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GMC Forum _ GEAR & PRODUCTION _ What Pickups Should I Get?
Posted by: thefireball May 23 2010, 08:51 PM
I would like to get new pickups for my Ibanezes. My IJX 121 pickups buzz really bad. It was a cheap guitar that came in a jumpstart kit. But it's a great guitar and is designed for metal. I'm thinking active pickups are the best, but what brand?
Also my RG 350 DX has pickups that aren't that good: Infinity. Both of these Ibanezes have the factory pickups. What would get me a good sound for hard rock and metal for both of these guitars?
What do you recommend? Is there an online place I can compare the sounds of different pickups?
I appreciate any help you can provide. 
Posted by: ruben_mcn May 23 2010, 10:18 PM
Put EMGs in one just for plain Metal ( or EMG X ) and on the other try the Dimazio X2N on the brigde .. and a paf pro on the neck ... or maybe a set of evolutions (ihave one on the neck and another on the bridge on my ibanez , and i catually made some sound samples check them out here : http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=34478&hl= )
Posted by: thefireball May 23 2010, 11:15 PM
Cool! I'm glad you had made these samples! Thanks! What a coinicidence! I'll keep these in mind.
Sounded like you had 5 switch (and from the looks of the samples, when you split the coils)
Was that a single coil in with two humbuckers like my white guitar?
Posted by: jstcrsn May 23 2010, 11:49 PM
my vote is for non -active
imo- this brings in additional problems- such as
if all guitars don't have the same pick-up , this can bring numerous feedback noises- live
your battery can go out in the middle of a gig and more
if these are not issues with your situation then active would be fine
Posted by: ruben_mcn May 24 2010, 12:11 AM
Yh mine has 2 humbuckers and a single coil just like yours .. it has a 5 switch and splits the hums into singlecoils and combines them w/ the middle pickup in positions 2 and 4 .. ( btw: the midlle is just a stock Dimarzio/ibz single coil ) I think that these too evolutions sound nice .. I just don´t like the sound of the neck pick up W/ distortion cause too me it sounds a bit "clossed" (too bassy ).. but If you like the demos go for it .. (I bealive You can do both hardrock and Metal W/ them .. )
Also a major improvment i noticed after putting this pickups was that the sustain was a lot better ...
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 24 2010, 02:09 AM
You can compare pickup sounds on Seymor Duncan's site.
http://dev.seymourduncan.com/support/audio-samples/humbuckers_and/
not sure about other sites. These samples are not exactly a precise reference, who knows how they will sound in your guitar. Try to read a bit about the pickups, if you spend some time researching, you can effectively narrow down the choice to 2-3 pickups.
Posted by: ZakkWylde May 24 2010, 03:09 AM
For the Cheap starterkit Ibanez: EMG 81 Bridge and 85 Neck
The active EMGs will drasticly improve the sound of your cheapo Ibanez as they are not as dependend on good wood as passive pickups are! Also the EMGs have almost NO Feedback and NO Noise - They are the standard pickups in Metal and are played from almost anybody from Metallica to Machine Head. I think every guitarist should have at least on guitar equipped with EMG pickups as they give out a very unique sound of their own that can't be copied...
The 81 is a killer Bridge pickup: Tight, heavy and great cutting lead sounds. The 85 in the neck is great for highgain solo runs and works good for clean with a rolled back volume knob too!
For the RG 350 DX: A Dimarzio Evolution Set
The Evolution set is Steve Vais signature pickup set and it works really well in a basswood RG as they were built to be used in an RG!
The whole set is very versatile and can cover nearly every genre! The bridge is great for Rock and Metal, the Neck is awesome for solos and bluesy stuff and the single coil can do clean and Jazz stuff.
