RG 3120 and pickups

[CDNICKCD]

Hey i just recently got a RG 3120, but the pickups aren't what im looking for. I find the tone zone to be too 'loose' sounding, not chunky at all. the PAF Pro is nice, but its not what im after. I was thinking about switchin the pickups to Air Nortan (Neck) and Steve Special (Bridge). Anyone have these pickups in any of their guitar (preferably mahogony bodys)

[ScottB]

That's the first time I've heard anyone say that about the ToneZone.

What kind of amp and effects are you using?

[Tubarão Guitars]

What kind of shampoo are you using?

Tubarão

[rty13ibz98]

i've never thought of the tone zone as loose. its my favorite pickup hands down. it is looser than the evo i got in my rg550, but thats what i like. the steve's special may not be what your looking for because it is supposed to be less focused than the tone zone-handling a broader span of frequecies. the evo is a tighter sounding pickup than the tone zone and much more agressive, you may want to look at that instead of the steve's special. as far as the air norton goes, god i love that pickup. its nice and warm, like a super PAF. very syrupy type tone and smooth, with a hint of agression-just a hint. great for legato, sweeps, and warm single note passages; especially in a mahogany axe. my all time favorite neck humbucker.


rich

[CDNICKCD]

Originally Posted by ScreamJem7

That's the first time I've heard anyone say that about the ToneZone.

What kind of amp and effects are you using?

All im using is a Bad Horsie II>Daddy-O overdrive pedal (gain boost)>DOD EQ>Volume pedal>Marshall TSL-100 Head.

In my old guitar (EBMM Silhouette Sp.) i put a evo in the bridge, so thats the sound that i have been use to for almost a year. If i use the evo, will the Air Nortan still be as loud as the Evo?

[SliderJeff]

Hey guys,

Well I went out and played a non-neck thru RG3120 over the weekend at my local Guitar Center. It was a Twilight Blue one. I really liked the looks of the flamed maple, but I don't really care for the off-white edges or whatever.

Anyway, I was playing this sucker through a Line 6 Spyder... I dialed in a decent enough tone on the INSANE setting. I thought the tone was really dark... perhaps it's the combination of the overly dark Tone Zone with the Mahogany... not sure. Needless to say I wasn't very impressed. Squealies were practically impossible... or when they DID come through... they were pretty understated.

The PAF Pro in the neck was ok, but I prefer something a little less warm. Overall the guitar had an oppressively dark character. NOT something you could bust out "Under a Glass Moon" or "Pull Me Under" on and sound even remotely similar. My understanding is that the RGT version of this guitar has a thicker neck on it. And I think the neck-thru is supposed to make the sound even warmer??? Dear God, no thank you. If it got any warmer you may as well put a blanket over your speaker cab.

I have a Line 6 POD 2.0 for recording... but I plan on using my TriAxis, ADA MP-1, Marshall JMP1 and Digitech GSP-2101 Artist as well.

Just wanted to give you some more feedback, dude. You can check out the rest of what I wrote about it in another topic on this forum:
http://www.jemsite.insomnia-vhosting...ic.php?t=13545

Later,
Jeff

[CDNICKCD]

Ok...so has anyone tried an EVO in a RG3120 (or any mahogony body guitar)? Thats probably what i will put in the bridge. But what about neck. I really like JP's neck pickup sound, so should i go for the Air Nortan?

[gkelm]

I have an Evo that came in my S2540 (mahogany sabre)...it's loud, hot, and tight. I bit too much for my taste, but might be what you're looking for.

FWIW- I have a Steve's Special in my USRG30 (alder/maple), which sounds just like the bar graph on the Dimarzio site--scooped in the mids...a bit more growl on the low end and bite on top.

I think my preference leans toward the TZ over both of these.
Greg

[CDNICKCD]

I don't like how the tz sounds...its just well, loose to my ears...but I have been use to the Evo for almost a year...

my question is how does it (evo) sound in a mahogony body...

[SliderJeff]

Originally Posted by gkelm

I have an Evo that came in my S2540 (mahogany sabre)...it's loud, hot, and tight. I bit too much for my taste, but might be what you're looking for.

FWIW- I have a Steve's Special in my USRG30 (alder/maple), which sounds just like the bar graph on the Dimarzio site--scooped in the mids...a bit more growl on the low end and bite on top.

I think my preference leans toward the TZ over both of these.
Greg

Greg,

If I do snag one of these, most likely I will take a listen to the stock TZ in the bridge and PAF Pro in the neck and judge how it sounds. If I thing the TZ sound a little too flabby there, my guess is that I will stick the Steve's Special in the bridge and the Air Norton in the neck. I'll use my TZ in the bridge of my S540 and move a Humbucker From Hell to the neck position on that one too. So many pickups... so few guitars. :P

Did you do the work yourself on switching out the pickups? I popped off the backplates on my S540 last night.... damn they got things tight in there. And trying to stick the new wires through the body doesn't look like a picnic either. My only experience with wiring new pickups are on my Fender HM Strat... H-S-H but they are pickguard mounted... not this through the body stuff. Looks like I MIGHT want a pro to handle that guitar. We'll see.

