RR Owners need some advice...

[darkerknight]

Hi there

I just bought a Rhoads Pro. It is a great guitar and it plays really well.
The thing is that yesterday I was recording some guitar tracks for my band and brought with me 3 guitars to see which one sounded the best, a Warrior Pro, a BC Rich ASM pro fixed bridge and the Rhoads Pro.
The amp used was a Peavey 5150.
Of all the guitars the one that sounded thinner was the Rhoads (yes, I chcecked the battery of the active JE-1200) I tried to do the rythms and recorded some solo lines and dind't like it as well. I don't know if it has to do with the jackson J50 pickups being medium output and Paf type.
The Warrior Pro has a Duncan hot rails in the bridge and the stock armstrong pups, the BC Rich has EMG's 81/85 with a 18v mod.
I just want to know what pickups do you RR owner have and what do you recommend? what have you tried in your Rhoads? likes and dislikes?
I really want the Rhoads to be my main guitar...

Thanks for all the help and advice.

[Codex]

I have an RR3 with the SD JB/Jazz and it sounds really thin. Probably the thinnest sounding guitar I own.

[toejam]

I've got a Duncan PATB-2 (Parallel Axis Distortion) in my RR1T, and it sounds huge! The original JB actually didn't sound that bad in it, but it definitely needed something a little tighter and beefy in the low end. The Jazz in the neck sounds fine to me and pairs up well with the PATB-2.

[Trem]

Well imo the Rhoads pro i had just sounded thin period, even unplugged. My personal observation gave me the opinion that the necks are too thin, and they just sound hollow because of that.
Had a fusion pro - completely different guitar being bolt on and short scale and it had that same hollow vibe, they sounded very much the same. Maybe they were just dogs. You could try a Duncan Custom in it, the pickup itself has more girth compared to say a JB and might help.
It sounds great in an RR1 anyway. I'm sure more people will chime in that have had a few more Pros in their stable and more experience with them. My experience was limited, but from then on i think they are not for me. Of the 3 RR1 i have had 2 sounded similar, ok, not bad, but 1 sounded great and when i put a Custom in it it sounded phenomenal i should not have let it go and i knew it, but had no choice at that time. Some guitars just don't have it, but trying different pickups can help. Before all that though, i would reassess your setup and Eq settings, maybe try a parametric EQ, or a boost ect, different cab if you must, but honestly for recording, who cares what guitar it is or what it looks like, pick the one that sounds the best and go with it. Worry about the ones that don't later so you can concentrate on your recording and performance.

[Codex]

If we're talking PROs, my Kelly pro sounds thin too, but it has an X2N in the bridge and needs some fret work

[thebigz]

My best sounding guitar is my mod6, which has the j50BC, not sure what my soloist has in it, jackson hum in the bridge and it sounds really good. Its from the late 80s, so it may be a J50B.

I didn't like the JB that much in my RR5, so I put a duncan custom in it..... Sounds great!

[darkerknight]

I was thinking maybe a Duncan Distortion / Duncan 59 ...
I wonder how the duncans will be with the active electronics... should I keep it or should I remove it?

[Jayster]

I'm on the fence with several different Pup's in a RR. For passives I like either the more subltle TB4 or a little hotter SH6, in actives the 85. Of course the sound will be a little different with different amp/cab set ups...

[MetalHeadMat]

I put a few different pickups in my Rhoads, but it was just a thin sounding guitar. Invader, '59, XL500, and the JB. If you want a Rhoads as your main guitar, but like the sound of mahogany more, (like the B.C. Rich if I'm not mistaken), check out getting a mahogany Rhoads, like the Kevin Bond sig.

[lepard]

I've got a Duncan PATB-2 (Parallel Axis Distortion) in my RR1T, and it sounds huge! The original JB actually didn't sound that bad in it, but it definitely needed something a little tighter and beefy in the low end. The Jazz in the neck sounds fine to me and pairs up well with the PATB-2.

This ! Best sounding Duncan pickup by far.

[darkerknight]

Ok, It looks like the RR's has an inherit thin sound... I'll have to live with that...

[Nightbat]

Or try a diM Super3

Worked on giving my RR1 a good amount of body over the JB
I think a Tone Zone or Duncan Custom Custom may help in that dept. as well

[Sephiroth]

Got an RR3. Dropped Dimarzio X2N's in it. No complaints whatsoever. It sounds great.

[algeriet]

I own a 1990 RR PRO and it had EMGs when I bought it originally but those are now kept in a shoe box. I installed a Seymour Duncan Invader är boy oh boy! It sounds absolutely brutal. Like a factory or something. Steel hitting steel. I love it. Imagine Deathamphetamine with Exodus.
In my Soloist Pro also from 1990 I've got an X2N and that thing sings! Razor sharp thrash. Excellent for solos.

[CowboyFromHell]

My RR3 has what appears to be factory pickups in it (I'm no guru and don't know pickups like some of the guys on here) and sounds really fat and full. I have heard of guitars that work, but sound "thin" as you described, yet have a slight ground issue that was resolved by checking and resoldering the grounds. It may or may not be the issue in your case but it's worth checking into.