Don't let Steves Name fool you, those are not just Shred pickups - they are excellent Metal and Rock pickups (Hammerfall or Dragonforce use them for example) and they just sound great in the Ibanez RGs. I had this set in my RG550 before I sold the guitar (I miss it sometimes -.-)
Just my 2 cents but do you really want to spend 150-200$ for pickups on your IJX 121? It doesn't make much sense to put in pickups that are almost as expensive as the whole guitar...
Sure it will improve the sound a bit but it won't make a cheap guitar sound like a 1000$ guitar - you might want to save that money and invest it in a new, more expensive guitar.
Posted by: thefireball May 24 2010, 03:28 AM
imo- this brings in additional problems- such as
if all guitars don't have the same pick-up , this can bring numerous feedback noises- live
your battery can go out in the middle of a gig and more
if these are not issues with your situation then active would be fine
okay, i'll keep that in mind. I don't currently play live right now though. thanks!
http://dev.seymourduncan.com/support/audio-samples/humbuckers_and/
not sure about other sites. These samples are not exactly a precise reference, who knows how they will sound in your guitar. Try to read a bit about the pickups, if you spend some time researching, you can effectively narrow down the choice to 2-3 pickups.
Thanks Ivan! I'll check this out!
Sure it will improve the sound a bit but it won't make a cheap guitar sound like a 1000$ guitar - you might want to save that money and invest it in a new, more expensive guitar.
I see what you mean, but that guitar holds a special place in my heart. It was my first guitar. I'm a sentimental guy.
But I will certainly keep it in mind. Yeah, a lot of what you guys are saying is what other people I've asked recommend.
My Jackson SLSMG has 81/85 EMGs. Does this mean the way it sounds on the Jackson is the way it would sound in one of my Ibanezes? My Ibanezes seemingly have their unique sound. I try to riff metal on my Jackson, but it doesn't sound like my Ibanezes. Even my cheap Ibanez sounds better, as far as the tone, than the Jackson.
Posted by: ZakkWylde May 24 2010, 04:06 AM
The guitar will change it's sound with a pickup change (that's the whole point of it^^)
Your Ibanez won't sound like the Jackson SLSMG just because they will have the same pickups in them but they will share certain characterisitics in tone, output and picking response. Maybe you don't like the active pickups at all because the Jackson should sound a LOT better than your Ibanez starterkit guitar.
A Seymour Duncan Sh-6(more mids) or sh-8 (more bass) bridge and Sh-1 Neck should get you a serious Metal tone in your Ibanez and keep more of it's original tone.
Posted by: Todd Simpson May 24 2010, 03:47 PM
A good place to start is the EMG 81/85 combo. There is a KERRY KING version that adds and additional switchable pre-amp toggle. That's what I put in my Minarik Lotus. I LOVE it. Also, the new Seymour Duncan "Blackout" Pickups are tuned just for Metal and are active like the EMG's. Basically they are a EMG's that sound more like Seymour Duncans Here is a pick of my Lotus with EMG's installed.
Posted by: Adrian Figallo May 24 2010, 07:14 PM
The active EMGs will drasticly improve the sound of your cheapo Ibanez as they are not as dependend on good wood as passive pickups are! Also the EMGs have almost NO Feedback and NO Noise - They are the standard pickups in Metal and are played from almost anybody from Metallica to Machine Head. I think every guitarist should have at least on guitar equipped with EMG pickups as they give out a very unique sound of their own that can't be copied...
The 81 is a killer Bridge pickup: Tight, heavy and great cutting lead sounds. The 85 in the neck is great for highgain solo runs and works good for clean with a rolled back volume knob too!
For the RG 350 DX: A Dimarzio Evolution Set
The Evolution set is Steve Vais signature pickup set and it works really well in a basswood RG as they were built to be used in an RG!
The whole set is very versatile and can cover nearly every genre! The bridge is great for Rock and Metal, the Neck is awesome for solos and bluesy stuff and the single coil can do clean and Jazz stuff.
