New Ibanez S320 with ZR bridge

[Metalartin]

Hi, I received my second guitar this week since the old one was a second hand strat copy, I thought it was time for a step up.





When I first got it I was tuning it at the head stock and snapped the top string(I was slightly embaressed when he asked me if I knew you dont tune it there), there was also buzzing on alot of the frets so I assumed it needed setting up plus I wanted some 11s putting on there. So I take it home once its done(only took him an hour) and it felt as though the strings were really taught(and Ive been using 11s on my strat copy for over half a year without even setting that one up, I just assumed it was the way those strings felt not knowing you need to set it up again) making it difficult to play along with action seemingly making it harder too. Maybe I should have stuck with it but since I paid all that money I wanted it to feel better to play than the other atleast as well as sounding it.

Thats when I discovered(after lots of head scratching) that the bridge is tricky to tune to new comers and I found a very helpfull guide on here by SonataGuitarist that explained it somewhat along with setup some of the official guides here. I never checked the bridge angle after taking it home from the shop but the spring didnt seem to be altered(or isnt it always necessary when moving up to 11s?) I found that there didnt seem to be enough slack on the strings once Id tightened the springs, which meant I had to back off to virtually the last thread on the tuning peg of the low E string which isnt good at all. Each time I tried it, either the bride would be raised once in tune or on the last tread once in tune with bridge almost low enough. Is it always trial and error? I found it hard to get some slack on the strings at some points even losening the springs and turning the pegs bag it was almost like the strings had shrunk or he'd cut them too short.

So once Id gotten that right I thought "just set the action better cant be that hard can it?" I looked in the manual and it said measure from the 14 fret 0.3 - 0.5 treble, 2.0 mm bass. I could only find a standard millimetres ruler but it is doable with that I think. So anyway yeah I discorvered you have to change things on the tuning again if you turn those bolts enough and make sure the bridge stays down. This took quite a while hours for me infact and when Id finally thought Id managed it:



Is that level or should that thin ridge on the bottom not be visable at all? Thats the treble side in the pic the Bass side is slightly heigher with more of that bottom ridge visable is that normal?



Top string 0.5 mm(well probably just over but close enough) bottom string was 2.0mm.

So then I noticed two things after all that(hours of adjusting):

A) I think I buckled the washers going to far with action nuts. Is that anything to worry about, should I replace them?



B) The top string makes almost no sound at all above the 12th fret, I was so P****d off when I realised.


Id like to be able to know how to get it sounding and feeling at its best and what is acceptable or not in a setup, plus I cant afford to be paying that guy for a set up so soon(especially since Im not so sure he did it right... is it acceptable to have really tight strings which means you have to really push hard on some of those frets to get a clean sound? I thought I was using more force on my old guitar than most people do but maybe I was wrong(pulloffs even on my old guitar left my fingers red raw low down on the neck sometimes with tough bits of skin peeling off lol). So what should I do from here? Just raise the string more or does something else need changing? Its a new guitar so I dont want to go too far from the factory settings, but 11 strings probably meant I needed to change it a bit anyway.

[toshiro]

Bring the top string up to 1.5mm. 0.5mm is beyond any guitar made.

[Metalartin]

Really? damn... well whats with the manual then? I followed that as a guide. Ok then I'll try that(bottom string still at 2.0mm?) and the bridge angle, is that close enough or should I try and get it perfectly level? Also is the bass side of the bridge usually slightly higher than the treble? It sort of slopes down very slightly as I tried to say in earlier.

Does the action affect the string tightness? How do you set yours to feel like to play?

Lots of questions I know but I want to make sure I havent botched anything up I quite like the guitar, really need to set it up right so I can play it though.

[heffergm]

11's are going to be super heavy. Unless the 11s you think you had on your strat are about 10 years old, I doubt they're 11s if you think they're easy to play on.

[toshiro]

Well, first I would back the fine tuners off so that they're about midway through their adjustment.

2.0 low, 1.5 high is a good place to start with the action..

Really, if you're swapping up to 11s from the stock 9s, the intonation and neck should be adjusted. I would take the guitar to a pro for an initial set-up if you're unsure, at least that way you have a decent starting point for tweaks, and to learn what it should look like.....

[Paper_Shredder]

Hey, congrats on the step up. This summer I bought an s470 as my second electric. It was a big step up for me also, and my first double locking trem system. I think the zr is great, but if this is your first double locker then do yourself a favor and read the guides on this site and on ibanezrules.com. they explain in great detail how to change strings, adjust the truss rod, and raise and lower the bridge. They were a huge help to me in making the transistion. Rock on

[Metalartin]

Thanks for the replies guys. Yeah they were deffinately 11s on my strat because I bought them myself and fitted them brand new. Heavier as you say but my fingers have adjusted to them(stronger for it) and getting the Ibanez back from the shop how he set it... theres no way I can see people playing it at speed cleanly, pulloffs and slides ect. Well since he fitted the new strings(already sent it for a set up at a local guitar shop) I would hope he's already adjusted for them a little... except I dont think he altered the spring tension.

