Saving the Ibanez RG350DX to playability again...

[@dpajc056]

People please! To remove the two studs, first remove the inner post, then put a small wooden dovel inside, put the post back in, and keep screwing it in. As it screws in, the outer stud will keep rising up (there's a hole at the bottom of the stud). That's the easiest and safest way to remove them.

[@jukka9333]

Thanks for the tip!

[@cajunboy2k]

I like to see people using a hand drill vs a press. It shows that if you're careful enough, you don't need a drill press. Great work.

[@jukka9333]

Yes, got to be very careful though. Thanks for your comment!

[@anxose]

Congratulations..you have a new ibanez RG..and more confortable!

[@jukka9333]

Yes thanks. Way better now.

[@ubisuccle]

I've been doing something similar for a 2017 RG450 EX. I noticed a host of issues installing the gotoh bridge. The trem arm socket is too long and hits the body causing the trem to come off of the posts. one of the corners, was hitting the wood edge of the trem cavity as well as the pickguard, so I had to do some filing. 3 of the string locking screws would hit the body so I had to change them to shorter ones. This is not to mention the fitment issues I had changing the electronics out. I had to lower the control cavity by like a quarter inch to be able to fit the new wiring, and push/pull pots. Also the Dimarzio Pickups I ordered didn't initially fit the pickup routes so I had to do yet more filing. For the amount of time and money I spent working on this damn thing I could've bought a JEM7V and come out ahead

[@jukka9333]

Too bad you had so much trouble with the guitar. On the other hand these mods teach a lot, make us do things we don´t have experience of and make us search for advice from people who have done these things and have solutions. I am doing these setups and mods using less expensive instruments. That way there is no major risk for a big wreck... Did you get all done with the guitar?

[@ubisuccle]

@@jukka9333 Its been a solid learning experience, much more so than I would have if I only maintained the guitar. I got fairly decent at soldering as a result of this too. So long term it's been beneficial. I didn't do it on a super cheap guitar, I think I paid $450 for it preowned but I didn't have any sentimental attachment to it. I also didn't drill out the old posts like you did, rather I made the standard floyd rose posts work so I wasn't afraid of catastrophic failure. I may have a luthier do that in the future though. The issue is that everything adds up price wise. $400 on pickups, $150 on the Gotoh, $130 for locking tuners (unnecessary but a QOL change) $100 on switches and pots; plus another $200 or so on supplies like solder, wires, shielding paint, sand paper, and so on. RIght now its 95% complete. I burnt out the volume pot because of the sheer amount of thigns grounded to the side of it. I was able to play it briefly before the pot died and it sounded good. Its likely that i'll redo all of the soldering because my wire management was atrocious. but I also did cram a lot of stuff into a small area. I think i'll call it the "Ornary Bitch" because of how many times something in its design has set me back lol

[@jukka9333]

@@ubisuccle almost done! Money wise, the parts you invest in the guitar unfortunately do not increase the value 1:1. But if it is a keeper, and you can afford it, great! What comes to soldering, use a good station and keep the tip hot enough. Good luck!

[@ubisuccle]

​@@jukka9333Its unfourtionate, but I wasn't really planning on reselling the guitar at a later date. As far as the soldering iron, it gets the job done and heats up quickly, large joints can be a bit of an issue though. But i can make it work without too much trouble, I just need to use more of the tip's surface area.

[@POLLOTROM]

Like ten years ago I bought a used Ibanez RBM 10 with a Lo-TRS and I wanted a original floyd. I tried to do it myself but when I realized that I had to change the studs I looked for professional help (because is a rare guitar hard to find). Time after this happened, I realized he didn't do a good job, the 6th string at the 22 fret was at the side edge of the fretboard. I still have it and am looking for a real professional to do it.

[@jukka9333]

Sorry to hear that someone has screwed the positioning of the trem. But it is fixable by a pro luthier. Hope that job didn´t cost you too much. the Ibanez RBM 10 is quite a rare piece of artwork, never seen one for sale here in Finland.

[@warlock1663]

Hell dude, I thought you did a good job playing that! Glad the guitar worked out.

[@jukka9333]

Thank you very much...one of my all time favorite bands VH.

[@tankuxslol998]

Perfect!!!! Im doing the same upgrade with a edge zero 2 (soo weak bridge) i have soo many problems i hope the gotoh makes my guitar more stable

[@jukka9333]

Great! Gotoh is my number one choice for its reasonable price and very high quality. It will make your life easier if you are careful about the post drilling process and a proper setup. Good luck!

