Replacing Pickups
AmirZino
Jul 28 2011, 01:42 AM
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From: Israel
Hey guys,

I'm considering to replace my pickups but i'm not sure how to choose the right ones.

Have you ever replaced your pickups?
Does it really worth it?

My two favorite artists are Steve Vai and John Petrucci so I thought it might be nice to buy the pickups they are using.

Steve vai uses the DiMarzio Evolution and John Petrucci uses the Liquifire and the Crunch Lab.

If i'll buy one of each (one for the neck and one for the bridge) I believe i'll get kinda mixed sound.

What do you think?

- Amir

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fkalich
Jul 28 2011, 02:06 AM
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Well personally, I have no desire to. Good guitars come with decent pickups in general. Perhaps one day I will change some, maybe. But I have long figured that as far as my improvement, stuff like that means about nothing compared to focusing on what matters, my fingers. If and when I feel I am pretty satisfied with my level of play, i.e. when I feel I can hold my own with the better players around here, I will think about things like that.

But if I were to do so, I probably would have someone else put them in. I am not an expert with solder, and I would want that job done very professionally, I would want it to be a pretty job, even if I can't see it.

QUOTE (AmirZino @ Jul 27 2011, 07:42 PM) *
Hey guys,

I'm considering to replace my pickups but i'm not sure how to choose the right ones.

Have you ever replaced your pickups?
Does it really worth it?

My two favorite artists are Steve Vai and John Petrucci so I thought it might be nice to buy the pickups they are using.

Steve vai uses the DiMarzio Evolution and John Petrucci uses the Liquifire and the Crunch Lab.

If i'll buy one of each (one for the neck and one for the bridge) I believe i'll get kinda mixed sound.

What do you think?

- Amir

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Azzaboi
Jul 28 2011, 02:53 AM
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DiMarzio Evolution work great in Basswood guitars, but it's pretty heavy tongue.gif

It will all depend on your axe, amp, effects used to match up with good pickups.

Pickups can have minium change or be too harsh/hot, focusing towards one style of playing. It's best to get something that works well overall for your pickups, unless you only want to play heavy metal and go hi-gain, active vs passive, etc.

Effect pedals or emulators with a builtin preamp can boost the sound quality and tones.

The amp or preamp makes the biggest difference as it's where all the output goes.

What gear are you working with?

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This post has been edited by Azzaboi: Jul 28 2011, 02:54 AM


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Mudbone
Jul 28 2011, 04:34 AM
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What kind of guitar do you have now? And what kind of pickups are in it? Some guitars already have pretty good stock pickups.

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AmirZino
Jul 28 2011, 11:49 AM
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This is my guitar: http://www.ibanez.com/ElectricGuitars/model-SV5470F
My amp is Fender Champion 30DSP

NeckPU: TDB2
MiddlePU: ST2
BridgePU: TDB3

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thefireball
Jul 28 2011, 06:35 PM
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Yeah, I'm wanting to replace my pickups in my Ibanez RG
I like the rock solo tone that gives nice harmonics for bridge position, and I would like something to compliment it for the neck position, giving it the warmer sound a neck pickup does. And for the middle single coil, I want something I can use for gospel/country/blues. But would it work well with high output pickups if I split them? It's a 5-way switch. I was thinking perhaps DiMarzio pickups. I use POD Farm.

Just did a search and here is my results. Would these work together? And how do you know if they are compatible with passive guitars?

Bridge Humbucker
Middle single coil
Neck Humbucker

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Ivan Milenkovic
Jul 28 2011, 07:15 PM
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What I've found as biggest improvements when replacing pickups are clarity and output. If you drift towards those players, any kind of hi quality hi-output pickup will help you get closer to that tone. Tone color is something that you can always tweak with EQ, and it is determined of the wood you have in the guitar. Everything else is the matter of practice.

