Pickup Selection

[rocknrolldork]

I recently bought and refinished another 1981 Ibanez Blazer guitar. Ash body, maple neck and fretboard. I'm looking at pickup selection....... I'm playing covers. The covers are all over the board. Sam the Sham and the Pharohs, Katy Perry, VH, GnR, Ramones, Dave Matthews, Zep, Beatles, Commodores, Chicago, AC/DC, Keith Urban, Billy Currington, etc... I really want to make this a "do all" guitar. I liked the PRS Artist pickups so well that I picked up another set of them, but I'm not 100% sold on putting them in this guitar. Any pickup suggestions that would make this guitar sing for all of the tunes we do would be much appreciated.

[jhale667]

M'kay...
Ash body, maple neck...aforementioned cover selection Duncan JB or Custom Custom perhaps?

[GAR]

Depends on the amp..

[Diamondjimi]

Depends on the amp..

It STARTS with the guitar...

[Coyote]

I thought it started with the guitarIST...

[kwame k]

Any suggestions for my 96' Tele.........I'm more of an acoustic type player and use very little distortion. The stock pickups are OK but really looking for something to make that classic Tele-twang!!!!!

[jhale667]

Any suggestions for my 96' Tele.........I'm more of an acoustic type player and use very little distortion. The stock pickups are OK but really looking for something to make that classic Tele-twang!!!!!

Look into some Duncan Antiquities, or perhaps the Dimarzio Twang King set?

[jhale667]

Dupe post.

[jhale667]

It STARTS with the guitar...

I thought it started with the guitarIST...

You're both right.

[GAR]

In this kinda guitar, I'd like to see a Seymour Duncan Full Shred, or a mixed pickup with the screws-side bobbin from a '59, and the slugs-side bobbin from a Duncan Distortion.

The four-conductor wiring configured with a volume pull-pot switch engaging the center tap to ground, for a WEAK single-coil output, would get your universal pop tone, while disengaged (knob down) would engage both coils normal config for high-output and meatier tone sensing closer to the middle of the guitar.

But that choice for me would depend on the amp: both pickups would work for what you're trying to do, but I'd select the alnico mag for the previous mention if you're using a tube amp, and the Full Shred if you have alot of shitty solid-state in the lineup or even solid-state amp.

Solid-state amps function in a very linear way to the ear, and when you're looking for saturated harmonic distortion and the choice to roll-off output to zero and get every tone in-between, you need as high an output as you can get - this is best had using a ceramic mag pickup. At a budget I'd use a Dimarzio super-distortion or X2N from the parts box, but even then I'd try to do the ol' "peel-down" method off the screws-side.

High-gain tube amps are less defined by super-high output ceramic pickups.. their input impedance is already @ 1meg and although anything 9.5K impedance and above will help with percieved volume, the harmonic overtones will diminish.

An example of this is lookng at some of the guitarists you cite in your target tones list there: look at their earlier recordings and how later, those tones diminished in dynamics with the increasingly hotter and hotter pickup outputs they recorded with.

Whatever your choice of pickup, a coil-tapping vol pot switch is around fifteen bucks, and effectively cuts the output of any pickup by half. If nobody knows what i'm talking about, I belive Cato may have saved pics of my tutorial I did of pickup potting and coil modification almost 10 years ago.. if not, I can see if I can recover off one of the dead PCs' in storage over the holidays.

[Diamondjimi]

Did anyone read that? Christ, it sounds like he's talking to himself....

[indeedido]

+1 on the Duncan JB. That was my first thought. That pickup is a universal tone good for most covers.

[indeedido]

After thinking about it, those came with either single coils or humbucker in the bridge. What config is yours?

[rocknrolldork]

It had humbuckers in it. The body has a holes for a neck and bridge humbuckers and 1 single coil in the middle. I'm checking out the Duncan pickups right now on youtube. Seems like a pretty versatile pickup.

[Diamondjimi]

+1 on the Duncan JB. That was my first thought. That pickup is a universal tone good for most covers.

Agree on that one. Probably the most versatile pickup I've ever used. I cleans up nice and is also perfect for crunch tones as well..

[jhale667]

Did anyone read that? Christ, it sounds like he's talking to himself....

+1 on the Duncan JB. That was my first thought. That pickup is a universal tone good for most covers.

