1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

[tman]

Hey guys I recently bought a Ibanez Roadstar II 1986 guitar off a friend of mine and it has a Basswood body/Maple neck/Rosewood fretboard and I am looking for a bridge humbucker that would suit this series of guitar and those wood combinations. I am looking for something on the med to higher output side for metal playing.Not dark heavy metal more like 80's metal. I want to thicken the tone up a bit,but want it nice and clear not muddy. I believe that body wood(basswood)seems to have this midrange going on and lower bass tone.I have a JB in it now,but not sure if Im diggin it. It kinda has this too middy nasal kind of thing going on so maybe need to take that back out and return it and get something else. What do all of you guys recommend.I would like to hear all opinions.I dont like active pickups so anything passive for suggestions. Thanks

 

[gregory]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

I had a JB in one of mine for years and it was never a good fit.

I have a Screamin' Demon in it now and am pretty happy.

I had a Distortion Neck in there and liked it an awful lot after making modifications. However, I couldn't manage to make it work right with the singles that I had in there (which is still a battle). With that said, and I haven't tried either, but because of my experience with the SH-6N, imagine either a Perpetual Burn or a Pegasus will work out well. The Pegasus is more modern and will probably emphasize the bottom-end, much like the SH-6N. The Perpetual Burn has a bit of an upper-mid JB thing going on, but I don't think it would be a problem. It will definitely sound more '80s. Also very '80s sounding, and as much as I personally don't like it in the bridge position, the DiMarzio PAF Pro will probably work; though it's a bit on the weaker side (the Screamin' Demon is also on the weaker side).

For a hotter pickup you might like the Full Shred, or just about anything by DiMarzio that people typically put in basswood, such as: Fred, Tone Zone, The Breed (either neck or bridge in the bridge spot), Steve's Special.

 

[tman]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

What do you think about a Dimarzio Super D I have one in another guitar and wonder if it would sound different than the JB?

 

[tman]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

Any other ideas peeps?

 

[gregory]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

What do you think about a Dimarzio Super D I have one in another guitar and wonder if it would sound different than the JB?

Try it out.

 

[Mincer]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

A Perpetual Burn is sort of like a JB with more dynamics and less output - without the high mid spike. The Custom will scoop the mids out a bunch, and sounds like a really loud PAF. Great for 80s metal and 90s hard rock.

 

[gregory]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

I'm confused, how is a PB sort of like a JB if it doesn't have that high mid spike? I've only heard demos (and was impressed) and it sounded like it had some of that going on. It also sounded like it didn't have any emphasis in the bottom (similar to a Screamin Demon), which would probably be perfect for the basswood Roadstars since they have a nice resonance in the mid to upper lows.

I have an old Full Shred lying around that I could try out. I have a feeling it might be the best out of the Custom family of pickups for a beefy, but otherwise even response in this guitar.

 

[Despair]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

I believe that body wood(basswood)seems to have this midrange going on and lower bass tone.I have a JB in it now,but not sure if Im diggin it. It kinda has this too middy nasal kind of thing going on so maybe need to take that back out and return it and get something else.

I have a '90 Ibanez RG570 with a JB which worked fine for leads, but horrid for everything else. Managed to be both piercing and bloated, ugh. I wound up with a PATB-1b Original Parallel Axis. It is at least as good for leads, but vastly more flexible. Good cleans, great rhythm tones. Very dynamic, with soft attack it smooths out, dig in and it gets punchier. Ridiculously fun to play. Broad high frequency response, great harmonics and terrific sustain [lower string pull due to less focused magnetic field is why the polepiece arrangement].

If you want a cheap fix, swapping an A2 or Roughcast Unoriented A5 magnet in should broaden the mids and take enough off the upper mid peak to make the JB usable. And then swap in 0.5" hex screws under the wound strings for extra bite/tight low end. Ratt's Warren DeMartini is known for preferring JBs with A2 magnets [often overwound, too].

Swapping in the Super D might work too, and you could try the JB in the other guitar and see if it sits better there.

If none of that works for you, I'd look at the Pegasus or Perpetual Burn next, and also the '59/Custom. Like the PATB-1b, all different flavors of not flexible, not excessively hot pickups.

