Pickups for an Ibanez

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Fly_with_v

New member
Guitar is very thin, Mahogany with a Maple neck and fretboard, HSH, locking tremolo, 25.5. I want great single note definition, excellent harmonics, and great sustain (don't we all). The bridge is the most important for me and it must have excellent harmonics and good note defination and clarity. The middle needs to be straty and clean. The neck should be PAF-ish. All four conductor for auto split on a 5-way (except the SC) . The guitar is fairly bright with the current INF's, it could be tamed a little but I DO NOT like dark guitar. I want something a hotter then a PAF. I have tried the Tone Wizzard but not really liking what it is giving me.

I play mostly classic rock and 80's metal. This guitar will mostly be used to play early VH (most important), Def Leppard, Ozzy (most eras), Motley Crue, etc. because of the tremolo.

I have been considering the EVO (never tried one), but the only ceramics I have played are the Gibson 500T (and Dirty Fingers?) and I was not overly impressed. But I can get a set of 3 EVO's really cheap. I know they have mixed reviews, but so do the JB's.

I do love the JB in most guitars. The JB/Jazz in an alder Jackson is among my favorites. I like all brands of alnico II's PAF's and they are in four of my five LP's. With LP's if I change I usually come back to AII's.


I am really, really interest in the Custom Custom (based on the description). It just seems like a great pickup for me, just do not know about this guitar.

So right now
For bridge EVO(2), JB, CC
For Neck PG, or APro2, EVO(2)
For Middle Red Velvet, or ?

(I Know the post is long, but I wanted to be specific.)
 
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Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

I play through a Digidesign 11R and and AxeFX. I sold all of my tube amps and I am quite happy (thank you very much, Ha ha)
 
Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

You've already got the JB's perfect host nailed down in that Jackson, I'd do something different with this one.

Custom Custom can be awesome, but some people find it too dark in mahogany. Longer scale and maple/maple should help, though. But it might not cover all the tones you want. It's not the tightest pickup, but many love the A2 squish and warmth.

I'd suggest the PATB-1b Parallel Axis Original bridge pickup. A lot of the Custom Custom and Custom 5 in one pickup, only with more output available. Incredibly sweet for soloing, just sings. Great harmonics, though it doesn't scream the same way as the JB. I have mine in a basswood RG570 that outside of leads utterly loathed the JB I used to have in the bridge.

Standard Parallel Axis feature summary rant: polepieces & coil shape changes give reduced string pull, increased sustain, improved articulation, enhanced harmonics, higher output, open feel, ridiculous pick dynamics. Tremendous for beefing up a thin superstrat to sound like a thick Les Paul.

It's ridiculously dynamic, bizarrely responsive for a high output pickup. Feels compressed when you dig in, opens up with a lighter touch. Bright attack when you want it, smooths out for singing leads. All without touching a knob. Gets absurd when you start fiddling with the knobs. At around 85% volume, it sounds like a Custom 5 with more mids. Back the tone off to around 80% and it shifts more towards a Custom Custom, except with tighter bass. But it's got more output on tap than either.

I love that I can go from an AC/DCish bright crunch on chords to smooth singing leads without touching a control. Usually there's more bite on leads than I want if I'm getting that sort of bite on rhythms.

If that appeals, I'd probably match it up with a PATB-1n in the neck. For middle, I'd probably go with a pickup from a different line, as the PA-STK1n often requires routing to fit, and while it's a great-sounding pickup, it's not a traditional single sound. I'd need a better idea of what you want out of the middle pickup before I could confidently recommend a pickup.
 
Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

Despair said:
You've already got the JB's perfect host nailed down in that Jackson, I'd do something different with this one.

Custom Custom can be awesome, but some people find it too dark in mahogany. Longer scale and maple/maple should help, though. But it might not cover all the tones you want. It's not the tightest pickup, but many love the A2 squish and warmth.

I'd suggest the PATB-1b Parallel Axis Original bridge pickup.
Click to expand...

I sold my Jackson and miss it, thus the JB.

Great info on the CC (info that I wanting to hear and the reason for the post), and exactly what I am afraid of, but the guitar is pretty bright right now. I am not sure how tight I actually need the bass. I do have an LP with P-rails and it seems to do the job, but I do not play it that often as the guitar is in need of some attention and I am lazy (or busy).

I am very interested in the PATB, but it hurts my eys a little. Might need to get over that someday. Truthfully it seems to have a lot to offer.
 
Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

I'd be surprised if you like the JB as much in the Ibanez as the Jackson, but tastes do vary. I love what the JB does in an maple bolt-on with alder or soft maple body. Not a huge fan elsewhere, though I may be oversensitive to it's quirks after having it in a particularly bad match. :)

You could snag a used TB-11 or TB-5 and a few magnets, and run through the gamut and probably find something that worked for you. A8 and Unoriented A5 are pretty popular, ceramic would actually be pretty good for most of that gamut except Van Halen (though some people do manage to come pretty close, but they tend to sound more Fair Warning than VH II to my ears...).

The PATB doesn't look normal, but the differences are near-indistinguishable from any distance. So do you avoid it for not looking retro, or grab it for tone?

