Reuniting with an old friend

[Lublin]

I owned a few electrics during my teen years. My first electric ever was smashed by my dad in a fit of rage (wasn't fond of music or the music I was playing), my second was a partscaster which has disappeared (probably parted it out along the way), and my third and staple guitar throughout my high school bands was an all black/maple made in Japan mid 90's Ibanez RG550 which my mother bought me as a gift. That guitar was with me through a lot of shows and I relic'ed it the natural way. It and I went everywhere together.

I really miss that guitar and, after asking around, I was able to track it down to one of my high school friends. It turns out he still has it and offered to sell it back for $250. Going up there today to snag it back and never let it go again. SO excited to be with an old friend again!

Pics and story in post #7

[concerto25]

Good for you, man! Looking forward to the pics!

[Jon Silberman]

I know what you mean! Here's me with my bar mitzvah (1970) present (Tom Gross to the far left, Phil Jacoby in the middle).

[whiteop]

I still have an old 71 Strat that has been with me everywhere. Owned it since 81. That's a long time.

[JohnnyGtar]

Back when I became disabled and was going through a rough spell financially, I sold a guitar that I absolutely loved to a friend of mine. 3 years later, she stopped by the house and gave it back to me. I'll never sell it again. Hell, I won't even it loan it to anybody!

[JRicoC]

Originally Posted by Lublin

I owned a few electrics during my teen years. My first electric ever was smashed by my dad in a fit of rage (wasn't fond of music or the music I was playing)...

It's great to hear you're getting the back your old guitar, but that first part sounds like it should be followed by "Well, I stood stone-like at midnight" ...

[Lublin]

Originally Posted by JRicoC

It's great to hear you're getting the back your old guitar, but that first part sounds like it should be followed by "Well, I stood stone-like at midnight" ...

It was quite the scene. Burned into my memory forever. Gotta love strict Eastern-European parents. On a better note, my father and I are very close now and he's warmed up to my musician status considerably.

Well, I picked it up yesterday! It's a 1997 model with V7, S1, and V8 pickups, Super Wizard neck, and Ibanez Edge locking tremolo. I remembered all the wear it had undergone by my hand, but I wasn't ready for the neglect it had undergone since then. The fretboard was gunked with filth, frets were corroded, Ibanez Edge tremolo screws were crazy rusted, it had about 1/8th of gunk on the body, and the action was really high (truss needs some attention). Paid my buddy $260, BS'ed for a little, and went home to start the clean up

I took the tremolo apart completely and cleaned everything I could with Scotchbrite to remove the rust. I did what I could (not bad at all), oiled everything, and reassembled the trem. I then blasted the scratchy pots with contact cleaner which did the trick wonderfully - as good as new. Finally I went to work polishing the frets with steel wool and cleaning the gunk off of the body and fretboard. What a friggin' mess! Came out good with the exception of a ding in the 24th fret. Luckily I rarely, if at all, play that high up. The tremolo arm holder was broken so I ordered a new one along with a 7mm wrench to adjust the trussrod since I don't have one. I strung it up and it plays awesome with the exception of the action being a bit high. The pickups are a bit bland but I don't think I'll change them out. I'm going to try to keep this one just as I used it when I was a teen.

Here are some pics on a dreary NJ morning. She's not the prettiest girl, but she's been a really fun ride.

[germs]

i want to see "before" pics!

also - your trem is a tad high

[Lublin]

Originally Posted by germs

i want to see "before" pics!

also - your trem is a tad high

I didn't know how to set up a locking trem then and I don't know how to set one up now! Any pointers?

I didn't snap any before pics because I was on such a B-line to my workbench to start the clean up work. Trust me when I say it was gross.

[monty]

"It was quite the scene. Burned into my memory forever. Gotta love strict Eastern-European parents. On a better note, my father and I are very close now and he's warmed up to my musician status considerably."

LOL, same story here, Euro parents and all.
We should start a "Guitars our Dads smashed" thread.

[nwobhm_uk]

Cool story, nothing better than an axe from your past.

(I found this really helpful.......http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/index.htm)

[Lublin]

Originally Posted by nwobhm_uk

Cool story, nothing better than an axe from your past.

(I found this really helpful.......http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/index.htm)

Thanks and thanks! I'll reference that link when I get home and begin tinkering again.

[sixesandsevens]

I love the neck stripe.

Congrats!

[A440]

If it has the original Edge trem (most old 550's do), then I might have some parts for you including a trem arm, and extra bushings.

[Lublin]

Originally Posted by A440

If it has the original Edge trem (most old 550's do), then I might have some parts for you including a trem arm, and extra bushings.

Thanks - I'll keep that in mind! I have the original trem arm with bushings, just the trem arm holder, which screws into the trem, was overtightened by someone and cracked. I have a new one on the way from Ibanezrules.com.