The article discusses the process of upgrading the pickups and bridge on an Ibanez Roadstar RB760 guitar. The original pickups on the guitar were old and not functioning properly, so the author decided to replace them with three Nordstrand J-styles pickups. Each of the new pickups is placed inside a 3D-printed cover, custom-made by Nordstrand. The neck pickup has two NJ4SV pickups, while the bridge pickup has an NJ4SE. Each pickup has separate leads, which allows for different wiring options. The coils are independent humbuckers, meaning there is no noise in any configuration.
The pickup cover files were created by Thomas Bjelkeman, and the author had them printed at Shapeways using nylon-based Versatile plastic. The bridge, which replaces the original Ibanez cast zinc model, is an aluminum “full contact hardware” model from Babicz. Jeff Babicz, one of the original employees at Steinberger, developed the new bridge design. It increases the contact area between the saddles and the baseplate, improving string stability. String height is adjusted with a cam-based mechanism inside each saddle.
Overall, upgrading the pickups and bridge on the author’s Ibanez Roadstar RB760 guitar improved the sound and playability of the instrument. The new pickups offer more tonal options and zero noise, while the new bridge increases string stability and tuning accuracy.
Posted by A.J. Kandy on 2020-04-07 23:25:49