RG2027 er... update? - Let's play "Ring-around-the-Rosie" wi

[The Dark Wolf]

This is a slightly long-winded update/editorial about my RG2027, purchashed from Rich back in November. I absolutely, which is probably no surprise to those familiar with it, love this guitar. But, like others, I felt a little upgrading was necessary, these upgrades being a pickup change and the KJG wiring mod. As an aside, the pickups on the 2027 aren't bad at all! But neither are they DiMarzios, or Duncans for that matter, so, off they come (To be surreptiously installed in a cheaper Squier 7-string I have, thereby making it a much better guitar .) After long, agonizing thought, I decided to go with the ever-popular Air Norton 7/Tone Zone 7 combination. Well, unfortunately for me, they each retail for about a hundred bucks direct. I placed a call to our local Ibanez dealer here in Toledo, and surprise! They didn't have any of those models (A lament for the slow demise of the 7-string, lol.) They could, however, order them for me, for the low, low price of... about a hundred bucks! I knew Mars would be a lot cheaper, and placed a call. They quoted me $69 apiece. Not bad. It's a shame, really, dealing with Mars. On the one hand, I love their variety and their prices. They've allowed me to finally be able to afford some decent equipment after 10 years. But, while having a LOT of types of equipment, the quality and variety of manufacturers is somewhat limited. Unless you want the $3000 Les Paul goldtop hanging on the wall... no thanks. So, back to the story. I decide to go to Mars and make a deposit, to order my pickups. I just figured I would let my Ibanez dealer do the installation, since I wouldn't really trust my 2027 to Mars' hacks. *Shudder* Only $10 per pickup installed, so... At any rate, ironically enough, the day I go to Mars, I have a KILLER backache (It was maybe viral. Came out of the blue, lasted a week, put me in bed practically, then gone.) Wouldn't you know, when trying to place my "special order" for the pickups (Mars is a regular distributor of DiMarzio products, go figure) the buffoons running Mars all forget how to place an order. I ended up waiting, standing, for an hour, while they tried to figure out how to get this order in to DiMarzio. They didn't even know DiMarzio made these pickups. ("They don't even make them pickups, man." quote from the 'guitar' associate who was 'helping' me.) In fact, it was literally 56 minutes that I waited. I was watching the time, and was going to walk out at one hour, screw the pickups. After this was all done, the guy just looks at me. I asked when will they come in? He says, "Oh, we'll call you." Ok, fine. I was in misery. I waited a week and a half, and finally decided to call them today. I wish I hadn't, almost. This very polite sounding girl informs me my order isn't in yet. I said, after a week and a half? I payed an extra shipping price for my pickups. "Oh," she replied, "Special orders usually take 8 to 9 WEEKS!" I barely managed to be civil to her after that. When I finally get my pickups, and I take my geriatric medication to be able to play again, and turn my hearing aid way up, if the forum is still around, I'll let you know how it went. LONG LIVE IBANEZ!

[Pryde7]

jeez... thats the most insane thing i've ever heard...

i didn't know such idiocy was possible... man, i hope you get your pickups in soon!!

good luck!

[The Dark Wolf]

Hey, thanks bro! Me too. Everyone says they sound g-r-r-r-reat! So, we'll see!

[bduersch]

Mars put me through some similar crap when I bought my Parker Fly there years ago. The guy on the sales floor told me they had 6 months same as cash, but the guy at the register didn't know how to process the credit applications. It took over an hour and a half to get out the door after I decided to buy the guitar. Grrrr! (And the local Guitar Center isn't much better, but at least they stock Ibanez)

Anyway, never played the AN7, but I have a TZ7 in my RG7CT, and it's great. It's night and day compared to the stock pickups in the 2027!

Good luck!

--B

[MadKeithV]

You sure it's Mars Music's fault?

I think it's DiMarzio's! *I've had a similar problem when I order an Air Norton and Steve's Special 6-er for my Jackson. *The shop I go to is always really helpful, and they were on the phone a LOT trying to get them, but they just would NOT arrive. *I cancelled the order after three months, changing it to EMGs, and I had those installed within a week.

