Modding a cheap Ibanez RG | Part 1: Ideas
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- Support me on Patreon: / milianmalivukmusic
Today's video is the first of a little series! We're going to modify a cheap Ibanez RGR321 which cost 190€ used! Subscribe to the channel and hit the notification bell for upcoming episodes!
Signal chain:
Guitar - Seymour Duncan 805 - Focusrite 2i2 - Overloud TH3
www.soulhenge.eu/
Thanks for all the great ideas! I gave the pickguard a second thought. What do you think about a cream pickguard that I'm going to do myself and cream pickups (the Dimarzio Super 2 and DP100 are available in cream on Thomann) so the guitar would have the cream color as the "theme" - very very classy and traditional, also pickup wise. I mean the body and headstock binding is cream aswell!
I will then sand the neck and polish the black finish to get rid of the scratches. The big impact at the back would just stay where it is as you can't see it when the guitar is played.
I think bare knuckle pickups (juggernaut, brute force, or ragnarok) would go well with the guitar. A graph tech tusk nut and locking tuners would go great as well in my opinion
What about a coffee theme? Do cream pickguard and pickups and then a light brown/natural satin finish on the body and headstock?
maybe you culd put in some Zebras with the cream scratchplate. Dont know if its too much. If you dont do a Scratchplate the Zwbras would fit to the Binding.
@@ToxicScorpion1989 I'm building a Frankenstein RG and had a reversed zebra black/cream pickup in the bridge, and got a white pickup to go above it in the neck position, gonna look sick and I've never seen anyone do that.
DiMarzio titans would be pretty sweet. I'd definitely try to remove the pickup rings, they're pretty ugly.
Phoenix D0wn I just put them in my Ibanez and they are awesome. The intro of the video really sounds like Periphery too😂
Some of those tones are so killer man. Love this axe.
Ibanez Tight end R bridge. Cheaper than a hip shot.
Direct mounting pickups is a bigger pain than you would think. Pickups mounting tabs have to be modified. And looks kind of crappy because the route is for pickup rings. They leave a lot more space around the mounting tabs. So you get this DIY EVH Frankenstein thing going on. The filled in pickup mounting ring screw holes don’t help the look either.
Obviously I have tried all this on an RG. And it was totally fun. So do what you want.!
You have a cool channel. Good luck with the project!
I have the same guitar, and it has some wear and scratches. Thank you very much for giving me an idea.
I've got one of these used, had her cleaned up and gave her a proper set up and put an EMG 81/85 set in it. It's now my go-to axe for brutal death metal.
@shadowalk so how's the axe holding up? Still doing that Brutal Death Metal shit? 💯
@@maidentexas7848 Still alive and continues to do what I intend it to do and it still does it well!
@@shadowalk how's it doing now? still brutal death? I'm planning to buy one used for bdm too.
@@mrtuning1194 Still alive and still the death metal axe that it is@ I have it in D standard with 10-46 GHS strings. Still the same EMG 81/85. I don't ever plan on selling this guitar lol.
@@shadowalk sick, planning to buy one for myself and tune it to C Standard, stay brutal🤘🤘
I changed my stock tone n volume pods for the (Mad Hatter) "Terminator" System.
Along w/ swapping the Tone Zones for some Dimarrzio Evo2 pick ups.
Complete game changer. If you like using multiple effects and turning the volume up to 11 this is the way to go.. ...Steve Vai has this System installed on EVO
Hipshot bridge. Hipshot open gear tuners. Fret level. Tusq xl nut. Seymour Duncan Pegasus and sentient with coil splits.
why those pickups?
My opinion. Sand the neck: ok. Then finish with tru oil. Polish the frets: of course! Fingerboard: clean and oil. Body: I like black color and white binding. its a classic. So i would just polish the whole finish up (soft wet sanding with 3000 grain, depending on the depth of the scratches. Then polish higloss with paste). You didn't show a closeup of the impact on the back, so its difficult to decide what to do there. Maybe i would just leave it like it is. Or maybe its possible to fill it up / repair it somehow. I would not try to remove the "old" varnish. And never a (complete) new lacquering by myself! Thats a really tough job. And i think you will never be pleased at the end. And what about the binding....? Pickguard: Definitely YES! I would try several designs on the computer, and then decide the new look. New bridge: Yes. In case its not possible to get rid of the sharp edges. Maybe you could pimp the old bridge. New pickups: yes. I am shure you know what models are best for you! Anyway: With your playing every pickup will sound awesome.... ! As i said: Just MY opinion. Have fun!
