Which SD's should I get? Newb

I

Ikataur

New member
Hey guys, I'm building my self a guitar, pretty much it's Ibanez S520 with no electronics. I don't know how to chose pickups because I just bought stuff from the shelf if they sounded good, you see I love blues and metal and I'm looking for that 2 in 1 balanced package even if the sound is not jawdropping you know? The one guitar that could do this for me was PRS s2 24 which has 85/15 S pickups. Blues sounded great it had that clean crisp sound untill you gave it distortion than it was great metal machine. Normally I would love to just buy those pickups but I can't cause nobody is selling them. And guitar it self is too expensive for me. So now I'm looking at "aftermarket" pickups. What would you advise me.
Thank you.
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

You might find the C/59 hybrid gives you enough to cover most styles in the bridge.
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

Is that a maple top guitar?

It all depends I guess

You’re going to need to point us in a more specific direction

If it were me I’d want it to be a super strat which is what it is more or less and put a custom in the bridge with a 59 neck.

I automatically shoot for a vintage style humbucker ser with A 3 magnet if the wind isn’t too wimpy.

But you never know. All guitars are different.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

Start with a classic hot bridge like JB or Distortion, and something cooler and PAF-like in neck (59, Jazz, Slash neck, etc... Screamin Demon if you want a PAFlike that goes to "11" )

Save the more unusual pickup mods for when you have a baseline to compare with using old favorites. Which you've heard on records a gazillion times but just don't know it

PS is it an S520 copy or a gutted S520 restoration project? Is it the mahogany or the basswood 520?
 
Last edited:
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

Adieu said:
Start with a classic hot bridge like JB or Distortion, and something cooler and PAF-like in neck (59, Jazz, Slash neck, etc... Screamin Demon if you want a PAFlike that goes to "11" )

Save the more unusual pickup mods for when you have a baseline to compare with using old favorites. Which you've heard on records a gazillion times but just don't know it

PS is it an S520 copy or a gutted S520 restoration project? Is it the mahogany or the basswood 520?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info all.

It is gutted S520 2018 model and yes it is restoration project full mahogany body with maple neck and jatoba fretboard. Looks freaking gorgeous I tell you. So I thought instead of just the restoration I would do restomod by putting better electronics in. But the thing is I have no idea how to chose pickups apart from by listening to them in the shop but second problem with this is that those are "OEM" pickups and are not sold separately like aftermarket pickups.
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

How'd you end up with a gutted 2018 that *already* needs restoration?

Btw I had a brainfreeze and was thinking about *RG* 520's, no basswood on S520's. Ibanez stock pickups kinda blow, so you're better off without em anyway
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

^ But it can be, no matter however much it shouldn't.......hence the advice for the possibility......things that this forum should be giving advice to cover.
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

For that guitar, and the genres you want to cover, my vote would be a PATB3 bridge and a PATB neck. They work well in mahogany, and would cover the territory you are playing. I would not suggest a JB in that guitar unless you want to use an A2 magnet in it. The CustomCustom would probably sound good in it, but for metal, the low end might be a little spongy. The Screaming Demon / Jazz combo is not a bad suggestion. I just find both of those pickups a little stiff playing. I have always found the Custom and 59/Custom hybrid to be a little harsh, but not over the top enough to be full-on metal pickups like the distortion. I always want them to go one way or the other, but to me, they straddle the fence in the wrong place. Others love them, and I can see why. The 59n would probably work in it, and you could pair it with some hotter bridge like a Gibson 498t.
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

Lol not the 498t....

Yea I agree with a lot of the suggestions here.
Patb3 for a bit more power.
C/59 hybrid for versatility but less power
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

Adieu said:
How'd you end up with a gutted 2018 that *already* needs restoration?

Btw I had a brainfreeze and was thinking about *RG* 520's, no basswood on S520's. Ibanez stock pickups kinda blow, so you're better off without em anyway
Click to expand...

