A Few Mod Ideas & Questions For My RG321MH

[indrangelion]

Hey all!

Thinking of modding my RG321MH (natural finish). Just got it a few weeks ago, and it's quickly becoming my go-to guitar for recording things with. So I might as well make it better, both in the looks and technical department

Here's my rough mockup of the mod when it's finished:

One of the main reasons I wanted to mod this is because of a rather noticeable dent in the natural finish around the area between the bridge pickup ring and the bridge itself. The thought of covering it with a pickguard springs to mind first. Being a Tosin fan, I'm quite drawn to the idea of a tortoiseshell pickguard. Going through with this, means that I will have to direct mount the pickups, but that's not a problem since the pickup cavity is actually very nicely routed.

I do have a question about the hipshot bridge that I would like to apply over the existing bridge. Will there be any alignment issues, and will the existing bridge screw holes be covered by the Hipshot? This particular RG321 is the first year model, before they moved production to China and Indonesia and replaced the bridge with a Gibraltar.

If you have any thoughts about this mod, do let me know. Would love to hear your input!

 

[Mark_McQ]

They're excellent guitars, and worth spending cash on. I went with a pickguard on mine , stuck a graphtech nut on, Planet Waves Auto-trim tuners, and upgraded the pickups and electronics.

 

[indrangelion]

^Oh nice!

Where did you get your pickguard from? I've only looked at eBay and there are very few H/H or H/S pickguards there.

I had the same idea about the decal inlays too. But I need to match it with the pickguard pattern.

 

[Mark_McQ]

I found it on eBay used. It was listed as being from an old RG1200es, which is a really rare model. I bought it to put on my RG350dx, but the sizes were slightly out. Decided to size it up to the 321, and by luck it was a perfect fit.

This place stocks 321MH ones:
rg-321-mh - REDzLINE CUSTOM GUITARS

 

[indrangelion]

Awesome! Thanks!!

 

[nothingleft09]

You wouldn't need to direct mount the pups. The pickguard should have mounting holes for the height adjustment screws. Just use those so you won't have 4 open holes in the PG. lol I like the idea of a pickguard on these. I would upgrade the wiring while you are at it. Stew Mac has wiring kits with better ground wire and it couldn't hurt to throw some better shielding, be it paint or shielding tape as well. Get rid of all the hum you can.