NGD: The most ss.org guitar I own edition

[TedEH]

It's been a busy week but I got to try the lundgrens, although only in a 1x10. They seem really hot but still pretty full, not harsh or anything. I'll be able to try them properly in the next day or two.

 

[lost_horizon]

Congrats! I love a thin neck with the maple fretboard.

Damn I thought this was a thread when we show off the most ss.org guitar we own :'(

 

[TedEH]

I don't think I've quite reached ergo-shaped alternate-temperment custom-built headless matching-knobs flamed-with-bevels level of ss.org, but I'll get there some day.

After a few days of noodling with Lundgrens, I think I'd describe them as very..... "extra". And I can't decide if I like that or not.

 

[Edika]

After the most apt title for SSO, I'll present you with one of the most SSO answers to this thread:
"It seems the guitar is not a great fit for you and in fact a piece of crap. But I'll take it of your hands and dispose of it, so let me send you my address".

In all seriousness, that is a great looking instrument and an RGD, better yet if it's a used Prestige, is a great score. As it was mentioned, the longer scale length might be also throwing you off, but the fact it feels.super solid is a good sign. No tuning instability hopefully.

I still need to get a used Prestige to be more SSO myself. I have a Prestige I bought from new and by now is used, but it's not the same thing lol!

 

[TheDandy]

I still need to get a used Prestige to be more SSO myself. I have a Prestige I bought from new and by now is used, but it's not the same thing lol!

If you'd like to sell it to me and then buy it back at a tremendous loss then it would be used! Just spitballing.

 

[Edika]

If you'd like to sell it to me and then buy it back at a tremendous loss then it would be used! Just spitballing.

"I'll never sell that guitar, it's the best guitar I've ever owned and I'll be keeping it forever!!"

5 minutes later on the FS section of SSO!

 

[lost_horizon]

I don't think I've quite reached ergo-shaped alternate-temperment custom-built headless matching-knobs flamed-with-bevels level of ss.org, but I'll get there some day.

It's also a Collab between a site vendor and self built, plus it has the Ibanez Super Wizard neck profile (17mm neck profile) and it was partly made in Sweden, USA and Australia. Then it got dissed by a cult Meshuggah and Scary symmetry Guitarist of ERGs:

After a few days of noodling with Lundgrens, I think I'd describe them as very..... "extra". And I can't decide if I like that or not.

How very SSO, Per Nilsson uses Lundgrens on his Strandy

 

[TedEH]

Now that I've spent some time with the M7s I can't say I'm a fan at the moment. I think they're too bright - which when combined with how HOT the pickups seem to be, cause most of my sounds to come out kinda harsh. I'm wondering if maybe the treble bleed is having an effect even with the volume all the way up. I don't have any other guitars with a bleed cab, so I'm not familiar with what they do. I suppose it would be easy enough to chop the cap out and see what happens. Is anyone familiar with those to know if they still brighten things up at max volume? Or if they're a bad combo with the M7s?

 

[TheBloodstained]

What the...?!

I've never seen that model/spec before? Is it a semi custom, or is it just some weird local variant that us feeble Europeans never will have the pleasure of touching?

It's gorgeous!

 

[budda]

Now that I've spent some time with the M7s I can't say I'm a fan at the moment. I think they're too bright - which when combined with how HOT the pickups seem to be, cause most of my sounds to come out kinda harsh. I'm wondering if maybe the treble bleed is having an effect even with the volume all the way up. I don't have any other guitars with a bleed cab, so I'm not familiar with what they do. I suppose it would be easy enough to chop the cap out and see what happens. Is anyone familiar with those to know if they still brighten things up at max volume? Or if they're a bad combo with the M7s?

Treble bleed shouldnt have an effect if everything is on 10 afaik.

 

[TedEH]

Treble bleed shouldnt have an effect if everything is on 10 afaik.

I've been trying to google it, and I've found conflicting reports. I've never had a treble bleed in anything before, so I wouldn't know. Some claim that once you're at full volume the cap is entirely out of the signal and has no effect anymore, and some claim that this is only "theoretically" true but in practice volume pots are not perfect, so there's still some effect.

I snipped the cap out yesterday, and it definitely solved at least one of the two things: I actually just don't like the treble bleed effect. With high gain, it completely changes the effect of a volume swell. With the cap in place, it felt like the volume went from 0 to 100 in the first quarter of the pot. Now it tapers/swells like I would expect it to. I want to say it might have solved some of the harshness at full volume, but I don't know if that's just me imagining things or if it really made a difference. I probably should have recorded or measured something before I cut the cap out, but whatever.

I found it kinda weird that when I opened the back, I found electric tape. The wiring for the pickup swap was spliced in instead of redone, apparently. I didn't look to see if the wires are soldered together under the tape yet, but when I have some time I'll need to look at it. It's still clean in there, and everything functions just fine, so I'm hopeful they're soldered, but I wasn't expecting electric tape.

Is it a semi custom, or is it just some weird local variant that us feeble Europeans never will have the pleasure of touching?

According to some random ibanez wiki, the "Roadster Orange Flat" finish was USA only.

 

[gh0styboi]

RGD for the win. I've got an extended scale 6 and a multiscale 7, and that Prestige you just bought is on my short list. Congrats on the score, man. Happy NGD

 

[Ordacleaphobia]

If you'd like to sell it to me and then buy it back at a tremendous loss then it would be used! Just spitballing.

This is indeed a quintessential SSO experience.

