pickup selection!help!!

callen3615 · #1 03-26-2008, 11:33 PM

hi im new to this forum, and to guitar. i have been playing for about 3months and love it. i have 3 ibanezs. a rg470, rg320dx qm, and a 320sz. Love the 470 but the sustain and output is kinda sad.

I installed an evo in the bridge myslelf but i want more sustain and a more driven sound, more punchy. i love the sound of emg81s but im not putting anything active in this guitar, not messin with that! im looking at dimbuckers, and the x2n. i want a kirk hammet sound but no actives please. thanks for the help!

losgatosrg350dx · #2 03-27-2008, 01:03 AM

nothing is better or more versatile then either a x2n or a bill lawrence xl500 orgional dimebucker

you will not get dimes sound with a dimebucker, its a crappy knock off of the bill lawrence xl500

the x2n is very versatile but you also have to concider it likes 1 meg volume pots with a 500ktone to really hear it scream....you will get more sound and possibly what you are looking for with a evo in it, just wire it up hotter

what wiring specs are you using...i liked the evo for years and i think its rad...and the x2n can actually bring out alot of the compromisable qualities in a guitar...so you have to do alot of shielding, and really clean wiring with hot pups

id suggest get a 1 meg volume and leave your 500k tone pot wlone on your ibz, and see how you like it...x2n is all out ballz, but the dimbucker is all out minge

:-)

and a great passive setup is no match for emg actives....so i congradulate you on your path your heading on....sometimes even the crappy wires they use in guitars when they wire it up to cut on cost can affect your sound, remember its not worth it to just replace one thing...make it matter and make sure you are shielded and grounded and wired up nice and neat....you might just like that evo you got in there

barbarelaxe · #3 03-27-2008, 01:37 AM

better sustain also comes from your fingers. If you just started playing 3 months ago then keep practicing for a few more months. Your sustain will improve with time. sure your guitars does not come with the best pickups in the world but give it some more time then make up your mind.

kotornut · #4 03-27-2008, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callen3615

hi im new to this forum, and to guitar. i have been playing for about 3months and love it. i have 3 ibanezs. a rg470, rg320dx qm, and a 320sz. Love the 470 but the sustain and output is kinda sad.

I installed an evo in the bridge myslelf but i want more sustain and a more driven sound, more punchy. i love the sound of emg81s but im not putting anything active in this guitar, not messin with that! im looking at dimbuckers, and the x2n. i want a kirk hammet sound but no actives please. thanks for the help!

Please don't take this the wrong way but since you are new to guitar I would say forget about the gear for now. Concentrate on improving your skills for a while. Give yourself a year or two and then worry about gear.

All the gear in the world won't help you if you don't have the chops. If you want to sound like Kirk Hammet learn to play well and then you can develop better and better ability which will translate in to great tone. At that point you can worry about equipment.

I know that it's really appealing to get into everythign guitar but we all do get quite destracted by equipment, when we should focus on learning to play better. This is especially important when you begin playing.

I admit I spend at least 3-4 hours looking on the internet for cool gear rather than practicing like I should.

kotornut · #5 03-27-2008, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by losgatosrg350dx

nothing is better or more versatile then either a x2n or a bill lawrence xl500 orgional dimebucker

you will not get dimes sound with a dimebucker, its a crappy knock off of the bill lawrence xl500

the x2n is very versatile but you also have to concider it likes 1 meg volume pots with a 500ktone to really hear it scream....you will get more sound and possibly what you are looking for with a evo in it, just wire it up hotter

what wiring specs are you using...i liked the evo for years and i think its rad...and the x2n can actually bring out alot of the compromisable qualities in a guitar...so you have to do alot of shielding, and really clean wiring with hot pups

id suggest get a 1 meg volume and leave your 500k tone pot wlone on your ibz, and see how you like it...x2n is all out ballz, but the dimbucker is all out minge

:-)

and a great passive setup is no match for emg actives....so i congradulate you on your path your heading on....sometimes even the crappy wires they use in guitars when they wire it up to cut on cost can affect your sound, remember its not worth it to just replace one thing...make it matter and make sure you are shielded and grounded and wired up nice and neat....you might just like that evo you got in there

I think you could do with a healthy dose of my advice as well.

callen3615 · #6 03-27-2008, 09:43 AM

how do i wire them in "Hotter", (im new to this) i just wired them in the way the stocks were in there. the evo doesnt sound as ballsy as the mojoe i put in my 320 sz, could i have soldered it in wrong???

callen3615 · #7 03-27-2008, 09:53 AM

i dont think the rg470 diagram on ibanez website matches my setup. when i was installing i tryd it that way and my switch configuration was totally screwd? half of the positions were silent a had 2 bridge chanels and one neck, no single coil at all???? i guessed and i think i got it rite. at least the positions are correct i know that for a fact.

losgatosrg350dx · #8 03-27-2008, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callen3615

how do i wire them in "Hotter", (im new to this) i just wired them in the way the stocks were in there. the evo doesnt sound as ballsy as the mojoe i put in my 320 sz, could i have soldered it in wrong???

