Pickups for an RGA121

[_FR0D0]

Hi,

I got today my new (to me) RGA121 and this guitar is amazing, but I don't dig the pickup selection that the previous owner made, they sound too bright for my taste. They are Seymour Duncan SH-1 in the neck and a Bare Knuckle Miracle Man in the bridge.

The SH-1 sound ok, but not great to me, I want something with just a little more low end.

And the Miracle Man is not a pickup for me at all, it sounds a little brittle and i need a pickup with good cleans.

Why I'm asking? cos it is my first mahogany/maple bodied guitar.

What kind of sound I'm looking for?

Something a little warmer but balanced, and that can do good cleans but also good distortions, but not something too aggressive.

[neptoess]

Bill Lawrence L-500C/L-500L. You won't regret it lol. www.billlawrence.com

[MadRyan]

Originally Posted by neptoess

Bill Lawrence L-500C/L-500L. You won't regret it lol. www.billlawrence.com

I realize that every time someone asks for pickup advice you can't stop yourself from plugging your favorite pickup, but really... There's no one pickup that sounds great in every single guitar. Just bustin yer balls tho, so don't take it personally.

In a mahogany guitar with a maple cap which I believe the RGA's are you're probably going to want something that has a fair bit of mids and highs. Mahogany on the whole is really warm sounding and the maple neck and cap add quite a bit of bite to the sound. In a Les Paul where you have similar body construction but a Mahogany neck you can shove a JB or a '59 in the bridge and a Jazz or Dimarzio Air Norton in the neck and it sounds awesome. Crunch with definition which sometimes LP's have issues with. In a guitar like the maple necked RGA you might want something with a little less bite. That being said, I finally settled on a JB in my alder Jackson and it sounds killer. I also really like the Breed, but the JB just provided the higher mid crunch and definition I like.

As Neptoess previously stated, the Bill Lawrence L500XL is a killer pickup. I once had a Washburn N4 with one and it was awesome. That being said, you might love one but I found them to have more output than I like, either real or perceived. I'd actually like to try another one out in a swamp ash guitar some day.

You might try a Dimarzio Super Distortion or PAF pro. Very different pickups but both sound really nice. I'd stick with the Air Norton in the neck tho.

The RGA guitars intrigue me. I didn't like the pickups in the one I played (Stock pups) but would love to play with different aftermarket pups in the thing. The guitars have an incredibly "organic" feel to them which the regular RG's seem to lack.

[danidogma]

Originally Posted by MadRyan

The RGA guitars intrigue me....The guitars have an incredibly "organic" feel to them which the regular RG's seem to lack.

That´s true. I have another RGA121 (like this)



It has a natural tone that makes notes breathe...

I have another guitar, an Ibanez RG620QM and It has the Air Norton/Steve´s Special on it. I´m very happy with them, but for my RGA I want a different bridge pickup. I was thinking about the Drop Sonic (with bar towards the neck), but I don´t know how It will sound in a mahogany body with maple top. What do you think? (I want a tight/solid rock tone)

For the neck I think the PAF Pro will be a good choice...

What do you think?

Thanks in advance.

[MadRyan]

Originally Posted by danidogma

...snip...
I have another guitar, an Ibanez RG620QM and It has the Air Norton/Steve´s Special on it. I´m very happy with them, but for my RGA I want a different bridge pickup. I was thinking about the Drop Sonic (with bar towards the neck), but I don´t know how It will sound in a mahogany body with maple top. What do you think? (I want a tight/solid rock tone)

For the neck I think the PAF Pro will be a good choice...

What do you think?

Thanks in advance.

I've never played a D-Sonic but have heard good things. Pretty much any pickup that will sound good in Basswood will most likely sound good in you RGA. The Duncan Custom and Duncan Distortion are pretty good too.

ETA: You might also think about the Steve's Special. I bet it would sound great.

[neptoess]

I know not to take it personally, b/c everyone has an opinion. The L-500C/L are lower impedence than the R/XL, meaning it'd be brighter. Brightness/darkness isn't really a problem with Lawrences either as they'll not very colored, they respond to your amp EQ or w/e mods(caps, resistors) you have

[_FR0D0]

Well, after some tweaking in the wiring of my RGA, the Miracle Man results in a keeper (the tone control was placed after the volume control giving even more high frequencies to an already bright guitar).

But then I tried again the Seymour Duncan SH-1n that was there and still didn't like it, it was ok but not great, I want something with more mids and a little more low end.

Then I tried an Evolution Neck from my other guitar and it works much better, and after I put it with the back letters backwards I get a match.

The guitar has resulted in a very balanced sound, it's a little bright but not much.

Now I need a neck pickup for my other guitar ... but thats another topic

[MadRyan]

Originally Posted by neptoess

I know not to take it personally, b/c everyone has an opinion. The L-500C/L are lower impedence than the R/XL, meaning it'd be brighter. Brightness/darkness isn't really a problem with Lawrences either as they'll not very colored, they respond to your amp EQ or w/e mods(caps, resistors) you have

So you're saying that the L-500C and L-500L are darker than the R/XL models? That's great to know. I don't even remember what I had in my Washburn but it was most likely the darker one seeing as the N4 had an alder body. I assume that the darker ones would sound better an my Alder Jackson rather than a Les Paul which would respond to the brighter pickups better. Am I right?

[neptoess]

no the C/L are brighter, because of the lower impedance. The washburn you had had an XL I believe which is the darker one but the L wouldnt be ear piercing or anything

EDIT: The R/XL would be fine in a Les Paul, as would C/L in an Alder Jackson, but considering as Jacksons are more for high output metal and LPs for classic rock I'd say R/XL for jackson and C/L for LP just b/c of the output, with BLs you can kinda EQ or use caps to get your desired tone, they're almost 100% transparent