s470

[mrjakob69]

so i am acquiring an s470 with the like snake inlays from a guy on craigslist for 175, its got the lo-trs and the wizard II he had it upgraded with duel emg 85's i am going to take them out and put them in a jackson, because i think no self respecting ibanez player ever uses emg's in an ibanez. no idea what pickups i will put in yet, but i want to know more about this guitar is it a good s-series or what gimme the low down guys.

[superhairycamel]

lo trs is a pretty bad bridge you wont be able to have faith in it staying in tune

[GuitarBizarre]

[quote=superhairycamel;853084]lo trs is a reasonable bridge you wont be able to have complete, unshakeable zealous faith in it staying in tune, but itll do./QUOTE]

Fixed.

As regards the guitar - Its reasonable. general consensus is that the wizard II necks aren't as good as original wizards. Owning both I have to say I agree in terms of playability but my Wizard II S does have a much fuller tone than my wizard. The inlays are cool, the Lo-TRS isn't as horrible as some would have you believe (Although its no edge)

As for the EMG's, theres a bitchin 550 with EMGs in it in here right now and nobody's giving him any grief over it not being specced with 'self respecting ibanez players pickups', dont buy into that kinda thing, it hurts your decision making based on merits, and results in you making biased decisions that might not be the best for you.

EMGs are good pickups as long as you like the sound, just don't be swayed by popular opinion, because frankly the people who are happy with their EMGs dont figure into it. The only opinions you'll get are from zealots, fanboys, or alternatively people who really hate them. I have both a V7 V8 set, a Dim/IBZ set, and an Evo2 set in my guitars, along with dual 81's in my Viper 400, and frankly the EMGs aren't my thing, too scooped for my liking, but theres lots of people who love that. Try em out for a while and mess with your tone. You may find you like em.

Edit: For 175 most people would consider just the EMG's worth most of that. You're getting a mid level ibanez attached to those aswell, so yeah, you got a good deal even if it isn't most people heres 'dream guitar'. As long as you like it things are cool.

[mrjakob69]

[quote=GuitarBizarre;853095]

Originally Posted by superhairycamel

lo trs is a reasonable bridge you wont be able to have complete, unshakeable zealous faith in it staying in tune, but itll do./QUOTE]

Fixed.

As regards the guitar - Its reasonable. general consensus is that the wizard II necks aren't as good as original wizards. Owning both I have to say I agree in terms of playability but my Wizard II S does have a much fuller tone than my wizard. The inlays are cool, the Lo-TRS isn't as horrible as some would have you believe (Although its no edge)

As for the EMG's, theres a bitchin 550 with EMGs in it in here right now and nobody's giving him any grief over it not being specced with 'self respecting ibanez players pickups', dont buy into that kinda thing, it hurts your decision making based on merits, and results in you making biased decisions that might not be the best for you.

EMGs are good pickups as long as you like the sound, just don't be swayed by popular opinion, because frankly the people who are happy with their EMGs dont figure into it. The only opinions you'll get are from zealots, fanboys, or alternatively people who really hate them. I have both a V7 V8 set, a Dim/IBZ set, and an Evo2 set in my guitars, along with dual 81's in my Viper 400, and frankly the EMGs aren't my thing, too scooped for my liking, but theres lots of people who love that. Try em out for a while and mess with your tone. You may find you like em.

Edit: For 175 most people would consider just the EMG's worth most of that. You're getting a mid level ibanez attached to those aswell, so yeah, you got a good deal even if it isn't most people heres 'dream guitar'. As long as you like it things are cool.

i only say no self respecting ibanez player because i own 2 rg350's one ex and one dx and the dx has an evo set in it,i have 2 jacksons and one of them is a custom zakk wylde painted dinky and that needs the duel 85's even tho its not the zw set. i just am of the opinion that emg's sound better in jacksons because of the constrution of a jackson. i was a jackson fan boy first i have a dinky and an rr but man when i played an ibanez could i feel the difference and i still can, and i just like ibanez's more, i consider emg's more of a not so good tone wood compensator, and with dimarzios or ibz pickups i feel like it utilizes the wood so much more. thanks for you opinion.

[CalledToArms]

i use the emg 81 85 set in all of my ibbys :P (including 2 of those being an s5470 and an s470 )

[mrjakob69]

Originally Posted by CalledToArms

i use the emg 81 85 set in all of my ibbys :P (including 2 of those being an s5470 and an s470 )

ya i guess im coming around to accept that fact i love emg and i love jackson i just think they are best when paired, i dunno its all taste i own emg and dimarzios so i guess im just being a snob.

[GuitarBizarre]

Originally Posted by mrjakob69

ya i guess im coming around to accept that fact i love emg and i love jackson i just think they are best when paired, i dunno its all taste i own emg and dimarzios so i guess im just being a snob.

I can't really say I agree with you about EMGs...I don't like them but I also think they're very good at doing what they were designed to do. Theres lotsa folks who have EMG's in ibbys and I say if it suits em go for it.

But I guess we all have our bias.

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Now playing: Michael Angelo - Outsideinside
via FoxyTunes

[mrjakob69]

Originally Posted by GuitarBizarre

I can't really say I agree with you about EMGs...I don't like them but I also think they're very good at doing what they were designed to do. Theres lotsa folks who have EMG's in ibbys and I say if it suits em go for it.

But I guess we all have our bias.

