what pickup would you suggest for ibanez artcore guitar?

[mbengs1]

I find the current pickups of my ibanez ajd71 artcore guitar weak and lacking in mids. what pickups do you suggest for neck and bridge positions? I was thinking of putting a dimarzio tone zone in there but i think i'd prefer something else for the long term.

[hellion_213]

1st recommendation- EMGs - 81/85. For more dynamics - mod them 18volt. If you're dead set on passives, maybe try invader/invader or invader/full shred. Good luck

[mbengs1]

Thanks for the input hellion. the guitar is a semi-hollow body i remind you.

[Preacher]

Thanks for the input hellion. the guitar is a semi-hollow body i remind you.

 

Can we get a picture?

[1001gear]

You wanna shred on that? Stuff the cavity and use a booster.

[billybilly]

An Artcore? I'd go Dimarzio 36th Anniversary or some Gibson 57's. It's an Artcore!

 

I had a Tone Zone for awhile, there are much better pickups to choose from.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Seth Lovers

[billybilly]

Good call.

[WRGKMC]

I'd first ask what amp are you using. Makes no sence to change pickups if the amp you're using is a poor match.

[mbengs1]

I'd first ask what amp are you using. Makes no sence to change pickups if the amp you're using is a poor match.

 

I use a bugera 6262 120 watt head with a 2x12 cabinet.

[mbengs1]

I've been listening to pickups on youtube. i liked the sound of the dimarzio crunch lab and X2n. i think i want a hot bridge pickup for my artcore. i think it will sound cool.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

I've been listening to pickups on youtube. i liked the sound of the dimarzio crunch lab and X2n. i think i want a hot bridge pickup for my artcore. i think it will sound cool.

 

Well if you're going that direction, BKP Warpig in the neck and a Miracle Man bridge

[mrbrown49]

 

I use a bugera 6262 120 watt head with a 2x12 cabinet.

 

If your issue is cutting through a mix and mid frequency content I'd try a lower wattage amp and maybe a 1x12 cabinet.

 

Do you really need 120 watts? Tube amps like to be pushed or the frequency response and dynamics can really suffer. How high is the volume control when you are playing?

 

Also, what speakers are in your cab?

[Preacher]

Also, I know this is probably a really dumb question, but have you tried raising the height of the current pickups?

[gardo]

Also' date=' I know this is probably a really dumb question, but have you tried raising the height of the current pickups?[/quote']

 

Also,if I were planning to change pickups , I would try slowly and carefully moving the polepieces . Document what you do,if you don't like it put things back. After all you want to pull them out anyway,nothing to lose and you might even save youself some money.

[bernardo gui]

Gibson Classic 57 - Neck

Gibson Classic 57 Plus - Bridge

 

[wankdeplank]

I think you're making a mistake if you go crunch lab in a semi but what do I know? If it were mine, I'd opt for some Liverpool or Nashville filtertron types from GFS. That's if I was feeling adventurous, otherwise I'd go with the Sharp -Tone PAFs I currently have in my Gibson LP. mfeldman4@hvc.rr.com - this guy makes the best PAF I've played at a reasonable price. Top quality pickups with 3 D sparkly warm tones owing to the mismatched coils and scatter winding.

[WRGKMC]

I'd suggest TV jones.

 

They are one of the better pickups in a semi hollow build and have plenty of output without all the midrange muting high gain pickups produce.

 

Some pickups sound better in solid bodies, and some don't matter what you put in them because the wood isn't a big factor. In a semi, you want to be able to still get that clear tone when you turn down and TV jones does that better then just about anyone.

 

My buddy uses a Peavey Rockingham with TV Jones pups through that same Bugera amp and that sucker screams live. He can get those long Santana type sustains going and bring it down for some nice gutsy blues stuff or crank it up for a heavy ZZ Top tone.

 

If you're into metal you probably got the wrong amp, pickups and guitar so I probably wouldn't waste my time jacking with pickups because its probably not going to get you there.

[hellion_213]

Yeah, my bad, I skimmed and brainfarted. Saw 'ibanez + tone zone' didn't focus on the hollowbody

[mbengs1]

Also' date=' I know this is probably a really dumb question, but have you tried raising the height of the current pickups?[/quote']

 

The pickups are about as close as you can raise them before they touch the strings. i tried the guitar again and the pickups sound alright. but a pickup change will be worth it.

[GAS Man]

I might look at the DiMarzio Air Zone. Like the TZ, it will produce a good amount of bottom end, but it might maintain it's warmth a bit better than the TZ.

[badpenguin]

Stewmac, the Parson street hums.... very tasty.

In my Artcore, an AS73,, I have a Dimarzio Dual Sound, and an unknown Duncan in the bridge. (Stupid paper label) neck has phase reverse, the bridge has series/single/parallel, all wired to a varitone. Very classic tones, that can handle the crunch quite well!

[billybilly]

When guitar players grow up, they no longer use high output pickups.

[hellion_213]

When guitar players grow up' date=' they no longer use high output pickups.[/quote']

 

While I agree (after realizing the OP is modding a hollow body) that high output is not the way to go in this instance, to generalize maturity levels and the output of pickups is absurd. So, you haven't matured as a player unless you play blues, jazz, pop, or classic rock, all while doing so with one of three guitar styles (strat, tele, lap) and one of three brands of amp (fender, buyers, and Roland). The box some of you live in is tiny. High output pickups allow for things that low output either struggle with or simply cannot do/are not capable of. Active high outputs push through a pedal chain like its not even there, delivering consistent tone and response. Why limit yourself to the 50s reissued this and that, having to buy pedals to compensate, when a simple upgrade is all that's required. Would you go around, today, without a cell phone? Or better yet, without a smartphone? Probably not. Then why are you dead set against anything designed after 1956? Or for fender lovers - mid 60s. You know the signs of old age? Struggling with technology, not adapting to the times, and keeping the volume down. There's nothing wrong with people preferring low output p-90s or whatever, the same as there's nothing wrong with folks wanting that Super Hot Bucker that has to be gated at volume levels over 1.5.

[Grant Harding]

I find the current pickups of my ibanez ajd71 artcore guitar weak and lacking in mids. what pickups do you suggest for neck and bridge positions? I was thinking of putting a dimarzio tone zone in there but i think i'd prefer something else for the long term.

The first thing I'd suggest is to lower the pickups and see how that goes. You might need to turn the amp up a bit, but the chunkiness, clarity and sweetness are likely to improve if you currently have them almost touching the strings. This is a less is more thing.