Rio Grand BBQ

[Rleague]

I've been reading old posts about this pickup, in the search to find a certian sound I'm looking for in my les Paul. I've found that Dave Grohl endorses this pickups? Does this mean he was payed to say that or does he really use them? Also Kris Roe from the Ataris endorses them.

I Really like their guitar tones and is kinda what I am after.

Are these Rio Grandes BBQ's really as good as they are hyped up to be?

any thoughts?

J

 

[Jfar]

Re: Rio Grand BBQ

I have a couple BBQ in my Guitars,

Yes they are very good. They are about 14k w/ alnico fives.
wound just a bit more with great output.

Great for les pauls. But you should read about the Genesis Mr.Browney
reviews in Harmony Central.

This is more Balance for what your looking for and the tone is
FANTASTIC. Research well before buying. I know it's takes
quite a few years to find your tone. but Mr.Browney might
get you there quicker! :cool3:

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Rio Grand BBQ

The whole endorsement thing can get kind of sticky...I know for a fact in the old days of the Foo Fighters Dave used stock gibson pups, then for a while he used Duncans...now it is a mixture of things...Stock pups sometimes, Rio Grande, Duncan...last time I saw Foo Fighters he played his Trini Lopez which is stock (and has Pat # number pups) and in the bridge of his black Explorer the pup there said Duncan on it, but at any rate the scoop on the Rio Grande stuff is this...I have heard several good things about them...they are sort of PAF voiced just a tad hotter. They are alnico 5 magnets and the neck pup (Texas) is about 9k, and the bridge (BBQ) is about 13k...I hope this helped some.

The guy who invented fire

 

[Rleague]

Re: Rio Grand BBQ

thanks for the help....

 

[madaxeman]

Re: Rio Grand BBQ

Has anyone ever tried a genesis mr. brownie pickup? There is minimal info out there. I would love to here some sound clips if they exsist. Please post them if they do.

 

[pgambon]

Re: Rio Grand BBQ

They are a great "beefy" sounding PAF. I wouldn't say they are hyped, execpt by those who post on this and similiar boards. They've made there own reputation.

 

[jimlp]

Re: Rio Grand BBQ

I've been reading old posts about this pickup, in the search to find a certian sound I'm looking for in my les Paul. I've found that Dave Grohl endorses this pickups? Does this mean he was payed to say that or does he really use them? Also Kris Roe from the Ataris endorses them.

I Really like their guitar tones and is kinda what I am after.

Are these Rio Grandes BBQ's really as good as they are hyped up to be?

any thoughts?

J

I had a BBQ in my Les Paul and it was a very thick and darker sounding pickup, it has rolled back highs and from what I remember a bunch of low mids and a vintage type voicing. It delivers clean power (not fuzzy) but can be a little loose sounding, there are better pickups if you want to get modern tones. I would say they would cover a lot of ground but are not the best for metal.

 

[KLINKDETROIT]

Re: Rio Grand BBQ

I have the BBQ / texas and the cruncbox/ punchbox sets. I find them to have alot of girth and very dark almost too dark. I tried 1 meg pots and it helped but it lacks a little bite and feels rounder than Duncans because of the highs being rolled back.
I just swapped the alnico5 magnet in the BBQ with the ceramic in the crunchbox in an attempt to give the crunchbox a sweeter tone and less gain. It is a brighter pup than the BBQ but not by much. I really like these pups but it sounds like the tone is rolled back halfway or 1/4. I messed up the BBQ in the process so I dont have a clue as to what it sounds like now. I assume it will be hotter and have less bass? I pulled out the ground and cant figure out where it goes inside the pup? Anyone know? I think i need to dip the crunchbox in wax also as it seems top have a ground hum and a little howl now. Thats what I get for thinking the grass is always greener on the other side?

My other Duncan favorites are the C5 (Lows and openess) and the distortion (EQ and meanness) patb1 ( gain, EQ, clarity, girth) I use these patb1 pups in my Ibanez guitars cuz they dont sound as good in Les pauls for some reason?

 

[rspst14]

Re: Rio Grand BBQ

I have the BBQ / texas and the cruncbox/ punchbox sets. I find them to have alot of girth and very dark almost too dark. I tried 1 meg pots and it helped but it lacks a little bite and feels rounder than Duncans because of the highs being rolled back.
I just swapped the alnico5 magnet in the BBQ with the ceramic in the crunchbox in an attempt to give the crunchbox a sweeter tone and less gain. It is a brighter pup than the BBQ but not by much. I really like these pups but it sounds like the tone is rolled back halfway or 1/4. I messed up the BBQ in the process so I dont have a clue as to what it sounds like now. I assume it will be hotter and have less bass? I pulled out the ground and cant figure out where it goes inside the pup? Anyone know? I think i need to dip the crunchbox in wax also as it seems top have a ground hum and a little howl now. Thats what I get for thinking the grass is always greener on the other side?

My other Duncan favorites are the C5 (Lows and openess) and the distortion (EQ and meanness) patb1 ( gain, EQ, clarity, girth) I use these patb1 pups in my Ibanez guitars cuz they dont sound as good in Les pauls for some reason?

When you say you removed the ground, do you mean the green wire or the bare wire? Rio Grande pickups use the same wiring convention as Duncans. If it's a 4 conductor pickup, you should be able to remove the fabric tape from the perimeter of the pickup and solder the green wire to the lead coming out of the coil.

If it's the bare wire you removed, that acts as a ground for the baseplate. Just resolder it to the baseplate, but be aware that you'll have to scrape the wax off the baseplate first, as wax will prevent solder from sticking. Once you've resoldered the loose wire, you'll probably want to repot the pickup.

If all else fails, send me a PM. I've done this kind of thing several times, I may be able to fix it for you.

Ryan