Pickup Help

ReInventor

ReInventor

New member
I know I should probably just join the Ibanez forum and ask this question, but I am on too many already, so here goes...

I have an Ibanez RG320 that I love to play. The sound is ballsy and powerful, but lacks articulation. It's basswood, 24 frets, floyd rose, powersound pickups (cheapo)

I also have an Ibanez AX125 - mahogany les paul knockoff, 22 frets, 24 3/4 inch scale, Ibanez AH pickups. I hate this guitar. It doesn't play well, and even though the pickups are supposedly higher quality, it sounds squawky to me. Maybe just the mahogany.

Anyway - I want new pickups for the RG to increase its articulation and dynamic response, but I'm happy with its character overall. My fear is that I'll get something and end up with a sound more like the AX - articulate, but lacking girth.

I was considering a Dimarzio PAF Joe in the neck and a Norton in the bridge. Does anyone have any comments on this? Any recommendations based on my needs?

I play a wide variety of styles by the way, and need a versatile sound set. warm chiming clean sounds, beefy overdrive, good string separation, Medium/Hot output.

Thanks
 
Yeah right. Ask which out of god knows how many are on the market. Nice try.

I think everyone is gonna have their own favorite. What works for your ears may only show up after you've tried a few different ones (ten, twenty...). Just assume that you are gonna have to throw some in and see and then start buying used on fleabay so you don't lose too much in the process for a cheap guitar. Try to pick sets that are drastically different in their touted strengths so you can narrow it down some.

I like Fralin PAFs and the Duncans in my G&L (can't remember the model # - look it up).

Good luck.


lou

PS - I have an Ibanez RG220 and I like the pickups it came with.
 
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Sorry, dude. Evidently G&L have their own pickups now. My ASAT Deluxe has Duncans and it looks like they've changed their model designations 'cause none of 'em look familiar.

Don't really matter. You're gonna have to try some.


lou
 
ReInventor said:
I know I should probably just join the Ibanez forum and ask this question, but I am on too many already, so here goes...

I have an Ibanez RG320 that I love to play. The sound is ballsy and powerful, but lacks articulation. It's basswood, 24 frets, floyd rose, powersound pickups (cheapo)

I also have an Ibanez AX125 - mahogany les paul knockoff, 22 frets, 24 3/4 inch scale, Ibanez AH pickups. I hate this guitar. It doesn't play well, and even though the pickups are supposedly higher quality, it sounds squawky to me. Maybe just the mahogany.

Anyway - I want new pickups for the RG to increase its articulation and dynamic response, but I'm happy with its character overall. My fear is that I'll get something and end up with a sound more like the AX - articulate, but lacking girth.

I was considering a Dimarzio PAF Joe in the neck and a Norton in the bridge. Does anyone have any comments on this? Any recommendations based on my needs?

I play a wide variety of styles by the way, and need a versatile sound set. warm chiming clean sounds, beefy overdrive, good string separation, Medium/Hot output.

Thanks
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I'm probably gonna get beat up for this, but here goes, anyway... :D

It's possible (just possible) that changing pickups will make a whole lot less of a difference than you hope that it will. That's what happened to me when I replaced the stock bridge pickup on my Les Paul with a pretty expensive hotrod DiMarzio or Lawrence (I don't remember which; it was 10+ years ago). It got a little louder but otherwise it sounds pretty much the same as it did before.

YMMV, of course.
 
So it's a fruitless endeavor?

Actually, not sounding that much different is what I want. I just want a little less mud in the tone. I don't have fat sloppy fingers, so my tone shouldn't sound fat and sloppy. I guess I just figured that aftermarket pickups should sound...(difficult to explain)...higher quality...higher fidelity...that's not quite right...more articulate. That's what I'm looking for anyway. A similar tone, but with more clarity.
 
Pickups aren't too complicated, magnets of various types and a coil of wire. You can change the number and style of windings, you can change the type of magnet. That will alter your tone some. If you want less mud, try a pickup with fewer windings--it will have more high frequency response.

