This is another beauty of a guitar -- the Ibanez RG550 20th Anniversary Reissue.

As usual, I am biased and will first showcase the colour of the guitar that I actually own myself…

In 1987, rockers, heavy metal freaks and speed demons blasted the Ibanez RG550 into iconic status. With its super flat and super fast necks, double locking trems and superb pick ups, this guitar reached legendary status in a jiffy.

Now 20 years later in 2007, Ibanez released a very limited run of these beauties -- full remakes of the original RG550s. This guitar is completely accurate down to the tremolo although the neck has been improved on -- the original Wizard neck used to crack and warp so the reissues are given the Wizard Prestige neck which uses strengthening layers embedded into the neck.

There are only 1987 of these Ibanez RG550 20th Anniversary Reissues which has caused the original RG550s to jump heck of a lot in value. And with only a limited quantity of these babies reissued, these will surely be collector’s items as well…

These guitars come in ultra cool colours : Desert Yellow, Road Flare Red and of course, Black.

Since you have already seen the black up there, here are the other 2 colours:

Desert Yellow:

Road Flare Red:

What makes it even cooler is that these guitars come in their own matching hard cases. Take for example, the gorgeous Desert Yellow Ibanez RG550 20th Anniversary shown here:

And that’s not all folks, Ibanez has kindly packed matching RG 20th Anniversary guitar straps and picks into the whole package as well… Can everyone say Yowza!

Have a look at what the experts had to say about this guitar:

(Taken from Musician’s Friend)

The Ibanez RG550 20th Anniversary guitar features a slim, fast Wizard neck and a maple fretboard with 24 jumbo frets for easy leads and chording. The lightweight basswood body has a sculpted upper edge for comfort. The bridge is the original Edge tremolo with die-cast saddles. Pickups include Vintage 7 and 8 humbuckers framing a high-output single coil. 5-way switching provides a full range of instantly selectable sounds. The neck attaches with the original Tilt Plate joint.

Since 1987, the Ibanez RG has been the weapon of choice for visiting sonic mayhem on the metal masses. With the right choice of pickups, flat and fast necks and double-locking trems, the RG has divebombed and crunched its way to classic status. This 20th anniversary edition is extremely faithful to the RG550 that started it all, born out of Ibanez’s quest for originality in the world of electric guitars and the requests of artists who play heavy rock and metal.

20 years later, the RG is still one of the most highly sought after guitars for artists wanting pickups and pickup placement providing the hard-edged cutting tone needed for heavy rock, the fast necks needed for face-melting solos, drop-dead good looks and top-shelf electronics and hardware.

The 20th Anniversary RG550 is sure to become a collector’s item, and you can make it yours for less than you might expect. Ibanez sweetens the deal by including a special RG20th hard shell case, special strap and pick in colors matching the RG550 you choose.

Ibanez RG550 20th Anniversary Electric Guitar Features:

• Slim, fast Wizard neck
• Maple fretboard
• Jumbo frets for easy leads and chording
• Lightweight basswood body with upper edge sculpted for comfort
• Floyd Rose-licensed Edge tremolo with die-cast saddles
• Pickups include Vintage 7 and 8 humbuckers framing a high-output single coil
• 5-way switching for a full range of instantly selectable sounds

Ibanez RG550 20th Anniversary Electric Guitar Includes:

• Special RG20th hardshell case, special strap, pick in colors matching guitar

Click on the above link to have a read of some reviews found on Musician’s Friend as well.

Another cool site : The Ibanez RG20th Guitar Registry. Here, proud owners of this beautiful Ibanez can register their guitars by serial number (there are, only 1987 of these in the world) and post up their pics for all the world to see.

And lastly, if you’re still not convinced, here are more reviews of the Ibanez RG550 20th Anniversary Reissue here at Harmony Central.

Okok, here’s an extra bonus for you guys… A vid of Paul Gilbert introducing the Ibanez RG550 20th Anniversary Reissue for Ibanez when it was first launched…

<Look at some other cool stuff at 33 Rebels>

Play this guitar? Or just have something to say about it? Let other readers know what you think by leaving a comment below!

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