Re: SDUG Ultimate Axe; SUPERSTRAT Entrees
For you consideration, I humbly submit my Ibanez RGR320EX GAR (Gold Arctic Frost). This model was a limited edition run of the RG 300 series from 2007-2008 featuring some eye-catching "splatter" paint designs. But I have modded this guitar through the years to be super versatile and therefore more than just eye candy. This guitar quickly became my main guitar and the herd has been thinned since acquiring him.
Modifications (all performed by yours truly) include:
- installation of a Tremol-No in the back spring cavity. This allows me to easily do Drop D while still retaining capability to do dives with the trem bar. That's Super Strat like, isn't it?
- the stock neck pup being swapped out for a Dimarzio Humbucker From Hell. This mod not only makes the neck-only position much more useable in a variety of scenarios, but also gives the position 2 of the 3 way switch sound more like that Strat notched tone than it would have otherwise. Those Position 2 tones are also helped by the bridge pup it is comboed with being relatively low in output (7.4 dc resistance) and by the bridge pup being relocating 8mm towards the middle position (see below).
- installation of a Roland GK-3 pickup and interface unit. This required me to mod the guitar in four ways: 1) file the front end of the bridge cavity so its width would be increased by 8mm (so the bridge pup could be relocated closer to the neck just so that the GK3 pup would have enough room to fit between it and the bridge/tremolo unit - see 2nd pic), 2) drill four new holes to affix the relocated bridge pup (see 2nd pic), 3) drilling two new holes to mount the GK3 pickup (ref. 1st pic), and 4) drilling a hole off-center on the guitar's bottom side edge to hold the GK3 interface unit in place (ref 1st pic - see how the unit sits off-center) - Roland advises that you secure the interface with the pre-existing strap pin - but if you do that, the interface sits too close to the Floyd's fine-tuners and makes it difficult to reach those fine-tuners - so it became necessary to drill a new hole to so the interface could reside clear of the bridge fine tuners.
- final touch modification: for the jumper cable that connects the guitar output to the 1/4" input of the GK3 interface unit (again, ref. the first pic), I spray painted the stock silver colored metal ends of the cable to black, to match the black hardware of the guitar
As I mentioned earlier, this is my main guitar. Following is a link to a video showcasing the GK3 pup/Roland GR-20 synth sounds of this guitar on a recent home-recording project I did (e.g. overlaid a synth solo on top of my friend's original song):
http://youtu.be/eX95KQ13IKE
In summary, I believe this guitar has killer looks plus sound and performance capabilities of a Strat and beyond -a true "super" Strat.
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