I would try swapping the pups on the ax you don't like with the ax you like, and sell the ax you don't like with the swapped pups. Seems simple enough . . .

Unless a pickup was wound poorly and/or not potted correctly, or has bad magnets or something, I don't think "fidelity" per se should be an issue.
 
I thought about that, but the pickups being a part of the guitar I don't like...seems a little silly, but then again, those pickups have a little more clarity, but in mahogany instead of basswood, so maybe they'll work better in the basswood guitar. Then again, they're also lower output... Guess I can only try it.
 
ReInventor said:
So it's a fruitless endeavor?

Actually, not sounding that much different is what I want. I just want a little less mud in the tone. I don't have fat sloppy fingers, so my tone shouldn't sound fat and sloppy. I guess I just figured that aftermarket pickups should sound...(difficult to explain)...higher quality...higher fidelity...that's not quite right...more articulate. That's what I'm looking for anyway. A similar tone, but with more clarity.
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I didn't say that. It's just that sometimes changing out pickups doesn't make as much difference as one might expect or hope.

FWIW, single coil pickups sound clearer to me than humbuckers. That may be because they get signal from only one point on the strings.
 
ggunn said:
I didn't say that. It's just that sometimes changing out pickups doesn't make as much difference as one might expect or hope.

FWIW, single coil pickups sound clearer to me than humbuckers. That may be because they get signal from only one point on the strings.
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It's because they have lower inductance, that makes them less peaky in the midrange and preserves high-frequency response. An underwound humbucker essentially achieves the same thing.
 
I do plan to install a push/pull coil tap. I know it's not the real deal single coil (supposedly anyway...I'm not sure why technically) but I like the sound anyway.
 
For articulate stuff I would say nothing is better than the duncan full shred in my books. May be a little bright in basswood so if you prefer darker tones or a bit more chunk I would say the duncan distortion would also be right up your alley and to me is more suited for a balanced wood such as alder or basswood
 
Oh boy, a question I can actually answer with a fair amount of authority! :D

I'm an Ibanez nut from WAY back. A couple things:

1.) First, those AH pickups aren't "higher quality" than the (probably) V7/V8 set in your RG - the AX125 is quite a bit further down on Ibanez's product line than your RG320, and generally you'd expect the pickups to be cheaper.
2.) Ibanez's stock pickups are, broadly speaking, crap. Replacing a Les Paul's pickups with a Dimarzio may not make a huge difference, but Ibanez is known for having pretty forgettable stock pickups. Anecdotally, I remember the first time I played the 7620 I ended up buying as my first seven string - I'd been playing a RG520 at the time with stock Ibanez pickups still in it, and my immediate thought as soon as I picked up the seven was "hey, Ibanez really has upped it a bit on their pickups, these really aren't so bad!" In particular, string-to-string articulation seemed much better, and they weren't as muddy. It wasn't until after I'd bought it that I rememebred that Ibanez had, since they had no seven string pickups of their own at the time, had Dimarzio wind them a custom "New 7" set for this guitar. So, yes, it makes a difference - going from one quality pickup to another is largely a question of color, but Ibanez pickups are junk, so you should expect increased clarity and definition when you swithc.
3.) Generally, Duncans don't get on so well in basswood - Dimarzios are probably the way to go (and I'm not knocking Duncans - even a number of hardcore Dimarzio-hating guitarist buddies of mine who themselves use Duncans agree with me on this).

That said, if you're after clarity, I'd beware super hot pickups. Lower output plus a little more gain from your amp is probably the way to go. I'm not as up on the Dimarzio six string offerings as I am on the seven, but I'd look at maybe the Tone Zone (a little dark, fairly mid-heavy - my recollection of the seven string version was it was very EVH) or a PAF Pro (brighter, more open, a little less output) in the bridge. In the neck, I personally love the Air Norton (also a little dark, slays for soloing - would mate well with the TZ) or a PAF (brighter, lower output - would probably pair well with the PAF Pro) in the neck.