[@lazyguitarAF]

No bro don't, making a clearance for the bridge might seem easy but once the wood cracks, you're done for. Also Edge Zero 2 is one of the most stable bridges on the market.

[@iamnotpaulavery]

Aren't the blades on the Edge zero 2 replaceable? And if not, just find an authorized ibanez dealer and buy a replacement for all the parts you need.

[@robbiestingle7640]

Nice save on that crack! Good work!

[@jukka9333]

Thanks

[@robbiestingle7640]

I also appreciate the hand tightening of the neck screws. After seeing Eddie running a drill bit across several bodies on the assembly table, I always use a screwdriver! It's etched forever in my memory.

[@mr.timebombman2230]

One could always just get a pair of Floyd rose bushings separately would fit in there with no problem and no milling out. I used the ones that usually come with the original Floyd or 1000 series. Drop right in.

[@jukka9333]

Definitely safer and easier way!

[@TarynnElizabeth619]

@@jukka9333 actually, no, the Floyd rose ones don’t fit right. I also did the same thing with my RG 350 DX. Here is a link to my finished video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIPHc2eCqKd0oaMsi=lbomT-MwU3t-h1y3

[@jukka9333]

Good info, thanks for the link!

[@grmelectric6826]

Yea sloppy playing 😎 sounds awesome! Never had a locking trem, thinking of picking up an rg370dx. I assume there may be issues with it. Thanks for the video. Can you give me an idea of what to look for when I get the guitar, as far as parts that are worn that create the issues in the stock trems. TIA

[@jukka9333]

The trems on these are usually cheaper ones. But that does not mean there should be issues with them. I just bought a Pegasus, entry level Ibanez, but that guitar stays in tune really well. Played a gig last week with it, was raining heavily, we were outside, obviously not in direct rain but during the two hours of playing I didn't have to tune it once. You really can't tell how the trem keeps tune before it is properly set up. Usually knife edges and posts suffer after time. It is a good practise to lube all moving parts with sewing machine oli regularly.

[@jasonbrown6774]

Hi there What size drill bit did u use to boar out the old post holes?

[@ranman58635]

Neck through is maple so no weak points.

[@bobsguitarmods]

You did it! Good job, I recently installed new studs from my Lo-Pro as my Jem 555 came with a Edge 3 and those studs do not work. After I drilled the hole bigger, my studs just slipped in snug, Did you use a 11mm bit?

[@jukka9333]

I did use a 10mm bit, simply because I don´t have the 11mm available. That´s why I struggled with the studs... but now everything is ok. More work though.

[@bobsguitarmods]

@@jukka9333 fair mate, I went and bought a 11mm and it got the job done :D

[@jukka9333]

@@bobsguitarmods great!

[@lowkeystarlord9545]

Nice install I’m going to do the sam to my jem Jr hopefully I don’t fuck up wish me luck 🤞🏾

[@jukka9333]

Good luck! Take it easy and drill the holes straight! It´s going to be worth the upgrade!

[@lowkeystarlord9545]

@@jukka9333 I fucked up 😢 got 2 big holes in my guitar might try to fix it myself to expensive to get professionally done and if that doesn’t work I’ll buy a new body

[@jukka9333]

@@lowkeystarlord9545 Sorry to hear that you have f**ked up. What went wrong?

[@lowkeystarlord9545]

@@jukka9333 so I got the wrong drill bit couldn’t find any other ones and used a wood boring one and the hole is big and today my new pick guard for the guitar came in and now I’m afraid it’ll have to go to waste for now but on the other hand I found a jem Jr body but it yellow and I would have to sand and paint it and buy the body and money is kinda tight so I guess I’ll try fixing it

[@jukka9333]

@@lowkeystarlord9545 Get some suitable dowels, put wood glue in the holes and hammer the dowels in, Let dry and starting with small drill bits, drill the holes again. You can do it!

[@Peterplayingguitar]

Great video. Thanks for posting.

[@jukka9333]

Thank you for watching, Peter!

[@robvandermolen6767]

Hey Mate, great job, and: no need to apologise for the play; on this sick abnormal World "managed" by psychos, there are people to enjoy their lives ( from our pockets) and the majority ones who must work for them. If you work 12 hrs a day, or more obviously you have no time for your own life

[@jukka9333]

Thanks Rob!