[The Dark Wolf]

Oh, it's definately Mars' fault, although your experience makes me feel NO better! Yikes! But yeah, it was good ol' Mars that had me standing there for an hour (56 minutes to be precise, lol) because they didn't know how to even PLACE a "special order." Even the manager was clueless, walking back and forth asking questions. The only guy who seemed to know what he was doing didn't wait on me... (Maybe he was smart enough to know when to stay away) And after calling, it was MARS who told me standard policy was 8 to 9 weeks. I'm hoping they will arrive much sooner. Only time will tell I guess, but yeah, it was definately Mars' mistake on this one.

[Kevan]

Hmmm....
I ordered FIVE pickups from DiMarzio thru a dealer. *They were all custom color combinations. *They arrived at my door 2 weeks later.

If you're still having problems, email me. *I'll get ya hooked up with my source.

[The Dark Wolf]

Killer, Kev. You are the man with the plan. While I got ya, as an aside, what was up with that dude who had the RG7CST for sale here on the forum? Odd... it had a turquoise? paint where the truss rod goes, and the volume was where the mag/peizo selector goes. It LOOKED pretty... but it seemed odd. Definately not the same as the other CST's I guess. Thanks for the lookout, at any rate. If i need to, I'll come a'looking for you. We'll see how Mars performs I guess... for the time being. *Ominous music plays*

(Edited by Wordwolf at 11:41 am on Jan. 28, 2002)

[Kevan]

Wordwolf on 11:38 am on Jan. 28, 2002
...as an aside, what was up with that dude who had the RG7CST for sale here on the forum? Odd... it had a turquoise? paint where the truss rod goes, and the volume was where the mag/peizo selector goes.

My 7CST has that same turquoise 'paint' in the truss rod cavity. *I'm not quite sure what it is. *I'll do some checking.

As far as the controls go, I've seen a few 6CST's and a couple of 7CST's with the pots switched. *I'm not sure if this is a player-comfort thing, or if they had Kooky Day at the factory. *:-)
Either way, it's movable and works just fine.

I don't know who picked up that guitar.

[The Dark Wolf]

Kooky Day, lol. Them Japanese nuts.

[jay ratkowski]

If you have to order through DiMarzio themselves... prepare to wait. *Generally, orders through DiMarzio can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. *99.9% of the time, DiMarzio pickups are ordered through Harris Teller, who supplies them for about the same price as DiMarzio direct, and takes about 2-5 days. *However, if Harris Teller doesn't have them in stock, I'm sorry to say, but you're screwed.

[oooo]

jay ratkowski on 1:20 pm on Jan. 28, 2002
If you have to order through DiMarzio themselves... prepare to wait. *Generally, orders through DiMarzio can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. *.

thanks Jay, I'm glade you posted that... I ordered a strap from Dimarzio about 3 weeks ago and was begining to think i got screwed. *I guess I'll just have to wait longer.

[The Dark Wolf]

2 weeks to 2 months... compared to 8 or 9 weeks? You do the math, not much diff. I'll get in touch with Kevan long before that. I refuse to be screwed. Besides, my 2027 still sounds awesome.
Thanks for the tip, though partner.

(Edited by Wordwolf at 6:31 am on Jan. 29, 2002)

[MadKeithV]

Kevan on 11:09 am on Jan. 28, 2002
Hmmm....
I ordered FIVE pickups from DiMarzio thru a dealer. *They were all custom color combinations. *They arrived at my door 2 weeks later.

If you're still having problems, email me. *I'll get ya hooked up with my source.

So Kevan, when are you moving to Europe? *I want a chance to play that 7CST

[Akhenaten]

Hope you guys get your stuff from Mars before they flop... I work in a repair shop here in California, and they are putting plans in motion to close some of the stores. Obviously, rumor is rumor in this industry, but two of the people at the Cerritos store said it is true. It's the first store to go....