HNGD Ted; welcome to the Ibanez cult you're here forever

 

[TedEH]

I'm going to wait until I get a chance to play with this with some volume.... but would I be crazy to pick up another set of CL/LF to replace the M7s?

I say this because - my best sounding guitar, to my taste, is my S7420, which has the CL/LF set in it. If I plug into my interface directly and just look at the DI signal, it's pretty clear that the bridge M7 is lacking low end, but is kinda spiky in the highs. The crunchlab by comparison sounds full and the highs are still there, but aren't pokey.

I find it weird that the neck M7 is LOUD and FULL OF BASS, enough to warrant ALL CAPS, but in the bridge? It's thin. I looked at the wiring and everything looks fine to me. The wires were spliced in, sure, but they were soldered together so.... seems fine?

Either that or - maybe I could try out a local pickup builder or something, describe what I like and see what they can offer.

 

[lost_horizon]

I say this because - my best sounding guitar, to my taste, is my S7420, which has the CL/LF set in it. If I plug into my interface directly and just look at the DI signal, it's pretty clear that the bridge M7 is lacking low end, but is kinda spiky in the highs. The crunchlab by comparison sounds full and the highs are still there, but aren't pokey.

Don't you find the cl/lf lacking in mids? I'm a fan though.

I find it weird that the neck M7 is LOUD and FULL OF BASS, enough to warrant ALL CAPS, but in the bridge? It's thin. I looked at the wiring and everything looks fine to me. The wires were spliced in, sure, but they were soldered together so.... seems fine?

Either that or - maybe I could try out a local pickup builder or something, describe what I like and see what they can offer.

That's pickups in a nutshell. Some guitars same pickup in bridge and neck, e.g. the stock Air Classic Neck in both positions in my PAC-821D, the bridge is super thin and the neck is full of bass. Closer you are to the neck more bass.

The LF has the big screws so it has less treble. If you put it in the bridge it wouldn't have the bite that other bridge pickups have.

 

[TedEH]

Don't you find the cl/lf lacking in mids? I'm a fan though.

I don't think so. I don't find them any less middy than any other pickups I've tried. I do use them "backwards" though, with the bar towards the neck, if that makes any difference.

If dimarzio's website chart thingies are to be believed, there should be plenty of "mids" in a Crunchlab 7.

Compared to something like the d-activator:

Remembering that eq is kinda relative, a really treble-y pickup might sound like it "lacks mids" just because it has so much detail elsewhere. This might be why I find the M7 poke-y, because there's not enough low end to balance it out.

 

[crushingpetal]

I'm going to wait until I get a chance to play with this with some volume.... but would I be crazy to pick up another set of CL/LF to replace the M7s?

I say this because - my best sounding guitar, to my taste, is my S7420, which has the CL/LF set in it. If I plug into my interface directly and just look at the DI signal, it's pretty clear that the bridge M7 is lacking low end, but is kinda spiky in the highs. The crunchlab by comparison sounds full and the highs are still there, but aren't pokey.

I find it weird that the neck M7 is LOUD and FULL OF BASS, enough to warrant ALL CAPS, but in the bridge? It's thin. I looked at the wiring and everything looks fine to me. The wires were spliced in, sure, but they were soldered together so.... seems fine?

Either that or - maybe I could try out a local pickup builder or something, describe what I like and see what they can offer.

This is the obvious comment, but I didn't see that you said you did this: lower the hell out of the bass side of the neck and raise the bass side of the bridge a bit. I'm not suggesting you keep the pups, but this could be the cheap way out.

 

[TedEH]

You're right, I hadn't thought of that. The neck one is bottom'd out already, so nowhere to go with that one. I can try to lift the bridge one up a bit - maybe it will help. It's jammed in there pretty good though - the pickups have square ears while the routes are triangular, so I think the last guy just jammed em in without spring or anything and the ears are holding them in place. I suspect that might help fill in the low end, but it might also just boost everything for the low strings, including the high-frequency character that I'm hearing.

I'm very much nitpicking, they're not that bad, especially now with the bleed cap removed.

 

[Kubs]

Nice catch!

I've got an RGD2127z and a RGDR3127s (neon purple Axe Palace version). The neck on the 3127 is just a tad chunkier than the one on my 2127z. The Lo-Pro bridge is always epic, although I had no problems with the Edge Zero on the 2127. The only other appreciable difference is the pickup routes. I went Duncan Nazgul on the 2127, but still have the Dimarzio Edges on the 3127.

The standard 10-59 strings always felt a bit light to me at A, while 11-64s were way too heavy at that tuning. I settled on tuning my RGDs both to Bb with NYXL 1059 strings for just the right amount of tension & thickness for my playing.

Have you bought your's 2137S off "pedals-R-us" by any chance ?

 

[odibrom]

@TedEH

Is it polite of me to ask you how much it cost? There's a white one nearby (at less than 30km by car) by 1300€ with Seymour Duncan pickups which I could lower the price by saying I don't need those (I really don't since I have some DiMarzio Blazes waiting for a guitar). I'm not sure if I should pull the trigger since I don't need another guitar, I really don't and I'm not playing as much as I'd like (drummer fled from us) nor am doing shows or what not and am finding it hard to keep the already owned guitars in play. I could justify it by using a different tuning though...

So, what say you, coming from an 7 string S series, how does it feel? Build quality is surely different and the LoPro Edge does make a substancial difference... but I already know the LoPro inside out...