# Extreme modding RG8 RNHD III + nut info



## Ron Head (Nov 25, 2013)

Well , here it goes .. , the plan (  ) :
- Ibanez RG8
- Floyd Rose 8
- Lundgren neckpup
- DiMarzio bridgepup
- Locking nut
- use all 4 conductor circuits ( single-hum / push-pull or knob )
- kill-switch
- get some UV in there ( mirror pickguard )
- get some JEM to hold on ( yepp , monkeygrip )
- dots redecorated ( see what fits )
- the saws are a joke ofcourse 

















( i'll update this from time to time with its progression )


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## jokerpanda (Nov 25, 2013)

ho ho ho
dude that will be a badass axe
congratulations


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## Ron Head (Nov 25, 2013)

This might interest some of you guys too , the RG8 and most other Ibanez 8 stringers have the same stringspace , and from experience now i can tell the right locking nut is the one from Ibanez themselves .. (2LN1MAA001)

The original Kahler is way to wide and the 'original' Floyd Rose is a fraction smaller as compaired to the original RG8 nut ..

some pics to get a better idea :


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## Nag (Nov 26, 2013)




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## mike90t09 (Nov 26, 2013)

Must watch right here.


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## theronaldchase (Nov 26, 2013)

Interesting to say the least. I was considering having a go heavily modding an RG8 myself.


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## Philligan (Nov 26, 2013)

Nice, I'm looking forward to seeing the Floyd go in.


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## DoomJazz (Nov 26, 2013)

I will be closely watching this thread. Could turn out epic.


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## codycarter (Nov 26, 2013)




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## Shawn (Nov 26, 2013)

Nice. Was thinking about getting one of these. I'd prefer the higher end models but this one is very affordable. Nice to see the mods too.


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## RED_ROBOT (Nov 27, 2013)

RED ROBOT IS WATCHING YOU


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## Ron Head (Jan 4, 2014)

here's a lil' update ; probably finished this next week , but some progressions from the last weeks in some pix :
















i can't wait ......


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## skeels (Jan 4, 2014)

skeels likes this


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## OmegaSlayer (Jan 4, 2014)

Ron Head said:


> here's a lil' update ; probably finished this next week , but some progressions from the last weeks in some pix :
> 
> 
> 
> ...



BAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!! 

Anyway, I'm glad you got a mistake in the OP and not on the guitar LOL


> - Lundgren neckpup
> - DiMarzio bridgepup


Because it wasn't making much sense to me


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## Yo_Wattup (Jan 4, 2014)

Oooooooh you should ebonize the fretboard!!


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## Ron Head (Jan 5, 2014)

OmegaSlayer said:


> BAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!!
> 
> Anyway, I'm glad you got a mistake in the OP and not on the guitar LOL
> 
> Because it wasn't making much sense to me


 

cant find a edit-post-knob heh heh , thank you for the closer look 


tbc


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## jpcalloway (Jan 5, 2014)

This could be the God of all RG8 mods...


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## OmegaSlayer (Jan 6, 2014)

jpcalloway said:


> This could be the *SATAN* of all RG8 mods...


Forgive my correction


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## Hollowway (Jan 6, 2014)

Holy cow, I had no idea how much of a difference in but width there was between the Kahler and Floyd. That's pretty significant!

And strong work on getting that bridge in there. Definitely the most daunting part of this.


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## GSingleton (Jan 6, 2014)

wet


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## OmegaSlayer (Jan 6, 2014)

Hollowway said:


> Holy cow, I had no idea how much of a difference in but width there was between the Kahler and Floyd. That's pretty significant!
> 
> And strong work on getting that bridge in there. Definitely the most daunting part of this.



Wait, he said there will be a monkey grip somewhere 

Though yeah, that clean work to put the Floyd definetely needs some pore pics ^___^


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## Prophetable (Jan 6, 2014)

You're...

You're making me consider hacking away at my RG8...


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## BillNephew (Jan 6, 2014)

Why didn't you recess the Floyd? I would've recessed it just so you wouldn't have to change the neck angle at all, unless the neck sat high in the pocket to begin with. Are you going for the same function as the Edge 8 string fixed bridges, with the locking nut and fine tuners, but with a fixed bridge?


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## Prophetable (Jan 6, 2014)

BillNephew said:


> Why didn't you recess the Floyd? I would've recessed it just so you wouldn't have to change the neck angle at all, unless the neck sat high in the pocket to begin with. Are you going for the same function as the Edge 8 string fixed bridges, with the locking nut and fine tuners, but with a fixed bridge?



It is recessed.


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## shikamaru (Jan 7, 2014)

Holy cow that is one cool mod !


