RESONCAST BODIES v's REAL TIMBER BOD...

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Author Message   Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Saturday, January 31, 2004 - 5:00 am:    Well Fellow Ibaneezer's Here's Another Opinion Poll From The Captain O.k, now I maybe taking some arden collectors out of there comfort zone here, but what the hell, as the lovely Pat Benatar sang hit with your best shot. Cast our collective minds back to say 1994, when the retro/punkabilly/surf guitar, call it what you will, the Talman, first hit the scene with the Kent Armstrong lipstick pickups TC500 series, and the up market TC750 series with the Humbucker / Lipstick / Humbucker in gold with all gold hardware , but wait, looks great , but it's a Resoncast body ( or MDF like your kitchen cupboards ).Yes folks, it was the time of a world timber shortage and the Captain gives Ibanez 3 cheers for having a go at looking into away around this problem. This experimentation went on for the next couple of years where they used photo flame tops / resoncast bodies on certain RG series models as well..and why not, when your back's to the wall you have to have a "Plan B " just incase. Now I have my opinions as having played these models on a regular basis and let me tell you.......wel maybe at the end of the thread and i will reveal all Look forward to your thoughts peeps ! I am curious as to how many Ibanez nuts may even have one of these guitars in ther collection or even if you don't..do you agree that Ibanez are number one for there innovative ideas whilst being considered of having a bit of a "enviromental approach to guitar production ? Keep On Rockin' Captain Ibanez   Craigjc (Craigjc) Posted on Saturday, January 31, 2004 - 10:36 pm:    Good topic, Captain. I've been asking the same question since I picked up a '94 TC530 with 3 lipstick tube pickups and a sunburst foto-flame finish. Oh, the bird's eye maple neck is an "applied" finish as well, even though the neck is real maple underneath. My thoughts? Acoustically, it sounds a bit funkier than my other Ibanez models but it is quite loud and resonant unplugged. I was happily surprised by this fact. Real wood? Yeah, I suppose an especially resonant hunk of real wood is still most desirable, but the Talman's composite material is definitely acceptable to me. Never played a real wood Talman, so I have no basis for comparison. I'm eagerly awaiting the details of your observations!   Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Sunday, February 01, 2004 - 5:50 am:    Ah, yes someone else has taken the taste test so to speak, Craigjc, I willrespond further on this but I won't to stimulate those "sleeping giants" out there a little more....come on you "Cockrockers", surely you have tried a abovementioned RG...please don't be shy Captain Ibanez   Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Monday, February 02, 2004 - 1:11 am:    Which RG's were Resoncast? I am frankly surprized by this bit of info! Never seen or heard of a composite RG. I always thought the Resoncast thing was limited to Talmans. Learn sumpthin' every day! Cheers Steve   Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 5:29 am:    Steve, here is the model listing of the RG , RX & Talman models that all featured Resoncast bodies.There are models in the RG & RX series that also featured "photo flame tops, I will i.d. them next to the model with the # mark to show this has a photo flame top.The R next to RG indicates a reverse headstock model. RG MODELS: RGR 480F# RBS,RWS:S/TOOTH INLAY:EDGE/V6x2+ RTS S/C x 1. RGR470:BK,DW,JB:S/TOOTH INLAY:EDGE/V6x2+RTS S/Cx1. RG380F# AMS,RBS,RWS,TKS:DOT INLAY:TRS101/V6x2+RTS S/Cx1. RG270B BK,JB,RW:DOT INLAY:TRS505/V6x2+RTS S/C x1. RX SERIES: RX185GQ SVS,TKS,WNS:DOT INLAY:TZ30 GOLD/V6x2+RTS S/C x1 TALMAN SERIES TC530 PB,BK:DOT INLAY:TZ100:3xLIPSTICK P/UPS TC620 RM,MA,BP:DOT INLAY:TT50:2xSKY H100 P/UPS TC630 BK,PB,IV:DOT INLAY:TT50:3xLIPSTICK P/UPS TV650 WH:DOT INLAY:TZ100 GOLD:SKYFBV1 x2+1x SKY STV1 GOLD P/UPS TV750GQ # BS; SAME HARDWARE AND PICKUPS AS TV650 Now if Johns would kindly insert my scans for these models for all to enjoy. At the end of the day, having tried all these models, it blew me away how well these guitars played , felt weight wise and the quality of the finish was simply amazing . At first glance, the photo flames were almost like the real wood that they were replacing. The Captain gives Ibanez 10/10 for making a commanding effort into look ahead through the time tunnel....to be ready to answer the question of ..what if we do run out of timber one day ?. The pickups ( V6 humbucker ) had all the fat and topend that you needed and the RTS ( single coils ) gave you all the funk that you wanted too ! Of course, the Kent Armstrong lipsticks and humbuckers in the Talmans are well suited to this diverse guitar,from country pickin' to indie asskickin', these were a comfortable fit into that market. Keep On Rockin' Captain Ibanez   Craigjc (Craigjc) Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 1:29 pm:    Captain, don't forget the early foto-flame Talmans. '94 and (I think) '95 featured at least one foto-flame finish. Here's my '94 TC530 (customized to my taste) in a non-catalog sunburst. The catalog featured a much more brown foto-flame on the same model.   Johns (Johns) Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 1:50 pm:    Here's the Captain's scans: RG's first. Next RXs. Finally, the Talmans.   Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 3:53 pm:    What catalog/literature are these from? None of them look familiar. Cheers Steve   Craigjc (Craigjc) Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 3:55 pm:    Another page from the 1994 catalog...   Spiro (Spiro) Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 4:04 pm:    These dont appear in any of my catalogs thats for sure... Cameron, Japanese Market Catalogs ?? The talmans are in my catalogs but not the rg and RX series   Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 7:31 pm:    Spiro, 1996 Japan Domestic catalogue Cameron   Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 7:33 pm:    Hey Craigjc, sorry I forgot those models too , but it was after midnight when I finished scanning. Cameron   Craigjc (Craigjc) Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 9:37 pm:    I understand completely...I'm just amazed at the foto-flame. I'm waiting for someone to make foto-burl. If this manufacturing technique really catches on, can you imagine the cool looking "assembly required" furniture they could make? As for the RGs and RXs, I don't have a 1996 catalog. Maybe Ibanezrules.com has the scans...   Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Thursday, February 05, 2004 - 6:35 am:    Craigjc, I've been a bit spoilt since 1995 when I first recieved my first Japan domestic catalogue. See gang this is the catalogue that the European community works off, however, even in Europe, there are some models that the distributors do not bring in for sale. Which in today's market translates into, "Gee the bloody internet has a lot to answer for" Captain Ibanez   Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Thursday, February 05, 2004 - 1:11 pm:    And again the question rears it's ugly head: Why are so many cool models NOT AVAILBLE IN THE USA??? With exception of the RG270, none of the above RG or RX models were shipped to the states. Phony-Flame on partical board, what's the world coming to? Seriously, if it feels good, sounds good, and looks good, who cares what it's made from! Cheers Steve   Doc (Doc) Posted on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 9:45 am:    Sweet Talmans ! I want one in the brown finish, nice ! I never knew about these beauties, just last weekend I put a Kent Armstrong lippy in my blue Mudguard strat (neck position) and I gotta tell you, it's a sweet pickup. Goes real well with the Super '70 I have in the bridge position, split by a Challenger staggered pole pickup in the middle. Yup, that's right, my home build strat is all Ibanez in the pickup dept., if you consider the Kent Armstrong lippy a Talman pickup, and it's my absolute fave axe for tone. B]   Craigjc (Craigjc) Posted on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 3:36 pm:    A question about Resoncast...does anyone know what glues will bond with resoncast? I've noticed that getting a bit crazy while playing my Japanese Talman (not damaging it) will throw it significantly out of tune. Neck bolts are tight. Considering gluing the neck in. Guess this could have been posted to the set-neck vs. bolt-on discussion as well. Bolt-ons are OK with me as long as the neck pocket provides enough structural support to allow a little bit of activity without shifting. CraigJC   Ibanezfreak1960 (Ibanezfreak1960) Posted on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 4:29 pm:    Hey Captain, is the resin cast the same as the ED line of bass nowadays that are Luthite?   Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Saturday, May 22, 2004 - 2:22 am:    Freaky, resoncast is the same as partical board or MDF as it's known and Luthite is from the Carbon fibre family. Captain Ibanez   Craigjc (Craigjc) Posted on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 9:43 am:    Again, what glue will bond with Resoncast? For real wood, Elmer's white glue is great, but I'm not sure if Resoncast would require epoxy or some other glue. I'd really rather not do this at all, but a shifting neck is not good. Guitars must stay in tune. CraigJC   Ericsson (Ericsson) Posted on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 11:52 pm:    Hmmm... so resoncast is really particle board? The old danelectro guitars were made out of kitched cabinets and some of them sounded pretty decent. If it's a retro thing I guess that's cool, but foto-flame smacks of guitar center and zzounds catalogs. No thanks!   TalmanFan Posted on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:54 pm:    I bought an Ibanez back in 97 (don't know what year it was produced). I believe it was the tc630 IV. It is the Ivory color with the red pickguard. I was looking in a local music shop for an inexpensive electric guitar with a great sound. After playing several brands and models, this was the one I fell in love with, great action, great sound, and I love those lipstick pickups. Sounds exceptionally good when plugged into a tube amp. Just a couple of quick questions. 1) What is the main difference between the tc530 and the tc630. 2) What did others pay for their tc630 new/used? I paid $375 and that included a hard case. It seemed like a deal compared to the others, and even if I over payed, I have no regrets, but IMO I feel it plays better than some $1000 guitars I've picked up. I don't remember the actual price the dealer had on the tag. Since it was a local shop, he may have just cut me a deal to move inventory and up the cash flow for the week.   