Ibanez RG 570 - Japan

Talk about a guitar! This was made in Japan; year ’93. It is an RG 570. Ibanez still makes something like it, but not quite. This has a Wizard neck, Gotoh tuners, imitation DiMarzio pickups – V2 and V7, plus an S1 in the middle. 5 way switching. Floyd Rose tremolo. It never goes out of tune.

The problem is, I’m the world’s second worst guitar player. I used to think I was the worst until Guitar Center’s grand opening in Scottsdale. This guitar beaches at me everyday. It wants a rock god playing it, not a word jockey. Remember, this was the poor man’s Steve Vai guitar. Sold new for like $700.

Epiphone Del Rey

One of the most unusual and rare of all guitars made. A 24-fret Epiphone guitar made from late ‘90s to very beginning of 21^st Century. I’d love comments on production years for those who know, especially Gibson employees who could tell stories about this, and the Gibson double-cutaway, which is the same guitar at three to five times the price.

OBL pickups with distortion sound. I did not know until 2009, after nearly 10 years of having mine, that you can pull the tone knob and have single-rail, or Stratocaster, sound. I have a rare Ibanez RG 570 that plays two single rails, but has two humbuckers (can not be played at the same time as you can with Del Rey). Pulling the pot up on the Del Rey gives the Ibanez sound and I still have 24-frets like the RG 570. Wonderful.

What makes the Del Rey special is its finish. It has white binding, mahogany body, 24-fret rosewood fretboard with dot inlay, and a spectacular flame maple top. You can see by some of the photos how it reflects light, especially stage lights.

I’ve had this up on Ebay several times, but no one would pay the $500 I have in it. Since I found out about the push/pull feature, it has become one of my most used guitars. If anyone wants to donate a Gibson or Epiphone Les Paul case, I don’t have a case for this beauty.