RGX-220DZ Review

Deep double cutaway bodies and fast necks are the hallmark of Yamaha's RGX series electric guitars. Fitted with a double-locking tremolo system, the RGX-220DZ delivers amazing sound and playability in four metallic flavours that are sure to excite your senses.

Features:	7.3
Sound:	7.3
Action:	7
Reliability:	8.3
Impression:	7.3
Overall rating:	7.4
Users rating:	7.4
Comments:	6

overall: 6.6

Featured review by: slashs_snakepit, on october 13, 2005

Features: This is came straight from the factory, flew in a plane and came to my house. I have no clue how much it cost, 'cause someone bought it from Oman. Features:

- Construction: bolt-on
- Scale Length: 25.5" (648mm)
- Fingerboard: rosewood
- Radius: 13 3/4" (350mm)
- Frets: 22
- Body: alder (solid) double cutaway
- Vibrato System:
? Double locking tremolo
? Floyd rose licensed
- Pickups: open humbucker
- Pickup Switch: 3-position
- Controls: master volume, master tone, 3-way selector
- A strap, bag, 6 foot cable, instruction manual (for floyd-rose), and the L-shaped wrenches and stuff came along with it.

The biggest problem was the loose tone pot, which caused like a lotta feedback trouble (believe that). The tuning stability of this thing is pretty rock solid thanks to the floyd rose. But the problem you'll face is the intonation, which goes haywire need to get that fixed. // 6

Sound: I play mainly Metallica and Dream Theater, and the tone is pretty rich for stuff like that. I live in India by the way, so you guys probably wont know what all equipment I'm using except for my Zoom 505 II. I have a Stranger Cube 20M Amp, which is perfect for the stuff I play. The biggest problem with the sound is the horrible feedback which I got. Luckily, I fixed it, and now it sounds shit good. It sounds brilliant live, on like monitors and PA systems and stuff. I loved the sound on stage. It was really rich and loud. // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: Action's perfect on this. Couldn't have asked for better. The pickups were very loosely fit, so had to get that tightened up. The bridge, and everything else was beautifully set up. The wood on the fret board is just amazing. I must say they did one hell of a job on the finish of the guitar. Like I said earlier, the tone pot was really loose. That caused a lot of feedback problems. Had to get that fixed up. The internal wiring was ok. Everything was neatly placed so you could see everything really well to check for loose wirings or whatever. // 7

Reliability & Durability: Its been 3 months now, and I've played it in one gig. Was just a beauty to play with. Like I said brilliant finish on the thing, and it looks really durable to me. Haven't dropped it yet so I'll post you guys back when it does fall. I had a backup just in case the strings snapped or anything happened to it. But actually didnt need one. // 7

Impression: This guitar is perfect for guys who like to play heavy metal or progressive stuff. I've tested the thing for other effects, and it seems to play everything really well. The size, action and finish met my needs. The feedback didn't. The tremolo arm is a little hard to lift, but produces the right sound I need. I just wish the tremolo could be a little less tough to lift. // 6

overall: 8

Reviewed by: Mobbex, on july 20, 2007

Price paid: $ 316

Purchased from: Steve's Music Store

Features: This China-made guitar features 24 frets, a Strat-style body, a *robust* floyd rose bridge, a master volume and a master tone knob as well as a three way selector. It's outfitted with two hambuckers which's origins are unknown to me. The controls don't get in the way. Mine has a dark blue finish and a rosewood neck. Ah and all the hardware is black. No package deal from Yamaha with this one, though I got a (big) discount on a sweet Precision case and a Roland cube 15x amp. Overall, it works like a charm and it's reliable. I'll give it an 8 because it doesn't look that good (hurts my karma). // 8

