# RG8 stock pickups are Cort bass pickups!



## Zhysick (Apr 16, 2013)

So, this is what I saw today when going to switch my pickups (neck for bridge, bridge for neck).







But thats just anecdotic. Nothing important. Ibanez is using Cort EVL bass series pickups as guitar pickups. What really surprised me was this:

Bridge pup





Neck pup





24Kohms for bridge!!!!!!!??????????? Thats TOO much!!!!!

I was thinking in putting the neck pickup in the bridge because it was obvious that has less output and sounded clear (I prefer a lower output pup in bridge but clear than higher but muddy) but never though that much ohms for the bridge... too much...

So, here is how it change the sound.

The clip first was recorded using the bridge pup as bridge pup, then with the neck on the bridge so you can hear how clearer and brighter it sounds and also that even if it has less output is not that much.

RG8 Brige on brige/Neck on bridge pup position

I didn't recorded a "neck pup in neck" clip, but you can be sure it sounds very good and the bridge in the neck sounds good also. Fuller and a bit more on the bass side, but I like that sound for soloing with the neck pup. So, for me, switching pups is a complete win in this guitar!!


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## MetalBuddah (Apr 16, 2013)

Interesting find indeed! I clipped out the tone knob last night and that really cleared things up. Might just try this out too once I get myself some more solder.


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## crg123 (Apr 16, 2013)

Wow Really interesting find man, interesting to think that they felt it would be ok haha.


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## codycarter (Apr 16, 2013)

Can I just say, this is pretty damn cheap


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## Zhysick (Apr 16, 2013)

MetalBuddah said:


> Interesting find indeed! I clipped out the tone knob last night and that really cleared things up. Might just try this out too once I get myself some more solder.



Now I am thinking in wiring the tone pot back... maybe too much highs now! Hehehe... First need to change the tone patch on Amplitube. But at least for me I prefer too much this configuration... the 8th string sounds so much better now!



crg123 said:


> Wow Really interesting find man, interesting to think that they felt it would be ok haha.



I think they felt nothing... just used what they have in a closed room... EVL bass line stop production a year ago or so, but I think they used EMG pups the last couple years so...



codycarter said:


> Can I just say, this is pretty damn cheap



YES!


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## FromTheMausoleum (Apr 16, 2013)

Do I get any credit for bringing it up in the mod thread?


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## Zhysick (Apr 16, 2013)

FromTheMausoleum said:


> Do I get any credit for bringing it up in the mod thread?



Hahahaahahah. I didn't knew those where bass pups until I took them off. Just going to switch them to get a cleaner bridge pup sound while I realized you were right! Bass pups! But so damn hot... I always thought 16k for the SD Distortion were too much... 24K...


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## jephjacques (Apr 16, 2013)

Doesn't surprise me, that shape of pickup is basically due to EMG reusing their bass pickup casings for guitar pickups anyway.

(I have a conspiracy theory that EMG 707s and 808s are just their standard 5 and 6 string bass pickups)


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## berzerkergang (Apr 16, 2013)

I could handle these pickups in a bass, but in a guitar used for distortion, hellllllz no. However,,, I find this to be kind of wacky.


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## jimwratt (Apr 16, 2013)

ya know, it might not be the worst idea to use bass pickups on a guitar in that range. The problem seems to be that they're crappy bass pickups. I'm pretty sure there are some bass pickups out there that don't sound the best for bass but would be amazing for guitar (kind of how the Fender Bassman sounds ok for bass, but great for guitar).


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## codycarter (Apr 16, 2013)

jimwratt said:


> ya know, it might not be the worst idea to use bass pickups on a guitar in that range. The problem seems to be that they're crappy bass pickups. I'm pretty sure there are some bass pickups out there that don't sound the best for bass but would be amazing for guitar (kind of how the Fender Bassman sounds ok for bass, but great for guitar).



