The Tone Ranger
New member
Hello all. I'm new to this forum (and to forums in general). I was going to get a set of Duncans for my Ibanez 2550Z Prestige. And that's what I probably should have done (PGn JBb), but I bought some custom wound pups from Guitarforce Pickups. I was originally looking at the Erupter (orignal specs from EVH orig pup...A2, 9K, etc). I went with a Full-On Distortion bridge with A5 mag at about 16.6K. The neck is a Rebel II PAF with an A3 mag and around 8K. Kevin Taylor at Guitarforce is a really nice guy and will custom-wind pups to your specs. I do not want to dis him as he's offered to swap or rewind for me. Here's the deal...
I had the pups installed by a tech at a local guitar store...so I'm guessing they are put in right. I don't know how to do any of the technical stuff. It cost me $140 for pickup swap and setup. The guitar is set up real nice and I don't want to have to go through another swap/set-up, etc as this is my only guitar.
The neck pup sounds like the tone is all the way down...even when it's all the way up (10). The volume seems right, but the tone is not. It's not close to the strings either. I mean it looks right, but it doesn't sound right. I don't know anything about adjusting the pole pieces or anything. I'm clueless. I'm looking for a nice PAF bluesy tone that does great cleans up to raunchy blues. Based on the description and specs...this should be the case. Again, it just sounds like it's underwater...if that makes sense.
The bridge bucker is not trem spaced, but that should not be an issue. The volume bump is there and so is the easy distortion. On some settings I don't even have to change amps...I go from clean on the neck and just flip the 5-way to the bridge and instant overdrive. I can get harmonics, but not like I was expecting. I crave harmonics a la Zakk, Dime, Satch. I was looking for a JB/DD type sound. This one is good, but seems to be missing that extended midrange spike. It's definitely not shrill, that's for sure.
The guitar is all basswood with an Edge Zero trem. It's got a 24 fret rosewood board. Could it be that the 24 frets moves the neck bucker out of the "sweet spot"? My only gig is church - in the praise and worship team where it's mostly contemporary Christian tunes with some originals that run the gamut from bluesy to classic rock. I'm playing through a Line 6 POD XT Live with the extra Metal Shop and Boutique amps packages. I go straight into the board. At home I have a little Fender Bullet Reverb SS closed back amp.
So what can I do to "turn the tone knob up" on my neck bucker and create more upper mids/harmonics to the bridge without having to switch them out or re-wind them? Does it have to do with the pots? I have no idea what tone pot I have on that guitar (250 or 500)?
Sorry for the long post, but just thought it would save the rest of you from having to ask questions. I appreciate everyone's time and input. I probably should have just gone with the PG/JB, but I wanted to give this guy a shot...and they were a great price for hand-wound "custom" pups. Every review I've read for this guy's pups has been overwhelmingly positive. That's why I'm thinking it's me/setup/pots or something.
I had the pups installed by a tech at a local guitar store...so I'm guessing they are put in right. I don't know how to do any of the technical stuff. It cost me $140 for pickup swap and setup. The guitar is set up real nice and I don't want to have to go through another swap/set-up, etc as this is my only guitar.
The neck pup sounds like the tone is all the way down...even when it's all the way up (10). The volume seems right, but the tone is not. It's not close to the strings either. I mean it looks right, but it doesn't sound right. I don't know anything about adjusting the pole pieces or anything. I'm clueless. I'm looking for a nice PAF bluesy tone that does great cleans up to raunchy blues. Based on the description and specs...this should be the case. Again, it just sounds like it's underwater...if that makes sense.
The bridge bucker is not trem spaced, but that should not be an issue. The volume bump is there and so is the easy distortion. On some settings I don't even have to change amps...I go from clean on the neck and just flip the 5-way to the bridge and instant overdrive. I can get harmonics, but not like I was expecting. I crave harmonics a la Zakk, Dime, Satch. I was looking for a JB/DD type sound. This one is good, but seems to be missing that extended midrange spike. It's definitely not shrill, that's for sure.
The guitar is all basswood with an Edge Zero trem. It's got a 24 fret rosewood board. Could it be that the 24 frets moves the neck bucker out of the "sweet spot"? My only gig is church - in the praise and worship team where it's mostly contemporary Christian tunes with some originals that run the gamut from bluesy to classic rock. I'm playing through a Line 6 POD XT Live with the extra Metal Shop and Boutique amps packages. I go straight into the board. At home I have a little Fender Bullet Reverb SS closed back amp.
So what can I do to "turn the tone knob up" on my neck bucker and create more upper mids/harmonics to the bridge without having to switch them out or re-wind them? Does it have to do with the pots? I have no idea what tone pot I have on that guitar (250 or 500)?
Sorry for the long post, but just thought it would save the rest of you from having to ask questions. I appreciate everyone's time and input. I probably should have just gone with the PG/JB, but I wanted to give this guy a shot...and they were a great price for hand-wound "custom" pups. Every review I've read for this guy's pups has been overwhelmingly positive. That's why I'm thinking it's me/setup/pots or something.
