-up:

You gotta try out an oiled/waxed neck..... Totally easy to DIY. About 2/3 are nicely explained in this Ernie Ball/Music Man Tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_he76aLykU
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Dante

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Re: NGD: Ibanez RG1420F BHB Prestige 10th Anniv.
« Reply #8 on: Time Format »

First of all, WOW! Nice axe, Man, really.

Second, I may have to try neck treatment that on (at least) one of my guitars. I only have my RG and my bass with bare necks, the rest are painted/stained/coated.

Really cool guitar  :thumb-up:

Systematic Chaos

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Re: NGD: Ibanez RG1420F BHB Prestige 10th Anniv.
« Reply #9 on: Time Format »

Some more DIY tutorial on neck finishing with Tru-Oil....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxRndnPEDic&feature=player_embedded
As mentioned above, I used a couple of coats of Tru-Oill before applying the Tru-Oil/Gunstock-Wax mix and then the pure Wax. Tru-Oil, when used exclusively, gives you a hard and durable finish but it's  almost the same feel wise as satin finish meets high gloss.
Workstep-wise I basically combined half the LMII tutorial and half the EBMM tutorial.....
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Systematic Chaos

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Re: NGD: Ibanez RG1420F BHB Prestige 10th Anniv.
« Reply #10 on: Time Format »

And here´s some side-by-side pics with a satin finished neck.....
Upper/left neck: USCRG Satin Finish
Lower/right neck: Prestige RG1420F BHB oiled/waxed





And string action..... 0.9mm on the high e (12th fret), 1.6mm on the low E (12th fret)
Ernie Ball RPS 10-46.....

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