[@MauricioCaran]

Gotoh Floyd Rose is much better than Original Floyd Rose. I have both and I love the gotoh

[@jukka9333]

@@MauricioCaran the price/value is great on Gotoh.

[@defpaes]

Good work. I have an ibanez 350 Dx, 1999, lo-pro tremolo II bridge. I want to switch to GOTOH. Which Gotoh model did you use? Block and Nut?

[@jukka9333]

Welcome onboard defpaes! I used GE1996T, the package contains all you need, except that I left the original nut in place because it was easier that way.

[@someoneelse101]

That Gotoh bridge is radiused to 12" and the fretboard is radiused usually to 16" on a lot of Ibanez guitars. Did you need to shim the saddles or fine tune the action and were shims provided with the trem?

[@jukka9333]

Hi, I did not need to do anything. There were a few shims in the package, saved them for later use...

[@someoneelse101]

@@jukka9333 OK. Maybe that board was already a 12"?

[@jukka9333]

@@someoneelse101 Possibly...

[@chocolaa-p2689]

Actually the ge1996t is radiused to 14 inch by default from the factory and while that isn’t exactly 16 inches, it is close enough to not cause too much issues if you’re not trying to get very crazy low action and you could always shim up the saddles since gotoh sells shims for the gotohs

[@brandonjackson5865]

Nice I don’t know why anyone messes with FR special, 1000, or even an original when you can get a 1996T for less than 150 . Gotoh makes the Ibanez edge tremolos and I think their better than FR original but it’s personal preference but no doubt the 1996 T is better than the lower end Floyd’s any other licensed FR besides an Edge Original or Edge Lo Pro. I have a 95 RG550LTD with an edge lo pro . I’m not sure what the RG350 came with stock but I think it was a cheaper version of the edge trems?

[@jukka9333]

Yes, Gotoh is a very good trem. This rg350 came with Edge III.

[@GuitarLessonsMadeEasy]

It’s the best trem imo

[@jukka9333]

Agree

[@ep4953]

Hello and thank you for this great video! I do have a question since I'd like to replace an edge pro 2. One of the anchors starts getting a bit loose although there is a bar between them and I'd like to fit in some gotoh-anchors and bolts.The "level" the edge pro 2's posts are installed, is 3mm below the level of other Ibanez Trems I know since the space between the strings and the plate is larger on the edge pro 2. So that is why I am thinking about filling up that extra space with some hard wood, instead of just leaving the bolts out a bit higher. What do you think about it? Is it worth the effort (I'd ask a luthier to do that) or would you not care about it? In case of replacing it, I think the gap created by taking out the bar that connects the edge pro 2's anchors should be filled or something.

[@jukka9333]

You have a problem there. The higher the posts from the studs and body, the harder the tension is for the posts to resist the pull. It may be a good idea to strengthen the shelf with maple or something hard to get the posts deeper. I found a good example of this problem, someone has made a vid of the similar repair. Check it out. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5y3k2icfdRketU

[@ep4953]

@@jukka9333 thank you very much for yor quick answer, although I do not understand why the anchors should touch the bottom. Will ask him :)

[@jukka9333]

@@ep4953 yep, good luck with your project!

[@ep4953]

@@jukka9333 thank you, same for you on your projects :)

[@jukka9333]

@@ep4953 Thanks!

[@lore5363]

Hi, good job. I have a 2010 one (same of yours I think): what Gotoh 1996T have you used? (brass height, I mean: the model in the video seems too hight). Thanks in advance.

[@jukka9333]

The block is 40mm and you are probably right, the block might have been too tall for that guitar. Anyway, it worked just fine.

[@lore5363]

@@jukka9333 thanks for your answer. Only one last question:to use the gotoh without issues (because of the 4omm height brass block) are you obliged to use the guitar without the springs rear cover? Thanks in advance.

[@jukka9333]

@@lore5363 Hi! I personally get rid of the back plates anyway, and since I don"t have that guitar anymore, I can"t check that. Sorry!

[@lore5363]

​@@jukka9333 many thanks for your answer: you're kery kind.

[@jukka9333]

@@lore5363 No problem!

[@mamifero.efimero]

what is the right block height?

[@jukka9333]

This was 40mm, a little too tall for this guitar but it played ok.

[@jermsworms]

I’ve heard 36mm or 33mm

[@dingo2083]

what size drill bit did you use?

