On the bench - 2008 Jackson RR5

Recently my friend SL, guitarist with local Toronto band Waveline, asked if I could help him out with his main stage guitar, a very pointy 2008 Jackson Randy Rhoads model in metallic pink. He tunes this one all the way down to Drop B (B-F#-B-E-G#-C#) and was having issues with the  intonation, tuning stability, and wanted the pickups switched out. He was told by a couple of local shops it would be a four week turnaround time. I was able to get it back to him within a week and just in time for an upcoming show.

The guitar was currently set up with a Seymour Duncan Distortion (SH6N) neck pickup, and a Duncan Nazgul bridge pickup. SL was looking for a warmer sound and wanted the original Alnico equipped Duncan JB/Jazz pickups (Seymour's favourite combo) installed back in.

Pickups installed and ready for a setup with a new pack of Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt strings in 11 to 54 guage. 

First off I started by leveling the bridge to the body. It was leaning forward and was very unstable when palm muting the bridge. So I brought it back down by tightening the tremolo springs on the back of the guitar. 

Leveling the bridge also resulted in lower action.

Then I set the intonation.

SL doesn't use the Floyd Rose on this guitar because the floppy strings were causing issues with tuning stability. So I suggested blocking off the Floyd since he doesn't use it anyway and he agreed to give it a try.

The end result was better sustain and perfect tuning stability because it essentially turns the guitar into a hard tail. The maple blocks are only wedged in place and can be easily removed if he ever wants do some dive bombs with the Floyd Rose again. 

SL was very pleased with the results and says all the tuning issues were resolved and the guitar sounds amazing now.