The original owner wanted to make Ibanez Prestige S5521Q copy out of it so he took apart everything couldnt find parts so he sold it "as is" things like bridge/trem and pickups he sold very fast but nobody wanted body and neck for the price he was asking, bottom line I bought it for $90. He failed his prestige copy because he could not find the same pickups and ultra rare neck that has titamium rods in it. It has been disassembled for months so I snatched it.
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

Ikataur said:
The original owner wanted to make Ibanez Prestige S5521Q copy out of it so he took apart everything couldnt find parts so he sold it "as is" things like bridge/trem and pickups he sold very fast but nobody wanted body and neck for the price he was asking, bottom line I bought it for $90. He failed his prestige copy because he could not find the same pickups and ultra rare neck that has titamium rods in it. It has been disassembled for months so I snatched it.
Click to expand...

Lol original owner, what a goof

A prestige neck is at least 60% of the sticker price that he was so keen to avoid paying,. And won't pop up much, if ever, for oddball spec'd and very pricey models (like, really, why would it???)

Also... V7's and V8's are CRAP and the weak point of the fuitar he was trying to knock off... and replacing an Edge Zero or whatever with a hardtail (unless you meant an S5520 knockoff? But those were Koa iirc) on a pretty-topped guitar is one hell of an exercise in futility, no way that'll come out looking good.

Makes for a bit of a pita for you now though, missing an unusual trem.... what'd you end up doing, drop a Floyd Special or a Gotoh 1996T in there? Do they even fit?
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

I'm gonna go outside the box here...

For the bridge - a Screamin' Demon. Why? A PAF style, that is just a little hotter, and a can still cut for serious blues. And, If you think George Lynch is metal...well - there you go. That might be might blues/to metal PAF of choice in a mahogany body where I'm worried about enough highs.

For the neck: A Pearly Gates. Because PAF style/levels, but again, enough cut in the neck when the gain hits it. Will match the Demon output wise. Great sweet highs for blues in the neck.


Other great combos:
59/JB
59/59-Custom hybrid
 
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Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

Aceman said:
I'm gonna go outside the box here...

For the bridge - a Screamin' Demon. Why? A PAF style, that is just a little hotter, and a can still cut for serious blues. And, If you think George Lynch is metal...well - there you go. That might be might blues/to metal PAF of choice in a mahogany body where I'm worried about enough highs.

For the neck: A Pearly Gates. Because PAF style/levels, but again, enough cut in the neck when the gain hits it. Will match the Demon output wise. Great sweet highs for blues in the neck.


Other great combos:
59/JB
59/59-Custom hybrid
Click to expand...
Demons are so much more versatile than a lot of people realize. As long as I didn't need a split tone out of it, that would almost always be my first choice for a swiss army setup.
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

Adieu said:
Lol original owner, what a goof

A prestige neck is at least 60% of the sticker price that he was so keen to avoid paying,. And won't pop up much, if ever, for oddball spec'd and very pricey models (like, really, why would it???)

Also... V7's and V8's are CRAP and the weak point of the fuitar he was trying to knock off... and replacing an Edge Zero or whatever with a hardtail (unless you meant an S5520 knockoff? But those were Koa iirc) on a pretty-topped guitar is one hell of an exercise in futility, no way that'll come out looking good.

Makes for a bit of a pita for you now though, missing an unusual trem.... what'd you end up doing, drop a Floyd Special or a Gotoh 1996T in there? Do they even fit?
Click to expand...


Oh man I really dont know which one it is, I do know however, that prestige guitar that he was making copy of costed something like $2500
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

Aceman said:
I'm gonna go outside the box here...

For the bridge - a Screamin' Demon. Why? A PAF style, that is just a little hotter, and a can still cut for serious blues. And, If you think George Lynch is metal...well - there you go. That might be might blues/to metal PAF of choice in a mahogany body where I'm worried about enough highs.

For the neck: A Pearly Gates. Because PAF style/levels, but again, enough cut in the neck when the gain hits it. Will match the Demon output wise. Great sweet highs for blues in the neck.


Other great combos:
59/JB
59/59-Custom hybrid
Click to expand...

Oh man I'm really impressed with the screamin demon, but I can't chose between pearly gates 59 custom hybrid and air norton. But screamin demons sound amazing.
 
Re: Which SD's should I get? Newb

Buy from Duncan - 21 day exchange policy. Start with a PG, if you don't like it go to the 59....
 
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