help with my iommi humbucker

[metalmachine]

for those of you that read my post about the sg you know i got a iommi bucker made by gibson. for those of you that didnt read it........ i got a gibson iommi humbucker. well i wired it up black and bare to ground green and white together and red to hot. the humbucker sounds fine but the other output seems rather low compared to my distortion and alt 8. isn't this pup supposed to be hot? i dont know mabye not. i am a little concerned that the ground is not connected that great but would that cause lower output? i would think it would just cause noise. anybody know much about this pup. do i have the wires mixed up or is it just not as hot as i am used too.

 

[Gplayerzzz]

Re: help with my iommi humbucker

I had that with a Dimarzio, and it was bumping fazes.

 

[Sludgenutz]

Re: help with my iommi humbucker

I have two unmounted Gibson Iommi's sitting on a shelf, and the installation sheet for a Gibson 490R.

The Gibson's on the shelf, and the Gibson 490R instruction sheet show red as hot, black and bare as ground, and the green and white wires soldered/taped together. "If the pickups is out of phase with the existing pickup, reverse the black and red leads", says the manual.

Also, the Gibson Iommi is a medium-hot pickup. I have four of them. It is not near the high output Gibson claims.

 

[LatsMcGee]

Re: help with my iommi humbucker

Hey I also can attest that the pickup isn't supposed to be overly hot or modern, It's supposed to have that P90 style buzz but without the noise.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: help with my iommi humbucker

I have one that I tested in my Epiphone BB King Lucille. It did not give massively greater output than the stock 'bucker - just better tone. IMO, the Iommi HB only came to life when I down-tuned.

 

[metalmachine]

Re: help with my iommi humbucker

yea thanks guys i have determined it is just lower output too. it is very clear sounding and can handle a ton of gain. what would you guys compare it too ?out put wise in the duncan line? i have thought about lower output pups before so this will help me gauge the others

 

[LatsMcGee]

Re: help with my iommi humbucker

maybe the el diablo but I think the el diablo is a tad nastier and cleans up amazing. The el diablo could be the perfect pickup......

 

[metalmachine]

Re: help with my iommi humbucker

so the el diablo is not as hot as a distortion or anything either. i think i want more output

 

[metalmachine]

Re: help with my iommi humbucker

after reading some reviews i believe these pups are supposed to be relatively thick sounding. mine is not. i have to put the gain on my 5150 on 5 and boost with a overdrive to get the same kinda gain my alt 8 gets with the gain on 4 and no boost

 

[metalmachine]

Re: help with my iommi humbucker

well i dont know why i did it or why it fixed it but i flipped it around and it sounded better. output went up and it thickened right up sounds really good now. i will give a review after i spend some time with it

 

[Sludgenutz]

Re: help with my iommi humbucker

well i dont know why i did it or why it fixed it but i flipped it around and it sounded better. output went up and it thickened right up sounds really good now. i will give a review after i spend some time with it

That's a great idea. Spend some time with it! :friday:

The Gibson Iommi doesn't sound thick to my ears at all. It sounds smaller/thinner than other modern/metal style pickups, but if you have the poop in the amp, it sets into a great position. Let it soak in!

Tonewise, think about the later Dio-Sabs Neon Knights tone, rather than the first several albums with less drive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTgj0KUpGhU&nofeather=True

If you downtune a bit, you might notice is how the fine-tooth the bottom end is, allowing a bottom end to remain tight sounding when downtuned...rather than a looser and coarser huge pickup, when the gain and volume are turned up.

 

[metalmachine]

Re: help with my iommi humbucker

yea man i can roll with that. that link is pretty accurAate to the sound. it may sound thicker to me cuase my other guitars have floyds. its about as thick (but less hot) as my distortion in my floyded carvin. not as thck as the alt 8 in my jackson. also i like to roll the tone to about 7.5 with this pup that helps a lot