Final update on my RG2027 for anyone who is interested.
Complete changes/modifications-
1. Lemon oil touch up on neck. The board came kind of dry. Adding Lemon Oil (Hope's brand) darkened up the rosewood nicely, and gave the fingerboard a nice, smooth feel.
2. Tung oil finish on back of neck. The 2027 neck is basically a natural finished neck. I ran some fine #000 grade steel wool on the back, and then added Hope's 100% Tung Oil. *Only one coat added. The neck literally feels like silk.
3. KJG Mod. My thanks to Kevan for his help and input, and for having the vision to not only see this possibilty, but to make it a reality. This mod involves swapping out the old 2 way on/on mini toggle switch for a 3 way on/on/on mini switch, thus allowing for piezo/piezo-magnetic/magnetic output selections. Performs wonderfully. It in no way changes your tone, (The exception being when in mono mode, and piezo-magnetic mode being selected, you can 'pan' between and purely magnetic sound, and a purely acoustic sound, and of course, everything in between. This takes the guitar, along with the 5 way switching, WELL out of the realm of conventional guitars, and yields some very sweet, pleasing tones) but adds tremendous variety to an already feature-laden guitar.
4.
DiMarzio pickups. I added the Tone Zone 7 for the bridge, and the Air Norton 7 for the neck. My thanks to Kevan, Rich, and the Jemsiters for their input in this selection. The first and most immediate difference between the stock Ibanez pickups (which I installed into a Fender Squier Stagemaster 7) is that the DiMarzio pickups GREATLY increase sustain. (A DRAMATIC difference here. It must be the Virtual Vintage technology in the DiMarzio pickups. The standard pickups sustained very nicely, but the DiMarzios almost make this Floyd equipped, bolt-neck guitar sound like it is fixed bridge and neck thru.) Sonically, they are both more crisp and clear the the stock pickups, and more aggressive. It must be stated, the stock pickups, IMHO, sound excellent. Very smooth, creamy, and rich, with decent power and attack. Think 'vintage'. The DiMarzios are much more... modern in tonality. These two models are extremely high in the midrange department. Not annoyingly so... in fact, it's very musical and harmonically rich. Both pickups scream very easily, and harmonics leap off the fretboard. Even with MAJOR distortion, chords ring clear, and blend very smoothly. The TZ7 is more middy than the AN7, but only slightly, while the AN7 has more bass responce (Of course, their placement on the guitar contributes to this tonality.) I would personally rate the EQ curve of these pickups at...
AN7 Treble-5 Mid-7-Bass-7
TZ7 Treble-5 Mid-9-Bass-5
The pickups are in no way muddy, but very articulate for all that mid responce. Hot, loud, strong, but still pleasant, and very, very smooth. Perhaps a rich Mocha Cappuchino describes them well. These pickups do not sound like Limp Bizkit! Closer to mind would be perhaps Godsmack, or Eddie Van Halen. (pre-Sammy) Just an example. In split and parallel mode, they are very sweet, and clear. Truly some of the nicest clean tones I've heard. Altogether, a good choice. I would give them between a 9-10, as I'm very satisfied. However, if anyone reading this has the 2027 with stock pickups, don't worry, to my ears, the stocks sound just as nice, only different. A final thought, the chrome bobbins on the DiMarzios just look SO good with the Cosmo black and
chrome hardware. Altogether, it looks mean, but very elegant. Maybe Bruce Wayne... I dunno. But I do know I like it!
Thanks to Glen and the Mods for a forum where I recieved lots of great help and info. It's the reason I became a Jemsite member!
Total Cost- Approx $1450 US
Total Retail Worth- Approx $1970 US