What's your thoughts on the alder bodies vs. the mahogany or mahogany with maple tops in terms of tone? Is Alder brighter or darker by nature. I only ask because the Tone Zone in my Fender HM bridge position seems pretty dark... I am replacing that with a Megadrive and the neck PU with an Al DiMeola Neck ala Tony MacAlpine in the "Maximum Security" days. This seemed to be a popular config back in the Golden Age of shredding.

Thanks for the info,
Jeff

[rty13ibz98]

correct me if i'm wrong, but weren't the most popular combos in the golden age of shred:

1: paf pro/ paf pro
2: super distortion/ super distortion
3: duncan 59/ JB
4: x2n and nothing else
5: hs3/hs3/hs3


just asking.

rich

[SliderJeff]

Originally Posted by rty13ibz98

correct me if i'm wrong, but weren't the most popular combos in the golden age of shred:

1: paf pro/ paf pro
2: super distortion/ super distortion
3: duncan 59/ JB
4: x2n and nothing else
5: hs3/hs3/hs3


just asking.

rich

Rich,
It's cool man... I guess I was thinking more along the lines of individual uses of the Al DiMeola Neck and Megadrive... not necessarily in the same guitar. MacAlpine and Marc Ferrari used both in their guitars, Vinnie Moore used the Al Di Neck and Double Whammy, David T Chastain used the Al Di Neck, Scott Halover used the Megadrive, and Jeff Young used the Megadrive. PG used the SD and PAF Pro, Kotzen used the Double Whammy and PAF Pro etc...

Didn't mean to imply that it was the BE ALL END ALL combo... just that my fave guitarist (and some of his contemporaries) used the ones I am putting in.

Thanks dude,
Jeff

[gkelm]

Jeff- I didn't do the change on the S...that Evo was installed previously. Does look cramped in there! When the time comes I may seek help in the Tech are myself.

As for tone wood descriptions, the Anderson site says it well (and seems to jive with my rather limited experience):

http://www.andersonguitars.com/toneLibInfo.html

BTW, not to complicate things further, didn't HM's have basswood bodies?
Greg

[SliderJeff]

Originally Posted by gkelm

Jeff- I didn't do the change on the S...that Evo was installed previously. Does look cramped in there! When the time comes I may seek help in the Tech are myself.

As for tone wood descriptions, the Anderson site says it well (and seems to jive with my rather limited experience):

http://www.andersonguitars.com/toneLibInfo.html

BTW, not to complicate things further, didn't HM's have basswood bodies?
Greg

Greg,

Dude, boy am I glad you said something about this (the basswood thing). I just checked out a dude's site dedicated to the HM guitars... sure as hell... the damn thing is a basswood body. SOB! Ok, well this TOTALLY turns my world upside and doesn't jive with the Anderson site now... unless I just don't understand the whole description. Here's what it says about Basswood and Mahogany:

Basswood:
Pronounced bass like the fish. This wood gained popularity in the 80s and for a time was probably the most used wood for locking tremolo guitars. It is very light weight and produces a fairly even and full mid-range response throughout the entire band width. Many people feel it is extremely well matched with humbucking pickups because it produces a lot of the same frequencies that humbuckers easily reproduce. This is not to say that single coil tones aren't great as well. However, true basswood does produce a very pleasing midrange tone.

Mahogany:
Mahogany is a wood that became popular primarily being used on 24 3/4" scale length guitars since the 1950s. Its tone is thick and concentrated with a forceful midrange.


Ok, so what I read is Mahogany is "forceful midrange" and Basswood is "even and full midrange". My Mahogany S540 has stock pickups that are equated to the DiMarzio Breed model. My Basswood (thanks again for setting me straight) HM Strat has a Tone Zone in the bridge, HS-3 in the middle and PAF Pro in the neck. The TZ is majorly bass heavy to my ears in this guitar. That being the case, it SEEMS as if the S540 would be absolutely pure MUD if I put the TZ in it. Very confusing since I thought the Basswood plus TZ would be a nice combo, hell it's whaty Petrucci used in his first production models of the JPM's.

So now I am confused as hell as to why they would stick the TZ in the JPMs and other Basswood guitars. Aren't they doomed to be mud city? Now I am questioning putting the Steve's Special in my mahogany S540. Ugh. Damn. My brain hurts.

Thoughts?

Thanks for the info, Greg,
Jeff with the brain pain

PS - If you aren't aware of the Megadrive that I plan to put in my HM Strat (crossing fingers), it's VERY similar to the SS in that it has scooped mids, but slightly lower output. Specs are:

SS - 6.5 4.5 7.5 (T,M,B) 390 mV output
Megadrive - 6.0 5.0 7.0 (T,M,B) 350 mV output

[musicdr]

When I played through alot of modeling amps,I had an evo in everything.Having gone back to all tube gear,I am really noticing the difference between body woods and pickups.In basswood I prefer the tz.In mahogony,for soloing the tz,for tight aggressive high gain chord work the evo.In alder,I haven't experimented enough,though evo's sound a little shrill in this wood.The tz's in my 3120s sound pretty good for all around type rock stuff.I'll probably pop an evo in one and see how it sounds for higher gain type stuff.The tz in my texas prestige seems to cover all the bases.I'm thinking the tone also has to do with the specific cut of wood used to make each particular guitar body,just what we all need,another variable! Sure is fun experimenting though(and expensive)!