[@jukka9333]

@@dingo2083 it was 10mm, the largest I had. The post is about 11mm if I remember correctly. I think you should drill the holes a little bit under 11mm anyway to ensure tight fit.

[@dingo2083]

@@jukka9333 I just finished the job ended up using a 7/16th bit and the inserts still felt snug. My Ibanez wasnt as lucky as yours to have a good cavity for it though I had to do some extra trimming to widen the cavity a bit.

[@jukka9333]

​@@dingo2083ok, you had the job done anyway?

[@dingo2083]

@@jukka9333 yeah just traced the trem where it was interfering with the cavity. Then used a Dremel and sanded to the lines I traced.

[@jukka9333]

@@dingo2083 Great, it is coming together bit by bit!

[@anxose]

how do you feel the tension and the wammy Mr Jukka?

[@jukka9333]

I did not intall the Gotoh strings for a reason that they felt very stiff and the screws were already as much out as possible. The tension is firm but not too stiff.

[@davyxxx9761]

i have 2 rg 350 one is blacck and the other is white, 3 years ago in put 2 schaller tremolo lockmeister, 10mm inserts,it works wonderfully, you must first drill with a 9.5mm drill bit ,then a little with the 10 mm, and put wood glue around;replacing the edge 3 of course .

[@jukka9333]

Nice pair and great job! Quality parts.

[@someoneelse101]

Which tremolo did you replace on the RG?

[@derusmares9508]

Would it be possible to use the ORF studs instead of the gotoh to prevent drilling? Also what is the difference in the stud screw material between a ge1996t and a standard DL?

[@jukka9333]

It could be, but the "radius" of the OFR studs are not the same as Gotoh ones, it could be better to change the studs to Gotoh also. That is what I did.

[@Im.unknownn]

no me decido entre una ibanez rg350dxz y una RG370AHMZ ¿cual es mejor?

[@jukka9333]

They look very similar spec wise, so hard to tell. 350dxz has a meranthi body, 370ahmz has ash body. That is a difference I found...

[@pedroroggla8129]

what the hell are those golden thin metal sheets?

[@jukka9333]

They are shims under the locking nut, you can adjust the nut height with these if needed.

[@brayan_lopes]

I have an Rg250dx. images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--Y5ZNt2MN--/a_0/f_auto,t_large/v1683481733/r1mazniqeuzh7qx7goho.jpg Looks similar to this one but the bridge hole is smaller. How much work would I need to do be able to install a Gotoh like yours? I can adjust the size like you did in 5:12 but I don't have a drill for the holes. Do you think I can skip that part?

[@jukka9333]

You probably would have to do the same things I did, and the Gotoh tremolo posts are larger in diameter than the Edge ones, if you don't have a drill you would have to enlarge the post holes manually.

[@brayan_lopes]

@@jukka9333 Thanks for the tip!

[@brayan_lopes]

@@jukka9333 Actually, mine doest have a edge bridge. Its one of those cheap licenced ones that usually come in the low budget guitars.

[@jukka9333]

@@brayan_lopes np

[@jasonbrown6774]

@@jukka9333what size drill bit did u use to boar out the old post holes?

[@mustafatb7286]

Witch song is this it looks like van halens style

[@jukka9333]

Yea it is Everybody Wants Some...from album Women And Children First.

[@yurifreirasm]

What is The block’s size used in this guitar?

[@jukka9333]

The block is 40mm.

[@craigharrison5406]

I have replaced 2 Ibanez guitars with the edge III trem with Gotoh's and the proper block size is 33mm. The 40mm block is too long and will stick out slightly on the back of the guitar. You can do it but you will have to keep the plastic cover off the back of the guitar.

[@flo6017]

C'est du travail de barbare!!!😂😂😅😅 je doute fortement que ton trem puisse être juste à l'accordage et de sa durée de vie... bref du grand n'importe quoi à ne pas reproduire...😮

[@jukka9333]

Ok, I remember that the guitar played just fine.

[@426baron]

Un bon Français venu râler. Que deviendrait-on sans nous ? 😊

[@flo6017]

@@426baron je suis.belge...

[@426baron]

@@flo6017 on a eu une mauvaise influence alors 😃

[@n0nyabznss]

Those bushings need to be flushed with the wood. you didn't insert them all the way.

[@jukka9333]

You are correct! I noticed that I didn´t drill the other hole deep enough, I just let that be since the posts are adjustable.