Hi folks,
I’m finally looking around to buy a JEM but I see a lot of RG550s around at nice prices and was wondering…
Does anyone have an opinion on whether an RG550 measures upto a JEM in terms of playability ?
@Fossegrim I know you have a few RGs that you customised do you think a JEM is worth the money ?
Thanks for the advice in advance.
This is just my opinion on guitars in general, but assuming it’s a decent manufacturer, even the cheapest guitars will have great playability after a setup. My go-to example is squier strat vs low $ strat vs $$$ strat. The price tiers correlate to fancier electronics and finishes, with marginal increases in playability.
@gabrielthorn has a JEM or 2 I think?
I think you’re right @Pepepicks66 and that’s why I love my squier that I’ve had for years.
It’s a Korean 1988 model so not a great quality build but I just love it. It took me a while to set it up right though, mainly because I couldn’t admit to myself that I didn’t know what I was doing. The pickups are shocking when playing at high volumes but it sounds fine at low volumes so I don’t really wanna swap them out, it may have some crappy electronics but at least it’s the original electronics from 1988 haha.
I know deep down that a decent RG will be just as good as a JEM, I just find it hard to accept after craving a JEM for so many years.
I honestly would do these two things in no particular order although two is the most important and maybe the least attainable for some:
1: Buy the guitar you want
2: play before you buy if you can
Personally having owned both, there isn’t a lot of difference between a 550, and a one of the higher end Jem’s. They are both fujigen Japanese models and are functionally identical except for a few cosmetic things and the electronics. So it depends if those cosmetic things are worth it to you and worth the extra couple of grand in price minus the cost in pickups.
Honestly go with what you want. You will always wonder other wise. Personally I like pretending I have my own custom model.
Ok thanks mate, for sure I will always wanna play a guitar before handing over any money. I bought a new Ibanez Iceman years ago without having played one ever… and I hated it… lesson learned.
I guess you’re right , if I get an RG I’ll still be thinking about a JEM even if the RG is great.
I always hated the JEM grip handle cutout tho, the PIA grip is much more stylish so maybe I’ll save up a bit more and get a PIA. I don’t know, some of the JEMs colour schemes are so nice.
Very hard to decide, I’ll keep procrastinating. I guess I can always buy something and sell it again without losing out too much anyway if needs be.
Well I don’t think there’s any real need to procrastinate, it sounds like you generally know what you want, but there’s also no need to pull the trigger until you find the one.
As an aside and kind of related to what @Pepepicks66 said, one of my best playing guitars and the one everybody seems to love every time I have people over demo’ing stuff is a used Malaysian RG471 I bought for $150. Just has some after market pickups in it, but that’s it. No other magic.
I don’t think you could go wrong with the RG550. I love the yellow one, it looks amazing. I’m not a fan of the neck of my PIA though, it’s way too thin.
Ibanez and thin necks are like peas and carrots
Marshall Harrison swears by RG550s, he is always recommending them to his chat on his livestreams 
I’m thinking of buying one actually, wish they still made the ones in Arctic White but sadly they were a limited run!
@gabrielthorn I guess compared to your LP the PIA neck will feel very skinny.
I play my V quite often and tbh it’s too wide for my little hands, so something thin is what I need. The strat neck is deeper than an Ibanez wizard neck as well I think.
Thanks for the advice anyway guys, I think I will go to a big guitar store and try out a couple of JEMs and RGS. … then probably go and buy something used haha.
I personally tend to like necks with a bit more mass, and I think that is my biggest complaints with the 570/1570’s and the Jackson’s I have. That 471 I talked about earlier has beefier neck, and that might be why I like it.
I’m with @Fossegrim here.
In theory, the difference in playability between a good Japanese-made RG550 (or Prestige or J-Custom RG), and a Japanese made JEM is going to be pretty slight. At the prestige or better line you might get a ltitle more attention to the fretwork, but both are going to be great guitars, and a RG with a pickup swap from the V7/V8 set to something a little nicer is a very serious guitar.
That said… if you’re going to be more jazzed to go pick up that JEM off your stand, than a equivalently well made RG, simply because it’s a JEM… then it’s worth the extra money. Buy the one you’re going to play the most.
I have a pair of RGs, a RG550RFR with obnoxious green dimarzios and yellow knobs just to have an obnoxious 80s guitar in the arsenal, and a RG3120TW with a mahogany body and flamed maple top with a very pretty trans teal finish that I kinda intended to sell after buying my mahogany/maple topped Suhr Modern 6 but haven’t gotten around to it just because it really is a very different sounding guitar - darker and smoother than the Suhr, and the other RG as well, and because I just haven’t wanted to deal with it. They’re both awesome guitars. I never really had a love affair with a JEM so I don’t think I’d replace either with one, but you do so your mileage may vary.
I also struggle with the thinner neck, but it’s a lot of fun for short periods of time, and I’m in less than $500 for each guitar, I think, so I don’t mind the fact that they’re not “regular” players for me.