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## Ron Head (Jan 7, 2014)

halfway there ; it is playable - that Lundgren rules ! (and fits like a glove) , killswitch (push) on the volumepot is awesome , aswell as the push-pull function on the tonepot ( both pups single / double switchable) ..
now i wait for the lockingnut to arrive and meanwhile working on some optics , ok the pix sofar :
































push :






pull :


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## RickSchneider (Jan 8, 2014)

Super super clean...


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## guitarmadillo (Jan 8, 2014)

This is amazing. I bet it takes a while to tune.


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## Hollowway (Jan 8, 2014)

Wait, what is the push pull on the tone pot doing? You mean it's coil tapping? I don't get what you mean by both single/double.


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## BillNephew (Jan 8, 2014)

Well I stand corrected. Great job on the Floyd installation! That looks super clean.


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## OmegaSlayer (Jan 8, 2014)

Pure genious and godly craftmanship you put there Ron.


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## Ron Head (Jan 8, 2014)

OmegaSlayer said:


> Pure genious and godly craftmanship you put there Ron.


 
mmm , a little correction here , the ideas on the modding are mine ; i'll collect the hardware , do some research on how to get stuff installed best , but i take it to my local guitarshop - Dijkmans Muziek in Breda ( NL) where Bob van Dinther is the luthier ..

i know him since the early 80ies ; he installed my first Kahler trem into an Iron Bird for me back then, and his craftmanship only got better , so that had to be said ( thought i'd mentioned it earlier that i didnt do these mods all by myself )

i could do the electrics myself though , but it saves me a lot of time when he finishes the jobs ; i should had to wait until the routes are digged anyway


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## Ron Head (Jan 8, 2014)

Hollowway said:


> Wait, what is the push pull on the tone pot doing? You mean it's coil tapping? I don't get what you mean by both single/double.


 
pushed it has the double humbucker function/sound , pulled it has the single coil function/sound ..

with the 3-way switch in the middle position i combine both pick-ups and when tone pot is pulled , i'll have 2 single coils (1 neck 1 bridge) combined ..

and to complete info on the confihuration ; the volume pot is push only ; it comes back in position after releasing it and it kills signal when pushed ..

i choose for this way , now it still looks 'simple' or 'classic' or .., but with the avantage of much more possibilities / sounds , more economic playing too , and less luthery ( less drilling/routing )


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## Ron Head (Jan 8, 2014)

guitarmadillo said:


> This is amazing. I bet it takes a while to tune.


 
nope , only 1 string more then my 7s with Floyds , heh heh


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## OmegaSlayer (Jan 9, 2014)

Ron Head said:


> mmm , a little correction here , the ideas on the modding are mine ; i'll collect the hardware , do some research on how to get stuff installed best , but i take it to my local guitarshop - Dijkmans Muziek in Breda ( NL) where Bob van Dinther is the luthier ..
> 
> i know him since the early 80ies ; he installed my first Kahler trem into an Iron Bird for me back then, and his craftmanship only got better , so that had to be said ( thought i'd mentioned it earlier that i didnt do these mods all by myself )
> 
> i could do the electrics myself though , but it saves me a lot of time when he finishes the jobs ; i should had to wait until the routes are digged anyway



Pure genious and godly craftmanship you paid for Ron.


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## Konfyouzd (Jan 25, 2014)

SON... How the hell did I miss this?

Dibs when you sell...


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## Prophetable (Jan 25, 2014)

Any particular reason you didn't go for having both pickups uncovered or both covered?


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## Ron Head (Jan 26, 2014)

Prophetable said:


> Any particular reason you didn't go for having both pickups uncovered or both covered?


 
i didn't mind that little flaw (looks) , and it saved me 100 bucks getting the DiMarzio instead of an extra Lundgren , aside from that the Lundgren is 'for both neck and bridge' and this DiMarzio specifically used for the neck ( output , soundwise ) , and with the extra options in my sounds , i wanted to have the right pickups in their place ..

it is all a try-out , testing etc , for when i go for the real thing ; some guitar completely custom made ... not sure what brand/luthier yet , or maybe i'll stick with Ibanez and modd some expensive model ( probably rg2228 or jc ) ... 

the Lundgren was a first test how it would hold ( sound vs wood ) in a RG8 ( i knew it from my M80M , and loved it ) , so just might go for another one , just to test it in the neckposition ..

so .. all in all just testdriving this stuff , and looks are secondary , although i am working on a pickguard too ( mirror) , that might take away a bit those different pup looks

ow , this was my 3rd RG8 to get a modd , first 2 have EMG's in them , love that sound aswell , but mostly modded for having an alternative for the 2228 etc fixed bridges with finetuners + lockingnut and so the Kahler trems got in ..


