Pups replacement on Ibanez.
- Thread starter Phil
- Start date
faekildare
New member
Dimarzio Evolution neck !!!
Dude, don't you have a Hellion there? What are you specifically unhappy/unsatisfied with?
If you want fat but low output... you can try to get 10k but spec for a weaker magnet, maybe Alnico 2...
Problem is, the weaker the magnet, the less highs it has, so it tends to mud up quickly with the higher winding. That's why those heavily overwound pickups use Alnico 5. Alnico 2s usually hit 9k on the winds and that's about it, on to the next strong magnet e.g. A3, A8, etc etc.
I'd suggest you try HighOrder pickups. Email the fella there for recommendations - he will talk you thru and he did an amazing job on my order. He makes a nice handwound (where I believe the magic is) pup for the price of a Dimarzio.
You'd also want to take into consideration how your RG sounds like in the first place. Listen carefully to the acoustics - is the sound thin-ish or does it have the potential for fatter sounds. If you like the EQ of your guitar, or the feel... or look... and you don't want to change the guitar, you can consider getting a brass trem block for the Edge Pro. Or swap it for a nice Edge/Lo-Pro Edge. I'd recommend a new guitar.
If you want fat but low output... you can try to get 10k but spec for a weaker magnet, maybe Alnico 2...
Problem is, the weaker the magnet, the less highs it has, so it tends to mud up quickly with the higher winding. That's why those heavily overwound pickups use Alnico 5. Alnico 2s usually hit 9k on the winds and that's about it, on to the next strong magnet e.g. A3, A8, etc etc.
I'd suggest you try HighOrder pickups. Email the fella there for recommendations - he will talk you thru and he did an amazing job on my order. He makes a nice handwound (where I believe the magic is) pup for the price of a Dimarzio.
You'd also want to take into consideration how your RG sounds like in the first place. Listen carefully to the acoustics - is the sound thin-ish or does it have the potential for fatter sounds. If you like the EQ of your guitar, or the feel... or look... and you don't want to change the guitar, you can consider getting a brass trem block for the Edge Pro. Or swap it for a nice Edge/Lo-Pro Edge. I'd recommend a new guitar.
Phil
New member
Shred,
Thanks for the advice. I've the Hellion in the bridge position. The ones in the neck are the stock pups, which I think are due for a change.
I like this guitar, and I've other thicker fatter sounding guitars, just that I'd like to have this particular one suited to my tastes as well.
Thanks for the advice. I've the Hellion in the bridge position. The ones in the neck are the stock pups, which I think are due for a change.
I like this guitar, and I've other thicker fatter sounding guitars, just that I'd like to have this particular one suited to my tastes as well.
Whitestrat
New member
Air Nortons might not cut the fat and creamy bit for you... I'm thinking Evolution Necks or PAF Joes...
This is why the PAF Joe might be good here. It's fat, but it's got surprising clarity... That's something odd in a neck pup. The Evolution might put off some, but I find it very articulate yet loose at the same time. Squishy even (though not as much as the PAF Joe). The Air Notron is too sterile and too focused for my liking...
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If you flipped the AN around - it has a slightly different sound. But that's on a 22 fret neck... on a 24... I dunno.
As for the PAF Joe - its actually very hollow sounding, don't you think? It sounds a lot like a single coil pickup... hollow, squishy... not exactly compressed, very breathy.
As for the PAF Joe - its actually very hollow sounding, don't you think? It sounds a lot like a single coil pickup... hollow, squishy... not exactly compressed, very breathy.
Whitestrat
New member
Not under sufficient (not necessarily high) gain. Depends on the amp used too. I've found situation where my PAF Joes are a wall of sound just on one note, and it's lush. Not exactly focused like the AN, but the highs present make up for that. But for me, that hollowness is exactly what I'm after... I think an Evolution neck would be the best compromise between the 2 (PJ and AN)
The AN, yes, it does sound slighly different, but not different enough. The characteristics are the same regardless.
Whitestrat
New member
Could be a bit hot for his use as a neck pup.
This is my to-go-to Alnico pup from Dimarzio. Its the better Tonezone IMO. No muddy flubby low end but bassy enough. Slightly less hot.
MadWerewolfBoy
New member
Maybe the AirZone would be good for you in the neck position. I haven't personally tried the AirZone in the neck position, but I've heard a ToneZone S in neck position and it has this very fat jazz sound. It lacks a large amount of natural trebles but not so much so that its complete mud. This really really fat round sound Might be or might not be what you're looking for.
I like this guitar, and I've other thicker fatter sounding guitars, just that I'd like to have this particular one suited to my tastes as well.
I thought I missed something and I came back to have another look...
Eh... you mentioned you have other "thicker fatter sounding guitars"... why are they like that? What guitars are they and what pickups are they using?
The thing is this - if you have a thin sounding guitar (acoustically thin sounding) with an uber fat neck humbucker (e.g. Tonezone) - the tone would sound... fat. And that's it. Its fat. It probably wouldn't possess certain qualities that I think would be really good to have. The fatness come from the humbucker, not the guitar.
Have you tried a fat sounding guitar - like say an LP - and played the neck pup... and its some vintagey low output thing. Surprisingly, the tone is fat yet articulate, full of character (the right amount of squishyness, sweetness, little nuances in the tone here and there) and actually sort of alive. And the pup is low output - weaker alnico magnets and low number of winds...
I don't mean to slam your guitar or what but... if your guitar has a certain sound on its own, the upgrades available for changing the tone (short of changing the wood/body/neck) probably would only cop the ideal tone at best.
Personal preference, I use hot pickups anywhere.