Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

[Bowtomecha]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

The Pegasus can be percussive but it’s got a relatively smooth high end. It’s got a somewhat tame nature to it unless you really dig into it. It’s worth a shot I think.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

The Demon will give you a smooth lead tone in the neck with plenty of punch and nice harmonics, sort of like an Air Norton (which was also originally designed as a moderate output bridge pickup), but there aren't many Duncans that excel at Vai/Petrucci tones in the bridge. Believe it or not, the JB is one of the better ones.

The 59/Custom hybrid is very open and slightly scooped. JP and Vai use higher output pickups that tend to be a little more compressed and have a bigger midrange and smoother top end (minus the original Evolutions, ha ha!).

Are you stuck on Duncans? Just seems like DiMarzio may be a better fit for what you're after...

 

[Hank-]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

Dimarzio Paf Pro is also a good shreddy neck p'up, not awful cleans either. Some of JS sig models seem to be developed around it I think with tweaks here & there.

Duncan has quite alot of variety in neck pickups that are good, then theres the mag swaps and hybrids & its a wide choice pool of what to get & tweak to personal taste. Decide on a particular direction you want to take this guitar in to narrow your choices. The Custom Custom gives a nice fat smooth lead sound in the bridge but its not great at metal riffs. Then theres the PATBs, those also often go overlooked.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

True, the PATB-1 might be something to consider for the bridge. You could even do the PATB-1 neck/bridge set...warm bodied, medium-high output and very versatile!

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

True, the PATB-1 might be something to consider for the bridge. You could even do the PATB-1 neck/bridge set...warm bodied, medium-high output and very versatile!

https://www.ibanez.com/eu/products/detail/rg8820_00_01.html

I really want to stick with covered pickups for this - so unfortunately the PATB-1 won't work.

I'm thinking the Hybrid may in fact be too underpowered for what I want. masta'c - you wrote before that you liked the satchur8 and illuminator bridges. What do you think about those or other Dimarzio bridges for this situation? I know the illuminator is ceramic but if it's good...

 

[Archer250]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

https://www.ibanez.com/eu/products/detail/rg8820_00_01.html

I really want to stick with covered pickups for this - so unfortunately the PATB-1 won't work.

I'm thinking the Hybrid may in fact be too underpowered for what I want. masta'c - you wrote before that you liked the satchur8 and illuminator bridges. What do you think about those or other Dimarzio bridges for this situation? I know the illuminator is ceramic but if it's good...

Ah great!

If you look past the "ceramic" thing, you have more options now. IMO DiMarzios always felt a better fit in Ibanez guitars than Duncans, but their high output PUs are Ceramic, save for the Tone Zone

I would recommend the Transition

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

Thanks, Archer. I checked out a few Transition vids, then looked back at the Satchur8. So far I'm really digging the Satchur8 tones..

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

The Transition set is voiced on the warmer side, but is really versatile and dynamic. They are ceramic, but you wouldn't know it by their tone and response. Good all-around pickups that blend the best of Alnico and Ceramic characteristics in a decidedly "rock" sounding package. Not sure how they handle metal.

Of the older JP pickups, I like the Crunch Lab and Illuminator the best in the bridge. Illuminator has more upper-mid emphasis and bite, sort of like an Evo 2, but is more forgiving than the Evo 2. It's also very tight down low, similar to the D-Sonic in the way it responds. The Crunch lab has a bigger, chunkier bottom end response and more lower-mid emphasis with a bell-like chime up top and slightly rolled-off highs. Sort of like a ceramic Tone Zone in some ways (but has a more unique character than the TZ, in my opinion). The Sonic Ecstasy attempted to take the edge off of the Illuminator set, but went too far in the other direction. The new Dreamcatcher/Rainmaker set brings it back a bit and finds a better balance between thickness and cut. Probably JP's "biggest" sounding pickups to date.

The Satchur8 has similar dynamics to the Illuminator, but there is a notable "Satriani" voicing to it. It's a bit more clinical and stiff than his previous pickups, but works well in a one-guitar mix and has that unique DiMarzio compression that keeps the high end in check (though, admittedly, I found the midrange attack to come off as "clanky" in this particular design...have to experience it to understand).

 

[orpheo]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

I'm surprised noone mentioned the Black Winter yet. That pickup is highly underestimated IMHO. It's got the warmth, the fattness and power to give you fluid leads but it never gets brittle in the top end or saggy in the bottom. It's not really midscooped but fairly even across the spectrum. For rhythm it's also great. I find it a shame that it's marketed towards black metal and the likes. It's like a happy marriage between the Sh6 Distortion and the Invader: a bit of the grind and cut of the distortion, a bit of the fatty girth of the Invader, but a unique beast all of its own.

For the neck: I'm very partial towards the jazz Bridge pickup in the neck nowadays.

*The sentient is a bit too scooped, too clean and jangly for allround purposes.
*The standard Jazz Neck is that but even worse; the Fullshred Neck is that, but even WORSE. They are great options for other purposes, but if you want one allround neck pickup that allows you for lead tones with a fairly substantial midrange, bottom end and power, the Jazz Bridge is the way to go (unless you wanna go hybrid).
*The Screaming Demon is IMHO way, way too fat in the neck position, to be honest.
*I have zero experience with the Black Winter neck pickup.