If you want to change pickups, I suggest you start with something similar that those players are using. you won't know how those pups sound in your guitar unless you try it. There is a lesson here that Marcus Siepen did about replacing pups, and there are tons of tutorials on the net. Check them out, and see if you would be capable of doing it (you will need to solder).

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AmirZino
Jul 28 2011, 07:49 PM
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The technical part is not a problem because my teacher can do it for me.
I can get an EQ pedal (Boss GE-7) at the same price of both pickups.

Does changing the pickups will really affect the sound that much?

- Amir

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Sinisa Cekic
Jul 28 2011, 10:20 PM
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QUOTE (AmirZino @ Jul 28 2011, 08:49 PM) *
The technical part is not a problem because my teacher can do it for me.
I can get an EQ pedal (Boss GE-7) at the same price of both pickups.

Does changing the pickups will really affect the sound that much?

- Amir


I think not. Next will probably be the amplifier. If you know exactly how your pickups sounds at full load, especially when you play with the band (how the guitar breaks through the various frequencies, is thin or muddy, low- output..), then analyze all the details, and therefore decide to replace them.

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thefireball
Jul 29 2011, 12:05 AM
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One thing I notice about my Infinity pickups is that the sound seems chocked. I want more clarity.

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dark dude
Jul 29 2011, 01:36 AM
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QUOTE (thefireball @ Jul 29 2011, 12:05 AM) *
One thing I notice about my Infinity pickups is that the sound seems chocked. I want more clarity.

I have the same ones on my Ibanez, they're not so great laugh.gif

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del-4fr53e3
Jul 29 2011, 01:47 AM
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QUOTE (thefireball @ Jul 29 2011, 01:05 AM) *
One thing I notice about my Infinity pickups is that the sound seems chocked. I want more clarity.


This is not your thread.

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SpaseMoonkey
Jul 29 2011, 02:17 AM
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So far I agree with most, the pickups can clean up or even muddy the sound. I changed out a dimebucker once for a tone zone. I was quick to change the pickups bac, because it made it really muddy. Over the years of playing I have 2 stock guitars, and one with emgs. The emgs sound different because they seem sterile in sound compared to the others. But it also deals with your amps and signal chains, because certain gear can change the tone also. Say you want more mids, just tweak it. I really think they all go hand in hand with each other. But in the end its all in the "is it for you" with how it sounds with your style.

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thefireball
Jul 29 2011, 03:23 AM
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QUOTE (Sollesnes @ Jul 28 2011, 07:47 PM) *
This is not your thread.


Dude, don't get so ticked at me. ohmy.gif I was sharing my experiences hoping to get answers as well. I wouldn't mind if others did the same thing on my threads. If Amir is offended, or I am out of turn then I'm sorry. sad.gif Guess that's all I have to say.

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Mudbone
Jul 29 2011, 06:46 AM
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When you play an electric guitar, you're essentially playing the pickups. The main characteristic of an electric guitars sound comes from the pickups. With that being said, there will be more variation in sound between the different TYPES of pickups than pickups of the same type.

For example, A single coil will sound very different than a humbucker, but won't sound drastically different than other single coils. Of course, this is a generalization, there are exceptions to this rule.

Also, there are definitely perceptible differences between active and passive pickups. Active pickups have eq's built into each pickup that boost and cut out certain frequencies, and thats how they achieve their tone. If you play mostly with high gain, definitely consider active pickups. Active pickups aren't very dynamic, but there are mods that can help with that, such as the 18v mod.

Now, for you're particular guitar, if you don't want active pickups I would recommend these pickups listed below, simply because if I were to get an Ibanez this is what I would put in it biggrin.gif

Neck: DiMarzio Liquifire
Middle: DiMarzio True Velvet Middle
Bridge: DiMarzio Crunch Lab

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Ivan Milenkovic
Jul 29 2011, 10:30 AM
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QUOTE (Sollesnes @ Jul 29 2011, 02:47 AM) *
This is not your thread.



I believe this is everybody's thread? smile.gif

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