Russellw (Russellw) Posted on Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 5:15 am:    Not having experienced any but one of the models mentioned above I will instead relate my experiences with the similarly artifical top on my recently departed Martin D12-X1 (acoustic). There is little doubt in my mind that the tonal quality provided by this material is different from that of the better quality timbers. Not necessarily better or worse but certainly brighter than I personally like from a big bodied acoustic 12. In the case of the particular RG model I played for a couple of weeks, I would have to say that I could not discern any difference between it and a similar guitar in a natural timber. Perhaps there would be differences if this type of material was used on a semi hollow or hollow bodied guitar but otherwise I would be surprised. Cheers Russ   Captainibanez (Captainibanez) Posted on Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 6:45 am:    Russ, I could not agree more. I can recall a "situation" that occured a number of years back when a buyer of a resoncast RG, got really pissed off with the fact that he thought he had bought was a "real wood" RG with a flame maple top, the whole issue was caused by a misinformed staff member of the store where he bought it from caused his blood to boil. 15 mins later after explaining to him just who good the Captian thought these guitars went as a quailty player he was happy.That's the truth Ibanezer's these were what they were, but there was no sacrifice as far as quality went....yes they were actually a great model..and as I've said before..hats off to the true innovators of guitars...Ibanez for having the hindsight to look at the future of guitar building alternatives. TalmanFan, the difference between the TC530 and TC630 was... TC530:Resoncast body, TZ100 trem,Sky SLV1 x 3 pickups, $849.00 RRP. Aussie Dollars TC630: Alder body.TT50 trem,$969.00 RRP Aussie Dollars: same pickups as TC530 Captain Ibanez   TalmanFan Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 3:44 pm:    Captain, Thanks for the reply, yeah I paid $375 US Dollars w/ the hard case, and it seems like I got quiet a deal. Thanks.   Steveg219 Username: Steveg219 Registered: 01-2005 Posted on Saturday, May 07, 2005 - 12:19 pm:    To re-open this discussion, I have a resoncast '94 Talman and I happen to think it sounds great! Certainly different than wood, but has a very desirable tone all of it's own. I like it for thinnish, SRV type blues sounds, probably would not work very well at all for heavier or meatier type sounds!   Ericbaquiran Username: Ericbaquiran Registered: 03-2004 Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 10:44 pm:    I'm bringing this discussion back from the dead! if the RGR480 had a resoncast body, would the RG480 (non-reverse headstock) body have the same material? Just got a lightly used RG480 a couple of few weeks ago for roughly US$250 while someone else I know got a RGR480F for ~US$180(!).   Captainibanez Username: Captainibanez Registered: 01-2004 Posted on Monday, October 10, 2005 - 4:47 am:    Well Eric , I would say that you have bagged a bargain. Plug it in...play it loud Captain Ibanez   Ericbaquiran Username: Ericbaquiran Registered: 03-2004 Posted on Monday, October 10, 2005 - 5:02 am:    So any RG480 (reverse headstock or not, photoflame or not) *is* resoncast? Just want to verify. Thanks!   Captainibanez Username: Captainibanez Registered: 01-2004 Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 7:04 am:    Yes thats correct Eric as these were the only ones....all the guitars in this thread where Resoncast bodies.If you scroll back up you will see all the scans I have put here from my archives of the guitars that Ibanez made then with Resoncast bodies and photo flame tops etc. Captain Ibanez   Guidothepimp Username: Guidothepimp Registered: 09-2005 Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 8:03 am:    what is everyones opinion on the ibanez ergodyne range? the edr470ex is one ive had my eye on for a while now.. the body is made of lucite and from what im told... it seems the new ergodyne is going to use wood in the body, either maple or rosewood apparently... any ideas? sorry, i know its off the topic but i thought id ask   Alquin Username: Alquin Registered: 04-2006 Posted on Thursday, April 06, 2006 - 6:47 pm:    Ive been searching , and here i found the exact model of my guitar.. tho some one pointed me this site.. my RG 380F AMS   Alquin Username: Alquin Registered: 04-2006 Posted on Thursday, April 06, 2006 - 7:01 pm:    Captain, , can you tell me more about my RG 380F AMS , Just wanna know, coz for me it sounds great ,better than my other axes,.. tell me more about its origin? year model?, etc... coz someone sold this guitar to me in a great bargain price equipt with EMG 81,SA,85 thanks Alquin   Ericbaquiran Username: Ericbaquiran Registered: 03-2004 Posted on Friday, August 04, 2006 - 4:37 am:    any info on the neck profile of the RG470/480? It's not a wizard, that's for sure.   Bluepill Username: Bluepill Registered: 7-2004 Posted on Sunday, April 01, 2007 - 8:17 am:    well this threads been closed for some time just picked up a white/red perloid pickgaurd TC630 talman on ebay for $415 Aussie dollors. dont really know if this is a good deal, esp for a korean guitar?? but from all rports they are great players!! and the pu's are kent armstrong designed anyway will post some pics when i get her, looking forward to adding some lipsticks to a room full of humbuckers. anyone have and play this model??

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