Ibanez Destroyer DT520 Black:

I settled on the neck dimensions, which are a little thicker and wider than my 2016 Gibson SG's 50's rounded 'D' profile...found the tiny 6230 Fretwire I prefer...the neck dimensions, to me, are a must have. Just a quick recap of the proposed specs:

Nut width: 43mm (1.695)
Heel width: 57mm. (2.245)
Thick @ 1st: 21.5mm (0.826)
Thick @12th: 24.5mm (0.964)
Board Radius: 12" (305.0)

These are the same neck dimensions I cooked up for my Gibson Scale Stratocaster Project.

I even found a set of pickups that are creme with black allen screws, just like the original Ibanez V2's - in 4 wire configuration with 50/52mm pole spacing...and 16.2k in the bridge, exactly the same as the original V2...but the middle and neck are a little milder at 15k ohms.

Not decided on Hardtail or Floyd Rose yet...
 
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Good looking Explorer here...just needs to lose the pickguard and add the extra pickup...Bummer it has the narrow 1.687", 42.85mm nut, which is basically a 60's slim taper neck... :-(

The Ibanez is much better looking overall to me, with more ergonomic tuner location and mechanically superior straight string pull through the nut, but I do like Gibson's upper strap button location - the first modification I made to my 1984 Destroyer....it keeps the guitar from tilting away from your body when playing live.

Ex Custom.jpg
 
Robert Herndon said:
Senior year 1983 - watching MTV late one night and saw this video. I had the first DT555 around.

True, it was cool, but it also didn't look so tiny on me, like a Les Paul...and the middle pickup had some interesting tones...

Click to expand...

I wonder if Phil still owns this guitar and how many copies he played or still plays.
 
Update:

Here's what I am waiting to hear back from Alex the Luthier. He is not sure we can blend my huge/wide neck profile into the destroyer's existing headstock shape/heel shape without making a drastic and expensive hand shaped/carved neck and/or eliminating the volute. I told him I am willing to spend $1,600 -$2,000 total project cost (a new Jackson Kelly is $3,500 so i want to stay under that amount) and the neck will be around $600-$800 of that cost alone....whichlh is about what a Warmoth Custom Gibson Scale Neck costs, so as long as he can blend the custom specs into the Destroyer headstock without massive changes, its good.

Ok...for some reason, you can easily make the early, big headstock Stratocaster necks any with and thickness without trouble...so, my backup plan is to crossbreed the Destroyer with the Gibson scale length Stratocaster...3 piece abalone inlay, super wide/super thick neck, 3 humbuckers, gold with black trim...and would bear the 'Von Herndon Studiocaster' name.

The custom Von Herndon Studiocaster 3 Pickup model would cost me $1,200-$1,400 ready to run with my own brand name and everything on it, including a gold Floyd Rose Pro.

Not bad...less than a higher end Gibson and USA 3 pickup Jackson Kelly!!!
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
This is not a 555 but a 155,,,,,,, nice playing, Maybe someone knows how this model compares to the 555

Click to expand...

The DT 155 is a Fender scale length (25.5") bolt-on neck with 3 identical Ibanez Super 70's. All three were 7.9k Alinco A8 magnets. All three pickups had 50mm spacing.

The DT555 was set neck, 24.7" scale with three V2 pickups producing 16.2k Alinco V. The bridge was 52mm spacing and the middle and neck had 50mm spacing.


The 3 controls on both the DT-155 and the DT-555 operate as follows:

- forward knob: master volume

- middle knob: middle pick-up volume

- rear knob: master tone

The middle pickup is always on, so you can just turn it down or off with the volume knob.

I plan on wiring mine with a master volume and separate tone controls for bridge and middle, then a 270k ohm resistor on the neck pickup to mimic a tone pot...the 3 way switch will then be wired to function where each position gives you only 1 pickup...

Here is the original Ibanez DT155/DT555 wire schematics....

DT555_Wiring.JPG
 
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Now, I understand the differences. I sure knew of Phil's Destroyer but despite being a fan, I never knew the name, model or even brand he was playing, nor variations out at the time or since.
 
Just ordered up my custom pickups for this project - V2 clones - double cream with black allen poles - just like the DT555 had originally - 16.6k bridge - 52mm spacing - 15k middle - 50mm spacing - 12k neck - 50mm spacing - All Alinco V Magnets and triple descending height cream trim rings... :-)
 
Wait, a sec, Robert.

I may have another suggestion, Many of us know a sick ass and awesome guitar builder named SG Lou from the ETSG forum. I would like to suggest giving him a ring too about the Destroyer build. Lou has built SG's for Tony Iommi and restored ones that were even burned by fire and others with serious neck pocket butcher jobs.

I'd go over there and send him a PM, Bro.

Tony Iommi’s SG Custom Build….Pics !
 
So it seems that Ibanez has either not patented the unique Destroyer body shape or the patent has run out. There is no patent on the Ibanez headstock shape either - only the trad names.
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
Wait, a sec, Robert.

I may have another suggestion, Many of us know a sick ass and awesome guitar builder named SG Lou from the ETSG forum. I would like to suggest giving him a ring too about the Destroyer build. Lou has built SG's for Tony Iommi and restored ones that were even burned by fire and others with serious neck pocket butcher jobs.

I'd go over there and send him a PM, Bro.
Click to expand...

SG Lou is on this forum, too.

That's a great idea Chili!

Yeah, Robert. SG Lou could build anything. I second Chili's idea of giving him a shout.
 
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