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Wiring help rg550

2K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  rlslavik 
#1 ·
Hi

Just got myself a 1991 rg550 and herd good things about the v2 pickup that was in the bridge.

However I found it very flabby when playing distorted chords - it's the v2 with the hex heads rather than screw heads

I decided to replace it with a Seymour duncan custom custom and it does sound better but still not great.

I then put the v2 into my rg350my that's 2 years old and it sounds great in this guitar.

Why does it sound so bad in the 550

Do I need to change pots etc as I have never done this, I guess I could swap all the wiring from the 350 to the 550 but I understood that the 550 would be better quality???

Any help appreciated

Thanks
 
#2 · (Edited)
I would think that maybe your pots are bad. Doesn't hurt to replace them, especially if the guitar is over 20 years old! I have an 1990 RG550, and the neck pickup sounds weak! It's the Original V1? But anywho, I plan replacing ALL the electronics on it, from the pots to the pickups. But it could be a bad connection as well... doesn't hurt to open that bad boy and 'tug' a little bit. But, I'd go with replacing all the old electronics.
 
#4 ·
I read an great article about pickups earlier today that said the same pickup will sound different in 2 different guitars for MANY reasons.

Big part of the reason is exact harmonic spacing. If you move a pickup 1/2 inch forward or backward, it is picking up different harmonics from the strings.
You may lose the 5th. and 10th order and pickUP the 6 and 12th order - or something to that degree...

Also the spacing between the pole pieces and the strings affects sound. If a pickup sits lower in one guitar than another it is farther away from the string and therefore not picking up the same input.

As well, different strings on 2 guitars will be noticeable - same as when you put new strings on the SAME guitar. Or even the string GAUGE.
Fatter strings, thicker sound. Different brands are made different. Choice of metal wraps and core material. All important on an electrical level.

Different type WOOD is also supposed to make a difference although to ME it would seem an electrical system is incapable of noticing the difference. Many people swear by it obviously and to be fair I have never done a comparison of 2 guitars built EXACTLY the same except for the wood.
On acoustics guitars - of course - but electric? No opinion...

And also consider the caps, resistors and pots the signal has to go through. If one guitar has a 250k vol and 250k tone for controls, while the other has a 500k vol, 500k tone, .2mf cap and a resistor, as well possibly a treble bleed setup, the difference will be insane.

LOT of stuff to consider looking for that perfect "sound".
 
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