software

I'm definitely in the market for a new bridge pickup. The stock one just doesn't cut it. Since the guitar is so slim, it just seems like there is no way to get a heavy sound of out it. Maybe there isn't. I play through a Mesa Dual Rectifier, but there seems to be no hope for that guitar as is. Also, what is a trembucker? I guess that it has something to do with floating bridges? Anyway, the link to my guitar is as follows:

from : localhost/you have any ideas as to what pickup would make this guitar sound awesome, let me know. Thank you.

welcome to the forum!!

a trembucker is a pup with slightly wider spaced pole pieces for guitars that have string spacing over 2quot;

duncan also makes parallel axis trembuckers which look different but were made for guitars like yours to get a thicker tone.

what are you looking for in a pup? what style of music? do you detune?

I don't take it below Drop D. As for the style of music, I'll just say metal. I never really noticed how empty the guitar sounded until I played a Gibson SG through my amp.

I suppose I want more output. No matter how I set the amp up, it just doesn't scream like I want it to. I don't want it to sound muddy. I like when it sounds really bright and deep at the same time. I don't want to push the amp. I want the guitar to. I like when a guitar is so powerful that you actually need to lower the settings on the amp.

I have a rough time explaining it. I hope you can take something from it.

I might be making a poor assumption, but since you have a Mesa Rectifier and an Ibanez S series guitar are you looking for a wicked metal tone?

EDIT
Already answered the question I see...

Well, if you want a great metal tone, you might do well to check out EMG's... but I've heard about the S-Series guitars having little to no space in their cavities for batteries to power the pickups.

If it's leading to quot;it's not gonna happen,quot; I already thought of that. I suppose there is always room for improvement though.

That's why I avoided looking there. There's really no room for an active pickup.

Would I need to use a trembucker, or could I use a standard humbucker?

More than likely on the trembucker, I suggest a Patb2 for the bridge, that thing sounds monstrous.

Any other suggestions?

I would suggest either the Distortion, Custom/Custom, or the Invader (if you really need to add some beef). The first two are among my favorite humbuckers in the bridge. The DD has quite a bit of lower mids and stays real tight in the bottom, with harmonics galore. The Custom/Custom has a big mid spike but still has plenty of thump, but the bass is a little looser (think VH brown). The Invader has the biggest bass response of any pickup I've ever tried. If it doesn't fatten up that guitar, I don't know what would.


Originally Posted by Wascalit just seems like there is no way to get a heavy sound of out it. Maybe there isn't. I play through a Mesa Dual Rectifier, but there seems to be no hope for that guitar as is. Also, what is a trembucker? I guess that it has something to do with floating bridges? Anyway, the link to my guitar is as follows:

from : localhost/you have any ideas as to what pickup would make this guitar sound awesome, let me know. Thank you.

I used to play an Ibanez S540, a long long long time ago, and had the same problem. Beautiful looking and playing instrument, wimpy tone.

Since you use a Mesa Dualie, I'd suggest staying away from higher output pickups. That thing has SO MUCH preamp gain inside it, so why not use what you paid for? Let your pups capture the wood, and the amp crank up the voltage. Try any of the lower output or quot;vintagequot; output pups out there, and see what you think. For your guitar, you'd prolly want something with a strong bass and/or low-mid response, and a balanced or pulled back treble - but that's just an educated guess. Adjust for taste and particular guitar quirks.

If this idea sounds lame, then go for a Custom, Distortion, JB, or Custom-Custom from Seymour. If you want to try Dimarzios, then Air Zone, Air Zone, or maybe the Air Zone. Seriously, that pickup was made for guitars like yours. The Breed neck or bridge model might also be be nifty. These are bridge pups recommendations, by the way.

Since it seems like you haven't narrowed down a list yet, maybe you should first try finding a bridge pup you like. That will make it MUCH easier and faster to nail down the middle and neck pups.

Hope this is helpful!

Stay high output. It'll keep tighter under high gain. I still don't buy this whole quot;low output with high gain ampquot; crap.

Get some EMG's - 85 for a thicker tone, 81 for a more cutting tone. Listen to Between The Buried and Me. It's all 81 loaded S's into Dual Recto's.

There's enough room for a battery in there, trust me.

Then, get a tubescreamer and run it infront of that amp. Turn the amps gain down a notch from where you usually run it, set the tubescreamer up for gain at 9 o clock, level at noon, and tone at 10:30, and let 'er rip. It'll sound that much better.

I wasn't planning on changing the other pickups. I actually like how they sound on a clean channel. I was definitely lookin' into the SH-4 and SH-8. The SH-8 just sounds really muddy to me. I'm not sure what my opinion is on the SH-4 though. I don't want to really go by trial and error. I want to do it right the first time.

The SH-4 will probably be to middy and bright for your situation. I'd lean toward a DiMarzio Super Distortion or Breed. They tend to thicken bright guitars...

I don't really want a pickup with quot;distortionquot; in the name. My amp has more than enough of that to go around.

The Duncan Distortion is perhaps the worst named pickup of all s. Don't let the name fool you. It is more versatile than one thinks by the name alone.

I'd hope so. I really don't want a pickup to sound distorted without using distortion.

Well, the Duncan Distortion won't do that. It's like a JB with higher output and a lot more balls. Nice tone, but not over the top. You might like the Duncan Custom, too, but it might be too bright for your axe.

Somebody else suggested the Dimarzio Air Zone. I agree completely! It sounds bigger than the ToneZone itself, and less quot;abrassivequot; to put it somehow. It's made to Les Paulize wimpy guitars like yours and mine.

When I think about it, any pickup that sounds muddy to anyone else, would probably brighten up instantly on my guitar. I definitely need something with a lot of bass and mid. I'm gonna look into some of the pickups you all suggested. Just keep 'em coming, please. Thanks.

Having posted on this form for several years, I have seen this subject in the past. Folks in the past have recommended Dimarzios for Ibanez guitars because of the wood that the instrument is made of. The ToneZone was recommended a lot from what I recall. The PAF or any version of a PAF would work nicely also. Depending on what type of tone you are after, you could use lower output pups and have a very versital guitar, very articulate under high gain (regardless of what other members might think) listen to Steve Vai's for the Love of God (Dimarzio PAFs in that guitar). If you what heavier metal tones try the tonezone or an airzone (Paul Gilbert used the Tonezone on most of the Mr. Big stuff).

Most of the Duncan line was found to be too bright in Ibanez guitars at that time (about 4 or 5 years ago) but maybe the newer ones are made and Duncans now work well with them. That was the thought process back then, something to think about.

I have no idea. I really never had the urge to change a pickup until I played this guitar. With SD, I've been lookin' at who plays the pickup that way I have a better sense of comparison. The guitar comes stock with DiMarzio pickups, I guess they just aren't good.