 

[Despair]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

I'm confused, how is a PB sort of like a JB if it doesn't have that high mid spike? I've only heard demos (and was impressed) and it sounded like it had some of that going on. It also sounded like it didn't have any emphasis in the bottom (like a Screamin Demon), which would probably be perfect for the basswood Roadstars which have a nice resonance in the mid to upper lows.

Just a guess, but I'd guess they smoothed it a bit. Still has a bump, just not a full-on icepick in the ear spike.

 

[gregory]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

I I wound up with a PATB-1b Original Parallel Axis. It is at least as good for leads, but vastly more flexible. Good cleans, great rhythm tones. Very dynamic, with soft attack it smooths out, dig in and it gets punchier. Ridiculously fun to play. Broad high frequency response, great harmonics and terrific sustain [lower string pull due to less focused magnetic field is why the polepiece arrangement].

I tried one of these in an RSII with a single pickup, angled, EVH style. In the short time I played it, I noticed most of these traits, but don't remember it being particularly dynamic. I really enjoyed the full tone but it was a bit too hot for my taste.

+1 on the A2 in the JB. I did that for a while, but preferred both my modded SH-6N as well as the Screamin Demon. I'm a fan of the A5 and all its variants.

 

[tman]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

Yeah I do have some extra mags I was thinking about trying in the JB maybe a A2 or UOA5 and see what that does first before getting another p/u

 

[Despair]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

I tried one of these in an RSII with a single pickup, angled, EVH style. In the short time I played it, I noticed most of these traits, but don't remember it being particularly dynamic. I really enjoyed the full tone but it was a bit too hot for my taste.

+1 on the A2 in the JB. I did that for a while, but preferred both my modded SH-6N as well as the Screamin Demon. I'm a fan of the A5 and all its variants.

I should mention the PATB-1b is ridiculously sensitive to height adjustment. Too close and get can get harsh and loud and lose the dynamics. Too distant and the bass & treble go all exaggerated and the mids drop out too much, this crazy tele/piano twang. Find the right distance and it's amazing, though.

I wish Seymour Duncan had more Parallel Axis models. Though I suppose they've hit most of the most popular bridge notches, running from the PATB-3 [42AWG bridge HB equivalent], PATB-1b [somewhere between Custom 5 and JB], and PATB-2 [overwound Distortion].

If UOA5 had hit before I got the PATB-1b, fair chance I'd be using the UOA5 JB as its bridge pickup still. Oh well, A3 JB works pretty nicely for its neck pickup.

 

[gregory]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

It probably was a PATB-2. It was in a guitar I considered buying but decided against it.

The pickup seemed ridiculously hot, so that would have made more sense.

 

[Despair]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

PATB-2 is glorious insanity for gonzo metal, but it's not as flexible as the rest of the Parallel Axis line. And with that much output, it tends to push things into compression. It's a louder pickup than the TB-6 Distortion.

PATB-1b is slightly higher output voltage than a JB, but doesn't feel like it. Doesn't have the same EQ spike. JB is less dynamic, but that's where the screaming harmonics come from. PATB-1b is competitive in harmonics, but more EVH than Zakk Wylde [I know, not known for JB use, but it's 5AM and I'm blanking on a JB player who goes as berserk on harmonics].

 

[Securb]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

I put a Gibson 498T in mine. It sounds great and they are inexpensive on the secondary market. Here is a clip of that guitar.

 

[Mincer]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

Just a guess, but I'd guess they smoothed it a bit. Still has a bump, just not a full-on icepick in the ear spike.

This is exactly as I hear it. It isn't a really high spike, but it is there. You also get some dynamics back.

 

[tman]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

I put in a A8 mag today in the JB and it really changed the character of that pickup for the better in that guitar. Wow it really smoothed out the mids to a more broad range not just the spiky uppers like the stock JB.And it smoothed out the highs it really warmed it up and added a nice bass response now as well. Im diggin it better for now.

 

[sedawkgrep]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

PAF Pro! I've had one in my Roadstar II since the late 80s and it kills!

 

[tman]

Re: 1986 IBANEZ ROADSTAR II HUMBUCKER RECOMMENDATION

Is that Dimarzio?