Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

[FrankyBoy]

I need some good words from you fellas. I installed all by myself a Dimarzio D-Activator 7 in the bridge of my new Ibanez RGD 7421 and hourray and Youpidoo and everything... The thing is that to me I went from a slippery mud distorted sound to a chainsaw full of dried out mud sound. Plus, the fitting of the Dimarzio felt awkward and tight and I even damaged a few millimeters of finish in the pickup cavity and stripped one of the two pickup height screws and I was using the right tool, it was just hard as hell to work out the fit, anyways I'm ashamed of this. The pickup leans a nitch towards the bridge on the low strings side and every time I look at it, it is all I see. I wanted to learn pickup wiring and do this by myself. I read everything and made a plan and the wiring worked out fine so it is cool, but for some reason in the middle position (neck+bridge) sounds thinner and lower in volume.

I'm sure most of you guitar veterans out here have been unsatisfied by some mod you were excited about, but to me it feels like a failure for some unknown reason. I've always succeeded well enough to set up the few guitars I've had through the last years and I was confident on this one but I feel clueless right now.

In addition, the low 7th string won't sound in tune most of the time and it is really bugging me. It just always gets sharp or flat by my picking attack, even tho it is a 26.5 inch scale. It is a 59 gauge but I've ordered a 64 hoping it would stay in tune and sound bad ass like I dream it would. The guitar itself sounds half as loud unplugged than my PRS SE Custom, but It does play, feel and look AWESOME and these are the only reasons holding me from throwing it out of the window.

I know all this sounds confused and weird, but I just need some support from you guys. Have you already feel like this somehow? I'm sure that one dude on the forum that smashed his bass neck can feel me on this haha. I can't dial in a metal/djenty-punchy sound I like on my Traynor YCS100 at all with this guitar. Today is not a good guitar journey for me.

[trevorus]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

I would get a setup, make sure the pickup is adjusted right, and get an amp with more cajones for djent.

[FrankyBoy]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

I just contacted a Luthier I know to sort this out. I guess i simply always try to avoid having to pay for something I could in theorie do by myself. I love this amp paired with my PRS SE... I guess I start to get why people have multiple amps...

[trevorus]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

Get a 5150. They do some serious gain stuff quite well.

[GregJr]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

Call MF Luthiers on 309 Guizot East, Montreal, QC H2P 1M5 (514) 388-1712.
Awesome and fast service.

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

...the fitting of the Dimarzio felt awkward and tight and I even damaged a few millimeters of finish in the pickup cavity and stripped one of the two pickup height screws... The pickup leans a nitch towards the bridge on the low strings side...

The lurch may be due to the cavity in Ibanez guitars traditionally being very shallow combined with the orientation of thr pickup. If you flip the pickup 180 degrees, the wire from the pickup may interfere less with the bottom of the pickup itself as it heads toward the exit hole in the cavity. So the pickup will seat more evenly.

The thin soumd may be a simple phase issue. Verify by rewiring so the red and green wires swap current positions. If you bought this Dimarzio pickup new, there should be a pamphlet included that talks about this wire swap solution.

[FrankyBoy]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

The pickup was bought used so no diagram with it and the dimarzio website won't help me on this specific model where the 3 way switch has 12 pins for some unknown reason. I swapted the red and green wires indeed to the switch to the same pin. Black and white taped, green and bare to ground (top of the only pot (volume)). Either it is a phase problem or maybe does it split the coils I don't know...

[dkal24]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

Hey live and learn. The only way is to dive right in and solder away. You'll make some mistakes along the way and learn plenty from them. Post some pictures if you can. Someone might spot the problem.

[formula73]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

I wanted a 7 SOOOOOOOOOO BAD. I bought it and never could get used to it. I believe I passed it on within a year. I really did dig the voice it had. I don't know if it was just the guitar or a 7 thing, in general, but this thing was a monster.

The stock Dimarzio Blaze pups sucked, bad. I ended up with a Custom 7/Jazz 7 combo. I actually wish I still had it so I could give it another go...and then sell it in a year when I still don't like it.

