Pickups For A Neck-thru Ibanez, Please help me choosing |
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Aug 5 2009, 06:32 PM
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Hey, guys.
I finally decided to change the stock pickups of my Ibanez RGT 320q. I hope at least some people can read the full post  Current situation The pickups are OEM DiMarzio/IBZ. According to DiMarzio FAQ, the closest models are Super 2 (neck) and a mix of Steve's Morse bridge + Super Distortion. First, what I like  and I don't like  about them, since I want something different from them. Neck is really nice for cleans but I don't like the way it distorts. I use it only for cleans or slightly overdrived. I think it is a bit too hot (too much volume compared to bridge). Bridge pickup is awesome for metal power chords and riffing. but this is not my main style of playing. I actually cannot make it sound like rhythm guitar in classic rock (think of Led Zeppelin rock'n'roll) which would be much more my style. In several GMC collabs, the comment was that I was lacking low end on my lead sound... I think it is in general a little thin and dry. I can make my lead sound more thick by using 7-8 bass on EQing, but then I don't feel it singing anymore. What I want First the 3 guitarists which I like the tone the most: Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi), Slash( guns n roses) and David Gilmour (pink floyd). In neck I would go with something more or less similar to the stock, but that can sing better when overdriven in humbucker mode. A good split for single coil would be a great plus! Bridge: I want to achieve the classic led rhythm sound, at least to some extent. For lead the main sound I want it is to sing but with fullness and smoothness. One good example is the solo of "Is This Love", Whitesnake. One more thing: I am the kind of guy who likes all the flexibility in the world. So I was thinking of adding push/pull pots and different configurations.  I even thought of trying a pair of P-rails, but I give up because they don't have an F-spaced version. What I was thinking so far I made a lot of research but I still can not make up my mind. My main considerations so far are: 1) "APH-1(N) + JB (Bridge)" - cause I love Slash's neck soloing and JB seems a solid choice for bridge. 2) "Air Norton (N)/Tone Zone(Bridge)" - Mainly cause it's a so widely used combo, taken as versatile, but also because I hope ToneZone would solve the lack of low end. I read in several places that Tone zone is no good for mahogany body guitars, but maybe this is not true for this one since it has a neck-thru design (maple/wenge neck)? Actually choosing pickups solely based on the wood of this guitar probably would be too tricky, as it has 4 woods: mahogany (body), maple (top and neck), wenge (neck) and rosewood (fingerboard).  One more crazy idea: I thought of exchanging the positions of the stock pickups as I always find myself adding bass to bridge EQ and removing a bit from neck  P.S. I definitely hope ZakkWylde gives his opinion in this thread
This post has been edited by Gus: Aug 5 2009, 06:35 PM -------------------- my "Thank you GMC!" video
If you like it please vote in the competition ;-) Gus Stairway to Guitar Heaven - my practice agenda Check out my lesson here Phrygian Dominant Solo lesson Gear : Ibanez RGT320q (I just love the neck-thru sustain), Washburn EA-20SDL (acoustic 6 string), Standard strat (Mexico), POD X3 Live Some of my Guitar heroes: Jimmy Page, Slash, Kirk Hammett, Augusto Licks, Joe Satriani, Gus G, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler... |
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Aug 5 2009, 11:37 PM
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Thanks a lot for the answers so far!
QUOTE (ZakkWylde @ Aug 5 2009, 07:54 PM)  First of all, your lack of low end comes from your very bright sounding guitar! Maple necktrough with mahagony wings means that you basicly have a Maple body, the attached mahagony parts are helping with the sustain of the guitar but they are not giving the guitar a mahagony body sound, hence your guitar sings really well but the tone isn't really deep or warm... Well, I never thought of it that way  QUOTE (ZakkWylde @ Aug 5 2009, 07:54 PM) If you got some more money to spend on pickups the go for Handmade Bareknuckle pickups! More precisley for a Blackdog Bridge and a Mule Neck pickup. The blackdog is, guess what, a hot Paf pickup wound to the sound of Jimmy Page but with a bit of extra low end to create his Les Paul sound - A PERFECT MATCH for you imho! The mule neck pickup is somewhere between vintage and medium powered and is perfect for singing leads in the style of Slash or Gilmoure! I spent the last hour or so watching clips with the Black dog. They sound amazing, maybe just a little bit too dark for Les Pauls (most clips were on Les Pauls). I think you just sold one I am going to check the mule tomorrow, as it is a little late now. Do you think the black dog could be combined with an APH-1? What should I look? Just output level? -------------------- my "Thank you GMC!" video
If you like it please vote in the competition ;-) Gus Stairway to Guitar Heaven - my practice agenda Check out my lesson here Phrygian Dominant Solo lesson Gear : Ibanez RGT320q (I just love the neck-thru sustain), Washburn EA-20SDL (acoustic 6 string), Standard strat (Mexico), POD X3 Live Some of my Guitar heroes: Jimmy Page, Slash, Kirk Hammett, Augusto Licks, Joe Satriani, Gus G, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler... |
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Aug 7 2009, 03:03 PM
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QUOTE (ZakkWylde @ Aug 6 2009, 02:19 AM) The guitar body sound comes pretty much from the piece of wood the pickups are sitting in and since you have a neck through, the pickups pretty much sit in the neck wood... I recomended the Blackdog/mule combo because it's pretty popular set (for example our Instructor Joe Kataldo has the Blackdog/Mule Combo in his signature Mayonnes Guitar!) and on the other hand because it covers your wanted tones exactly. Sure you can mix the BKP Blackdog with the APH-1, no problem but the Mule sounds very similiar to the APH-1, but with a higher quality built (handmade and wax potted will surely give a sweater and less noisy tone than a machinebuilt Seymour Duncan Pickup). If you order one boutique bridge pickup, you might aswell buy a boutique neck pickup aswell^^ It's all up to you, Blackdog and APH-1 will work too. I heard the Mule, and yes it is great for what I want as a neck pickup! Unless something radically change my mind will order blackdog/mule. I am just in doubt about the options they give at bare knuckle website. I think raw nickel or chrome cover would look killing in my guitar but then was worried if they alter the tone. Do you have any experience on with/without metal cover on pickups? I was listening in youtube some clips of pickups with and without metal cover, and i had the impression the metal cover remove the treble a little (which in my case would probably be an advantage), so I think I will order with them with cover. The other thing is they say they have options for 1/2'' or 1/4'' leg. I am not sure which one I should order  -------------------- my "Thank you GMC!" video
If you like it please vote in the competition ;-) Gus Stairway to Guitar Heaven - my practice agenda Check out my lesson here Phrygian Dominant Solo lesson Gear : Ibanez RGT320q (I just love the neck-thru sustain), Washburn EA-20SDL (acoustic 6 string), Standard strat (Mexico), POD X3 Live Some of my Guitar heroes: Jimmy Page, Slash, Kirk Hammett, Augusto Licks, Joe Satriani, Gus G, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler... |
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