# RGA8M - My Modded RGA8



## albatros_1994 (Sep 4, 2012)

I have started a little project .I bought an used RGA8 for 449 euros,standard pickups,standard strings...you know 
I listen to a lot of meshuggah and i love the signature M8M so i want to mod my rga8 to make it more similar to a m8m.
First i bought a Dimarzio D Activator,new strings (9-42 + 56 + 72)  and now i took the guitar to a carpenter to remove the arched top(1cm) and install a new flat top made of Walnut without the neck pickup hole.
right now i have oiled the fretboard and removed the paint in the body-neck joint

in the next days i'll post some new photos of the guitar after the carpenter's work


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## jarnozz (Sep 4, 2012)

Great score for 450!


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## LolloBlaskhyrt (Sep 4, 2012)

Are you going to leave empty the neck pickup route?


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 4, 2012)

LolloBlaskhyrt said:


> Are you going to leave empty the neck pickup route?



no no,i'm completly changing the top with a new one without the neck pickup hole
the result is like the m8m


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## wookie606 (Sep 4, 2012)

Subscribed


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## Ibatz (Sep 4, 2012)

Great project!

Instantly subscribed


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## noUser01 (Sep 5, 2012)

That's a slick looking fretboard, my friend.


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## Devyn Eclipse Nav (Sep 5, 2012)

i'm intrigued, and eagerly await new updates. Subbed!


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## patrickWLV (Sep 5, 2012)

The rosewood looks beautiful...nice.


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## LolloBlaskhyrt (Sep 5, 2012)

albatros_1994 said:


> no no,i'm completly changing the top with a new one without the neck pickup hole
> the result is like the m8m



 IMO the M8M is too expensive.


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 5, 2012)

LolloBlaskhyrt said:


> IMO the M8M is too expensive.



29" ,Lundgren M8 and 6999$ right?
a little to much for me...so is better to mod what i already have without spend thousand of euros

today i'll post some new photos


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## samclarke669 (Sep 6, 2012)

Subbed!


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 6, 2012)

A lot of problem with the carpenter
my project is a little delayed


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## wookie606 (Sep 7, 2012)

albatros_1994 said:


> A lot of problem with the carpenter
> my project is a little delayed




That sucks, hope whatever has happened is resolved soon!


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 7, 2012)

Guys...some photos of the guitar... 
The carpenter is completely MAD!

No photos of the backside...but is even better...


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## jarnozz (Sep 7, 2012)

holy fuck.. that is pure madness! He really screwed this up, BIG TIME. Feel so sorry for you


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 7, 2012)

Now...No Fear... the carpenter
I have already phoned to my uncle that have some experience with wood and he have some tool to fix up this shit


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## wookie606 (Sep 8, 2012)

albatros_1994 said:


> Now...No Fear... the carpenter
> I have already phoned to my uncle that have some experience with wood and he have some tool to fix up this shit


 I hope you at least got some money back!


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## Alekke (Sep 8, 2012)

I hate when this shit happens! You wait and feel so happy bout your project and then someone screws it up!
If you payed for it, I would send the body back for a proper woodjob at no additional cost. Next time he will ask before messing it up.


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## LolloBlaskhyrt (Sep 8, 2012)

That carpenter was drunk.


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 8, 2012)

no refund, but I have not paid
anyway tomorrow i'll try to fix it...finger crossed


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## jarnozz (Sep 8, 2012)

LolloBlaskhyrt said:


> That carpenter was drunk.



you forget stoned as fuck and hit by a sledgehammer on the head


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 10, 2012)

some little news... this week my uncle will work on he guitar...i hope that in a week the work is finished


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 15, 2012)

Little update


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## ThePhilosopher (Sep 15, 2012)

Wow.


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 15, 2012)

the old and ugly wood is removed,another week and is finished


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## Deadnightshade (Sep 15, 2012)

That's one very good example why you shouldn't go to a carpenter if you haven't made clear exactly how important dimensions are in functionality and aesthetics.

I hope your uncle makes it stellar for you!


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## AVH (Sep 15, 2012)

You had better make sure that bridge is located in the exact right place, or that guitar will never intonate properly. 

