pickup change in Ibanez strat

[PhilDuggs]

Hey , I am new here (just joined today actually) and now that I finally have disposeable income and a somewhat decent guitar (depends on who you ask ask doesnt it?) I am looking to upgrade it .
So the guitar is an Ibanez S570B , it's got a HSH pickup configuration and personally I don't like the INF pickups that came stock in it! So could anybody help me find some nice new replacements? I personally want a warm thick sound for rhythm , I have been considering a duncan distortion in the bridge and a 59 in the neck . The distortion just appealed to me more than that of the JB , it had a much thicker sound and roared more to my liking. If you can think of something that would do better that's great , good cleans would be nice to have too.

I would be running into a fender mustang V , which i know isnt anything special but for a student living at home with a small child its the best thing around so that I don't wake him.
I love to play lots of things like rock , metal (both modern and classic) , blues , little bit of country .

So any help would be much appreciated as I am clueless about this at current. :bad:

(btw i want suggestions for all three pickups not just the humbuckers)

 

[Mr. B]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

I don't really think of the Duncan Distortion as being much thicker than a JB. It has a firmer bass end, and is more geared toward metal, but when you say thicker, the Dimarzio Super Distortion comes to mind instead of the Duncan Distortion. Warm and thick from the Duncan line would be the Custom Custom. You are also not going to get great blues and clean tones out of the Duncan Distortion.

Tell us what tones you are chasing.

 

[PhilDuggs]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

I'm going for sorta hard rock tone , not metal, like heavy but at the same time not brutal . I prefer thicker more lower ended tone , similar to black stone cherry (i know they are drop tuned). I don't want something with more high end to it , highs are great and all but a thin brittle tone isnt my preference. Bands like Rise Against and Sixx am also come to mind along with John 5 sorta tone (again I know he drop tunes alot) . I honestly want a heavy sound that is still not seen as " metal " Furthest I would drop tune is to C and really I wanna find my own sound not emulate anothers.

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

Welcome to the forum. I'd suggest a set of the PATB's. For the bridge you have a choice of either the PATB-1, PATB-2, or PATB-3. The PATB-1/2 both come in a set with a bridge and neck model and the PATB-3 can be used in both spots but is the same humbucker. Also for the middle you can use the PATB-Stk in the middle.

 

[PhilDuggs]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

oh and I want a more dark sound , I prefer a darker sound .

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

oh and I want a more dark sound , I prefer a darker sound .

Then I think you want to go with either the PATB-2 or 3 models with a PATB-Stk in the middle.

 

[PhilDuggs]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

Sorry but those sound horrible to my ears , there is something missing that I don't like the sound without it.

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

Sorry but those sound horrible to my ears , there is something missing that I don't like the sound without it.

Where did you listen to them at?

 

[PhilDuggs]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

Official sound samples on this site , and also demos of them on youtube , they are missing a lot of warmth to me , too metalic and cold .

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

Official sound samples on this site , and also demos of them on youtube , they are missing a lot of warmth to me , too metalic and cold .

I would still say trying a pup(s) in your own guitar through your own rig should be the final test before you dismiss them but if you don't want to take a chance on them I say try the Custom Custom or A2P. The Invader is also warm but very powerful and might not be what you want for lower gain applications.

Also those Soundclips on the site aren't the best reference and nobody here really uses them.

 

[PhilDuggs]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

Im sorry but I can't justify spending nearly 300 euro to get them put in when sound demos I have heard which are professionally done by the likes of Ola Englung and Keith Merrow have shown me they are cold and metallic. I have to go through my local guitar shop to get it done and they charge an arm and a leg (70 minimum) to get pickups installed and personally I don't want to have to pay to get them put in and then.have them rippled out again, pre owned market here in Ireland is worthless so shifting the PATB would.be annoying afterwards.
Anyway why would you recommend pickups that are clearly for high gain metal sounds to someone who is looking for a hard rock sound that is thick and rich?

