NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

J

jonsick

New member
So, picked up a used BC Rich Ironbird NJ (Korean) which is winging its way to me.

I'm not sure about the body wood. I think the Korean NJs were probably Nato (similar to mahogany).

24 5/8" scale, rosewood board, floyd rose. It will be a bit of a fixer up, most likely need some polishing up. Though it depends when I get hold of it what I reckon to the condition.

Anyway, after a good set of pickups to put in (will have all new electronics). SD or DiMarzio, no preference.

What should I go for?
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

Play it first, see what the stock pickups are lacking and figure out the overall tone of the guitar. :D
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

I have the mockingbird NJ and I put in the james hetfield EMG set. what an amazing set of pickups, for a guitar I rarely played, it's getting quite abit of attention. awesome for metal and clean tones, the bridge pickup is outstanding, super powerful with pounding lows and nice clear mids and highs. the neck pup is just as impressive, no where near being muddy, it has a real nice rich tone and I find myself playing in the middle position a lot more than I used too. install was so easy with the solderless system, under an hour and done.
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

I have Dimarzios, Duncans, and Lace pickups in various guitars that I have about me. Out of all of them, I would recommend the Lace Deathbuckers. The cleanest of cleans, the heaviest of distorted tones. They also can be split, which I have not heard personally, but would imagine, based on my experience of them full, would be just fine.
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

The stock BC Rich pickups are as I suspected. Bassy, noisy and pretty bad.

I have a Duncan JB and a Jazz spare. I think I'll swap these into it first and play it for a bit and then go from there. The BC Rich pickups aren't really a good baseline. I think if I know how the JB/Jazz will do or not do, I can go from there.

I've never considered Lace before, they always struck me as low-output strat pickups. Are the Deathbuckers a new thing?
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

Is it a Neck-Thru NJ? Had a Warlock NJ Neck-Thru with a PATB-2b/PATB-1n set installed, and the guitar just sang! With kind of music do you play, what kind of rig are you plugging it in, and what kind of sound do you want out of it?
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

Hiya

Nope, it's an older bolt on model. The guitar feels really resonant and bright.

I will be using it Drop D using 10-48 strings, will be going mainly into a Marshall TSL100 with various pedals (Maxon OD9, Boss DD7, Strymon BigSky, MXR Phase 90). The closest tone I can ascribe is either Icon/Draconian Times era Paradise Lost or current Insomnium type tones. I like the thick upper mids type with lots of clarity type tone.

My main axes for this band are set up D-D and are an ESP MII with a Super Distortion (b)/ Gravity Storm (n) and a Jackson SL2H with a Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz combo.
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

Awesome influences, actually PL has been a personal favorite of mine for over 20 years!

Well, Greg Mackintosh favours EMG actives, the 85 model IIRC, so maybe a high gain pickup may do the trick, so I still suggest the above PATB set, since it really beefs up longer scale, bolt on guitars. Since yours is already a bright guitar, the PATB-2b will give it a more balanced overall sound, altough its voicing favours mids and highs. The JB may also fit well, depending on what sound you're looking for in the lows, which are tighter in the PATB. As for the neck, I'm not a Jazz fan, so I'd say the PATB-1n will sound like a fuller '59/Jazz mix, handling gain well if you like soloing on the neck pickup.

Good luck with that tone chase!
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

So I tried the JB/Jazz set last night. The original pots are a bit cheap and shonky looking so at the moment the wiring is pickups > switch > output. The tone control doesn't turn sadly.

So I need new electronics whatever happens, but happy with that.

The JB / Jazz sounded surprisingly good straight away. A vast improvement over the stock BCR pickups. The Jazz sounds good, but if I'm honest the JB sounds a little to flat in the mids. So looking for something a little more aggressive in the mid to upper mids range.

I'm a bit apprehensive about very high output pickups. As I run high gain amps and love the tone of winding the amp up with moderate output pickups installed on my other guitars, I'd like to keep this similar if I can.

My first thought is to try out the Custom Custom as I have read a lot about the creaminess of it, but still interested in the parallel axis offerings.

Otherwise, this guitar is turning into an awesome little project.
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

The Custom Custom may be a bit bassier than the JB. Try the regular (TB-5) Custom.
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

Try the PATB-1b, which is voiced like a more balanced JB, and lower in output than the PATB-2.
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

Where ARE my manners!

These are from when it first arrived. It's currently on the bench waiting for some new electronics to arrive. I'm going to throw my PAF 36th set in it first influenced by Trey Azagthoth. But the first words out of it were really nice! I'm going to throw some of the fretboard oil from my Dunlop maintenance kit on the board too as it's a little dry in places. So far the floyd rose is holding tune pretty well, maybe even better after a new set of strings. I haven't measured up yet to tell if an OFR will fit in directly. I'll play it for a while anyway and see if it's needed.

It's missing the back trem cavity cover, but I'll get one in a couple of weeks.







 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

And just for drooling purposes, my wall of metal...



L-R, a Japanese BC Rich Warlock with a Dimarzio Super-D and PAF Pro. Next two are both ESP SV-2 standards. The white one is revision 2, the black is revision 1. Nope, not a COB fanboi, just really liked these axes. The far right is my Jackson custom shop and my number 1. These guitars still have EMG pickups and I don't think I'll change them as they sound great with them.

Not pictured are another KV2, an MII urban camo, a few other Jackson/Charvels, a couple of Gibsons, etc. I'll do a family pic once I get my coursework finished.
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

Ordered up a PATB-1b and a DiMarzio Illiuminator to try out (based of reviews and YouTube demos).

I was tempted with trying out the Black Winter, but not really into super high gain pickups anymore.
 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

I really miss my Warlock, also a NJ, but a neck-through! Congrats on the Ironbird, always dug its shape!







 
Re: NGD incoming - BC Rich Ironbird NJ

That warlock was nice! I do like that styling on the warlocks although I'm not a fan of the widow headstock on them. I prefer them classic 6-inline.
 
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