Ibz vs v7/v8

[Open lane]

Hi. A few years ago, i purchased a guitar with v7/v8 pickups. I hated them, the best way i can describe the sound was sterile and dead. When i replaced the with an air norton/ super dist combo it really came "alive"


I just ordered an ibanez that comes with ibz's -- should i expect a similar evaluation?

 

[Diego]

Re: Ibz vs v7/v8

I hope not. No experience with those "Ibz" pickups but the V7/V8 combo sucks so bad. Chirpy and thin in the neck, muddy and undefined in the bridge.

I haven't stopped bashing them for years and I never will.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Ibz vs v7/v8

Those V7/V8 were made in Japan. I don't know if Maxon still makes them, but they did at some point. They actually came stock in two of my guitars, but they got swapped out almost immediately because I had better pickups lying around. I don't remember them being anything to write home about, TBH.

Not sure what you mean by "IBZ's". There are some "DiMarzio/IBZ pickups" which are made by DiMarzio in the US which are supposedly similar to the Super Distortion/Super 2 combo. Not "DiMarzio-designed" or anything. They are actual DiMarzios, just tweaked and made exclusively for Ibanez. That doesn't mean you'll like them, though. Many people don't and swap them out.

There also used to be some "IBZ USA" pickups way back that were also made by DiMarzio.

I have a set of "Seymour Duncan/IBZ's" which are a tweaked Distortion/'59 set that came in the SZ Prestige models. Those are actual USA Duncans, but they also used to make the "Duncan/Ibanez" pickups which are Duncan Designed (Asian-made) versions of that same tweaked Distortion/'59 set. People seem to like those regardless of where they were made though. I've never tried those last ones.

Then, many of their generic models are also labeled "IBZ". I don't think any of their own-brand stock pickups are very well regraded in general.

So... saying "IBZ pickups" is a bit too general, lol. I think most of the different the stock pickups Ibanez guitars come with have the "IBZ" label.

 

[BeKindRewind]

Re: Ibz vs v7/v8

I actually think the V7/V8's are pretty good. They get **** on way more than they deserve. Not as good as Seymour Duncans, I would say their downfall is they don't have very rich harmonics, but the bridge pickup actually sounds pretty good to my ears, like a poor man's JB. Every time I put them back in I'm pleasantly surprised how good they sound vs. how much **** they get online. also they split really well with the S1 single coil that came with them in the HSH guitars. They're definitely not **** pickups, there are far far worse, like the ones that came in epiphone Les Pauls of the same time era, or the Jackson JS humbuckers. Those are far far worse. I've definitely gotten some good tones with em' but ultimately yeah Duncans are better if you have the money.

IBZ pickups are in my opinion , worse than the V7/V8, but still actually pretty good. I'm assuming you meant like the IBZ-LO active pickups that use AA batteries. I've got a guitar with them and I've played it for the last 3 or 4 years without changing them. The tone switch thingy is kinda cool, but I'd rather have a tone knob. I get great metal (if you like super hot anyway) tones and great clean tones, cause actives be like that, but it's hard to dial in a nice overdrive. They're just too hot. I will eventually probably replace mine with some passives some day when I run across a great deal, but I am not a big fan of actives either way. They're far from amazing but I think you will be happy with them for some months or years before you absolutely need to change em.

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

 

[Open lane]

Re: Ibz vs v7/v8

Sorry. I didn't realize there was more to their names than ibz. The specific ones that come in my new guitar are the:

Ibz v1 and ibz v2

Any thoughts on how these compare to the v7/v8s?


Btw, i completely agree with the people saying how bad the v7/v8 are. Honestly the pups that came in my $100 gio sound better to me than those

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Ibz vs v7/v8

The V1 is a medium-output neck pickup with an overwound PAF flavor. Nothing similar to it in the Duncan line, but a nice pickup overall, very balanced and clear. Works really well in the bridge, also.

The V2 is Ibanez' take on the JB. It's relatively high in output, but very controllable. Nice bite and great harmonics, but isn't overly shrill.

 

[Open lane]

Re: Ibz vs v7/v8

The guitar got here on wednesday, so i just figured i'd post my two cents on the ibz v1 and ibz v2 pickups. This guitar really does not sound too good through my fav amp (fender twin) but i got to try it through my dsl40c earlier today and i absolutely love it. The pickups aren't sterile as i found the v7/v8. Sounds absolutely alive and they really compliment one another well. I have no plans to replace them too soon. Maybe later down the line, if something really tempts me. But, yeah, i really don't feel the sense of urgency that i found with the v7/v8

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Ibz vs v7/v8

The V1/V2 and V7/V8 pickups are completely different animals. Glad you like them!

P.S.- the key to enjoying the V7/V8 set is to swap magnets between the two pickups. Whole different ballgame!

 

[Open lane]

Re: Ibz vs v7/v8

Yeah, i think my favorite part of the v1/v2 is how well they compliment eachother. They're pretty darn nice!