Who still makes 9-string Pickups?

[Mr. B]

I may have gotten myself into an impossible situation here. I have really been enjoying shredding on 7 and 8 string guitars lately, so when an older 9-string Ibanez RG showed up at GC for a good price, I grabbed it. The guitar is fantastic, but the pickups are god awful. I mean, if you were working against the corporation you worked for, trying to drive them to bankruptcy, you could not have invented anything better than these ridiculously bad pickups. They emphasize all the worst aspects, mitigate none of the usual extended range guitar problems, are absolute flub on the low end and clangy and ice-pick-in-the-ear bright on the top end (almost microphonic sounding). I can usually live with most Ibanez Pickups for a while, but I can't even stand to plug this guitar in with these horrid pickups.

Ok, rant over. I obviously need some new pickups for this beast, but who even makes 9 string pickups any more? I see some older 9-strings with Bare Knuckle Pickups, but they don't list any now. I didn't really want to go Active EMGs, because there is no battery compartment. Am I just out of luck? I'm not really into the detuned Djent thing. I am just an old-school 1980's shredder, and also play some blues and rock. In my 7 and 8 string guitars, I use Dimarzio Ionizers, PAF 7's, and Blaze Custom/Blaze neck, and had a Black Winter set for a while that I liked.

Anyone know where I could find some 9 string Humbuckers, new or used?

 

[jeremy]

maybe a rewind?

 

[ICTGoober]

Have you ruled out offerings by Bartolini, etc. Bill Lawrence offers some pickups for pedal steel which would work well in multi-string solid body guitars.

 

[idsnowdog]

I may have gotten myself into an impossible situation here. I have really been enjoying shredding on 7 and 8 string guitars lately, so when an older 9-string Ibanez RG showed up at GC for a good price, I grabbed it. The guitar is fantastic, but the pickups are god awful. I mean, if you were working against the corporation you worked for, trying to drive them to bankruptcy, you could not have invented anything better than these ridiculously bad pickups. They emphasize all the worst aspects, mitigate none of the usual extended range guitar problems, are absolute flub on the low end and clangy and ice-pick-in-the-ear bright on the top end (almost microphonic sounding). I can usually live with most Ibanez Pickups for a while, but I can't even stand to plug this guitar in with these horrid pickups.

Ok, rant over. I obviously need some new pickups for this beast, but who even makes 9 string pickups any more? I see some older 9-strings with Bare Knuckle Pickups, but they don't list any now. I didn't really want to go Active EMGs, because there is no battery compartment. Am I just out of luck? I'm not really into the detuned Djent thing. I am just an old-school 1980's shredder, and also play some blues and rock. In my 7 and 8 string guitars, I use Dimarzio Ionizers, PAF 7's, and Blaze Custom/Blaze neck, and had a Black Winter set for a while that I liked.

Anyone know where I could find some 9 string Humbuckers, new or used?

EMG is the only manufacturer that I know of that produces 9 string pickups. You can still go active without a battery compartment. You just need to build a phantom power box and run a stereo cable to the jack. All of my active pickups are run that way. On the guitar you just run the + voltage wire to the ring on the stereo jack.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Lace makes one. If the only objection to EMG is the battery box, I used EMGs for 20 years before I ever had one with a battery compartment. I always stuck the battery in the control cavity, no issues.

 

[Mr. B]

I just checked Bartolini's website. I see 7 and 8 string pickups listed, but no 9 string.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Q-Tuner also makes a 9 string.

Jeremy’s idea of a rewind is probably a good one.

 

[Mincer]

I believe the Custom Shop can either build from scratch or rewind what you have.

 

[ICTGoober]

Would it kill you to put multiple pickups together to make 9? Some makers do this, you know.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

What shape are they? Like regular open coil pickups, or like EMG bass soapbars?

By the way, most Ibanez branded pickups are made by DiMarzio, except for the budget models.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mr. B]

Put multiple pickups together? Is that a joke, or do you know something I don't know?

I thought about the custom shop, but I don't want to pay more for the pickups than I paid for the guitar.

The pickups in the guitar are just regular humbuckers with no cover.

 

[ICTGoober]

Put multiple pickups together? Is that a joke, or do you know something I don't know?

Not a joke. If you are hip to the history of multi-string extended scale guitars that's what you saw since 9 string pickups didn't exist yet. You might see 3 or 4 pickups on the same axe to cover all the strings. A few makers still do something like it, with one pickup for the lowest strings, and one for the trebles. It actually makes sense to use what is already on the market instead of reinventing the wheel or trying to find unobtainium.

 

[Mincer]

Put multiple pickups together? Is that a joke, or do you know something I don't know?

I thought about the custom shop, but I don't want to pay more for the pickups than I paid for the guitar.

The pickups in the guitar are just regular humbuckers with no cover.

A rewind by the Custom Shop is considerably cheaper.

 

[ItsaBass]

I played in a band with guys who powered their EMGs from outside their guitars. Not sure exactly what was involved, but it can be done.

You can also send your pickups in to be re-worked by Duncan, or other pickup makers who offer custom rewinds.

 

[dave74]

I've never had a problem fitting a 9v in the control cavity. Even with the quick-connect system it should fit if you route the wiring right.

 

[Mr. B]

ICTGoober, can you show an example of how you would fit multiple pickups into the existing routs on a guitar? If you are talking about completely carving up the top/finish on the guitar to install something the way a P-bass pickup is configured, I'm not that willing to butcher a perfectly good guitar.

 

[Mr. B]

Will one 9v battery power both neck and bridge EMG pickups?

 

[Artie]

Will one 9v battery power both neck and bridge EMG pickups?

Yes. Typically, an entire set of active pups draws less than 1 ma. They are amazingly efficient.

 

[ICTGoober]

If you are talking about completely carving up the top/finish on the guitar to install something the way a P-bass pickup is configured, I'm not that willing to butcher a perfectly good guitar.

That is exactly what I am talking about. I simply offered a solution. It's your guitar - do what you want.

 

[idsnowdog]

Will one 9v battery power both neck and bridge EMG pickups?

Yes one battery can power both pickups and any tone modules you want. In my first post I showed how to create a phantom power box. The only thing you would do is omit the jacks on the guitar side and run a stereo cable to the guitar so that the ring provides power while the ground and tip provide signal.