Guitars need a pickup change, please help.

[ls1ashley]

I am seeking input to cure my tone problems. I've got a couple guitars, and they need
a little tweakings to get the tone just right. I'm not that up on aftermarket pickups
or how they should be matched to different woods. I am doing a lot of research too, but
I thought it couldn't hurt to ask around here!

Guitar Body PUs (N/B) Problem
Brian Moore i9.13 Mahogany Duncans Alinco/JB Sounds "weak", needs bass?, doesn't cut in the mix well
ESP Eclipse Mahogany EMG-81s Not enough bass
Ibanez RG220 Basswood JB/Lynch Screamen DeamonSounds good, just sometimes too much bass

Ibanez S-Series Mahogany Stock Ibanez Best sounding guitar I have

I am considering:
1) Trading the JB/Lynch Scremen Demon OUT of the Ibanez RG220 with the EMG-81s from the ESP Eclipse.
- I think the EMG81s may not go with the Mahogany body, I've played them in an Alder guitar and they sound better.
- The 81s also have less bass, so that might kill two birds w/o buying new pickups.
2) Putting in a couple dimarzios in the Ibanez S-series (a Fred in the bridge, not sure what else)
- The S-series is a prestigue, and is my favorite guitar. It sounds good with the stockers so surely
it'll sound great with a Satriani/Vai kinda pickup, and I happen to have a Fred lying around the house.

3) I don't know what to do with the Brian Moore

Thanks for listening, any input is appreciated.

[Mephis]

Re: Guitars need a pickup change, please help.

if you want more bass and better sound try 85's and 89's, and for the neck always use 60's. As for Seymour duncan pickups, let their people come in here, im not sure exactly what you need in the SD lineup.

[tone4days]

Re: Guitars need a pickup change, please help.

hmmm, letting us know what kind of music and what kind of amp you are playing might help us to make suggesteions that are truly personal;ized to your needs ... but that aside, i'd be willing to venture that the i9 might could use a '59 in the neck if you want more bass ... i love the aIIp in my i88.13, but if it isnt bassy enough for you, a '59 could cure that ... i have a '59 in my ibanez S guitar and love its warm (but not mushy) bass response ... as for the bridge, it's hard for me to imagine a JB not cutting through a mix well, so i am not quite sure what to recommend for you to try .. a CC maybe? or a dime?

i am assuming you've tweaked with the height of the pickups on the bass side to try to get more bass out of them and that you've dialed in the amp specifically for each guitar (it would be surprising if the same amp setting worked equally well for all guitars/pups)

i cant help with the EMGs as i have never played a guitar with them

good luck
t4d

[ls1ashley]

Re: Guitars need a pickup change, please help.

Ah yes,

I play rock/metal (newer, not classic). I am too perplexed as to why I don't like the JB on the Brian moore, as I love it on my RG220. Maybe I just need to tweek some more....

Thanks for the neck pu suggestion. I'll def. look into it.

[Nightburst]

Re: Guitars need a pickup change, please help.

Welcome to the forum!

To tweak the pickups a little you could do this:
Raise the polepieces so the bottom of the screwhead is level with the top of the bobbin, then lower the outer polepieces so they all match your fretboard radius.
After I did this, my JB came to life, I did this to all my pickups with great results.
The JB sounds best very close to the strings IMHO.
If it's still weak after tweaking it might be a bad connection? The JB is a quite powerfull and cutting pickup.

So if I read correct you have a JB in the bridge position of your RG220 and a Screaming Demon in the Neck position? If so, may I ask how they match? I'm very curious about the Screaming demon in the neck position.

[ls1ashley]

Re: Guitars need a pickup change, please help.

Actually, I have the JB in the NECK (which might be part of a problem). I LOVE the screamin demon in the bridge. It has a nice balance EQ and response, with a nice bit of edge to it. The 2 together sound complementary, it sounds very full...