And if you want the Mesh look, sand down to bare wood/grain filler, stain with Fiebings alcohol-based black saddle dye, rub off excess, and then lightly finish with rubbed mineral oil.


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## 7stringDemon (Sep 16, 2012)

I bet it would look awesome with some quilted maple or something going down the center where you routed all of the wood out!


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## whybag (Sep 16, 2012)

Most carpenters do not have to work with tight dimensional tolerances. Guitar work is much the same as gunsmithing (my current area of expertise), where things are measured much more closely. My wood work on gunstocks usually is within 1/64" for external dimensions, within .002" for internal; and a carpenter is lucky to get inside 1/4"


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## L1ght (Sep 16, 2012)

whybag said:


> Most carpenters do not have to work with tight dimensional tolerances. Guitar work is much the same as gunsmithing (my current area of expertise), where things are measured much more closely. My wood work on gunstocks usually is within 1/64" for external dimensions, within .002" for internal; and a carpenter is lucky to get inside 1/4"



So you joined to brag about your profession and abilities? 

Makes sense...


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## Jason Spell (Sep 16, 2012)

That sucks! I hope it gets fixed right up just how you want it.


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## OfArtAndArsenal (Sep 17, 2012)

Dendroaspis said:


> You had better make sure that bridge is located in the exact right place, or that guitar will never intonate properly.


 
Just came across this myself. Don't know if they have your particular bridge or not, as I don't know if that one is an Ibanez in-house exclusive or if there is a similar third-party one.
Fret position calculator at Stewart-MacDonald


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 17, 2012)

to fill the removed area i have decided to use a central 8cm piece of walnut and 2 pieces(2 cm wide) of beech on the two long side...look like a neck-through guitar 
i hope that the wood replacement will finish this week


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 17, 2012)

OfArtAndArsenal said:


> Just came across this myself. Don't know if they have your particular bridge or not, as I don't know if that one is an Ibanez in-house exclusive or if there is a similar third-party one.
> Fret position calculator at Stewart-MacDonald



i have the old bridge holes(they are very deep) so no problem for the position


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## ZeroS1gnol (Sep 17, 2012)

A carpenter is not a luthier. Just like a house painter is not a painting artist.


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 18, 2012)

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwRLVWjCmX0pMEZhY3R1OWRVTDA
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwRLVWjCmX0pWG1kTy1OUmN0NjQ


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## Kapee (Sep 18, 2012)

albatros_1994 said:


>



Broken links?


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## jarnozz (Sep 18, 2012)

2 stripes of maple in it? looks way better! glad this ends up nicely! + your first pic isn't working


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 18, 2012)

Kapee said:


> Broken links?



fixed


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## BlackMastodon (Sep 18, 2012)

Should've brought it to this guy in the first place.  Looks really nice so far, hopefully everything works out great!


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## CrushingAnvil (Sep 18, 2012)

I thought you were going to put a maple board on it, not make it look like a shipwreck with strings


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 19, 2012)

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwRLVWjCmX0pU01CQ003b0xOXzg
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwRLVWjCmX0pbHdQcmVTX2hWa00

some color and he is finished


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## OfArtAndArsenal (Sep 19, 2012)

Oh yeah! That's much better! Congratulations, that is a nice piece of wood there...


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## chromaticdeath (Sep 19, 2012)

Looking very nice!


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## theo (Sep 19, 2012)

hey that's looking really good! massive improvement on what you had


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## wookie606 (Sep 20, 2012)

Wow, that is really pretty!


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## CrushingAnvil (Sep 20, 2012)

Fix'd that for you 

Looking pretty nice actually.


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 20, 2012)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwRLVWjCmX0pb2pycTk4Q0MtaG8/edit
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwRLVWjCmX0pVTFvalk0SVcwYUU/edit

sunday....SOUND TEST for sure


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## skisgaar (Sep 20, 2012)

Man, that looks ten thousand times better now XD


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## cult (Sep 20, 2012)

Really Looks damn tasty... are you gonna stain the wood darker like the M8M?