As for the other popular choices:

*the 59N is a decent neck pickup but not one of my favorites (great in many hybrid-recipes but not on its own, imho).
*The 59B is also a great choice but can be a bit boomy with a bit of sag in the bottom end.
*The Seth Lovers (bridge and neck) are amazing but not powerful enough for the needs laid down in this topic.
*The Alnico2Pro has never been my favorite: I compare the a2pro vs Jazz to a ribeye vs sirloin/newyork strip steak. The a2pro has too much fat all across the spectrum (like a ribeye) and the Jazz has just enough of a fatty edge to give you a bold, powerful feel but not enough to get in the way of cutting through the mix.

As for Dimarzio: no suggestions. Only negative opinions (don't like Dimarzio; never cared much for its tonal palette across its lineup, sorry).

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

I wish there was a Jazz bridge in neck Youtube vid sounds interesting.

My whole dilemma started with an unsatisfactory neck pup, so I want to get that right. I would really like to make the neck alnico - AN, Jazz (N or B?), Demon are probably my choices.

As for the bridge, the Transition vids aren't really calling to me. Some sound good but nothing blows me away.

I had a distortion before in my LP but didn't get along with it in the end, so for now the bw is out.

I'm thinking it may be safe to go dream catcher + air norton or paf pro - MAYBE a duncan but I want to match tones

 

[orpheo]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

Going by YouTube clips is a really bad idea because you dont truly hear the pickup. You hear the amp, the recording setup, the guitar, the player. But all the fine nuances are squashed out by YouTube 's compression. Only a handful of clips show various pickups in the same guitar with as little variance in the recording setup as possible.

These clips? Not so much.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

For JP tones, the Dreamcatcher + Rainmaker (or Air Norton) would be perfect. I'm also a big fan of the 2000's "DiMarzio/Ibz" pickups for JP and Vai type stuff (note: not the '80s/'90s "IBZUSA" stuff or the later "DiMarzio/Ibz" from the S-series, which were lower output and had one row of slugs).

For non-JP tones, I'm totally with Orpheo, the Black Winter set is amazing for just about everything under the sun, as long as you are friendly with high output pickups.

Have you looked at the Alpha/Omega set and/or the Titans, by chance?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

The Black Winter set would seem like a good choice, except it is REALLY high-output. But if you look past that, they might be the ticket. They split really well too.

I wouldn't call them balanced, personally. The bridge pickup to me has an even fiercer upper-mid emphasis than a JB, but they do sound nice doing many styles of music (so long as your amp has the headroom). The neck pickup is warm and strong (not midscooped and feeble like the Jazz or '59), yet tight and clear, and split, it gets a very convincing stratty sound. Much moreso than the vintage output Duncan offerings I've tried. In humbucker mode, it tracks fast picking really well without sounding chirpy like many weaker pickups.

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

Okay I think I'll get the Dreamcatcher. Looks good for me. The BW gets good reviews but I think the Distortion was too much for my Kemper (though the fluence is okay...).

Now just between AN and Rainmaker.

Thanks for your help!

 

[OLDERBUDWISER]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

Ah great!

If you look past the "ceramic" thing, you have more options now. IMO DiMarzios always felt a better fit in Ibanez guitars than Duncans, but their high output PUs are Ceramic, save for the Tone Zone

I would recommend the Transition

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk

I been moving towards lower output pickups, I put the Transition neck in the bridge of one of my guitars and I cant put that guitar down.

 

[Archer250]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

I been moving towards lower output pickups, I put the Transition neck in the bridge of one of my guitars and I cant put that guitar down.

They're pretty a high output pickup voiced like a smooth low-output pickup.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

Hey guys just an update - I'm pretty set on the Dreamcatcher and AN now. I'll probably order them soon, after I figure out the wiring parts I'll also need to get. Thanks again for your help. I'll probably be asking some wiring questions later.
You guys are the best.

 

[Hank-]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

JP pickups are generally good. Not sure if the dreamcatcher is a big improvement over the illuminators but might as well get the newer one. I wonder if changing his mic position or eq controls on the amp would have yielded results to avoid designing a new sig pickup set, oh well JP would know better about his own rig setup.

Goodluck with the new set, hope is goes well.

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

JP pickups are generally good. Not sure if the dreamcatcher is a big improvement over the illuminators but might as well get the newer one. I wonder if changing his mic position or eq controls on the amp would have yielded results to avoid designing a new sig pickup set, oh well JP would know better about his own rig setup.

Goodluck with the new set, hope is goes well.

Thanks! Yea I'm sure it's basically an illuminator with a few tweaks - but that's okay. People like the illuminator bridge. As you say, it's newer, and it's the same price, so I figure between the 2 I'll try it out.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Pickups for Ibanez J.Custom - for instrumental rock

I think that's a good call. Definitely report back!