help in choosing pickups

[wb41748]

Hi all, I need help. I know very little, if any, about pickups. I want to replace me Ibanez S470dDXQM pickups (humbuckers in the neck and bridge and a single in the middle) with duncan's. Which one should I select?. I play blues and old rock, and what else should I take in consideration in replacing the pickups.
I will greatly appreciate your advice.
Thank you very much.

 

[tone4days]

Re: help in choosing pickups

welcome to the board

you will get lots of advice here ... most of it very good ... if you tell us what you dont like about the pickups you have now, we can help you get your desired tone more easily ... also, does that guitar have a fixed bridge or a trem? also, does it have a 5-way switch? and does it have a push/pull pot or mini-toggle for coil splitting?

i have modded an ibanez 540s with that pickup configuration (H-S-H) ... i always thought the stock pickups were too 'thin' sounding with not enough mids, and the highs could be kinda screetchy ... i used a 4-wire 59 neck, a duckbucker middle, and a C5 bridge ... if i had to do it all over again, i would use a vintage rails in the middle instead of the duck ... i like the C5 alot, but am tempted to try a custom custom (CC) ... these really warmed up the guitar and tamed the screetch out of the highs

for the kind of music you mention, i bet you'd like an Alnico II Pro neck, a vintage rails in the middle, and a CC bridge

other good choices might include a pearly gates set (for both the bridge and neck) or a '59 set (for both the bridge and neck)

be sure to get a trem spaced bridge model if you have a trem on that guitar

hope this helps
t4d

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: help in choosing pickups

welcome to the board

you will get lots of advice here ... most of it very good ... if you tell us what you dont like about the pickups you have now, we can help you get your desired tone more easily ... also, does that guitar have a fixed bridge or a trem? also, does it have a 5-way switch? and does it have a push/pull pot or mini-toggle for coil splitting?

i have modded an ibanez 540s with that pickup configuration (H-S-H) ... i always thought the stock pickups were too 'thin' sounding with not enough mids, and the highs could be kinda screetchy ... i used a 4-wire 59 neck, a duckbucker middle, and a C5 bridge ... if i had to do it all over again, i would use a vintage rails in the middle instead of the duck ... i like the C5 alot, but am tempted to try a custom custom (CC) ... these really warmed up the guitar and tamed the screetch out of the highs

for the kind of music you mention, i bet you'd like an Alnico II Pro neck, a vintage rails in the middle, and a CC bridge

other good choices might include a pearly gates set (for both the bridge and neck) or a '59 set (for both the bridge and neck)

be sure to get a trem spaced bridge model if you have a trem on that guitar

hope this helps
t4d

I totally agree with T4D!!!

What kind of amp are you using, what do you imagine your ideal tone to sound like?

If you want I can most my pup breakdown for you.

Luke

 

[wb41748]

Re: help in choosing pickups

Thank you very much for your advice.
Yes, my guitar has Floyd Rose type of trem, also has a 5 way switch, no push/pull pot. Do this change the selection of the pickups?

I don't play for any band just I enjoy playing music, my amp is a Fender Frontman 25R but I am considering but not sure, to get a Marshall amp.
Thanks again.

 

[tone4days]

Re: help in choosing pickups

nah, no need to change the recommendations ... although with the floyd, i might lean towards the 4-wire 59n and 4-wire 59b (trem spaced) or C5b (trem spaced) with a VR in the middle ... with an S body (uber thin) that is routed for a floyd, you need to put back some beef that gets turned into sawdust at the factory ...

you didnt mention exactly what you dont like about your current pickups ... was i right about them sounding 'thin' and a touch 'screetchy'?

also, consider putting a push/pull pot (use the tone control) to provide coil splitting .. more choices is always fun!

good luck
t4d

 

[wb41748]

Re: help in choosing pickups

Yes, the sound of the pickups are not good at all, they don' have enough mids and in my guitar the highs are very screetchy overall the one in the bridge.
I'm going to replace the pickups myself (first time) so I don't think I'm going to complicate myself installing a push/pull pot, by the way should I keep the same pots?....they are 500Kohm...........Thank you.

 

[Travis]

Re: help in choosing pickups

Th C5/59 sounds like a good combo for what you're looking for. I might even go with a pair of 59s or Pearly Gates. As far as the single in the midle, be aware that the Duckbuckers and Vintage Rails are identical pickups except for the cosmetics. Either one of those would work very well for you. I prefer the Rails pickups myself and the Vintage Rails has a very sweet single coil sound to it.

 

[tone4days]

Re: help in choosing pickups

be advised that there is an important practical difference between the duck and the VR .. the pole pieces on the duck are tiny and result in a very noticeable 'drop off' effect when bending strings, the string starts out right over the pole piece and sounds great .. as you bend the string, it moves away from the pole piece's 'field of view' and the volume drops off ALOT ... with a rail, the sstring is always 'right over' the 'field of view' and the resulting volume probably wont drop off at all .. i have a duck - love the tone .. but wish i bought a VR instead ... probably not as much a problem for a duck in the birdge .. but for the mid or neck, i think it matters

500K pots are fine, but change them to audio taper for even better results .. change out the little crummy stock cap for an orange drop while you are in there too

good luck, let us know how it goes for ya

cheers
t4d

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: help in choosing pickups

500K pots are fine, but change them to audio taper for even better results ..

What are audio tapers please?

As far as the single in the midle, be aware that the Duckbuckers and Vintage Rails are identical pickups except for the cosmetics.

Is there really no difference in tone? I thought the DB had a slightly clearer tone...

 

[tone4days]

Re: help in choosing pickups

there are two types of pots .. audio taper and linear taper .. audio taper pots follow a logarithmic curve from min to max and linear pots follow a linear curve ... the human ear perceives volume changes logarithmically, so the audio taper pot has a more natural response / feel

as for the DB / VR .. clarity is in the ear of the beholder .. if it sounded clearer to you, it was


cheers
t4d

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: help in choosing pickups

Oh ok... well I only knew them as log & linear pots but not audio taper... thanks

Well and for the DB... yeah you're right... I'll take the DB... only got scared with that bending thing but I'll use it as Bridge pup anyway