Can I make my RG sound like a Fender Strat? Need some help...

[Azrael]

Is it possible to make an RG sound like a Fender Strat? I played a Fender with maple neck one day and I just love the sound of the neck pickup. So rythmic and controllable. Kinda Eric Johson - Manhattan rythm part tone.....
Can this be done on an RG3120? I just love the way the guitar plays but I don't like it's sound (well that relative ofcourse)

Or could anybody explain me what exactly makes the Fender sound?

[Rotti]

Well there are too many variables that add up to the fender sound BUT pickups have a LOT to do with it. So your best bet would be to find a pickup that you can put in the neck position that sounds most like a vintage single coil. Maybe a "Dimarzio "humbucker from hell"

Because a conventional humbucker senses the string at two different places, it cancels some frequencies along with the hum. What if there was a humbucker that cancelled fewer frequencies? It would be brighter and cleaner: almost glassy-sounding. In other words, it would sound a lot like a Strat® pickup, but with about the same power as a PAF®. We created The Humbucker From Hell® primarily as a neck pickup. You wonÕt believe how much it will open up the sound in the neck position of a Les Paul®, and it has an almost acoustic quality in the neck spot of a bolt-on guitar

[frankfalbo]

Your biggest detractor is the 24 frets. They move the neck pickup closer to the bridge. So if you just used a HFH, you'd still have both coils sensing the strings, and spread out even farther from the nut. The closest you can come is to get a humbucker that splits well. The Duncan Stag Mag, and Rio Grande tallboys would be good choices, but you need a coil cut switch. That could be a push/pull tone pot. And most importantly it needs to activate the neck side coil, not the bridge side coil. That's as close as you'll get. You should also block the trem or use a backstop, because the floating Edge will detract from the robust strat attack and swell.

[lyconxero]

I never was really a Fender fan, but I have heard that part of the tone comes from the way that the pickups are set up on the guitar. Something with the pickguard, I think. But bottom line, if you want that "Fender tone" then you really need to just get a Fender (or atleats an Ibanez BUILT like a Fender). Andy Timmons signature model seems like it might get pretty close to a Strat's tone. But no humbucker can truly sound exactly like a single coil, and vice versa. You may be able to get close, but you'll never get it exactly.

[Azrael]

Thanks for the tips.....I already blocked my tremolo by the way.
So if I get a humbucker that is able to be splitted well at the neck coil side it could get me close. I currently have a PAF Pro and although it sounds alright it's not a single coil sound. On the RG the PAF Pro can be put in parralel mode.

"The Duncan Stag Mag, and Rio Grande tallboys would be good choices, but you need a coil cut switch."

So if I would get one of those and use a push-pull tone-pot it could do the trick? What do I have to change on my guitar if I would want to install one of them?

Thanks alot already!

[marianozz]

You should change one pot for the push/pull pot, and the pickup itself... then youd have to redo the wiring...

you might actually want to try splitting the Paf Pro and TZ before actually buying pickups... i never liked the 3120's factory wiring anyway...

[Tom Gilroy]

Well if you're up for rewiring try this. Install two different capacitors (I used a 0.22 and a 0.47) and use two push/pull potentiometers. Use the first push/pull to switch between capacitors and the second as a phase shifter for the bridge pickup. This will give you the strat tone similar to splitting a humbucker but without all the single coil hum and the phase shifhter will give you the perfect tone for thing like little wing by Hendrix.

[Drew]

Um, "Manhattan" was played on an ES-335, I believe... someone...?

-D

[Azrael]

Originally Posted by Drew

Um, "Manhattan" was played on an ES-335, I believe... someone...?

-D

Atleast not the live version I am talking about...from the G3 tour...played on a lovely Fender Strat with maple neck...

I do not mean that song in particulair by the way...just an example...I'm looking for that "Quack" in my sound that you only get on the neck pickup of a Fender Strat.

[Azrael]

Could anybody give me an example on how to wire this beast then? Never done it before by the way but I don't think I need more than a soldering gun and some stuff.

Currently is the standard RG3120 wiring (5-way switch) (ToneZone bridge and PAFPro neck)

1. PAF Pro (humbuck)
2. PAF Pro (parralel)
3. Both Tone Zone and PAF Pro (humbuck)
4. Both Tone Zone and PAF Pro splitted (paf bridge side and tone neck side)
5. ToneZone (humbuck)

I would like to keep the PAF Pro (humbuck) position and the ToneZone (humbuck). Basicly I just want one Fender Strat clean sound , one warm neck sound , and one screaming bridge sound. I now only use 3 positions on my switch....

[frankfalbo]

You can ditch that parallel PAF Pro sound for the neck-side single coil. I have a SC420 that came with that wiring, and I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep it. I have so many other guitars with single coil and coil selection that I might just leave it as an alternative. But for you it sounds like a useless position, or at least one you'd trade. To accomplish that, I believe you could just bridge the white and black wires. That should shut off one of the coils in the parallel mode. But which coil would depend on which wire you moved. I believe on that switch if you removed the white and placed it on the black wire, you'd have the neck side. But you might have to remove the black wire and place it with the white. In other words, don't just wire a jumper between them. On my SC420, it's a special switch designed for exactly that wiring option, which I'm assuming you have. If you have the 4-pole switch, then anything is possible.

You could also replace the 5-way with a traditional 3-way switch, and have a push/pull for the humbuckers, but you'd only have one coil choice, unless instead of your push/pull you installed a 3-way mini DPDT like I was saying. Or you could have a push/pull tone pot that cuts the coils, and a push/pull volume pot that decides which coils are on. That would give you everything you wanted.

[beyblade]

Yes, it is possible

[Rotti]

Thats awsome.

[Shep]

a coil tap isn't a bad idea.but if you what that strat sound get a fender scatch plate with a set of there fine p/up's and just take off the current scatch plate and replace. eazy

[Tom Gilroy]

That looks like a souped up hank marvin strat. Looks pretty cool.