Let me know what you end up deciding!
 
Glad to hear that a pickup upgrade should help my situation. The ones in the RG are powersound. They are now put in the Gio line I think. Pretty cheap, certainly cheaper than the V7/V8 unless that's just a rebranding of the same piece.

I've looked into the TZ/AN combination, but they seem maybe a bit dark. The original Norton is supposed to be right between the TZ and the Fred, so I'm thinking that in the Bridge position, as the TZ is too dark and I found the Fred in the JS1000 a bit lacking in balls.

Still debating the neck pickup. Something muscular but articulate - like a Samurai or maybe a pro football player in ballet lessons...lol.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
Generally, Duncans don't get on so well in basswood
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That has got to be the most ignorant statement that I've read here since the "talcum powder" incident. I've used Duncan pickups in various basswood guitars for more years than you've been alive and they sound fantastic.
 
I recently replaced the stock pickups in my Telecaster (mid-80's Jap made Squier Tele). The original pickups had no real mids to speak of. Went with some Fender SCN's and have really enjoyed the sound now.

Can't hurt to go ahead and try some of the replacements you mentioned. Might be in your best interest to confirm the return policies of the store you buy pickups from, whether it's down the street or an online seller.
 
ocnor said:
That has got to be the most ignorant statement that I've read here since the "talcum powder" incident. I've used Duncan pickups in various basswood guitars for more years than you've been alive and they sound fantastic.
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Hey, then you're in the minority of the people I've spoken with. For what it's worth, this is mostly in the metal community, so if you're doing something else then YMMV, but barring perhaps the Blackouts, very few guys I know who have tried Duncans in basswood have stuck with them. You may personally disagree, and that's your right, and if you prefer I'll happily change it to "Generally, the consensus of the vast majority of Duncan users I know is that they don't get on so well with basswood," but I'd hardly call that ignorant.

RI - I was doing some tech work for a buddy of mine last night, on a RG550 with a PAF Pro in the neck and an X2N in the bridge. Honestly, man, that neck pickup sounded sweet enough that I actually took the time to dig through the forum we run to find his "new guitar day" thread to find out what the fuck it was, since neither of us could remember (the X2N was of course visibly obvious), because we both thought the neck pickup sounded absolutely spectacular. I'm probably swapping the Blaze neck in my UV for a PAF Pro 7 ASAP, just based how it sounded in that guitar.
 
Cool Drew. I had actually narrowed it down to the PAF Pro and the PAF Joe, which apparently is a PAF Pro with a more tame bass response and a little more high end. Wish I could play it. All the guitar shops around here have the JS1000 which has the PAF Pro. Nice sounding pup.

Norton for sure. PAF Pro unless I can play a PAF Joe before I purchase or someone talks me into it.
 
Before going out and spending money on a new set of pickups...that you have no idea whether you're going to like or not...lower the pickups that are in the guitar now.

You may even have to lower them WAY down...flush with the pickguard to get the best sound out of them.

When you lower the pickups away from the strings you get a little les output but increase the clarity and articulation. To do this costs you nothing and you may be surprised by the results. Also, by experimenting with pickup height adjustment you will know the full potential of your pickups. By not doing this you may end up jerking out the set of pickups that give you the sound you want.
Ditto on putting a new set in...experiment with the pickup height extensively.

Hot pickups tend to sound the best when set lower than "normal".

Don't go by what looks right go by what sounds right.
my 2 cents.
 
I picked up one of the first RG 550s off the line back in maybe 1987. I went through a parade of replacement pickups and finally wound up with EMG 81/85 (and an EMG single coil for the middle). I was finally "happy" with the sound, but wow...

I'm with the folks who are urging you to try adjustments and things like that before buying new pickups. If you have the chance to try any without buying (seems unlikely, but you never know) - that would be awesome. If your guitar is anything like my 550, it's going to be difficult to find the right one(s).
 
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