Oh, couple cautions about the PATBs: if you don't want to have to mess with widening pickup routes, check cavity measurements (should be able to get them off Ibanez's site or the JEM forum) against the pickup's measurements. Also, don't be put off if it sounds like an exaggeration of the complaints against the Custom 5, that just means it's a bit too close to the strings. Lower it until the mids balance out and it's one of the sweetest pickups around.
 
Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

dimarzio norton and a paf joe with a velvet in the middle will suit your needs:smokin:
norton is a lot like the JB but works great in a thin mahogany body and the paf joe is like a paf but very articulate and dynamic
 
Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

Thanks guys. I am going to pickup tb-11 or 5 and a few magnets to play with. That seems like a great way to play around because there are several good combinations to try out.

I do have a set of EVO's on order that I got really cheap so I going to play with those a little, if I do not like them I will probably either try an EVO2 or exchange them for an Air norton, velvet, and PAF joe or something. It seems that the later is kind of more along my taste, but for some reason I just need to try the EVO's.

On thing is for sure is that I do plan on keeping this guitar, it really is working out well for me. It is a S570MQM made in Indo, but it rivals my USA guitars. Ibanez is putting out some quality stuff right now. This model has the ZR tremolo and I love it as well. I always sell my Floyd equiped guitars becuase although I love to dive and squeel, I hate to deal with the unison bend issue. This trem solves that. This is why I am trying to get so much advise, I want it to work sound wise as well.
 
Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

I play a lot of the same music that you do, and the JB is where it's at in the right guitar. You probably won't like the Custom Custom. You might like the Full Shred. It's high-output Alnico V with less (but tighter) bottom, however, it sounds thin in a thinner guitar (I used to have it in an SF470) unless you crank the gain through the roof. You might like the DiMarzio Breed...it's a fatter version of a JB.
 
Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

grapeskeletons said:
I play a lot of the same music that you do, and the JB is where it's at in the right guitar. You probably won't like the Custom Custom. You might like the Full Shred. It's high-output Alnico V with less (but tighter) bottom, however, it sounds thin in a thinner guitar (I used to have it in an SF470) unless you crank the gain through the roof. You might like the DiMarzio Breed...it's a fatter version of a JB.
Click to expand...

2 questions:

1. Why would I not like the CC, I love ALnico 2's, maybe not in this guitar?

2. What did you have in the SF470?
 
Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

Fly_with_v said:
1. Why would I not like the CC, I love ALnico 2's, maybe not in this guitar?
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I found the CC to be very dark...you said that you didn't like a dark guitar tone. I don't know, many people do like it, but I think that they have it in bright guitars. To me, it just didn't crunch right, there was something off about the way it responded in the treble. Other people have had different results and you might find some on here who like it for metal, but to me, through my rig, it always sounded like "Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits. No amount of adjustment made a difference.

Fly_with_v said:
2. What did you have in the SF470?
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I had the Full Shred. I guess you know the SF470 was a thin slab of mahogany similar to most S series except with a Fixed Bridge. Ultimately, it really needed a good stack amp to shine, most of the time it sounded too thin. But when I had it through a Carvin half stack....mmm, hard crunchy goodness. I never tried a JB in it, that was before I discovered them. But I did have a Tone Zone there initially and it was horrid.

Good luck with the tone quest....
 
Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

I installed a JB last night, and of course it had great JB tone. Amazingly a little (I do mean a little) less bright then the stock INF's, but definately better defination and harmonics. Also, a little thin.

I think I need to get a CC to try or possibly a 78. I think the thin mahoganybody on the guitar combined with the large amount of routing for the tremolo and the all maple neck is making it behave to some extent more like a super strat.
 
Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

Parallel Axis pickups make superstrats come alive like nothing else. They'll give you more tight bass than most of the other options, do the most natural job of offsetting the bridge.

JBs are all about lead tone, even in a guitar they don't sit well in, they usually manage that part despite everything.

A TB-11 is a TB-5 with an A2, so it's easy to test that one. You might like it better with an Unoriented A5, though, (A2 and A3 are an unoriented magnets as well) which gives a sound somewhere between an A2 and A5. With A5 the Custom often doesn't have enough mids, even in mahogany. A8 would give you something close to a Custom Custom for leads, but with a bit more bite, much higher output, and deeper bass and faster attack.
 
Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

I AM buying a custom model and some magnets after all this. And if the unoriented A5 can get between an A2 and A5 it would seem to perfect for a lot of style I play.

So for magnets, what do I need to get all the good tones out of the custom?

A2, A5, A8, Ceramic, and unoriented A5.
 
Re: Pickups for an Ibanez

You can also do roughcasts, which give slightly less treble and are described by some as having more textured mids, as compared to the standard smooth/polished magnets.

For bridge, those are the usual suspects. If you want the full gamut for neck options as well, I'd pickup an A3 and A4. A3 is lower output, less bass and more treble compared to an A2. A4 is like an A5 with the bass and treble lowered a bit, and mids more level. Works well in pickups designed for it, but most people don't like them in Seymour Duncan pickups in the bridge slot.

Another useful pickup hacking item is an assortment of polepiece screws. If the A8 or Ceramic had too much bass, you can replace just the screws under the wound strings [standardly are 0.75" fillister head] with 0.5" hex head screws. That cuts and tightens the bass, and gives a bit of extra attack. Great trick for boomy neck pickups, especially.

Can get magnets and screws at Addiction-FX on ebay.
 
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