Converting RGA 121 to one EMG 81,Questions and Some cold hard facts for ya!

[blowback]

First off,anyone attempting this should be aware that the standard bridge p/u mounting cavity of an Ibanez Prestige RGA121 does NOT fit an EMG 81 !!!

Bear in mind I have the solid all mahogany body w/ crushed deep ruby paint job so maybe the violin and flat finishes w/ maple tops are different

I had to route out the wood under the foam rest beneath the pickups to make the p/u cavity flat plus I had to do some decent file work on the EMG 81's sides and corners and p/u screw mount tabs to shoehorn it into the p/u cavity

Not for the faint of heart

Anyway my question is this.
I want to convert the guitar to a single humbucker w/ volume cntrl set-up.No tone control wired as I run the tone control open all the way anyway and no selector switch either as I intend to solely use the EMG 81 in the bridge

Should I just cut the cap btwn the EMG volume and tone controls and and leave it like that or should I just run the wires from the volume cntrl only and disconnect the wires running to/from the tone cntrl??

I plan on leaving the tone control pot in as a dummy for now,maybe to be replaced by an Afterburner later down the road

Thanks for any help ideas!

[LuredMaul]

disconnect the wires

[blowback]

Originally Posted by LuredMaul

disconnect the wires

You can do it that way but you can just cut the cap out too.
Did the install and it works fine just cutting the cap btwn the EMG vol and tone cntrl as well

For future reference the stock long panel input jack on the Ibanez Prestige RGA 121 is a STEREO jack,you do not need to replace it w/ a Switchcraft jack per EMG's instructions guide.If yer stock Ibanez input jack has 3 lugs on the bottom then you know it's a stereo jack.

IMPORTANT!!! Just note that the Ibanez jack has different lug assignments than the Switchcraft(which is what EMG's installation instructions are based on) so if you follow EMG's instructions you'll reverse the Main Ground and Hot input wires and get a nice can 'o bees ground hum goin' on

On the Ibanez jack, Main Ground(Black Wire from Vol cntrl to Tone cntrl) attaches to the LONGEST lug

The Hot Input(White wire from Vol cntrl) attaches to the MIDDLE size lug

And the Battery Ground(Black wire from 9V Battery terminal) attaches to the SHORTEST lug

Good luck!

[kurais]

Thanks for the lug assignments. I was going crazy trying to figure it out.