Hey guys Im in the market for buying a new guitar and I have always loved the Randy Rhodes gutiars. I am looking to buy one and I want one with a tremolo so I have been looking at the RR3. I would buy a RR1, but I dont have $2000 to spend so the RR3 seems like a more cost efficient alternative. In the tremolo series RR3's that I have played I have noticed that the back of the necks are just solid wood color, with no finish or paint, and I have always had guitars with painted/gloss back necks so I am a bit more comfortable with one. The one that I played was a Crimson swirl so it would be harder to have the color painted on the neck, so I was wondering if you guys knew of any RR3's made with painted necks.

I was also looking to hear how any of you who have owned/played or had experience with one liked it. Does the tremolo hold up, and how do the Seymour's compare to an EMG or Seymours? Does the guitar hold tune, and how well does it handle drop tunings (I like to play drop C a lot, but also play D Standard, Drop D and E Standard).

Thanks for any input!

just a heads up, i've never owned one, but i really like the RR model, the problem i have with them is over the years, and depending on the model, the RR varies quite widely in quality, in my experience. some of the RR's were great guitars, and some that i've played were real bombs in one way or another.

my suggestion is that you go to as many stores as you can, and play as many of the different RR's you can find in your price range. take your time with it, i wouldn't just choose a model, and then go look for that particular model, sit down with what you can find and play it first.

lastly, most Jacksons have unfinished knecks, as far as i recall, from what i've played.








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One can make a useful thing as long as one does not admire it. The only reason to make something which is not useful is that one admires it intensely. -Oscar Wilde

The RR1 features neck thru construction hence the painted neck. The RR3 is a bolt on and to the best of my knowledge no Jackson bolt on has a painted neck, but I could be wrong. The bolt on necks do have a smooth clear satin finish and feel very fast imo.








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The SHERD Shop - Where the SHERDERS shop

as for the pickups ...
which Duncans are in it ?

good old Seymore Duncan makes a pickup for almost every need.

lots of folks love EMG's , lots of folks love Duncans ,Dimarzio's, ect...it all depends on what YOU like.

they all make high quality pickups.

do the research and find what will work the best for you.








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"That is not dead which can eternal lie
.... Yet with strange aeons even death may die"


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chuck wrote:

as for the pickups ...
which Duncans are in it ?

good old Seymore Duncan makes a pickup for almost every need.

lots of folks love EMG's , lots of folks love Duncans ,Dimarzio's, ect...it all depends on what YOU like.

they all make high quality pickups.

do the research and find what will work the best for you.

Well I have a set of EMG's in my EC-1000 right now and I love them, they give great sound. I haven't had much experience with Seymour Duncan's. I played the guitar through a Hughes and Kettner half stack at first and then plugged it into a 6505 and it sounded great. Through the Hughes and Kettner it sounded good, but when I worked up the fretboard to higher notes it began to break up and sound very unclear, it didn't however on the 6505. The guitar felt very nice to me, neck felt smooth felt quite light and the action was pretty nice for a floor model guitar at Guitar Center, but the strings on it had definitely seen their better days. The only real thing that felt different to me was the back of the neck where it was unpainted, but it really didn't seem like it would be a huge burden, it would just take some getting used to.

The pickups consist of a Seymour Duncan JB TB4 in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan Jazz SH2N. Since my other guitar has EMG's, I plan to use the Duncan's for a good bit of clean sounds, but It will also see plenty of distortion other times. My only other concern is the Trem. The RR3 has a Floyd Rose Licensed Trem made by Jackson. It actually felt pretty nice for the time I was able to play it, but have any of you had experience with a Jackson Licensed Trem? If so did you like them and are they at all comparable to a real Floyd Rose?

that set of Duncans should be great for most things....a great choice.

i dont know much about the current Jackson vibrato bridges ....but years ago they were made by Schaller ,and were good quality bridges.

i would go with the neck thru ....they are far better guitars.
perhaps you could get a used neck thru for the price of a new bolt on ?








_________________
"That is not dead which can eternal lie
.... Yet with strange aeons even death may die"


proud member of G.A.U.P , and C.G.A.A

chuck wrote:

that set of Duncans should be great for most things....a great choice.

i dont know much about the current Jackson vibrato bridges ....but years ago they were made by Schaller ,and were good quality bridges.

i would go with the neck thru ....they are far better guitars.
perhaps you could get a used neck thru for the price of a new bolt on ?