A bass pickup in the neck isn't that bad of an idea, you would have tons of clarity on the low strings, this was actually an idea of mind a while back before finding lace..but for the bridge..not so much


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## codycarter (Apr 16, 2013)

jephjacques said:


> I have a conspiracy theory that EMG 707s and 808s are just their standard 5 and 6 string bass pickups



I've always thought that!! I mean where is the 606? 
I've also said this about the RGA8s stock pickups


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## Orgalmer (Apr 16, 2013)

That's really interesting. I'm sure you guys know already that Cort are the manufacturers of Ibanez guitars (last I checked, anyway). Could be different now though. It certainly doesn't surprise me that this is the case as the RGA8 I feel is really budget, cutting corners like this doesn't seem out of the question.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Apr 16, 2013)

jephjacques said:


> (I have a conspiracy theory that EMG 707s and 808s are just their standard 5 and 6 string bass pickups)



I think someone here said that the 707's and 808's are tweaked 35DC and 40DC pickups.


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## MikeH (Apr 16, 2013)

I really have nothing to offer to this thread, other than:







For real, though. That's not uncommon for companies to do on lower-tier models. I'm sure you'd be surprised what other pickups get thrown into what when coming out of the Cort factory.


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## BrailleDecibel (Apr 17, 2013)

I noticed that my RG8 had kind of a darker tone, and while I'm not sure that this is why, it seems like that would be the cause. Can anyone who has more of a clue about pickups than I do confirm this for me?


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 17, 2013)

Weren't people throwing Lace Bass Bars in their axes before the X and Deathbars which are more than likely tweaked Bass Bars?


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## InfinityCollision (Apr 17, 2013)

Konfyouzd said:


> Weren't people throwing Lace Bass Bars in their axes before the X and Deathbars which are more than likely tweaked Bass Bars?



Semi-hijacking here but I'm curious how the Bass Bar sounds in a guitar.


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## VBCheeseGrater (Apr 17, 2013)

jimwratt said:


> ya know, it might not be the worst idea to use bass pickups on a guitar in that range. The problem seems to be that they're crappy bass pickups. I'm pretty sure there are some bass pickups out there that don't sound the best for bass but would be amazing for guitar (kind of how the Fender Bassman sounds ok for bass, but great for guitar).



I was kinda wondering about this myself - I'm personally not sure how bass pickups differ from guitar aside from the J/P shapes and whatnot. Might not be all that sacrilegious


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## codycarter (Apr 17, 2013)

InfinityCollision said:


> Semi-hijacking here but I'm curious how the Bass Bar sounds in a guitar.



Clean and dark, not much shin or sparkle, very full.
Don't expect any usable aggression.


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## InfinityCollision (Apr 17, 2013)

codycarter said:


> Clean and dark, not much shin or sparkle, very full.
> Don't expect any usable aggression.



Speaking from experience? The specs on the Bass Bar don't suggest a dark pickup to me; they should actually have better high-end extension than an X-Bar or Deathbar.


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 17, 2013)

InfinityCollision said:


> Semi-hijacking here but I'm curious how the Bass Bar sounds in a guitar.



There's a thread around here somewhere. Try a Google search for Lace Bass Bar in a (8 string) guitar or something similar. Ppl seem to believe bass pickup = turn your guitar into a bass. Being a bass makes a bass sound like a bass, not the fact that they have bass pickups in them. 

Notice the difference in sound between an acoustic guitar and an acoustic bass. No pickups involved. Clearly there's something else.


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## codycarter (Apr 17, 2013)

InfinityCollision said:


> Speaking from experience? The specs on the Bass Bar don't suggest a dark pickup to me, they should actually have better high-end extension than an X-Bar or Deathbar.



Depending on how you eq it, I had it in the neck of an 8 string into a fender bassman. It was round and kind of bright so I dropped the treble and boosted the bass. It actually has a wide range of frequencies it can pick up.


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## celticelk (Apr 17, 2013)

Konfyouzd said:


> Weren't people throwing Lace Bass Bars in their axes before the X and Deathbars which are more than likely tweaked Bass Bars?



Lace has been very up-front about them being tweaked Bass Bars - basically the X-Bar is a Bass/Tone Bar with a grafted component from the Aluma 90, IIRC.