Sound: I play mostly funk-rock, new metal and lots of solos with a Roland cube 15x and a Boss ME-50 <3. It sounds pretty good overall, the distortion feels kinda shallow but that's probably because my amp suck. At first, the guitar sounded a bit like a soda can, so I stuffed some fabric inside the body, around the springs that hold the bridge (know what I'm talkin about) and it sounded great ever since. I wouldn't say it "matches" my style(s) because it doesn't have enough tonal variety but still it has a okay sound, and it's a very enjoyable guitar to play. // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: The action was great. As I said before, this guitar is a pleasure to play, and the strings realy feels like they want to be bent. The pickups seemed fine, as the guitar wasn't (and still isn't) noisy at all. The knob on the pickup selector kept falling off and it ended up losing it further reducing the already negligible visual appeal of the guitar. Hey it's not like it's ugly or anything, it just looks so flat. The tremolo arm is a challenge, you realy have to put weight on it. I think I might take one of those springs off the next time a have to undergo a string change. // 8

Reliability & Durability: Oh that thing's solid. The finish is durable, you'll have a hard time scratching it with a pick, but it might come off a bit if you smashed the guitar against a wall or something (yes, I am what you could call a careless user). The locking-nut is solid, so this guitar will stay in tune for days, the hardware is robust, and the strap buttons are very unlikely to come off. Overall this guitar will withstand Live playing admirably. You should always use a back-up but this baby won't let you down. // 9

Impression: I've had it for a year (or is it two years) and I trully like it. I was pretty green when I bought it so I'm trully thankfull I didn't get conned. This is a great 400-500 bucks guitar. I love the action on it, it feels great. For that price and quality, wishing that it had more features added to it would be downright greedy. If it were stolen or lost, I wouldn't buy another one I'm already saving for something else, but it's an awesome low-budget guitar. // 8

Reviewed by: unregistered, on june 03, 2008

Price paid: € 420

Purchased from: Cyprus

Features: Made in 2004 in china. Has 24 jumbo frets and a very speedy neck with low action, great for sweep picking! The fingerboard is rosewood. Tuners are diecast. I baught two guitars, one in mettalic black and one in metallic red. Has a basswood body and a maple neck. It has a super-Strat shape wihout the pickguard. It comes with two alnico 5 passive humbackers with great depth and clarity, 1 tone control, 1 volume control and a 3-way lever. Has a licenced floyd-rose which never gave me any particular trouble but needed some configuration before it became smooth. // 8

Sound: I play pregressive metal and fusion. Having it as a solo guitar, it sounded great with a clean tone and lots of presence. I'm using a Peavey Bandit 112 amp and a Korg Toneworks AX1000G. I can easily play heavy metal but the harmonics are quite tricky to achive. Eventhough I play for 11 years now I needed some time to get used to it. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: I had some trouble with this guitar. The neck has been a bit bent backwords and a lot of fret buzz was causing a mess. I sent it for a pro-setup and then my problems were solved. The springs in the floyrose were bad so I had to change them. Also the frets wore out in the first two years. Low action, welcome fret buzz. // 6

Reliability & Durability: Its reliable and the finish is very hard to scratch. I always played in a gig without a backup and it didn't let me down the last 4 years. I would recommend a pair of locking strap buttons as the factory ones are a bit small. It is a durable guitar as it has been tested even with a guitar smash and it has survived without getting out of tune. // 9

Impression: This has been quite a close match to metal playing but a little more output is needed. I've been playing for 11 yrs and harmonics are hard to achieve. I believe, it is a guitar to have in your collection but 2 are enough. If they were lost/stolen, I would buy an Ibanez. Um. Only Ibanez can be compared to this guitar, RGs mostly, but the only difference is that the Yamaha is a bit thicker. // 8

Comments

[geetar_man0]

oi its 24 frets not 22 ...even look at the pic

[danabis]

i had this guitar for about a year its really easy for playing but the sketchy floyd rose replica takes 4-5 springs to put in standard tuning and chips the paint when you move it, its too flooky.

[slashs_snakepit]

thanks for that geetar_man dude.. lolz..

[muso_ chris]

it looks almost identical to a guitar i saw jason becker play once.

[VORTEX3333]

i can't find this guitar on the net, whats that all about

[Kevhah]

I love this guitar xD this is my main guitar for now and well for me it suits my style (metaaaal!) and classic (Neoclassic) and well I've been playing for 2 years now but what the hell, this guitar is awesome, anyway im thinking about a nice Ibanez or Gibson X-Plorer :P