Rio Grande what do u think?

[stevie ray]

Never tried em, but most of the reviews ive read were great

I looked around their site and thought a Muy Grande would be goood for me...

Any thoughts? on any particular Rio pickup or in general?

Just curious cuz im interested in em (no offense to seymour duncan but im pickup hunting)

stevie

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

Sigh... if curious buy one!
Only way to learn!
How do you think the rest of us learned anything?
Not trying to walk on your flowers here, but it is a bit obvious how you will find out if you like them or not, bet the resale is easy too if you dislike it.

[Benjy_26]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

I tried a Big Bottom Strat set and I liked that quite a bit. It was big and bright and it handled distortion well. If your strat is on the bright side, it might be a bit too focused on the highs and high mids. I also had a Tallboy humbucker/Muy Grande humbucker combo in my Carvin and it was good too. Thos e pickups sounded like big singles as opposed to true humbuckers. Again, they were a bit focused on the highs, so I swapped them out for an APH/CC combo.

If you like snarl as opposed to chunk, those Rio sets might be something to look into.

[Farkus]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

I've got a set of 3 tallboys. I had them in my '76 Strat for awhile. Pretty good pickups, but a little on the 'compressed' side, IMHO. I think they're worth looking into if you like hot single coil tones...BTW, these did great warming up a thin sounding '97 strat too.

Farkus

[rspst14]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

What kind of sound are you looking for? I have a BBQ in my Hamer, and I like it a lot. Plenty of bass and midrange, with softer highs that sound warm and sweet instead of bright and harsh. It has medium output, and is one of the warmer sounding Alnico 5 pickups you can buy. Think ZZ Top or AC/DC from the early 90's, and that'll give you an idea of what type of tone you can expect.

Ryan

[stevie ray]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

hey guess thanks

Well i was thinkin to buy a Highway 1 strat with either a SSS or HSS setup, and wanted to able to get a good amount of tones from it... Say blues to some light hardrock stuff... Love the SRV stuff but love to kick it up a bit... When i read about the Muy Grande it seemed to be a hotter pup that supposedly was able to get some good SRV tones... From what i read on Harmony Central

The Highway i was lookin at was a 3 tone sunburst with Alder body and maple neck+fretboard... I might consider the rosewood but the maple i found easier on the eyes.

I was thinkin the neck could get the bluesier tones and the bridge could be hotter whatever else

Whatever combos us think useful is good thanks

stevie

[Mac-P]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

What kind of sound are you looking for? I have a BBQ in my Hamer, and I like it a lot. Plenty of bass and midrange, with softer highs that sound warm and sweet instead of bright and harsh. It has medium output, and is one of the warmer sounding Alnico 5 pickups you can buy. Think ZZ Top or AC/DC from the early 90's, and that'll give you an idea of what type of tone you can expect.

Ryan

I second every word. I love the BBQ. Never tried the Rio singles though.

For what it is worth, the guys at Rio Grande are some of the nicest people I have dealt with (just like the guys at Duncan) . They will answer any question you have and will talk guitars and pickups with you for a while if you are unsure about something. A very earthy company with very high standards.

I just ordered a Genuine Texas neck to go with the BBQ bridge (the Pearly Gates sounded too thin compared to the BBQ) but haven't installed it yet. I will report back......

The quest contiinues.....

[Benjy_26]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

hey guess thanks

Well i was thinkin to buy a Highway 1 strat with either a SSS or HSS setup, and wanted to able to get a good amount of tones from it... Say blues to some light hardrock stuff... Love the SRV stuff but love to kick it up a bit... When i read about the Muy Grande it seemed to be a hotter pup that supposedly was able to get some good SRV tones... From what i read on Harmony Central

The Highway i was lookin at was a 3 tone sunburst with Alder body and maple neck+fretboard... I might consider the rosewood but the maple i found easier on the eyes.

I was thinkin the neck could get the bluesier tones and the bridge could be hotter whatever else

Whatever combos us think useful is good thanks

stevie

If you want a big single coils sound from the bridge, the Muy Grande single is very cool, though I've heard that their Stelly model is even bigger sounding.

[dr.barlo]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

I have tried muy grande (strat), muy grande (tele), stelly (muy grande tele lead to fit a strat), BBQ, Texas, and finally a tallboy strat neck.