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## Rap Hat (Apr 17, 2013)

When I got my Agile Pendulum the guy I bought it from had put an EMG 45DC in there (it's a wide active bass pickup if you don't know). I know this was sort of common to do with multiscales since at the time I don't believe the production XBars were out and the Cepheus actives weren't too great.
It didn't make the Agile sound like a bass, that's for sure. But it was pretty compressed with that high-end fizz which I've heard is common with EMGs. I don't have any experience with 808s so I can't say if it sounded like them, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were pretty similar.

Of course I go and toss an XBar in there, which like celticelk said is pretty much a tweaked bass pickup ! But I love it to death, and would still use it if it was marketed as a baritone ukulele pickup.

Back to the original topic, now I can see why people didn't really like the stock RG8 pups. Cheap bass pickups suck even in basses; it's always a battle between the muddy undefined tone of the pickup and the harshness of the active EQ with treble boosted.


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## Go To Bed Jessica (Apr 17, 2013)

Interesting for sure, but not really all that surprising. It's a $400 guitar with a really nice Ibanez neck and a decent body and bridge - nobody is buying this guitar for the pickups. While it doesn't seem to be anyone's favourite pickup, plenty of people have reported being pleasantly surprised by it and preferring it to the rga8 pickup. 
I think it's actually a pretty good bit of lateral thinking on the part of Ibanez. 

After all, it's the scale length, tension and stiffness of the strings that make a bass sound like a bass - if I have learned nothing else from this forum, I have certainly learned that (both through reading and experimentation with my own 8 string).


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## Zhysick (Apr 18, 2013)

Yeah, the point of this thread just was showing something that could be "surprising" for some people but can be a "ooohhh yeah, now I understand" for others.

Second case is mine.

On the other hand, it was also for showing that changing the position of the pickups makes a big difference in sound (improving it for me) so could be an option for someone that have the guitar and no money to change the pickups now or don't want to because he knows now want only 8 string guitars and don't want to spend in a "not top quality" guitar.

I don't know if I want to mod this guitar or buy another 8 in a couple of months... just thinking...


Anyway, I also know lot people used EMG bass pickups for 7 or 8 string guitars in the past... now I'm sure they only use it on 9 or 10 string guitars, as we have now the 808.


All I have to say is, if you don't have the money now or are not sure about the guitar, just change pup positions and it will be a new guitar


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## Explorer (Apr 19, 2013)

Zhysick said:


> Anyway, I also know lot people used EMG bass pickups for 7 or 8 string guitars in the past...



Definitely. If you read topics from back before ERGs were so readily available, you'll see EMG bass pickups all over the place.


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## redkombat (Apr 20, 2013)

well this explains a bit...


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## Tom Drinkwater (Apr 23, 2013)

Those of us building ERG's before they caught on had to use bass pups for everything. The only alternatives were to wire up a couple of hot rails in a pbass configuration so they worked as one pickup or customs from Villex. Surprisingly the bass pickups from EMG work really well for 8 strings. The Lace and EMG extended range pups are structurally the same as their bass pups but with changes to the windings and preamp.


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## jimwratt (Apr 26, 2013)

Well, now we also know why the pickup routings are a weird size.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Apr 27, 2013)

Now if only someone can find out why the S8 has those weird-shaped pickups.


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## FromTheMausoleum (Apr 27, 2013)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Now if only someone can find out why the S8 has those weird-shaped pickups.



also the Jackson JS32&#8209;8Q Dinky 8 pickups o.o


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## Zhysick (Apr 27, 2013)

jimwratt said:


> Well, now we also know why the pickup routings are a weird size.



I can't understand... the RG8 stock "Cort bass pickups" are standard EMG 8 string size, or EMG40 bass pickup housing, so...

Weird are S8 or JS32-8 pups...

Anyway... I've been working with these pickups... really near of getting a really nice tone.

It's hard, but possible!! But only if you change neck for bridge and vice-versa.


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## hand amputation (Apr 28, 2013)

Looking to for rings / covers for a Dimarzio upgrade. Does it exist?


