RG20th New to Ibanez

[rfrrockandroll]

Hello,
I just tackled an RG20th in road flare red. I loved the tone I had with the stock pickups through a classic 30. However I have also been reading like a fiend on this site (very informative) about set up and the like. Now it's set up and plays how I like it, but I was reading bad things about the Ibanez pickups that come stock. So I bought an evolution bridge to drop into it. I wasn't very impressed, and I was wondering if I did something wrong. I took out the stock V2 and i wired in the evolution as follows:
green and shield to back of pot
red to where the red of the v2 was
and white and black soldered together and attached to where the white of the V2 was.
I know this has been covered before, but I have read so many things I don't know what's right now.
Any help would be great, and again, great site.
Thanks,
Ryan

[reguv760]

green and shield to back of pot
red to where the red of the v2 was
and white and black soldered together and attached to where the white of the V2 was.

definitely bad wiring... the V2's are color-coded differently to DiMarzio's...
here's the reference for installing DiMarzio's on most RG's... to my understanding, DiMarzio's red = V2 green and DiMarzio green = V2 red.


not sure if the RG20th has the same 5-way switch though...

Reg

[rfrrockandroll]

thanks for such a quick response, The RG550 does have the five way switch
so if i follow that diagram i should be ok?
Thanks,
Ryan

[rfrrockandroll]

It also seems like in that diagram that it's set up for a coil tapping. Is that correct? Because If the HB's have to be opposite, I'm not sure if the stock ones where ect.
ryan

[reguv760]

coil-splitting is the term you're looking for coil-tapping is a whole different schematic (and sound) involving a push-pull pot or DPDT switch... can't help ya on that subject as I've never tried wiring such a setup
otherwise, the evo should sound in-your-face once it's wired properly.

Reg

[rfrrockandroll]

I've been trying to work through this however the drawing posted seems to be exactly backwards with how my guitar is wired. My neck pickup is soldered to the terminals which the bridge is to go to on this schematic. It's weird, like there is the group of four terminations on the switch that are soldered then the the empty one and then the other three, but mine are opposite the drawing. i.e. the bridge pickup is wired to the switch on terminals 1 and 6 as you look at the switch the way it shows in the schematic. 1 is the white wire, and 6 is the red (there are ibanez pickups in the bridge and center) which seems exactly wrong according to the drawing. I'm sorry I'm so incompetent with this stuff.
any help?
Thanks,
Ryan

[Dee]

Oh man, shame you changed those stock pups, I think they are great.

[rfrrockandroll]

I really loved the tone I had with the stock bridge but I got greedy and thought...hmmm if it's this good with this stock pickup i wonder what a fancy smancy evolution would sound like in this baby....so far...bad idea. But i'm assuming I just did the wiring wrong. I've never done that sort of work before and so I've go a steep learning curve.

[Dee]

Yeah, you might be right about the wiring. Evo's are pretty nice pickups when used in the appropriate musical setting. Not entirely my cup of tea, they are slightly harsh to these old jazz fusion ears, but great for metal. I was pleasantly surprised by the 20th pickups, though, and I feel no need to switch them.

I also have an RFR, by the way. It's my second one, having owned an original, and I think these new pickups blow the originals away.

[rfrrockandroll]

I resolved the wiring problem. I'm not sure what the deal is though. According to the diagrams my 550 has the neck and bridge PUPS wired in backwards, however when you test it by sticking the end of the screwdriver to the pickups in different switch positions the way mine is wired up is correct. So I'm not sure if the switch in mine is different or what. However the wiring was correct all along, the problem was with my amp. I have a Peavey Classic 30 combo which I love, and it has a "boost" switch on the lead channel that allows you to pre-emphasize the mids and highs. This has always been in because I liked how it sounds, however with the EVO being so hot it actually must be too much and all the top end goes away. When I just pop the "boost" button out, it sounds absolutely awesome! EVO's have so much versatility within them depending on how you use your right hand, a challenging but very rewarding quest. Thank you to all who have helped. This site really has a collective of experts and they are willing to help.
Thanks again,
Ryan

[reguv760]

must be sweet
the switch for the reference was a YM-50... there should've been a marking or a sticker on the switch of the 550.
otherwise, use that boost for something else

Reg