I loved them for quite a time. But after using them quite a lot, in gigs and all, I noticed that they were all uppermid heavy. All of them. I guess that's the texas sizzle rio grande is famous for. Even on dark ones they might result in an overall harsh tone.

Now I am not using any of those I listed above.

Still they are good pickups, and none of the others can do what they do. Helps you cut through and all. But the cost is to sacrifice the round and soft tones.

For the strat bridge if I were you I'd check the SD ant I custom bridge. The one I got kills all the other rio grande hot strat bridges I have listed above. Can cut through easily and gets soft/round if the tone is rolled back.

Likewise for the tele I'd check JD tele lead. Beats muy grande all the way.

Finally BBQ or Texas is clearly beaten by C5 or CC (depending on the amount of punch/softness you need) and Antiquity neck HB with an a3 magnet or PGn. 59 and Texas are, I feel, quite different as Texas is quite darker (even tho it is an a5 PAF clone like 59) than the 59.

BTW all those are my opinion, and it is natural some might disagree with me.

B

[Mac-P]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

I have tried muy grande (strat), muy grande (tele), stelly (muy grande tele lead to fit a strat), BBQ, Texas, and finally a tallboy strat neck.

I loved them for quite a time. But after using them quite a lot, in gigs and all, I noticed that they were all uppermid heavy. All of them. I guess that's the texas sizzle rio grande is famous for. Even on dark ones they might result in an overall harsh tone.

Now I am not using any of those I listed above.

Still they are good pickups, and none of the others can do what they do. Helps you cut through and all. But the cost is to sacrifice the round and soft tones.

For the strat bridge if I were you I'd check the SD ant I custom bridge. The one I got kills all the other rio grande hot strat bridges I have listed above. Can cut through easily and gets soft/round if the tone is rolled back.

Likewise for the tele I'd check JD tele lead. Beats muy grande all the way.

Finally BBQ or Texas is clearly beaten by C5 or CC (depending on the amount of punch/softness you need) and Antiquity neck HB with an a3 magnet or PGn. 59 and Texas are, I feel, quite different as Texas is quite darker (even tho it is an a5 PAF clone like 59) than the 59.

BTW all those are my opinion, and it is natural some might disagree with me.

B

Howdy Doc,

What's really coincidental is that I found an old thread of yours (on the Les Paul Forum I think) and you posted some clips of the Texas & Barbeque Bucker (a WHILE back I think - different than the clips you posted here. These were a single guitar with no harmonies). I thought your tone was awesome. Very vocal & full bodied. Kinda Waren Haynes-y. Real nice sound.

I never understood the BBQ vs. C5 comparasin. They are exact opposites (to my ears). The C5 has very little mid content whereas the BBQ has TONS. I hear it as more "mid" mids than high mids. The opposite of bright. I find the pickup to be VERY dark. Much moreso than a JB for instance (which I think is the closest Duncan - but with more highs and less bass - but still a mid voiced alnico V pickup). The C5 is much more hollow sounding. Single notes are much smaller and thinner (at least in my guitars to my ears).

Likewise I don't hear the CC comparasin at all either. Even though it is technically also a "mid voiced" pickup, I find the CC to be much thinner due to the lack of bass, but more importantly, much less tight, more compressed and more distorted. A totally different "feeling" pickup.

I think the JB is by far the closest. Especially for single note lines. Rolling back the tone knob gets ya in BBQ territory.

Haven't tried the Texas yet (have it sitting right here - will install tomorrow hopefully). Every Duncan I tried in the neck with the BBQ sounded WAY too scooped or "single coil-y" by comparasin at the same amp settings. Those include the '59, Jazz & Pearly Gates. When I went to the neck, the neck pickup was brighter than the bridge pickup. Real cool for layin' down the funk (which I love) - but not the best match for other styles.

Keep in mind the Jazz, 59 and Pearly all sound fine with other Duncan pickups (which are not nearly as dark as the BBQ).

The Texas HAS to be thicker than all of the above just to hang in the same guitar as the BBQ. That is what it is designed for. I don't think it is really a PAF clone at all. Not any more than the BBQ is a PAF clone (it is the furthest thing from it while still sounding like an organic non-distortion, sort of vintage-y pickup).

I mean, Rio Grande only makes two different "true" humbuckers - BBQ & Texas. I think their take on buckers is much more big & fat than bright & chimey (Billy Gibbons vs. Slash).

