Need help setting up new guitar

Hi guys,
I bought a new guitar - Ibanez RG 370 DX. I have a few questions related to setting it up. deathdr and chintan.. you both own these so please help. All suggestions are welcome.

First a little description, I got it from the US where it was ordered from an online music store(www.zzounds.com.) Strangely enough, it didn't come with any papers, no manuals etc. I had to download the online manual from the Ibanez site.

>> Shouldn't the guitar have come with a manual? This could be an error on the www.zzounds.com part. Does anybody else have a clue about this? Coz, then i'll have them send it to me.

The guitar had a "Made in Indonesia" tag. The finish is kinda inferior(though i don't know.. i mean, i havent handled many electrics.) I mean, it has a white wire showing next to the single coil pickup. Looks strange on a totally black guitar. It had a bunch of slight scratches near the pickup selector switch. Not discernible easily though. Though, I can't do anything about it now. I'll post pics later.

When the guitar came it's tremolo was pretty low and so the fat E string was touching the bridge pickups. I took it to the New Bharat Music House. And, after he apparently tried to overcharge me for the burnt adapter(see other thread) I had lost my faith in him. So, I asked him to fix up the guitar for playing as I didn't want to experiment on my own...kinda nervous. He says, "yeh to baitha hua hai, leave it with me overnight and collect it tom." It didnt look like a overnight job especially since it was just 3 P.M. and I just didnt trust the guy enough. So I brought it back and now I'm planning to do it on my own. I have read the online manual a couple of times and I need help on a few points. Forgive me if they sound too newbie-sh(i'm a newbie.)

>> Firstly, the manual says that the type of the bridge whether edge/edge pro would be mentioned on the bridge itself. I've checked carefully and it is not. Just a plain "Ibanez" engraved. Just checking..whether it's the same on your guitars too?

>> For increasing the string height I need to adjust the height of the tremolo system. In the manual it says "In the case of Edge and Lo-Pro Edge tremolos, the Pivot studs(B) are locked internally by the Stud lock screws(C). Always loosen the Stud lock screws (C) before tightening the Pivot studs(B)."(taken from https://www.ibanez.com/support/manuals/guitars_w-locking.pdf) Now I can figure out what Pivot studs are and I have gotten an allen key to turn them .. but I just dont know what those stud lock screws are and how do I loosen them.. any clue?

>> Nevertheless, I went ahead with raising the tremolo. Is there a limit to raising it high.. I raised it quite high still the fat E makes a buzzing sound. I wanted to ask whether there is a limit to my raising it or would the whole thing just come out or something if I continue raising it.

>> Am I missing something here? Could the truss rod need an adjustment?

>> When I'm raising the tremolo should I loosen the Pressure Pad Screw(to keep the strings in tune) or is it Ok otherwise too?

>> If the tremolo is slanted then is only the playability and the sound affected or could the tremolo be damaged too?

>> What is meant by intonation?

>> The tremolo arm(whammy bar) is completely smooth and has no bushings to hold it in place. When I put it in, the whammy bar goes down..doesnt stay in place like what it does in my friend's JS series Ibanez in which it has these grooves. Is it the same with you guys too?

>> Anything I should be aware of to prevent damage to the guitar and tips on maintaing it(different from the usual..coz I've read most of those.)

Thanks in advance..

 

I have attached the manual here. It is available for free download on the Ibanez website but I'm too lazy to search for it.

 

I've read the manual atleast thrice. That's the maintenance one.. there is another too and I've gone through that too. Still I'm not too clear about certain things which I've asked. Waiting for chintan and deathdr for replies..

 

I bought my RG370DX around September 2004 therefore it is the 2004 model unlike yours which is most probably the 2005 model; difference being that the 2005 series has the Edge III bridge and Infinity pickups while mine has an Egde II and some PowerSound pickups (which I have replaced with boutique pickups).

I'm not sure about the Indonesian manufacted RGs; mine in Korean made and the build quality is very good. I have dropped it a couple of times and the finish is still perfect.

Now onto your questions:

-> Your guitar has an Edge III bridge. Mine says 'Ibanez' on the back as well

-> The Stud Lock screws are under the tremolo. To get to it you have to remove the back plate. When I bought my guitar, the guitar tech told me to increase the action by just turning the pivot studs and not messing with anything else. I don't know if yours are tightened or not. Proceed at your own risk.

-> The tremolo will be unable to hold tune if it is not parallel to the body. Also doing whammy dives on a badly balanced tremolo unit may damage it.

-> I don't know how far you have raised it but generally even half a turn of the pivot stud shows some increase in the tremolo height for me. I don't think I have turned it for than a couple of turns since I bought it so I don't know if the tremolo comes loose if you start cranking.