You should compensate the nut! It's something not everyone does and it really makes intonation better, especially on the first frets.
Hey man I certainly can’t say for sure but it’s likely that the finish on the back of that neck is satin polyurethane, sanding it’s a great idea but be sure to wear proper safety stuff that’s harsh dust. Oil finishes are really easy to do and feel fantastic so that might be something to look into, tru oil is popular for this, done right it feels like a fine antique gun stock. It’s a great idea to test a finish on a test piece of wood before committing it to a guitar so you know exactly what to do. Maple is a tight grained closed pore wood and therefore should not require any pore filling. I assert that a good careful refinish on the neck is key to making an inexpensive guitar something you’ll love to play and wood finishing is a fascinating topic, so I hope to see you delve into It. Cheers from California
I love that guitar. That black with the EMGs in it looks beautiful. I'd definitely take it
I have the exact same guitar and I can say it sounds amazing and the harmonics are fucking awesome on it
Hipshot bridge. Hipshot open gear tuners. Fret level. Tusq xl nut. Seymour Duncan Pegasus and sentient with coil splits.
Sand the neck and then apply tung oil. Will make a huge difference. The neck finish on this one is not tha good. And since the guitar is used i would polish/level the frets. And maybe a bridge and tuner replacemnt would be nice. After all those steps it would feel like a totally different instrument
I like scratches . Gives so much unique look
I've got a heavily modded RG550 back from 87 or 89, not quite sure :D Either way - it's got the lacquer removed and body oiled, only bridge pickup is still installed, single volume knob and my god it's a winner - lack of neck and middle pickup gives that guitar a bit more bite and MOJO, also removing lacquer gave it a little bit of that mid clarity if you know what I mean :) Hope it goes well :)
Fist of all, probably you should change bridge for kind of Hipshot or Gotoh one, then change this cheap plastic saddle on the neck for graphite Tusq or something like that. For pickup choice I suggest set of DiMarzio from JP's Ibanez from 90's - Steve Special in the bride and Air Norton on the neck position. That will close you to sound of John Petrucci's Ibanez or first Music Man. Cheers!
U nailed every pinch harmonic-
I have the same guitar but ver 2008 with pickup Inf 1 n 2, still have in my home until now
Hi man! Beautiful video like always, this ibby is really awesome,also for the price. You could also change the nut with a graphtech nut, i think it would probably improve your tuning stability.
Cheers:)
whats about the Fishman fluence modern Pickups in brushed Stainless or black Nickel?
for the Bridge the Ibanez Tight End-R would fit in nice.
If you are not comfortable with the Body after polish, you could could grind down the color and give it a wooden look.
But then you stay with the black headstock.
to cover the screwholes from the pickuprings you could built a Pickguard out of nice looking wood.
I'm planing on giving my Ibanez RG 1570 Prestige a modding, too. They lool pretty similar, so I'm very tensed what you gonna do with it. If you ask me, I would add the following components:
Hipshot Grip-Lock Tuners (the open version; black). Don't forget to add the Industrial Tuner Buttons to them (also in black) - They Make a hell of a difference in terms of badass looking.
For the Bridge, I would stay with Hipshot and get a fixed 6 String Bridge. For pickups, some decent Seymour Duncan Black Winter, since Fishman Fluence Modern would be unfortunately too expensive.
I think the original sound is quite nice already...but naturally one can upgrade it.
do u have idea what is the exact size of potentiometer for ibanez rg421? without the need of adjusting the hole..thanks..
I've been thinking of using my own RG421 as a modding platform for a while now. At first, my plans sounded a lot like some comments here: €600+ hardware, convert to direct mounted pickups and a complete refinish.... on a €190 guitar. Definitely fun but not very realistic.
My current idea for the refinish is to darken the maple neck, paint the body ivory white with a faux binding that matches the neck. If I can't get the right shade on the neck and binding I can always go with black.
Hardware wise I'll go black, locking tuners and a new nut. I want a new bridge (it's the same as yours) but haven't figured out which one. Pickups are undecided as well. HH or maybe even a P90 in the neck... choices choices.
This is a RGR321EX.
1) Shim the neck so the saddle grub screws don't dig into your hand.