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Now playing: Michael Angelo - Outsideinside
via FoxyTunes

all im saying is that emg's are designed to make up for lack of tone wood thus them being active because they need that extra punch from somewhere other then the wood and ibanez are great tone wood guitars and putting emg's in them i think robs you of what you have. i dunno if someone can set me straight i woudl love it but thats how i see it and i have owned many many guitars with emg's take a guitar with ok pickups and replace them with emg's and you have a great metal guitar, scooped badass metal, play clean tho and you got another story. they are good for what they do thats all. not very versitile....i own emg's i love them but they are very very linear.

[GuitarBizarre]

Originally Posted by mrjakob69

all im saying is that emg's are designed to make up for lack of tone wood thus them being active because they need that extra punch from somewhere other then the wood and ibanez are great tone wood guitars and putting emg's in them i think robs you of what you have. i dunno if someone can set me straight i woudl love it but thats how i see it and i have owned many many guitars with emg's take a guitar with ok pickups and replace them with emg's and you have a great metal guitar, scooped badass metal, play clean tho and you got another story. they are good for what they do thats all. not very versitile....i own emg's i love them but they are very very linear.

They do impart their own freqencies on the guitar a little bit by being active, but at the end of the day the signal being put through that little preamp is still the signal generated by that string on that bridge and that piece of wood. The differences between two emg equipped guitars are pretty obvious as long as the guitars in question are aswell. They're far from a 'compensator'.

In terms of construction, jackson necks really aren't built all that different from ibanez. Thin and flat, low action. In theory they should sound even better because they still use a block heel, but I'm doubtful thats ever made a true difference myself, I like the AANJ just fine.

Oh, and I'll point out that the Reb Beach Koa signature actually came with EMG's as standard on the more expensive model, and Ibanez own pickups on the lower end models, and both sound fantastic.

It really is just an option. Its a different style of pickup and has its advantages and its drawbacks, but frankly I think writing them off as some kind of 'lame tonewood cure-all' isn't just presumptuous but about as close to 'wrong' as I would dare to label someone elses opinion.


Double edit: Oh, and the 'reason' for them being active isn't the one you've assumed either. Active pickups can generate a much louder volume with a much lower output magnet, so they can achieve a pleasing sound with much less string pull, so you can set them much closer to the strings with no problems, AND high output when needed. It also means they can make high output humbuckers that are very bright naturally, as traditional passive humbuckers become much much darker in tone the more coils you add to the windings. There are ways around it, but none of them completely alleviate the 'higher output = darker tone' problem you'll find in passive designs.

Different approach to solving some of the problems in passive pickup design.
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Now playing: Megadeth - She-Wolf
via FoxyTunes

[mrjakob69]

Originally Posted by GuitarBizarre

They do impart their own freqencies on the guitar a little bit by being active, but at the end of the day the signal being put through that little preamp is still the signal generated by that string on that bridge and that piece of wood. The differences between two emg equipped guitars are pretty obvious as long as the guitars in question are aswell. They're far from a 'compensator'.

In terms of construction, jackson necks really aren't built all that different from ibanez. Thin and flat, low action. In theory they should sound even better because they still use a block heel, but I'm doubtful thats ever made a true difference myself, I like the AANJ just fine.

Oh, and I'll point out that the Reb Beach Koa signature actually came with EMG's as standard on the more expensive model, and Ibanez own pickups on the lower end models, and both sound fantastic.

It really is just an option. Its a different style of pickup and has its advantages and its drawbacks, but frankly I think writing them off as some kind of 'lame tonewood cure-all' isn't just presumptuous but about as close to 'wrong' as I would dare to label someone elses opinion.


Double edit: Oh, and the 'reason' for them being active isn't the one you've assumed either. Active pickups can generate a much louder volume with a much lower output magnet, so they can achieve a pleasing sound with much less string pull, so you can set them much closer to the strings with no problems, AND high output when needed. It also means they can make high output humbuckers that are very bright naturally, as traditional passive humbuckers become much much darker in tone the more coils you add to the windings. There are ways around it, but none of them completely alleviate the 'higher output = darker tone' problem you'll find in passive designs.

Different approach to solving some of the problems in passive pickup design.
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Now playing: Megadeth - She-Wolf
via FoxyTunes

ya i agree i just tried once to install some gibson humbuckers in my dinky (retarded i know) and they sounded like **** and then i installed my emg's back in and they sounded great and my ibanez with dimarzios sounds amazing but different from my amazing sounding jackson. i dunno i am trying to convey my thoughts on pickups, that i have tried without full explanation i guess.

[LonePhantom]

Originally Posted by mrjakob69

all im saying is that emg's are designed to make up for lack of tone wood

Sorry, but that thats rubbish. If anything EMGs enhance the tone of the wood used.

I've got two Ibanez RGs with EMGs in them. Only differences are one body is basswood, and the other is alder. Same neck construction (maple neck with rosewood fretboard) and double locking trems.

When listening to the alder body guitar it is obvious that the sound is far brighter than the basswood one. Remarkably different.

I know others that agree as well. You will only find that EMGs sound the same when you are cranking tonnes of gain through your amp. If you are playing clean through to medium gain you will definitely pick up the tonal differences in the body wood.

[GuitarBizarre]

Originally Posted by mrjakob69

ya i agree i just tried once to install some gibson humbuckers in my dinky (retarded i know)

Not really...diff'rent strokes. I don't like gibson tone either but they work really well for some peoples tones.