ashleypower Posted November 25, 2011 Report Share Posted November 25, 2011 Hey. Recently got an Ibanez RG 170 in a trade. I'm planning on re-finishing it, and replacing the hardware and electronics. I'm a noob, only done a couple of small jobs so far. What kind of bridge will I need? I'm not sure of string spacing, or how to measure it. PUP and electronics suggestions? I'm not a "metal head" by any means, mostly 90's music, but I like high output, and nice clean sound. AND there's tuners. Ideas? Thanks a bunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 Pics are king. What kind of bridge did it have? pups n tuners depend on your budget. There's fancy locking tuners that will trim the excess string off for you and then there's places like guitarfetish and guitarheads.net that have great product for little $$. The guitarheads "gold rush" pups are very warm with nice clean tone. What's your budget, low dough or all out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleypower Posted November 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 Pics are king. What kind of bridge did it have? pups n tuners depend on your budget. There's fancy locking tuners that will trim the excess string off for you and then there's places like guitarfetish and guitarheads.net that have great product for little $. The guitarheads "gold rush" pups are very warm with nice clean tone. What's your budget, low dough or all out? Unfortunately for now, low dough...haha, as always. The bridge is kinda like a Strat-like trem. I'm just not sure of string spacing, things like that. The PUPs were the H-S-H config. They sound "ok", but not to my liking. Like I said, I like high output, but I like nice clean tones as well...I LOVE the Strat sound, but HATE the hum. I actually just came in from my garage, did some sanding. http://s1125.photobucket.com/albums/l596/ashleypower/Ibanez/ There's the partially sanded body, and crappy bridge and tuner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 K. Looks like a good start. Visit http://www.guitarheads.net/ and put together a package of tuners/pups and while there, look through the 'electronics' section. Lots of cool mods to be had for cheap. The cavity in that RG has plenty of room too. What color are you re-doing it in? Oh and as far as a bridge goes, keep yours and try new saddles. Routing for a FR is an option too. You started it, the rest is up to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleypower Posted November 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 K. Looks like a good start. Visit http://www.guitarheads.net/ and put together a package of tuners/pups and while there, look through the 'electronics' section. Lots of cool mods to be had for cheap. The cavity in that RG has plenty of room too. What color are you re-doing it in? Oh and as far as a bridge goes, keep yours and try new saddles. Routing for a FR is an option too. You started it, the rest is up to you. I was thinking about a dark stain, or white. I was thinking about gold hardware as well. That brings up another question actually...haha. Am I able to slap a pickguard on that? Some Ibanez models with pickguards LOOK like the same shape... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 yes, you can "slap" a PG on there.... two things tho .... it wont stick, you'll need screws. and two- ( srius face ) the cavity will need to be routed out through the front, possibly. The PG will add thickness to the front and the switch screws won't reach , along with the path being hampered on each end. although I think White, with gold hardware and pup rings will look very stately. Like a tuxedo kinda. all elegant n stuff. Those gold rush humbuckers I mentioned earlier come in white and they have gold adjusting screws. That'd look sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleypower Posted November 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 yes, you can "slap" a PG on there.... two things tho .... it wont stick, you'll need screws. and two- ( srius face ) the cavity will need to be routed out through the front, possibly. The PG will add thickness to the front and the switch screws won't reach , along with the path being hampered on each end. although I think White, with gold hardware and pup rings will look very stately. Like a tuxedo kinda. all elegant n stuff. Those gold rush humbuckers I mentioned earlier come in white and they have gold adjusting screws. That'd look sweet. Last question for now... How important is string spacing at the bridge, how do I measure it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 How important is string spacing at the bridge, how do I measure it? Pretty important..center of high E to center of low E Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleypower Posted November 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 How important is string spacing at the bridge, how do I measure it? Pretty important..center of high E to center of low E Looks to be about 2 1/8"? Does that sound right? Haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 yes it sounds right.That is what mine end up at for the most part.The reason it's important to keep that spacing is so that the strings run straight down the neck at the right taper..that Wilkinson bridge on the guitarheads site looks like a direct fit and looks much higher quality... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 An RG170 isn't worth pumping all that money into it. It is a budget instrument and there will be only so much you can do. I would just replace the pickups. The money you don't spend will get you another RG! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 Not necessarily. The pups and tuners can be had for under $90 New pups and tuners will do wonders for it. White paint and a pearloid PG? Smokin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleypower Posted November 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 An RG170 isn't worth pumping all that money into it. It is a budget instrument and there will be only so much you can do. I would just replace the pickups. The money you don't spend will get you another RG! I know it's a cheap guitar, but I like making it "my own". Turning it from the piece of junk in the corner into something that I wanna pick up and play. I also know that for the money I'll spend, I could probably pick up a 350, which looks a lot like what I'm going for. I HATE Floyd Roses too, so this is a good opportunity to have that 350, but now it'll be a 350 with my specs. I understand your point, but this is just fun for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 My first "real" guitar was a Kamen Applause superstrat thing...in other words,it was crap...I put a Tone Zone in the bridge and played that damn thing until I wore the frets flat.I still miss it..and I still have it(in pieces) One of these days I will refret my Wizard neck,put it back on my Sabre,and take the warmoth neck from the sabre and put it on that crappy plywood body,and I will have my first real guitar back... It really doesn't matter what it's worth,as long as it plays like you want it to...I used to be a music nerd,and now I am a guitar nerd,but I miss the days when I just played and didn't care what the guitar was made from... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleypower Posted November 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 My first "real" guitar was a Kamen Applause superstrat thing...in other words,it was crap...I put a Tone Zone in the bridge and played that damn thing until I wore the frets flat.I still miss it..and I still have it(in pieces) One of these days I will refret my Wizard neck,put it back on my Sabre,and take the warmoth neck from the sabre and put it on that crappy plywood body,and I will have my first real guitar back... It really doesn't matter what it's worth,as long as it plays like you want it to...I used to be a music nerd,and now I am a guitar nerd,but I miss the days when I just played and didn't care what the guitar was made from... I still have my first guitar too...a Series A! Strat knockoff, S-S-S, cream with a brown-cream swirl pick guard, brass nut. That guitar is awesome...just needs to be wired up. I tried to install pickups a long time ago and totally messed it up...haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 My first was a Hondo Strat copy made of plywood. Stripped it and left it at that. A real beater with no pretense of being anything it wasn't. I think that we should be given the choice of being able to recover all of our "first" guitars as perma-nostalgia, but I am sure I would hate that Strat now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleypower Posted December 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 One BIG thing that I didn't even think about now is "electronics". Pots, input, 5 way selector... It had just one volume, one tone, and the switch. Suggestions? Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 I recommend the DiMarzio megaswitch or whatever it's called. I switch my HSH S-1540 from br./split br.+mid./mid./mid.+split neck/neck. Works fantastically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleypower Posted December 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Hey guys. I really like the look of this bridge...will it be ok for my guitar? I checked out the string spacing...the 2 1/8" is almost identical to the 10.8mm stated here: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/GOLD-Wilkinson-WVP6-Modern-6-Screw-Type-Guitar-Tremolo-Bridge-/160696635966?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item256a44123e#ht_2892wt_952 Would the 10.8mm be the same as 2 1/8"? I just used Google to convert. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 One BIG thing that I didn't even think about now is "electronics". Pots, input, 5 way selector... It had just one volume, one tone, and the switch. Suggestions? Thanks again! I think 1 V, 1 T and a 5 way is the way to go . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleypower Posted December 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Yeah, that's the config. that it came in. I don't want to change the config. at all, just wondering what type of electronics to use; what's the best bang for buck. I've been looking at pre-wired assemblies, but it's hard to come by exactly what I need. Most are for Strats or Teles. One BIG thing that I didn't even think about now is "electronics". Pots, input, 5 way selector... It had just one volume, one tone, and the switch. Suggestions? Thanks again! I think 1 V, 1 T and a 5 way is the way to go . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleypower Posted January 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 Got my bridge yesterday! I was pumped...until I put the bridge down and the screw holes don't line up! Greaaaat... I'm gonna fill the existing holes and re-drill...but I have one question first. I was gonna use the old holes as sort of a reference point. I figure if I keep the D and G holes (if you understand) and screw the bridge down there, then drill new E, A, B, and e holes? Does this sound like it would work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Hmmm. I can't say for sure, but that sounds *sounds* safest. Can you use two strings to line up its position better? The high and low E strung up, or even thread/twine will give you solid lines to follow. See which holes line up, and go from there. Double-check your nut-to-saddle measurement while you're there too, just to be on the safe side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Going through this forum, been a lurker for years, recently signed up. HONESTLY, think good and hard about your planned upgrades. You are going to spend a LOT of money upgrading the guitar, and its frankly not worth it. Id sell the guitar, and get a japanese model ibanez. You can find rg500's for less then 300 all over the place. You would spend more then that upgrading the crappy components, and you're left with the same crappy neck and body you started with. Simply my 2 cents. Don't read too much into my post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 I have to agree. The components are expensive and despite the practice/experience being invaluable, the finished instrument will still just be a cheap end Ibby with expensive bits bolted onto it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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