2) Used set of EMG 85/60 - one volume
3) Graphtech Tusq nut
...not worth the time for a refinish BUT personally would probably do a neon/fluorescent green with a neon orange faux body binding... Maybe some hot-pink pickup rings
People like you shouldn't be allowed to touch guitars.
Hey dude cheers from the other side of the world. I think that rg is a standard one they usually have the standard ones in their website, I have an S model standard that wasn't to expensive really great guitar tho my mods are simple new pickups, tuners, graph tech nut and new bridge ( i keeped mine just change the saddles to fix the pointy ends of the mini screws). Other than that mine came without pickup rings so that is good thing. Im just starting to modify it.
Ibanez er worst shitty guitars, with worst picups.. overall guitar is like potato chips on diet..
You should put in Kmise Zebra Faced Humbuckers from Amazon. They are only $14 and have 166 reviews with 4.5 stars overall.
Remove the neck pickup and add a bookmatched ash veneer on top of the body
What i would do to this guitar is:
- Change the bridge to a Hipshot or a Babicz
- Pickups: Seymour sh-2n & sh-4 (i think it would sound really good)
- Remove the humbucker rings
- Sand down the neck
- I would "fix" the dent on the body, and paint it to white. With all the black hardwares (like PU, knobs, bridge, headstock, tuners) I think is would be a nice sounding and looking instrument : )
Ádám Németh blackouts or invaders
I had the same Ibanezs for years, it's very good
An easy bridge upgrade would be to just change the saddles to Graphtech String Saver saddles. Keep the original baseplate.
That’s why I love Ibanez guitars.
i can recommend the harley benton locking tuners. they are only around 30 bucks, but they are surprisingly good.
Really? I've tried the HB fanfret 7-string and that one had really shitty tuners and I've heard similar opinions from other people. Maybe it's a hit-and-miss with those. I'll keep the stock ones for now and see how they do.
Btw love your channel Johnny, you're the guy who taught me the most of my mixing and mastering knowledge.
I would love to see where this goes. I would say do paint and bridge first, you could direct mount the existing pickups and get ride of those disgusting pickup rings at the same time as repainting it. Maybe do like a flat charcoal grey color? I feel like that would be great. What were you thinking for the color?
I've had something more oldschool in mind, maybe like a Dark Blue Metallic or Galaxy Black. Maybe something really 80s or 90s, but the problem is with painting I'm not sure if I should paint over the headstock logo. I only found replacement logos on shady websites until now.
This might be not something you're into, but what about leaving the headstock black? I have a lower end Indonesian Indonesian myself (rg6003fm) and its got a transparent grey flamed maple top and glossy black headstock, I hated it at first but it's really grown on me! *edit* It would be killer to see a metallic chameleon green!
@@DELTAdarke The RG6003FM is definitely a winner...(especially in that blue flamed Maple top)..... But this is four years ago so I'm sure you know this by now. I traded mine for a used RG3EX1FM.
I also have the S521 which is basically the exact same guitar except in the saber or also known as, S series shape. They are both mahogany they both have the quantum pickups and they both have the same neck and the same bridge so I traded my 6003 for something a bit different. And I love it honestly! But you cannot go wrong with the S521 OR the 6003 FM. It just depends on what body style you want. I basically bought both guitars within a month of each other and I have never owned an S-Series until that time period so I figured the RG would be a good trade. I love it!
Maybe go with Seymour Duncan SH-6 Distortion Mayhem Set for that, it can sound amazing
These little screws hurt my right hand while playing. They stick out too much. Is there a way to do this? A bridge is set up, but what about when there is no fun to play because it is a terrible idea with those protruding screws. The other bridges are smooth and nothing bothers them. Any tips?
I filed them short, you can also buy these online that are shorter!
pickup ring removal would be on point idea, also maybe cover the dot inlay with brown coat which match with the color of the fretboard / black permanent spidol. I think it would be more modern and agresive looking.
Please try lundgren m6 pickups, they sound amazing, and doesnt get the love they should have
Interesting how much you infersised the "stupid tremelo"
I've heard so many times that the tremelo versions are pretty damn good if set up properly.
BTW iam looking at getting one of these and I have a fender Strat with a tremelo that I actually don't use and the bridge is decked. Iam looking for a good metal/hard rock guitar and have a Ibanez RG 42t in excellent condition for a very good price close by for sale.
hi.. this hipshot can compatible to stratocaster?