Yeah I will look into that, because if it is a Schaller that would suit me just fine.

Well for the Bolt-on I'm looking at about $600-$700 range new, whereas the Set neck RR1 is around $1800-$2200 new. I've looked in Ebay a few times and there haven't been many to see, but the ones I have seen are all San Dimas made gutiars that sell for Retail or even more. The cheapest I think I have seen a set neck RR1 go for is $1300. As for the other set necks, Jackson makes an RR5 which is very nice, but lacks the one thing that I was really wanting to get on the guitar, a tremolo. I have had a few Bolt-on guitars that I love, my old Peavey T-60 sitting over in the corner was made in 1978 and is heavier than a real Les Paul. The guitar has never seen a mechanic to be set up or anything and is often picked up by the neck (where it has 40 lbs of weight being pulled by the neck) and still sits straight as an arrow with and amazingly low action. For classic rock or blues a T-60 is a monster, if anyone ever runs across one cheap I would definitely recommend it.

oh....there is nothing wrong with bolt neck guitars....i have a few myself.
but i think the neck thru Jacksons are far better quality....of course they cost a lot more

i looked around at neck thru Jackons , and you are right ! ...there arent much in the way of great deals on them.

the price does make the bolt ons look a whole lot better








_________________
"That is not dead which can eternal lie
.... Yet with strange aeons even death may die"


proud member of G.A.U.P , and C.G.A.A

chuck wrote:

oh....there is nothing wrong with bolt neck guitars....i have a few myself.
but i think the neck thru Jacksons are far better quality....of course they cost a lot more

i looked around at neck thru Jackons , and you are right ! ...there arent much in the way of great deals on them.

the price does make the bolt ons look a whole lot better

Thats for sure, $700 seems like a lot better hit from the wallet than $2000. I am not in a huge hurry to buy, so I plan to sit back and see what deals I see going around, and keep researching the RR series guitars while waiting.

munit wrote:

chuck wrote:

oh....there is nothing wrong with bolt neck guitars....i have a few myself.
but i think the neck thru Jacksons are far better quality....of course they cost a lot more

i looked around at neck thru Jackons , and you are right ! ...there arent much in the way of great deals on them.

the price does make the bolt ons look a whole lot better

Thats for sure, $700 seems like a lot better hit from the wallet than $2000. I am not in a huge hurry to buy, so I plan to sit back and see what deals I see going around, and keep researching the RR series guitars while waiting.

smart way to approach it my friend....smart indeed.








_________________
"That is not dead which can eternal lie
.... Yet with strange aeons even death may die"


proud member of G.A.U.P , and C.G.A.A

hey.....here is a KILLER neck thru Randy Rhodes V for a grand.

these Ibanez ProLines are fantastic guitars.

check it out.

http://tinyurl.com/2d5sd6








_________________
"That is not dead which can eternal lie
.... Yet with strange aeons even death may die"


proud member of G.A.U.P , and C.G.A.A

the white rr5 has always been my fav, but the v body style clashes with my preferences and physique

it's enckthru, it's the white v with the black pin stripes and gold hardware, no trem, but gorgeous...

comes with SDs

my other guitarist is getting that very model, it never disappoints

and they use schaller aprts? i thought it was authentic Floyd Roses, not the licensed ones...

i was talking about years ago ....Charvel Jackson replaced the T6 licensed floyd vibrato with a Schaller made unit ...i forget Jacksons name/number for it.

this would have been in 1989 /90 ...somewhere in there.

the T6 had the fine tuners pointing straight back , the Schaller had the fine tuners pointing up , more like a true floyd.

i have no idea what the used after that.

sorry for the confusion.








_________________
"That is not dead which can eternal lie
.... Yet with strange aeons even death may die"


proud member of G.A.U.P , and C.G.A.A

chuck wrote:

hey.....here is a KILLER neck thru Randy Rhodes V for a grand.

these Ibanez ProLines are fantastic guitars.

check it out.

http://tinyurl.com/2d5sd6

That guitar looks sweet. I will keep an eye on it. I'm waiting for just a bit to make a purchase, so hopefully it stays around.

munit wrote:

chuck wrote:

hey.....here is a KILLER neck thru Randy Rhodes V for a grand.

these Ibanez ProLines are fantastic guitars.

check it out.

http://tinyurl.com/2d5sd6

That guitar looks sweet. I will keep an eye on it. I'm waiting for just a bit to make a purchase, so hopefully it stays around.

never seen one of those... didn't even know they made them