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## Zhysick (Apr 28, 2013)

I think there are some links in this thread, but for sure are some information... I've read something there about.

Let the RG8 Mods begin...


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## anton_mtegtr (Jun 28, 2014)

They could atleast took off the sticker so that theres no way for us to identify that they've just fooled us of such things as IBZ8 8string pickups. this is a riff off!!!


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## tmo (Jun 29, 2014)

I am sorry, but cannot agree with this. These guitars are built as they are, they're not a rip-off, you buy them if you like them. Those original pickups sounded OK for a start point of view. Most low to middle range Ibanez guitars are build up from the concept that they will be changed somehow by the user, specially on the pickup area. These are great guitars for the price, well built in most cases, so why the rant?


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jun 29, 2014)

anton_mtegtr said:


> They could atleast took off the sticker so that theres no way for us to identify that they've just fooled us of such things as IBZ8 8string pickups. this is a riff off!!!



Holy shit, someone that actually wanted low-end Ibanez stock pickups?


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## anton_mtegtr (Jul 5, 2014)

I also have a RG8, & trying every option I have to improve the tone w/out spending my lifes earning, 1 thing I've notice, base on the audio clip by Zhysick the neck pups placed on the bridge position lacks gain compare with the supposed to be bridge pups, so what I do with mine is I use a EQ pedal, GE7 to be exact, so I can tweak my tone and get rid of the muddiness on my bridge pups, It doesnt matter if they use bass pups if it does the job why not.


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## anton_mtegtr (Jul 5, 2014)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Holy shit, someone that actually wanted low-end Ibanez stock pickups?




HUH?? didnt get you there bro, read my statement again, do I sound like i'm enjoying my stock IBZ8 pickups?


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## tmo (Jul 6, 2014)

I think he being ironical...


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## anton_mtegtr (Jul 10, 2014)

I was able to find out something to improve or eliminate the muddiness of the pick up, I placed/soldered a .047uf ceramic disc cap on the hot terminal of the IBZ8 pups, I placed 1 cap each per pickup, solder it before the 3 way switch & it works, it made the pick up sound clearer compare it w/out the capacitor. hopefully I can post audio clip soon, pls try it and feel free to give comments. "this mod is based on the seymour duncan modification on how to eliminate muddiness on your neck pups"


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## Matt794 (Jul 13, 2014)

Wait, are these pickups from a Gio bass?

(For comparison)
Electric Basses GIO - GSR206 Gio Ibanez | Ibanez guitars

Electric Guitars RG - RG8 | Ibanez guitars

Ewwww, I feel dirty.


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## Shawn (Jul 13, 2014)

Interesting....I actually don't mind the sound of them in my RG8 but they could be just a little bit better imo.....nice find!


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## anton_mtegtr (Jul 14, 2014)

Matt794 said:


> Wait, are these pickups from a Gio bass?
> 
> (For comparison)
> Electric Basses GIO - GSR206 Gio Ibanez | Ibanez guitars
> ...



only one thing to find out, unscrew the pick up if you owned above mentioned bass guitar, if it says EVL at the back of it, its the same


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## anton_mtegtr (Jul 14, 2014)

Shawn said:


> Interesting....I actually don't mind the sound of them in my RG8 but they could be just a little bit better imo.....nice find!



Thanks for the acknowlegement shawn!! i'm also trying some other was to lower down the resistance of the pups, cause some says 24kohms is to high for a guitar pick up, i'll be also trying to replace the .047uf into a .022uf co'z lower the capacitance its more better on filtering the low frequencies. ill keep you posted guys!


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## tdeviant (Jul 29, 2014)

Hi, 

Are the RG8 stock pickups four conductors ones?

Thanks.


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## tdeviant (Jul 29, 2014)

Hi, 

Are the RG8 stock pickups four conductors ones?

Thanks.


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## vick1000 (Jul 29, 2014)

tdeviant said:


> Hi,
> 
> Are the RG8 stock pickups four conductors ones?
> 
> Thanks.



Nope.


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