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## Prophetable (Jan 26, 2014)

My question wasn't meant to be why did you get a DiMarzio to go with your M8, though I can see why you took it that way.

Actually, I was just being dumb. I saw DiMarzio and thought Seymour Duncan... So, nevermind! I just remembered that when I bought my SDs they offered covered and uncovered options for the same pickup. I see that the DiMarzio doesn't seem to do that.


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## Ron Head (Feb 7, 2014)

the new locking-nut has arrived , off to my luthier tomorrow and finish what was started 

pix soon ofcorpse 





... ordered a gold nut for a TAM10 job , tbc


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## slowro (Feb 7, 2014)

What model is the lundgren pickup?
That floyd looks factory fitted, really good tech you have!


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## Ron Head (Feb 7, 2014)

slowro said:


> What model is the lundgren pickup?
> That floyd looks factory fitted, really good tech you have!


 

that is the M8C , the M8 with a cap Humbucker | Lundgren.se | Guitar Pickups - Stratocaster® - Telecaster® - P-90® - Humbucker - Bas


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## Ron Head (Feb 16, 2014)

some pics with the progress , nut installed , working on the pickguard mirror style now ( gonna ditch the monkeygrip plan btw ... )



























 
____


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## IndoRGforme (Feb 17, 2014)

Awesome mods!!!
Damn do kahler's have huge NUTS.


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## Neilzord (Feb 17, 2014)

As Said awesome mods / work!!

How long did the initial set-up take on that!!!!!????


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## Ron Head (Feb 17, 2014)

IndoRGforme said:


> ...Damn do kahler's have huge NUTS.


 
yeah , and i've seen some brands actually installed them , while one can clearly see that those first frets are not playable anymore ; outerstrings totally on the edge of the neck ...


..


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## Ron Head (Feb 17, 2014)

Neilzord said:


> .. How long did the initial set-up take on that!!!!!????


 
my luthier gets it done in a day , but they also run the shop , so it depends on how busy it is on such day , most times i'd just dropped it off and took it a week later again ..

the nut job is about 1,5 hour , the floyd however needs some first preperations , like building the template first ( that ofcourse is a win with the next guitar ofcourse ) , the electrics i could have done myself , but they go in after the floyd and since i had to wait anyway ...

and there's the gathering of all these hardwares ofcourse ; for example i am waiting to place a new order at floyd for a golden one , but they're 'temp unavailable' , sop , that might take months to get stuff and these locking-nuts take about 2 months to arrive from japan ..
..


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## charlessalvacion (Apr 25, 2014)

Awesome guitar you have there Sir!

How is the tuning stability of the Floyd 8? I do have Floyd 7s but I want to explore 8strings (with a floyd) hehe. I am just hesitant because of the stability of the Floyd 8 bridge.

What gauge do you have in there? Thanks in advance.


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## Ron Head (Jun 1, 2014)

charlessalvacion said:


> Awesome guitar you have there Sir!
> 
> How is the tuning stability of the Floyd 8? I do have Floyd 7s but I want to explore 8strings (with a floyd) hehe. I am just hesitant because of the stability of the Floyd 8 bridge.
> 
> What gauge do you have in there? Thanks in advance.



this one is my favorite guitar to play at the moment - a while now ..., not only for the Floyd , but also it has all kinds of personal experiences for preferences build into it ..

and the Floyd is actually pretty awesome ! even with some xtreme diving it stays tuned ; there are 4 springs in it AND a locking nut ( seperate one from Ibanez parts ; the included one in the set is 1,5 mm to small ..)

tuned to E-B-E-A-D-G-B-E with resp .76.62.46.36.26.17.13.10

however i'm gona use and test excessivly this set from CK :
.079 .059 .043 .033 .024 .018p .014p .010p , most likely on the current project my TAM10 with Floyd


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## patata (Jun 1, 2014)

You got me on the nut info.


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## Pt3nc_Lmbc (May 5, 2015)

Awesome mod! I hope some day install Floyd and piezo on my m80m...


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## SilentCartographer (May 11, 2015)

Lundgren active pup?


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## capone1 (May 12, 2015)

Just a cover relax


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## Ram150023 (Feb 15, 2016)

I sincerely apologize for the MASSIVE necro bump... Don't beat the shizz outta me 

But I am confused as to a locking nut for an RG8...

Are the pics in the beginning (with part numbers) a good lead? I need to purchase here in the short future and I am striking out due to the width (2.165" / 55mm)

Any help is much appreciated and awesome looking RG8 btw


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## Ron Head (Feb 20, 2016)

here it is with the pickguard :


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