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

The pickup was bought used so no diagram with it and the dimarzio website won't help me on this specific model where the 3 way switch has 12 pins for some unknown reason. I swapted the red and green wires indeed to the switch to the same pin. Black and white taped, green and bare to ground (top of the only pot (volume)). Either it is a phase problem or maybe does it split the coils I don't know...

Another possibility for the uncomfortably tight fit is that the Dimarzio may be wider than your guitar's cavity. you earlier comment about the lurch being in the direction of the bass strings made me think of that (vs. favoring the neck or the bridge). I reviewed tonight a Dimarzio pamphlet I have from one of their single coil pickups, and they mention at least for those, that the "too wide" situation does sometimes occur, and they recommend widening the cavity w sandpaper or a file. I can't say for certain that's what's happening in your case, by why not verify by taking some measurements of the pickup width and cavity width and compare?

Also, I take it that swapping the red and green wires did not solve the low ouput problem? Question: did you take care to wire the new pickup's wires to same pins that your old pickup was wired to?

[FrankyBoy]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

Yeah I heard mixed responses about the dimarzio fit in some Ibanez guitars. Some were saying it was too tight and had to sand the cavity OR the pickup base, some were saying it was alright (maybe some have not install their new pickups by themselves). I wired the new pickup to the exact same pin on the selector and the bridge only and neck only sounds all fine. Maybe I'm no eletrical genius on this so I really don't know how that switch works, it looks like this. I'm only using the 2 first rows in my wiring.

[FrankyBoy]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

I wanted a 7 SOOOOOOOOOO BAD. I bought it and never could get used to it. I believe I passed it on within a year. I really did dig the voice it had. I don't know if it was just the guitar or a 7 thing, in general, but this thing was a monster.

The stock Dimarzio Blaze pups sucked, bad. I ended up with a Custom 7/Jazz 7 combo. I actually wish I still had it so I could give it another go...and then sell it in a year when I still don't like it.

That guitar looks so Bad Arse, it's crazy! I always hear bad reviews of the blaze pickups so meh :/

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

Yeah I heard mixed responses about the dimarzio fit in some Ibanez guitars. Some were saying it was too tight and had to sand the cavity OR the pickup base, some were saying it was alright (maybe some have not install their new pickups by themselves). I wired the new pickup to the exact same pin on the selector and the bridge only and neck only sounds all fine. Maybe I'm no eletrical genius on this so I really don't know how that switch works, it looks like this. [ATTACH=CONFIG]35640[/ATTACH] I'm only using the 2 first rows in my wiring.

Interesting to hear that some others have reported a tight fit with these pickups in Ibanez guitars. I reread the Dimarzio pamphlet and have to add that they only mention oversize and taking sandpaper or a file to your guitar in the case of pickguard slots being the install area.

I wil look at the wiring picture a little later. what is the mini toggle supposed to control? Did u buy this guitar used?

[FrankyBoy]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

It is brand new, I ordered it and I received it 3 weeks ago. That toggle is the 3-way switch pickup selector. The electronics set-up couldn't be much more simple. It has 1 volume, 1 pickup selector, 2 pickups.


I really was thinking that Dimarzio's were supposed to be perfect fits for Ibanez guitars somehow...

[gman128]

Re: Mental support needed. First time deceived with New Pickup/Guitar

I really was thinking that Dimarzio's were supposed to be perfect fits for Ibanez guitars somehow...

Only because there is a historical relationship between Ibanez and dimarzio - i.e. most of the high end ibanez models use dimarzio pickups.
I have 4 ibanez RGs - all loaded with various duncans - they all kick arse.

IMO the dactivators suck. Tried them in the ibanez xiphos model - really shrill, not enough bass.
Tried them in the RG465 - even worse than in the xiphos. - I don't think they can match up to say, a duncan distortion, invader, blackout, or even nicer sounding dimarzios like the evolutions or the tone zone.