Don't let Steves Name fool you, those are not just Shred pickups - they are excellent Metal and Rock pickups (Hammerfall or Dragonforce use them for example) and they just sound great in the Ibanez RGs. I had this set in my RG550 before I sold the guitar (I miss it sometimes -.-)
Just my 2 cents but do you really want to spend 150-200$ for pickups on your IJX 121? It doesn't make much sense to put in pickups that are almost as expensive as the whole guitar...
Sure it will improve the sound a bit but it won't make a cheap guitar sound like a 1000$ guitar - you might want to save that money and invest it in a new, more expensive guitar.
pretty much agree 100%, EMG and Dimarzio, both are great reference kits.
Posted by: SirJamsalot May 24 2010, 09:05 PM
I've been looking at the evo 2's myself. I was listening to the sound bytes offered on the Dimarzio site, and the evo2's sound a little better to my ear than the original ones. I'm not keen on battery powered pickups. Just seems like too much maintenance for too little gain in sound
But that's just my own personal taste.
Posted by: thefireball May 24 2010, 10:36 PM
Your Ibanez won't sound like the Jackson SLSMG just because they will have the same pickups in them but they will share certain characterisitics in tone, output and picking response. Maybe you don't like the active pickups at all because the Jackson should sound a LOT better than your Ibanez starterkit guitar.
A Seymour Duncan Sh-6(more mids) or sh-8 (more bass) bridge and Sh-1 Neck should get you a serious Metal tone in your Ibanez and keep more of it's original tone.
well....i meant the Ibanez sounded more metal, and the Jackson sounded more mello.
Posted by: ZakkWylde May 24 2010, 11:08 PM
I won't let that Mainenance Issue with active pickups count!
The battery last for atleast 2000 hours of playing and changing the battery takes a minute at max!!!
In the 4 Years I have been playing I only had to change the batteries once!
Posted by: thefireball May 24 2010, 11:54 PM
The battery last for atleast 2000 hours of playing and changing the battery takes a minute at max!!!
In the 4 Years I have been playing I only had to change the batteries once!
Are you saying that active pickups have batteries? Only my Jackson SLSMG has a battery. My Ibanezes don't have em.
Posted by: ZakkWylde May 25 2010, 12:03 AM
The battery is what makes them active^^
A 9 Volt Block battery in the compartement powers the internal preamp of the pickup (EMG 81/85/60 or Seymour Duncan Blackout).
Passive pickups are powered through the guitar cable but with long cables and a lot of effects you get a signal loss which active pickups don't get. Active pickups are less dynamic on the other hand...
Posted by: SirJamsalot May 25 2010, 12:14 AM
The battery last for atleast 2000 hours of playing and changing the battery takes a minute at max!!!
In the 4 Years I have been playing I only had to change the batteries once!
2000 hours of playing? R U sure about that? I was practicing with a friend who left his guitar plugged in a few times by accident, and within about a month had to change the battery. 2000/24 = ~80 days, and I'm sure I didn't lose track of that many days! But yeah, I'm sure they're easy to change, but dang it if I aint a lazy bum! ^.^
-- edit --
Well I just checked some forums and some people are claiming years w/o a battery change - I guess if you can stand taking a minute out of your time to change a battery that aint too bad. Think they have solar-powered models? haha. You could put a solar panel on your head for outdoor events and hook up to extend your play time
Posted by: thefireball May 25 2010, 12:21 AM
-- edit --
Well I just checked some forums and some people are claiming years w/o a battery change - I guess if you can stand taking a minute out of your time to change a battery that aint too bad. Think they have solar-powered models? haha. You could put a solar panel on your head for outdoor events and hook up to extend your play time
well i don't see what leaving your guitar plugged in would do when your system is all off?
Posted by: ZakkWylde May 25 2010, 12:23 AM
The battery is draining as long as the guitar cable is plugged in, regardless of the amp being on. Just unplug your guitar if you don't play it
EMG say that with a high quality 9v battery their pickups will last 2000 hours...