 

[Archer250]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

Im sorry but I can't justify spending nearly 300 euro to get them put in when sound demos I have heard which are professionally done by the likes of Ola Englung and Keith Merrow have shown me they are cold and metallic. I have to go through my local guitar shop to get it done and they charge an arm and a leg (70 minimum) to get pickups installed and personally I don't want to have to pay to get them put in and then.have them rippled out again, pre owned market here in Ireland is worthless so shifting the PATB would.be annoying afterwards.
Anyway why would you recommend pickups that are clearly for high gain metal sounds to someone who is looking for a hard rock sound that is thick and rich?

Because this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRRBFy3bWMs

 

[Securb]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

I have a Dimebucker/Jazz combo in my Ibanez. The Dimebucker is hot but can pull of a fairly nice modern blues tone. It will definitely deliver your hard rock/ metal tones. The combo works well for me because I do most of my clean stuff off the neck. The Jazz works out well for country, jazz, blues and even rock.

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

Im sorry but I can't justify spending nearly 300 euro to get them put in when sound demos I have heard which are professionally done by the likes of Ola Englung and Keith Merrow have shown me they are cold and metallic. I have to go through my local guitar shop to get it done and they charge an arm and a leg (70 minimum) to get pickups installed and personally I don't want to have to pay to get them put in and then.have them rippled out again, pre owned market here in Ireland is worthless so shifting the PATB would.be annoying afterwards.
Anyway why would you recommend pickups that are clearly for high gain metal sounds to someone who is looking for a hard rock sound that is thick and rich?

Pups are only part of the equation. Every pup I have suggested except the Invader can be used for hard rock to heavy metal to blues to Jazz. Again Ola and Keith are going for certain tones when demoing gear. The pup Ola chose for his sig washburn guitar comes with a Custom/59 Hybrid which by design isn't for high gain metal but it can still be used in that application because his rig is set up for it.

Also Hard rock and heavy metal can be covered with much of the same gear just depends on how the player sets it up.

If you don't like the set of pups you buy Duncan has a return policy to let you exchange for a different pup but I understand you don't want to keep paying the tech neither.

And for the single in the middle are you also looking for a thicker sound or more traditional single coil sound?

 

[PhilDuggs]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

For the single I would be going for more traditional sound, my guitar is a bit different instead of a push pull for.coil tap/split it uses position 2 and 4 of the pickup selector to coil tap the humbuckers so a more traditional sound.for the actual single would be nice. The reason I dislike the trembucker is due to the lack of warmth in it it just sounds very metallic and.unappealing to me, of course some eq work would most likely fix this but I would prefer not to have to change everything to compensate for the lack of mids the trembucker has, it is geared towards.a different sound than I am looking for.

Have also been considering the Black Winter and the Pegasus, although I can't find a 6 string Pegasus demo all 7 and 8.

 

[Demanic]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

I would go with an Alternative 8 in the bridge. Thick, articulate and tight. Tapped it is amazing. Hot thick single coil. I've heard that a Screamin' Demon in the neck works well with the Alt 8 in the bridge. Maybe put a Quarter Pound in the middle?

 

[Brian Griffin]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

I suggest a DiMarzio Evolution for the neck for its clarity. I find many times that SD 59 on the neck is muddy.

 

[Brian Griffin]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

Why don't you practice soldering first and install the pickups yourself. It's very easy, just follow the diagram. Why pay 70 euros if you can do it yourself? The worst thing you could do is melting the wires' insulation. Changing pickups is not a meticulous task like a refret that only experienced luthier can do.

 

[McDube]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

I've put a Black Winter set in my S570DXQM, with a Quarter Pound Flat rp/rw in the middle. Amazing combo, and I think it's a great dark tone. And the Quarter Pound is a great match in my humble opinion, as it matches the Black Winters both in tone and in power.

And I agree on the Super Distortion. Also a good pickup if you want darker tone. But mine is in a Les Paul ripoff, and that's a whole lotta different guitar than an S570 in terms of body mass and thus resonance.

I also agree on the soldering practice part. Although in my case that led to keeping a guitar I had bought for parts, complete, loaded with SM-1 minibuckers now instead of the stock PowerSound pieces of cr@p

 

[Archer250]

Re: pickup change in Ibanez strat

Soldering is very easy as long as you're careful. My tip is to wait for the iron to heat up enough before using it.