That looks like a 2007 first batch of the RGR321EX without the INF1 pickups or the ugly gibraltar fixed bridges. Same model/age as mine.
seriously.... we need a tutorial on that awesome tone D:
I would refinish it and get the pickup rings removed for sure. Been thinking of doing it myself on a brand new 421 (black body maple fingerboard) too.
Cant wait to see how your mods work out!
i know, looks cool but its also 70€ more expensive on my local reseller :P
321 is my favorite especially the newer ones with Wizard 3.
I gues the new ones called rg421ex,did you mean that under "new"? )
was hoping if you’d change to Seymour Duncans Alpha/Omega pickups and locking tuners instead?
SD Invaders would be nice.
Hello, Greetings from the United States
Can you do a comparison video with your Laney amp and the Line 6 POD HD500 using the 4 cable method and running it directly into the power amp section? I own the same amp but the 120 watt with a 2x12 Laney cab.
Thanks!!!
I have never seen one of these guitars that has not had the absolute stuffing beat out of it. I've had two of these over the last ten years, and they were both seriously beaten up. I also think the paint is very fragile, giving to complete chunks just breaking off when it's thrown in a closet, or dropped.
Mine is a 2008 RG2EX1, with the factory V7/V8 pickups. Yours had the earlier IBZ by EMG, which is probably around 2005. I like those, but my pickups sound just fine. Mine also has a five-way, with coil splitting.
From what I understand, they were a guitar offered exclusively through Guitar Center. I never did find the original MSRP, but judging by the fact so many were treated so poorly, I assume they were just slightly more than a Gio. The Wizard II neck is my favorite neck of all necks. This comes from someone who has been playing since 1988. This is a solid guitar, my favorite of the over 20 I've owned in 25 years.
Good video.
vielleicht einfach die Rückseite abschleifen und Klarlack oder Öl drüber und die Decke schwarz lassen? Dimarzio Pickups kriegt man recht günstig und die sind eigentlich ziemlich alle ok.
ibanez trems are not stupid or cheap!, what kind of comment is that?
I'm talking about the trems of the cheap Ibanez models. I own an RGR465M with such a bridge and it's not that good, especially compared to my Prestige RGD with an Edge Zero trem which is a fantastic bridge.
Will you try the newer fusion edge that comes with iron label and now prestiges?
Been pretty curious about these pickups, hope to see a review from you!
Dude!! That's called relicing!!! ;D~ Ahhh..my ears!!! I thought the pickups were EMG's but then you started playing. They have an extreme icepick quality. Looking forward to see what you put in there.
Best RegardsWishes!
Just got this channel, waw this guitar is from my country, nice video man keep it up making the video like this. Support from indonesia.
Wood has nothing to do with tone. But, bridge and nut do, as well as the puckups. Change the nut, change the bridge to something cormfotable, change the pickups, have frets at least polished, but leveled would be great. The Dimarzio Super 3 in bridge, Paf pro in neck. It will rip. ;).
Regards from the midwest, Indiana USA.
Ich treinken starker kaffee und rauchen. ;)
Maybe some dimarzios? They're good and not too expensive. Also, hipshot has a bridge that is made to fit in the routing of that Ibanez bridge, similar to the one you put on the 7 string. Also a new nut and that should make the guitar great.
Sweet I have this guitar but older. And I pit planet waves auto cut locking tuners.
I’m thinking change the bridge to a hipshot bridge and the pickups to some Schecter pickups
can you swap an RG neck to a Gio body? for example rg470 neck to grg270?
woah 190€? Meanwhile here in Korea buying that guitar brandnew would be around 615€ and the cheapest secondhand one would be no less than 380€
I have the version of that guitar with a mahogany body. I originally bought it on clearance with the idea of modding it one day. So far I am looking at new pickups and pots.
These brand new go for $700 easy in Australia
IT AINT CHEAP 😭
Fishman pickups. Hipshot bridge and locking tuners. Brass nut.
If you want to see a scratched guitar lemme show you the back of my Strat.
+Soulhenge, hope you’re very well.
I DARE you to pick up a old Ibanez Roadstar, from the early ‘80’s, especially w/the really weird tremolo. I partially learnt on a friend’s.