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 20, 2012)

cult said:


> Really Looks damn tasty... are you gonna stain the wood darker like the M8M?



this is the original plan....but i have talked with my uncle and he sayd that the m8m finish is difficult to obtain(he isn't a professionist)...so i have opted for a simple trasparent finish...not very "M8M"  but is the only way to have a decent guitar.Sorry for that


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 20, 2012)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwRLVWjCmX0pOUVtSzF4TmZ2bDg/edit
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwRLVWjCmX0pcnNib0VvRS1TYWM/edit

an anticipation of the final result


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## Danukenator (Sep 20, 2012)

IMO, it will look better without it, this is way more unique.


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## brynotherhino (Sep 20, 2012)

This thread is awesome, at first I was super excited for you. Then I was really sad. Now im back to being excited. I really like how its turning out, one of the coolest projects ive seen in a while!! Congrats duder!


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## MaxAidingAres (Sep 20, 2012)

awesome dude will look sick


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## otisct20 (Sep 20, 2012)

Damn, looks great man!


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## Aurochs34 (Sep 20, 2012)

Danukenator said:


> IMO, it will look better without it, this is way more unique.



+1


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 21, 2012)

i'm glad to see that the other people enjoy my project .thank you guys 

Some news as soon as possible


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## GXPO (Sep 21, 2012)

A skilled carpenter does not a luthier make.. apparently.

Sucks dude. At least you'll have a story to tell when you're all done!


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 23, 2012)

70% completed! i need to wire the pickup and paint the back of the guitar(black finish)

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwRLVWjCmX0pRk0tR2tzeWtJSnM
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwRLVWjCmX0pRmkwa1BkLW16cXc
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwRLVWjCmX0pZTMxWmlHSmZHWjg
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwRLVWjCmX0paGJuUVZuTlp5Mjg
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwRLVWjCmX0pblh5bndqYlJaLWc
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwRLVWjCmX0pcjZlMXMtbVZVazQ


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## jarnozz (Sep 23, 2012)

that looks really great!


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## RickSchneider (Sep 23, 2012)

This thread sure was a rollercoaster ride, thank god the technical difficulties were sorted and we all came out of it alive though.

As for that first carpenter....


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## albatros_1994 (Sep 23, 2012)

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwRLVWjCmX0pa3ltQWFldmhNTnc


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## BlackMastodon (Sep 23, 2012)

That turned out really well in the end! Congrats!


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## nsimonsen (Sep 24, 2012)

Wow, that thing looks amazing! Stoked you got a great result after having a hard time with it.

Enjoy that shit!


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## theo (Sep 24, 2012)

That looks killer!


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## MikeSap (Sep 24, 2012)

Damn man! That came put great! Hard work has paid off! Congrats!!


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## MetalBuddah (Sep 25, 2012)

wow! I was not expecting this too look so incredible!! Nice work


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## avenger (Sep 25, 2012)

Why are the pics all dead? 

RAGHRGWAREARJRGEHJRGWA


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## FireInside (Sep 25, 2012)

Turned out great!


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## DoomJazz (Sep 25, 2012)

Fantastical, Congrats!


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## HighPotency (Sep 26, 2012)




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## albatros_1994 (Feb 18, 2013)

Hey guys!some photos finished...now for everyone 

i have changed the strings with 10-46+64+80 and now is more confortable to play with.
after some months of usage...YES!...this is MY guitar!the best i ever played!and it sound good!

Here a stupid sound sample i have made : https://soundcloud.com/generaleramon/test1-crate-gx212-replica-tc


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## noUser01 (Feb 19, 2013)

Looks great man, glad to hear you're loving it so much. After following this thread along the whole way, makes me really happy to see it all worked out.


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## whybag (Feb 11, 2014)

L1ght said:


> So you joined to brag about your profession and abilities?
> 
> Makes sense...


While it's obvious I barely even glance at this website anymore (it's been a year and a half after all), joining 4 months before I make a post should clearly negate the idea that I "joined to make that post".


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## albatros_1994 (Dec 22, 2019)




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## albatros_1994 (Dec 22, 2019)

This RG8 is not dead . Yet


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