| Author |
Message |
Ccs (Ccs)
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 12:27 am: | |
In my quest for a certain tone out of my '94 IC300 I started wondering what everyone else here is running and why.Hopefully this might help anyone who wants to swap out but isn't sure what way to go.This goes for guitars in general,not just Ibanez.I was looking for a heavier 70's tone,Montrose/UFO style,something I could get running straight into my Marshalls,no outboard gain.My Iceman came with the AH1 in the neck and a generic in the bridge so I can't comment on the original set up but this one didn't cut it.I got lucky and hit it right the first try.A Dimarzio Tone Zone in the bridge and a PAF Pro for the neck.BINGO.The single note growl you get in the lower register is incredible.Plus with just a little tweaking,the clean with both or just the neck is very rich and sustains very well.The AH1 wasn't bad but didn't sound as full or hold notes as long.And the cream and black pups just make it look so much cooler 
anyway,thats my 2 cents.Next is either my Jackson Dinky reverse or my ancient Ibanez Les Paul with the fake hummers. |
Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar)
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 5:26 pm: | |
Okay, I'll ad my $.02!
Most of my Roadstars are stock.
The RG200 and RG440 have an IBZ at the bridge, with Super7 singles in the middle and neck spots. This combination works well for clean to moderate gain stuff. The IBZ's get a little messy at higher gain settings.
The RS1400 is equipped with a pair of Super58's. I don't think I need to go into any detail here. Great vintage sound, but they feedback badly with heavy application of the gain control. Not a problem since I don't use it for that.
The RS1500 has three Super6 singles. I haven't spent a lot of time with this one (the frets are really bad). The Super6's are very aggresive and "in-your-face".
The RG600's feature Lo-Z active pickups. WHY THE HELL DIDN'T IBANEZ USE THIS SETUP MORE? These things are AWESOME! Even though it's a twin humbucker arrangement, the controls allow for everything from Tele twang to over-the-top full on distortion. I can get silky smooth Jazz tones, or crystal clean Strat-like chime. You want quack? It'll do it! Nasty P-90 snarl? Done! Amazing setup. The best recording guitars I've ever owned.
The RG420's are the only modified axes I have. I swapped the twin IBZ's for a V1/V2 set in both of them. These are my personal favorites. The V2's (bridge) are very smooth with good midrange punch. I can dial up lots of overdrive/distortion/gain with great results. But, they still offer outstanding clean tones. The V1's (neck) are a perfect match for the V2's. Warm clean sounds with nice dynamics and articulation. They'll do the "woman tone" thing too.
Since I'm playing through a POD, I have almost unlimited amp voicings available. Some of my favorite combinations are the VOX AC-30 with the IBZ's, and the Soldano SLO with the V2's.
My experience with aftermarket pickups is limited (mostly) to swaps I've done for other people. I just put a DiMarzio Evolution in my bro's S470. Very nice pickup! I recently installed DiMarzio Model P and Model J pickups in my EXB404 bass. HUGE improvement! The bass player in my band doesn't even bring his to practice anymore. He just plays mine!
Hmm... My "$.02" turned into a buck-fifty!
Cheers
Steve |
Craigjc (Craigjc)
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 2:55 pm: | |
Ahh, yes, the unmistakable tone of the Super6. It's amazing how prominent a single coil with a strong magnetic field can sound. I helped build a guitar with 2 Chandler lipstick tube pickups and a lead DiMarzio Super Distortion once. Everything suggested that the DiMarzio would blow away the Chandlers but the result was the opposite - the lipstick tubes with the bar magnet polepiece had a very big tone that cut through everything.
But if your looking for a classic humbucker tone with more frequency range than a PAF-class humbucker, the Super Distortion is a real good choice.
Don't you wish you could try all these different pickups before buying one? I mean, read any pickup catalog and they describe all of them as the perfect pickup for everyone... |
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