Actually I would really want to own an RG565 from the 90s :D
I think...who cares about the dent. That's no big deal. Strip her down, and if you want, wet sand and polish the existing paint to get rid of any minor surface scratches. But the big thing is to get the pups out and the bridge. Choose some pups, if you want to go with an eighties style sound....you mentioned you wanted to keep it eighties, don't know if you meant just looks or sound too, but if so, throw some EMG pups in there, maybe 81/85's....or Dimarzio crunch lab perhaps? Can't go wrong with a super distortion either....you can leave the rings on , but if you don't, either fill the holes or who cares if they are still there. You can always fill em and just hit em with a black sharpie or black nail polish etc..... Clean the neck and oil it......I use naptha to clean my necks, then I use boiled linseed oil to treat the wood after. If you sand the neck, you should also treat it as well. If the pots are 250k swap em to 500k......get a decent bridge, someone mentioned a hipshot.....
Hipshot bridge
Hipshot tuners
No pickups rings
Sand the neck
Bareknucle juggernauts
Bin mal gespannt was du für ne Brücke wählst. Hab eine RG421 und die Brücke ist nicht so toll. Chrome löst sich und die Intonations Schraube von der Tiefen E Saite Vibriert sich lose
like phoenix said dimarzio titans, no pickup rings hipshot hardware
In other videos you review / use VST's, in this one you are using an amp, and this sounds much better...
Sounds like punk rock happened to the guitar..........
My RG321 is mahogany body maybe RGR321 also mahogany.
Why don't you try the g-rail from warmain pickups?
you are young but you seem to know quite a lot already.
either way, subbed.
I have the same exact one, color and everything except I have a normal head stock
maybe put on this guitar the Seymour duncen nazgul or pegasus
lots of options
already waiting for the vids :)
The one thing I love about Ibanez, is the fret board is very playable on even the cheap models. If you buy an inexpensive Ibanez, you can easily mod it out and make it really good!
Or buy one that is already good
I have one that's a bit newer so it has the INF1 and INF2 pickups. I've been playing it for almost 2 years now and I honestly love everything about it except for that AWFUL BRIDGE. I'm thinking of replacing it with a Gibraltar Standard II bridge.
Go Hipshot
You got a new subscriber I want to see what you will do with this Guitar
Ich glaube du bist deutscher! Ich meine ja EBay Kleinanzeige
hi can you upgrade the bridge on this guitar for something better??? is there a better one that fits??? thanks
Not sure which one would fit without drilling. Maybe a better Ibanez bridge (Gibraltar, Tight-End) or a Hipshot. I'm keeping the original one on this for now, I've taken care of the little screws which are the only problem really. No real need to spend 80 bucks on a new bridge.
Some fishmans would be super cool
I recommend you don’t use steel wool. The little metal shavings come off and get into your pickups and cause electrical problems.
Tape them off
Yay! A new video! It'll be very fun to see you doing something you've never done before and succeeding as always.
Guitarmory foxbat pickups
I got an RBIB21 about a year ago and love it. I love the 28 inch scale neck. It has EMG 60 and 81 active pickups and a fixed bridge. I would like to change the pickups but to use passive pickups then it would have to be rewired, so I am told. So what other active picks would make this guitar growl in power chords and sing when notes are played or a chord is picked or strummed?
Hipshot Locking tuners boi
Take off all the paint/lacquer and then sand it and then just oil it and seal it with a natural wood finish, also no pick up rings and some dimarzio titans in there ;)
cool idea, but basswood looks pretty meh with just oil finish. and the body is probably 3 or more pieces
Put fishman fluence modern pick up in it
Maxence Pelletier I did that to my ibanez rg42fm it sounds so amazing
I did it to my ibanez mtm20 and they sound amazing as heck
Sand it down and then stain it dark brown, that would be cool I think
I would definitely put an evertune bridge on this guitar!
Due to the fact that the body is made of basswood, first of all I'd install the couple Dimarzio CrunchLab and Liquifire, in order to give the guitar a massive sound with much low end (frequencies that the basswood can't give you). Secondly I'd change the bridge, because the one installed, as you noticed, isnt' good at all! Finally I'd change the tuners...for example gotoh locking tuners could be great. With these mods the guitar will be absolutely stunning in my opinion ;)
Indonesia aku bngga !!!!
Horeee
more Chinabergs pls lol
Sounds good already
Tip: Don't sand the paint off, use a heat gun! Sanding takes a long time, and it is far too easy to sand too much and compromise the shape.
what is that thing over the nut?
A fretwrap. This prevents the strings behind the nut from ringing out
kleinanzeigen = craigslist....
You should scallop the last 15 or so frets 🤘
Made in Indonesia?