OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

[jay4cars]

Hey all, new to the forum and hope to find smarter guitar players than myself. I have an Ibanez EX-1500 that's just too bright for some of the songs i play (Metallica, Ac/Dc, etc..) I think a humbucker swap is due, but i don't know for sure which one will being the tone down or if i need to try something else. Any help will surly make me a better player

[metalchurch79]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

Welcome to the Forum first off!! Im sure that you'll get all of the help you need here because there's a lot of very good people here.

In order to get the most help, you'll probably want to give more info pertaining to your set-up, such as tuning, string guage, amp, etc...etc...
Metallica and AC/DC are two totally different sounding guitar tones, so
id suggest to narrow it down to your fav band, or try to find a middle of the road, or a compromise if you will between each tone respectively.

If you play more Metallica than AC/DC, then you'll most likely want to go for Metallica's tone as opposed to AC/DC's get what I mean?

[darthphineas]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

start with talking about the amp. what do you have and have you tweaked the amp settings?

[jay4cars]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

I go either with slinky or boomers 9-48 w/ standard tuning thru an ampeg VI or fender super champ xd w/ no mods. Been doing more Metallica covers, so i guess that's the tone i'm trying for...

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

Then tweak pickup height do you use your tone contols often?

[jay4cars]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

...Seem to use the tone control too often.

[metalchurch79]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

What pickups does it have in it now?
EMG-something or others is probably what you'll want, such as the 81,85 or even a Seymour Blackout set, however a passive pup might be more down your alley, because they are slightly more versatile, and therefore you'll be able to tweak the tone more by adjusting the pickup height as suggested above.
That's something that cant be done with an EMG, because they need to be as close to the strings as possible because they don't have a strong magnet like passive pups do.
I cant comment on the Blackouts in that respect, because I have only had the Metal Livewires when they first came out, and I haven't had that pickup in quite a few years...

Im not much help here in regards to a pickup suggestion, Im only trying to help you put forth as many details about your current rig as possible, allowing others to take that info into account when thinking of ways to help you.

I personally only use 1humbucker/1volume in most all of my guitars....

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

Ampeg VI? Like the Gemini VI? Also inb4 Duncan Distortion

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

The invader does sound like your cure for this though. Just throwin it out.

[jay4cars]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

Using stock pick-ups; the ampeg is my first amp passed down from my dad years ago. Was leaning toward seymour duncan pick-ups because i was told it has clarity. Was going to go with the JB at the bridge but wasn't sure.... But the Invader make me go Hmmmmm...

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

Using stock pick-ups; the ampeg is my first amp passed down from my dad years ago. Was leaning toward seymour duncan pick-ups because i was told it has clarity. Was going to go with the JB at the bridge but wasn't sure.... But the Invader make me go Hmmmmm...

Jb is also sick and is more versatile. The Invader is a heavy sounding mother. It should also be mentioned that Hetfield used an Invader on the first couple of albums. Kirk had emgs since Ride the Lightning. By Master they were all emgs if I remember right, that or Hetfield switched RIGHT after recording Master for the tour. Mustaine however fell in love with the JB right before Rust. The JB will also do the Ac/Dc thing better.

[crguti]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

if you're a bedroom rocker, just remove some highs and ton of mids from your amp eq.

[jay4cars]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

I've tried adjusting to eq, but because of the maple neck and maple body, its just too bright.

[KnifeR]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

make one really clear post (edit your first post)!!
- What pickups you have there,
- What strings you are using
- Your wiring diagram. if it is common industrial - give us the link to proper.
- what wood is your guitar made from - sometimes you will never get the Mordor out of your guitar - even using Dark amps sign by Devil, tone pots spinning, pickups with active everything, and strings from sailing ropes, etc. (only my opinion - but most likely true).

If you will collect all of your infos in first post (by editing it) - I am totally sure I can help you...
regards,
KnifeR

PS: It is strat-like guitar - can be difficult but not impossible to burn it to desirable tone

[Chickenwings]

Re: OMG... Wayyy to bright, how to TONE it down.....

I think the combination of light strings, shreddy style axe and the micro champ all add up to be a recipe for a thin sound.
Pickups in this case are only a small part of the equation. If you look at the big things (i.e. amp and guitar) first then you'll get 90% of the way to the kinds of sounds you are dreaming of. Pickups then become a matter of fine tuning the sound. Pickups can only translate whats already there in the rest of your rig.
The ampeg might be a bit fatter than the micro champ, but how old are its tubes? Youll probably also need some kind of pedal to make that amp give up some heavy tones at lower volumes.