Yep, the "go-to" rock pickup...

[GAR]

If you order the JB, request one with 4-conductor wiring for the tapping option I mentioned.

[GAR]

It had humbuckers in it. The body has a holes for a neck and bridge humbuckers and 1 single coil in the middle. I'm checking out the Duncan pickups right now on youtube. Seems like a pretty versatile pickup.

One of the hunk-o-junkers I have in the box is also an '81, but it's a single-hum rout.

But where to find a pickguard you know? So I looked up Chandler who I met at a guitar show, 1988

http://pickguards.us/

Chandler guitars has been off and on forever, but his money is really into doing perfect pickguards. He's the best.

What he told me about these Blazers is 1) these are becoming a most-requested pickguard 2) there's about 6 different patterns total.

3) He told me: he has all 6 in template form, as he does OEM work for all Jap custom-shop and US maker guitar companies. But to match up say, just any Blazer pickup config, to a certain year, you have to make a pencil-tracing of the holes and pickup-routs so he can match up for the exact one to go with it.

4) He can give you any color Blazer plastic-stock you want (white-black-white, black-white-black etc.) but the price is still gonna be over $40 with shipping.

Here's what I think - for $40 to get a perfect fitting Blazer pickguard replacement, from the original template by probably the original machine that made it, I think Paul's your go-to guy for that.

Chandlers work is perfection and consistent for over 30 years as far as I've seen..

[jhale667]

If you order the JB, request one with 4-conductor wiring for the tapping option I mentioned.

The standard on anything except a '59 and Antiquities is 4-conductor, you'd have to specify to get 2.

[GAR]

That's new to me! Guess that shows the age of my pickup collection..

[Nitro Express]

That's new to me! Guess that shows the age of my pickup collection..

A collection so thin, it's like hardly having a collection at all.

[Nitro Express]

I thought it started with the guitarIST...

It does. A nice pickup on a nice guitar through a nice amp through a nice speaker just allows a shitty player to suck better.

[GAR]

A collection so thin, it's like hardly having a collection at all.

Exactly two Harbor Freight Tools aluminum briefcases full with a range and quantity to last a lifetime.

[chefcraig]

It does. A nice pickup on a nice guitar through a nice amp through a nice speaker just allows a shitty player to suck better.

Sort of like the time Ted Nugent wanted to play through EVH's "magic box". When Nuge played Ed's set up, he wound up sounding like...Ted Nugent.

[jhale667]

Sort of like the time Ted Nugent wanted to play through EVH's "magic box". When Nuge played Ed's set up, he wound up sounding like...Ted Nugent.

BINGO. Therefore, if you haven't picked up the guitar in oh...20 years....a tractor trailer's worth of pickups won't help.

In other words:
BACK TO THE WOODSHED, GARfail. Take the box o' crappy pickups with you.

[Matt White]

my vote?

JB in the bridge...sustainiac in the neck position......

[GAR]

my vote?

JB in the bridge...sustainiac in the neck position......

AH the old "Edwards Sustainer" Pickups.. good call!

That's one I don't have.. I do not recall, but do you know: does that thing induce magnetic draw on the strings?

In other words, you hold a screwdriver or something magnetic on it - does it pull? I think it does.

If the Sustainer circuit and (they called it a "sensor-driver" pickup) coils are magnetic, that may have been why I passed on it. You get the same sustain level with two cabinets... but of course you can't use two cabs at 3am when you get a stiff dick of an idea flowin'.. like I say the trade-off is a good call..

[rocknrolldork]

I ended up going with a classic strat style pickguard (made myself!) and put JB Jr's in the bridge and neck and a 1/4 pounder in the middle. I added a tap switch to both the JB's. I really like this config. So much that I just loaded my Fender with the same pups and config. My only complaint is that the neck/middle and bridge/middle selections sound a bit thin when tapped. At first I thought it was a phasing issue but now I think that is just the way the pups work with each other.

Thanks for the suggestions fellas!

[jhale667]

Glad you found a set you're pleased with. JB Jr's. are cool, as are Quarter Pounders...

[Nitro Express]

I'm going to try a McRib or Big Mac myself.

[rocknrolldork]

Never had the McRib.

The quarter pounder's magnets are so strong it was kind of tough to set. I can feel the magnets pulling on the strings. Sounds great though.