6 String Juggernaut - Ibanez rga121

[nesty]

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of buying another Ibanez rga 121 (I have one already and love it)

The one I'm looking at still has it's stock pickups so I'm looking to upgrade. My mind is pretty set on the Juggernauts. I mainly play metal music although I do take pride in a nice clean tone every once in a while. I have never bought pickups before so I'm kind of cautious that I don't buy the wrong options.

Bridge spacing wise what should I be going for? 50 or 53?

For conductor is it braided 2 rather than 4?

Pole screws I'm guessing is just aesthetic so I'll probably go with nickel.

Thanks

[Kiichi]

Hi and welcome.

I will not go into the model choice as Jugg does not sound unreasonable at all for modern metal with good cleans in an RG.

Bridge spacing probably 53, but just get a ruler and measure the distance between the highest and the lowest string at the bridge. Easy and giving definitve results.

Conductor: Always go 4 if you do not need vintage correct for some reason. You got more possibilities in terms of wiring (split, series / parallel, etc) which are nice to have even if you donīt wanne go for them now. Plus better resell value. Really, I see no practical reason for 2 conductor if you donīt have some really nice vintage instrument (and even then it is doubtfull to me personally).

In terms of poles there is said to be a minute difference between screws and hex bolts, but it is so small that that can be dismissed (cover vs no cover is night and day by comparison). I would really just treat it as an aesthetic thing.

[nesty]

Wiring is something I haven't considered. I'll obviously be taking the guitar to a tech to install the pickups so I'll need to advise him what way to set them up.

What are the pros/cons?

My knowledge of this is fairly limited. All I know is the guitar has a 4-way pickup selector!

[Kiichi]

Well, it really depends on what you want, and there is no clear answer to what is best. It is all a matter of taste in the end. I myself have to deliberate for a bit what I personally might deem to be the best option on a 4 way switch. There is naturally each humbucker on its own and both together, making up 3 positions right away. I guess the most obvious and least debatable option would be to have the final position wired to have both humbuckers active in split mode. That would mean that half of both the bridge and the neck would be active to form somewhat of an extra humbucker.

Half a humbucker is not a true single coil (weaker and thinner, but even that is something a PU like the Jugg handles very well) which is why a lot of people argue to not have half of a HB by itself and rather put both coils on a series / parallel switch. When you have two half HBs together however that really is something that works well, giving you a different edge to the sound. Great for cleans too.

If done on a three way switch this is also known as the Petrucci wiring.

For maximum versatility and a very usefull adition to the sound reportoir without adding such things as push pull pots I would guess this is the best way to go.

You would however be advised to order a flipped magnet on the neck PU to make that combined split noisecancelling like the other positions (which would not be affected by that).

[Toe-Knee]

Wiring is something I haven't considered. I'll obviously be taking the guitar to a tech to install the pickups so I'll need to advise him what way to set them up.

What are the pros/cons?

My knowledge of this is fairly limited. All I know is the guitar has a 4-way pickup selector!

Are you sure it's a 4 way? Ibanez standard 2 humbucker wiring is usually a 5 way with the following as they use a custom switch

1, Bridge humbucker
2, inner coils of both pickups
3, both humbuckers
4, neck parrallel
5, neck humbucker

[nesty]

Sorry you're right it's 5 not 4.

[Kiichi]

Then I would go with the wiring options Toe Knee posted, those give you a whole darned lot.

[Toe-Knee]

Its an excellent wiring scheme and theres a diagram on the bkp main site. But it's just copying what you already have really!

Be sure to order the neck with the magnet flipped otherwise position 2 wont work.

[Yellowjacket]

You'll love the Juggernauts.  They're probably the best pickups I have ever tried.  The wiring I have is Neck, Split Inner / Bridge neck parallel / split outer / bridge.  It yields very metal cleans.  You may play clean more often with these pickups, the clean tones are exceptional!

[nesty]

@ Toe-Knee Where does it give me the option to order the magnet flipped? All i can see if the bridge spacing and conductor options?

@ Yellojacket Yeah man I'm super stocked to get them. My guitar arrived in the post today, it looks awesome! I'll post a thread on it once I have the new pickups and everything installed.

[Kiichi]

@ Toe-Knee Where does it give me the option to order the magnet flipped? All i can see if the bridge spacing and conductor options?

That is something that goes into the comment box. They donīt have it as a normal option cause it would confuse more people than it is worth I guess.

[nesty]

Okay last post I swear! I just want to make sure everything is good before I splurge Ģ250.

I'm ordering the covered set with 4 conductors and requesting that the neck pickup has it's magnet flipped in order to have the below wiring:

1, Bridge humbucker
2, inner coils of both pickups
3, both humbuckers
4, neck parrallel
5, neck humbucker

I know a local electronics guy who can install them for me.

I guess that's it. Is there anything I'm missing?

[Kiichi]

Ask as long as you want, we get that feeling of wanting to be sure mate!

I think you got everything. Did you measure the String Spacing though? That is like the only thing that might be missing.

The most important thing is 4 conductor anyhow, without it you could not do position 2 and 4. The flipped magnets only effect is that position 2 is humcancelling. That way all positions are without hum and at least 4 give you good clean sounds.

[nesty]

Awesome that's everything checked off now!

When I posted this last night I couldn't find a ruler to check the spacing. I eventually found one today so I'll be going with the 53mm spacing.

Thanks a lot for your help. Much appreciated.

[Yellowjacket]

With the new guitar, one trip to the tech is always advisable.  Getting the nut height adjusted can really help with playability and that's a difficult DIY repair.  I usually shop on the Buy and Sell and my recent project guitar ended up gaining a lot having the neck moved over in the pocket and having the nut lowered.  The guitar now plays as awesome as it sounds!!