But anyway, I LOVED the tone of those old clips you posted (the ones that were more bluesy/Santana-ish).

Funny how different ears hear things differently...... Peace!

[dr.barlo]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

Mac-P,

First thanks for the compliments. I am flattered. Some of the clips I did with BBQ/Texas are here.

And you are right, CC C5 and hot SD a5 PAF clones are not one-to-one comparable with the BBQ/Texas. Texas is thick, it is the thickest neck HB I have used. Great results, especially with them uppermids I am talking about, because those uppermids in the neck help it not to get blur.

Nonetheless, my comparison was based on the end result after dialing the best tone on the same guitar with BBQ/Texas versus the others I have mentioned. With the same settings the same guitar with these two sets sounds really different.

What got me abandon BBQ/Texas was not the thickness issues. In fact I miss their tone under overdrive. The real reason was that I could not dial in a good, soft, round tone especially in the bridge. It always had to be too upfront, taking over with its aggressive side. That's all.

For the music I do BBQ, therefore, was beaten by two pickups, not one. Overdriven by CC (I have the same problems that I had with the BBQ with C5, this time it is not the uppermids but the lack of lowermids) and clean/semi-overdriven by my 8.70K a5 modded Ant bridge or 8.75K PG+.

I still keep a BBQ/Texas set in my drawer.

B

[Musicante]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

I've got my own built tele with Muy Grande tele bridge and Tallboy tele neck. They sound really good. The tallboy neck is very clear and balanced very suitable for clean rithym and fingerpicking too. They muy grande bridge has a nice hot (not thick like an humbucker) and rich sound, not muddy, sounds loud and clear, sounds well distorted sometimes very similar to a p90

[papersoul]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

Doc and Mac,

You are both doing a great job explaining the BBQ/Texas and I agree that a lot our experience with any pickup or pickup set boils down to the style of music we play and the type of guitar.

Doc, I can see where the BBQ's "take charge with authority" personality and always being so "in your face" could not be to your liking. I on the other hand tend to favor high gain hard rock and metal and the BBQ/Texas seem to work perfect for this application and fine for my dabbling in softer styles and even jazzy tones from time to time.

I did like the C-5, but I actually found it more vintage than the BBQ and found the BBQ worked better for heavier, modern styles while still allowing me to pull out classic rock or RUSH - like tones. I will admit that they have a very thick clean tone that can dominate but I am willing to live with its shortcomings.

I think the biggest difference here is that I play a very different style of music and look for different things in pickups. I found the C-5, while open sounding, didn't have the cajones of the BBQ nore the thick punch. Sure, the C-5 may cover a wider tonal spectrum......but something about the BBQ/Texas makes me want to play all nigh. They are just so darn musical and rich sounding. I agree that the BBQ is like the JB, with less highs or high mids and a fatter bass, while having less output.

[BS123]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

I have a Muy Grande Tele bridge in my 50's Tele. I stuck it in there so I could say that I tried one. It's a decent pickup, but not on par with Duncans, IMO. YMMV though....


I'll replace it with a JD or something.

[stevie ray]

Re: Rio Grande what do u think?

I have tried muy grande (strat), muy grande (tele), stelly (muy grande tele lead to fit a strat), BBQ, Texas, and finally a tallboy strat neck.

I loved them for quite a time. But after using them quite a lot, in gigs and all, I noticed that they were all uppermid heavy. All of them. I guess that's the texas sizzle rio grande is famous for. Even on dark ones they might result in an overall harsh tone.

Now I am not using any of those I listed above.

Still they are good pickups, and none of the others can do what they do. Helps you cut through and all. But the cost is to sacrifice the round and soft tones.

For the strat bridge if I were you I'd check the SD ant I custom bridge. The one I got kills all the other rio grande hot strat bridges I have listed above. Can cut through easily and gets soft/round if the tone is rolled back.

Likewise for the tele I'd check JD tele lead. Beats muy grande all the way.

Finally BBQ or Texas is clearly beaten by C5 or CC (depending on the amount of punch/softness you need) and Antiquity neck HB with an a3 magnet or PGn. 59 and Texas are, I feel, quite different as Texas is quite darker (even tho it is an a5 PAF clone like 59) than the 59.

BTW all those are my opinion, and it is natural some might disagree with me.

B

Sounds great! Where would I get an Ant I custom bridge?