could be anything

you boost the gain, responce,and pickup dynamics when you add better wiring on the inside, and a higher volume pot like a 1 meg pot

i beleiv eyou have two 500k pots one for tone and one for volume

a 500k, give almost half the output that a 1 meg pot will give out out the guitar

and yes, learning to play can help you, but if you want your guitars to sound good, your always welcome to modddddddd it uuuuupppp like theres no tomorow

im not a great player, but i love to be very technical about all my gear and amps and guitars, i only get what I want, for the things I want it to do, and it makes me very happy..hell my gear blows away full mesa stacks and im only running a 60 watt rack tube amp and its louder than most gigs ive been to, louder than monitors and louder than pa's

but let along doesnt make it better or worse its just how i like it

a hotter setup just means you put in quality angel wire betwen he connections wich has the most surface area for electrons to go through, and has less lagg time than the cheap radio shack copper wire some guitars have. even using shielded wires between connections improves dynamics by 50 percent, but thats just what i have noticed and ive done wiring all kinds of ways when i was younger and experiementing. some poeple can tell the difference some people cant. i suggest maybe reiring your evos maybe in a hotter config. and you might like them. i loved them, but i eventually went to the x2n route and ill never go back

losgatosrg350dx · #9 03-27-2008, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callen3615

i dont think the rg470 diagram on ibanez website matches my setup. when i was installing i tryd it that way and my switch configuration was totally screwd? half of the positions were silent a had 2 bridge chanels and one neck, no single coil at all???? i guessed and i think i got it rite. at least the positions are correct i know that for a fact.

you might be missing a bridge grount from the volume pot to one of the 5 way lugs..maybe i have this issue on a jem diagram, i thought everything was wired right, then i missed a slight small wire that bridged some ground sections....did you ever get it fixed to work right, what was the problem??

callen3615 · #10 03-27-2008, 09:34 PM

what 1 meg pots should i get for a rg, and can i just change the volume pot or do i have to change both tone and vol???

CosmicDebris · #11 03-27-2008, 09:45 PM

Several factors not addressed here can affect sustain and output.

1. String action/hight - Too low will cause sustain problems.

2. Pickup height - If your pups are too high it will cause magnetic drag on the strings and kill sustain. Too low and out put will not be as high.

Follow this link, read it, know it, and practice it. A poor setup will adversly affect playabiility.

http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/index.htm

losgatosrg350dx · #12 03-27-2008, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callen3615

what 1 meg pots should i get for a rg, and can i just change the volume pot or do i have to change both tone and vol???

cts pots are really great really great i love them - there are some better ones ive seen around the net for audio aplications for hq stuff that are like 80 bux each but makes no difference for a guitar. i love using 1 meg cts volume and 500k cts tone, in my case i use a 1 meg push pull becasue i like to coil tapp right off my volume

i also get shielding, i shield everything and i run grounds to all parts that are shielded and i solder all the seams that come together. i also make sure all my control cavities have shielding going over the lips so the cavity covers that are shielded are touching tight, and make sure its all clean not painted or dirty. i also use a really thin version of rg6 type coaxial wire, i dont know what its called i get it from my amp tech, its a a niken plated copper angel wire in the center with a shielded wrap that also has wire lead on it. i use this from the volume pot to the output. and in between the switches i use niken plated copper angel wire. just some info, i know its a bit off topic but thats what i use. its what i used for my earlier jackson mods that all had evo's in them, and they sounded spectacular.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CosmicDebris

Several factors not addressed here can affect sustain and output.

1. String action/hight - Too low will cause sustain problems.

2. Pickup height - If your pups are too high it will cause magnetic drag on the strings and kill sustain. Too low and out put will not be as high.

Follow this link, read it, know it, and practice it. A poor setup will adversly affect playabiility.

http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/index.htm

this is also true, even bridge adjustments can affect you guitar before you concider doing the best wiring job, make sure your setup is perfect, becasue i had issues with sustain with just string height(saddle height adj) problems in the past

**elcid** · #13 03-27-2008, 10:00 PM

Learn to play guitar before you start worrying about little things like pot values. You have 3 entry-mid level guitars and dont mention anything about your amp. If you want Hammett's sound get EMGs, a Boogie and practice for the next 20 years.

callen3615 · #14 03-27-2008, 11:25 PM

any specs important on the 1 meg pot?

bdk · #15 03-28-2008, 04:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callen3615

hi im new to this forum, and to guitar. i have been playing for about 3months and love it. i have 3 ibanezs. a rg470, rg320dx qm, and a 320sz. Love the 470 but the sustain and output is kinda sad.

I installed an evo in the bridge myslelf but i want more sustain and a more driven sound, more punchy. i love the sound of emg81s but im not putting anything active in this guitar, not messin with that! im looking at dimbuckers, and the x2n. i want a kirk hammet sound but no actives please. thanks for the help!

What kind of amp do you play? An evolution should be plenty. Hate to say it, all those "high output" pickups sound the same. The truth is, metal doesn't require tone. Or even expensive pickups!!! You just need a hot preamp.