One month still makes 24hx30d=720 Hours. And your friend might have already played with that battery for some months or weeks...
And it might have also been a cheap battery.
I can say that even with a lot of playing, you won't have to change the battery more than once a year!
Posted by: Adrian Figallo May 25 2010, 02:36 AM
i didn't knew they last SO much, cool!
Posted by: thefireball May 25 2010, 04:29 AM
EMG say that with a high quality 9v battery their pickups will last 2000 hours...
One month still makes 24hx30d=720 Hours. And your friend might have already played with that battery for some months or weeks...
And it might have also been a cheap battery.
I can say that even with a lot of playing, you won't have to change the battery more than once a year!
wow, thanks! I will be sure to unplug my guitar after I'm done.
Posted by: thefireball Jul 24 2010, 11:18 PM
I now agree with ZakkWylde's judgement. I sent him a PM to let him know. 
EMG 81/85s is overkill in that Ibanez IJX 121. Thank you everybody for your help. I'm going for a much cheaper pickup setup.
Posted by: SirJamsalot Jul 25 2010, 02:04 AM
Sure it will improve the sound a bit but it won't make a cheap guitar sound like a 1000$ guitar - you might want to save that money and invest it in a new, more expensive guitar.
hah. great thread to dig up. Ok, well here's my take.
1. make your 200 dollar guitar sound like an $800 guitar? YEAH! why not save 600 bucks? Besides, if you sell your 200 dollar guitar, just put the old pickups back in it, keep the new ones to replace the ones in your new guitar! I see no loss here!
I'm seriously considering getting some EMGs. But I'm also seriously thinking about getting some Evos' perhaps both ! WTH. not because they are Steve Vai's thing (personally, there's only one Steve VAi song I actuall like...) but because I"ve heard some studio recording technicians say that Evos are great for recording. I'm sure I'll hear from our resident expert on his opinion on this, but since I"m confined to my room for recording and not able to go play with the boyz on stage, therein lies my preferencial thinking on the matter
Christian A.
Posted by: thefireball Jul 25 2010, 02:16 AM
I definitely don't wanna sell my black Ibanez. I know it's cheap, but it was my first guitar after all! I wanna use it still. So I'll just get some cheap pickups after I play on a guitar that has those pickups = and I like them.
Posted by: shatterd Jul 25 2010, 02:22 AM
Ha....I have one of those Ibanez IJX 121 guitars here at the house. It came in an Ibanez starter kit along with a 15 watt amp. Got it at a pawn shop. Actually that guitar is not too bad. The stock pickups are OK. The guitar stays in tune pretty good. It does some decent metal tones. The pickups do have that metal humbucker edge to them as you would expect from a good humbucker....they just do not compare to a good Dimarzio or EMG humbucker.
I bought one of those starter kits many years ago and the guitar and amp were total crap. This Ibanez kit is actually far better than what I had when I started. I think the IJX 121 is decent enough to invest in pickups. Really it aint bad at all for a starter kit guitar. I really wish that guitar came in my starter kit many years ago.
Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 25 2010, 02:50 AM
I think you are heading the right way skipping the EMGs for this particular guitar. It's a bit much considering the instrument. I'm sure you can find a much cheaper option to get it sounding right. Save the EMG's for a nicer axe.
Todd
Posted by: SirJamsalot Jul 25 2010, 05:02 AM
I'm just not looking at the situation the same way as you guys. I don't consider pickups to be married for life to a guitar. I consider them as swappable components - buy some kick-butt pickups, stickem in your trashy guitar, then one day when you get a kick-butt guitar, if that kick butt guitar doens't have kick-butt pickups, swap those pups with the ones in your trashy guitar and you're gold.
But again - that's just the way I look at em. Pickups last a lifetime don't they? I mean, you go to ebay to get vintage guitars with the original pickups - not like they go bad, unless you really mistreat them.
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