-> DO NOT SCREW AROUND WITH THE TRUSS ROD IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!! I cannot emphasise this enough. You can permanently yes PERMANENTLY destroy your guitar if you adjust it incorrectly. Take it to an experienced guitar technician if you think the truss rod requires adjustment.

-> Typically, any adjustment you make to the bridge will throw your strings out of tune (even if only ever so slightly), so you will need to retune your strings later anyway.

-> In reference to guitar, intonation means ensuring that the 12th fret note and the 12th fret harmonic are exactly the same note. Generally intonation is set at the factory and does not need to be adjusted.

-> The RG370DX whammy is just a smooth bar. It does not need locking into place. Just slide it into the bridge and use.

My sincere advice to you would be to take the guitar to another shop (since the one you mentioned have cheated you) and get an action adjustment done. Then you can worry less about whether your instrument is adjusted properly or not and worry more about improving your playing. There is nothing worse than learning to play on a bad instrument.

 

Oye Sid..what the hell is "Is at the moment hating"?
BTW you're not getting Lamentations back

 

LOL^^^^ now I know why u were asking him to keep his amp at ur place :

 

: Good thing then I took your Dire Straits DVD as insurance. My dad almost tore open the box thinking it was the DVD case

EDIT: lol, I just realized that the two of you simply barged in and derailed this thread......SPAMMERS!!!!! :rule:

 

Thanks so much death_metal_fan. You've been a lot of help. I will tinker with the guitar a little more(wont touch the truss rod though) and if I can't make it work then will take it to a guitar technician.

 

@void- Dude please verify if the guitar is actually made in Indonesia or not. Because the RG370DX is only made in Korea. I hope ZZsounds has not made a mistake of shipping the wrong guitar. Please post the detailed pics of the pups, bridge, serial no. behind the head, fret board etc

Ok about setting up the floating bridge, I suggest you take it to a luthier. YOur first setup is the most important setup, there is absolutely no room for errors!! If you have no faith in the luthier or you want to do it yourself, just forward this link to him.

https://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/index.htm

Ps- I got this small booklet kinda thingy with my guitar which cannot be considered as a manual.- So relax!

 

I dont have the guitar with me right now.. so can't post its pics(will do that tom. night).. but it is most definitely the Ibanez RG 370 DX. It sports INF3 and 4 pickups. Behind the headstock it has written.. "Ibanex RG 370DX" and "Made in Indonesia". I was kinda disappointed too coz I read someplace here that the RG series is only made in Korea(and now you've said it in BOLD too.)

EDIT: Thanx for the link. Just reading it.. looks very informative.

 

I hope this aint a new development. Coz they might have shifted production from korea to indonesia in 2006. My guitar says made in korea!!

 

I got mine in Jan 06, and it says made in Korea too.

 

Then void will have to post pics

 

hi void...i have a japan made RG470dx on which i was having some tremolo and action problems but fixed them myself....
you can go to bhargavas but be ready for a heavy bill.....i am in noida...so if u are coming down there let me know...maybe i can help..i know the pain when you buy a new guitar and it isnt fine...

 

Dude, Ibanez has no manufacturing unit in Indonesia... Its very strange how yours has "made in Indonesia" on it !!! How much did you pay zzsounds.com for the guitar and how much customs did you pay???

 

i asked my sis whos in indonesia> they don get any Indonesian made ibanezs there >>

 

Here are the pics:

 

rust_in_pain
Thanks for the offer but I've managed to set it up myself.

rahulp
It's not necessary for them to have a manufacturing unit. Usually they lease out factories or something. There is a very interesting article regarding this over here: https://www.ibanezrules.com/namm/2005/index.htm

The pics should dispel doubts about whether its a RG 370DX or not. I also read on the link that Chintan gave[ibanezrules.com] that it doesnt matter if the tremolo is slanted or not. Mine is a bit. The guitar is playing good and I like it a lot. Maybe I was just disappointed initially because it sports a Made in Indonesia tag. I think Ibanez might have switched it's production to Indonesia after NAMM 2006. I've written them an email but no reply till now.

On a sidenote, I'm pretty satisfied with the guitar as I played it for a long time today for the first time.

*She* felt good.. And I've christened her "Maya".

:grin: Time for some :beer: :rockon:

EDIT: damn, I have again got the urge to hold her and gaze at her all over.

 

c'mon how can you be so harsh on Ibanez or v0id?

Ibanez and ALL the companies outsource the manufacturing to countries where cost of labor is less.

If Ibanez is a Japanese company, I will call even Korean ones FAKE!

 

I'm pretty sure they shifted their manufacturin of lower end models from Korea to Indonesia