SD pickup suggestions for meranti body

[Synapsys]

Hi, everyone,

Been looking at this 2021 Ibanez SEW761FM, which has a HSS routed meranti body with a flame maple veneer, and a 24 fret roasted maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard.



It comes stock with a DiMarzio Tone Zone in tne bridge position, and two true Velvet single coils on the middle and neck positions.

Since I hate DiMarzios (tried them in a few guitars over the years, and didn't like any of them) and hum, I'm thinking about a '59/Custom bridge / Vintage Hot Stack middle / Vintage Hot Stack neck set.

I believe meranti is a tone wood in the ballpark of mahogany, but can't find an accurate description for it online.

Playing gothic rock / gothic metal / hard rock through a Line 6 Helix Floor, using high gain and clean tones.

Any thoughts?

[orpheo]

From working with meranti, I'd say that it is closer to ash, tonally, than mahogany because it is a lot denser and heavier. I'd look at pickups recommended for ash instead of mahogany to get something you want.

That being said, the 59Custom hybrid is a great pickup and the pickups you suggest make for a versatile instrument.

[t1r12003]

59/Custom Hybrid I have is in a mahogany guitar with burl top and sounds great but the upper mids help with the darker mahogany tone. May be too harsh with the brighter tone wood which is why they probably threw in the Tone Zone because it’s a dark pickup. By the way I have a Tone Zone in a northern hard ash super Strat Floyd Rose guitar and it’s a favorite. As long as all three pickups are relatively balanced in tone you can always EQ the amp to fit. Have you got the guitar yet? Try it first as is to have a tonal basis to go by before the switch.

[Mincer]

I too love the Hybrid in an HSS, and it sounds great in either mahogany or ash, so I think you'd be fine. I like the Classic Stacks with it, though, as they retain some high end and touch-sensitivity in the neck and middle.

[Synapsys]

Thanks, everyone.

As a matter of fact, even though I mainly play the styles I mentioned, I try to keep my guitars versatile enough to be able to handle something a bit outside the box for me.

Don't have the guitar yet, but so far planning head, and thinking about matching pickups and guitars, has never failed me.

I already own an ESP LTD ST-213A, which is an ash-bodied Strat clone, already loaded with a Hot Rails bridge and Classic Stacks for the neck and middle. Since I'm keen on not using the same pickup on different guitars, I feel the set I'm thinking about will be warmer in the neck and middle than the Classic Stacks (which I love, by the way), while contrasting slightly to the '59/Custom.

Just looking for a different flavour of what I already own, while coming back to one of my favorite guitar shapes. I already owned an S series a while back, and was stupid enough to get rid pf it.

Still thinking about how I'll be wiring the '59/C and the middle position Vintage Hot Stack. Thinking about splitting the inner coil of the '59/C and using the middle Stack split too.

By the way, I'm thinking about this wiring, with a 5-way switch, from bridge to neck:

1- '59/C in series;
2- '59/C split to the inner coil with the middle VHS split;
3- VHS in series
4- VHS middle and neck in parallel;
5- VHS neck in series.

Will this wiring be noiseless in position 2, or should I just wire the '59/C (in series) in parallel with the VHS middle (in series)?

[Synapsys]

Sorry to insist, but can someone please chime in on this?

[alex1fly]

Pickup suggestions for a guitar you haven't played and can't offer any "it sounds like this, but I'd like more of THIS" aren't going to help a bunch. At this stage in the game you're just as well off reading the descriptions from Duncan's website and finding ones that sound like what you want. Even better, get the guitar, play it exclusively for a month while trying to your darndest to get the best sounds possible out of it with your signal chain and the pickup height and your favorite set of strings and different picks and your technique... then once you have a real feel for the instrument, you'll have way more of the crucial information required for a good decision about if and how to modify it.

Or just order up some pickups you're curious about and try them if you're dead set against liking the stock pickups.

[Synapsys]

Was actually looking for pointers concerning the wiring... got tne anwers I wanted concerning the body wood earlier...

[hamerfan]

Too be true the True Velvets are the best single Coil pickups i had. But fact I haven't heard a DiMarzio Humbucker I liked. My advice is to give 'em a chance, if you can deal with the hum.

[Synapsys]

No, I can't! Of course I'll give the stock pups a try, but at least they could have gone with the Areas..

DiMarzios are pickups I never have geled with, same with EMGs. Besides Duncans, the only manufacfurer I really enjoy is Bare Knuckle.

[Synapsys]

Finally got the axe, as I've posted in the The Guitar Shop of the forum.

The stock DiMarzios (Tone Zone / True Velvet / True Velvet) aren't indeed my thing, finding them too dark, so I will soon replace them with the Duncans I've mentioned above.

.As I've mentioned, I'm still thinking about how I'll be wiring the '59/C and the middle position Vintage Hot Stack. Thinking about splitting the inner coil of the '59/C and using the middle Stack split too.

By the way, I'm thinking about this wiring, with a 5-way switch, from bridge to neck:

1- '59/C in series;
2- '59/C split to the inner coil with the middle VHS split;
3- VHS in series
4- VHS middle and neck in parallel;
5- VHS neck in series.

Will this wiring be noiseless in position 2, or should I just wire the '59/C (in series) in parallel with the VHS middle (in series)? Also, should any of the stacks be RWRP?

[ArtieToo]

Also, should any of the stacks be RWRP?

Stacks don't really need to be RW/RP. The point of that is for hum-cancelling, which stacks already are. However, if you want to split them in the #4 position, it won't hurt.

[Aceman]

Sweet Geet!

I'd have left it "as is". but that's me. I'm non-denominational, or I guess an "independent" as I will use any pickup from Either DiMarzio, or Duncan...

That said...

Since playing it through the Helix, I'd go clean with the pups.
- 59 Bridge,
- Hot Rails middle and cool rails neck

I'd go with 5 way and a tap

1- Bridge
2 - inner bridge and middle
3 - middle
4 - middle outer coil and inner neck 9split)
5 Neck series

Add a push-pull tap to the hot rails only

That gives you a beefy middle sound alone, a beefy middle with some cut from the split bridge, Strat quack with the middle split plus bridge, neck quack with middle split plus neck, middle funk with middle only split, or a little extra chime on the thick middle tone in pos 4 with middle series.

[Synapsys]

Stacks don't really need to be RW/RP. The point of that is for hum-cancelling, which stacks already are. However, if you want to split them in the #4 position, it won't hurt.

Was actually considering a possible #2 position combining the '59/C split to the inner coil with the middle VHS split;..

[Synapsys]

Sweet Geet!

I'd have left it "as is". but that's me. I'm non-denominational, or I guess an "independent" as I will use any pickup from Either DiMarzio, or Duncan...

That said...

Since playing it through the Helix, I'd go clean with the pups.
- 59 Bridge,
- Hot Rails middle and cool rails neck

I'd go with 5 way and a tap

1- Bridge
2 - inner bridge and middle
3 - middle
4 - middle outer coil and inner neck 9split)
5 Neck series

Add a push-pull tap to the hot rails only

That gives you a beefy middle sound alone, a beefy middle with some cut from the split bridge, Strat quack with the middle split plus bridge, neck quack with middle split plus neck, middle funk with middle only split, or a little extra chime on the thick middle tone in pos 4 with middle series.

Already using those pickups in other axes, and I'm not keen on using the same pickups in different guitars... but thanks for your input!