Other than that the last resort would be a guy at the other side of town, he has his own site, seems like a very experienced technician and does very thorough set ups but the cost is Ł45($80) after just paying for the other one I dont want to be spending more money now, its been expensive enough with the guitar, new amp(vox valvetronix) and the setup.

Im learning fast anyway reading in places like this, any particulary usefull guides you found on here Paper Shredder? other than SonataGuitarist's great example.

Rock on indeed

edit: Oh and thanks for not making fun of the jar of pickles in the background in the first pic, someone couldnt wait to set the table for dinner lol.

[Metalartin]

So since these infiniti pickups are often described as generic or flat(they dont seem that bad) I was thinking about new pickups sooner or later.

I dont know alot about pickups really so I dont no where to begin, but I found out cleaning my old guitar that the guy who sold it to me put a Dimarzio in there at the bridge, so I guess they arent that bad(probably the best thing about that guitar really lol).

So the two top heavy sounding ones are Dimarzio and EMGs... is that about right? Any more to consider?

If anyone could reccomend some decent models/versions from each of those that would be a help in narrowing down the best choices.

[HeavyMetal4Ever]

What sort of sound are you after?

Give us some examples of tones you like, and it will be easier to recommend a pickup to suit your needs.

Also, check out the websites of the following pickup manufacturers for sound samples : Bare Knuckle Pickups, DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan and Emg.

Hope that helps you find what you are after.

Rock on!

[Metalartin]

Ok yeah I should have said well I dont want to limit it to one specific style too much but I do like Metal alot so Pantera, Metallica, new and old metal.

But Id also like to beable to play stuff like the Chili Peppers some of the cleaner rock and Ive also been thinking about Blues and Funk too.

Yeah Ive heard of all them but its not really as simple as just picking the brand(which Im nowhere near decided on lol) and chosing any of their pickups I assume. BareKnuckle pickups are made here in the UK arent they, another site I was getting information from highly reccomended them, but Id need to hear alot more reccomendations before picking them over the others. Seymour Duncan and Emg I dont know much about but I see alot of EMGs in peoples signatures atleast, Id probably have just decided on going the Dimarzio route but I think its always better to check your options properly.

I know you are probably going to say go to you local guitar shop and test some out, but you see there are some dealers who will try and have the shirt off your back the moment you step in the door and he's one of them I think lol. Besides wouldnt they be pretty pissed if you had them show you sample all the pickups and you said thanks and went and ordered cheaply online? lol Im sure alot of people do this.

[HeavyMetal4Ever]

Bare Knuckle pickups make some of the best on the market.

Definately check out their website, and if you have any questions, the guy that owns and runs the business will answer them. His name is Tim, and he's an all round class act.

For metal tones, check out the Painkiller or the Nailbomb for bridge. For a versatile neck, have a look at the Cold Sweat. On the Bare Knuckle homepage there is a forum full of clips from satisfied customers, so give those a listen too.

You may have to pay a little more for Bare Knuckle pickups, but you will know where the money went every time you play. Plus, being in the UK, you will probably find they are a bit cheaper than they are overseas.

You can't go wrong with BKP. Quality all the way, and stellar service.

Rock on!

[Jemma_Ann's_man]

Originally Posted by heffergm

11's are going to be super heavy. Unless the 11s you think you had on your strat are about 10 years old, I doubt they're 11s if you think they're easy to play on.

I use 11's on my PRS and ttheir actually easy and comfortable. I have 11's also setup on my jem, with a blocked trem. I find 10's and 9's too plinky sounding and don't feel as comfortable as 11's.

although I used to use 12's and 13's for thicker tone. I found a nice balance with 11's.

to the OP, be safe and have a tech do it and watch him. most ibanez guitars with a floating trem are setup from the factory to use 9's. if you're moving up a string gauge, you're gonna have to reset the whole trem up again, action, intonation, spring tension and truss rod.

[Jemma_Ann's_man]

btw if you're looking to get better sound, your amp will be more important than what pickups you use. Asking people what kind of pickups are good is pretty much imho a waste of time, for every pickup will sound different on various amps and will not sound the same on different gear, cables, PA system if micd, etc etc. You're better off upgrading your amp before thinking about changing the pickups. If you use a ridiculous amount of gain, it really wouldn't matter what pickup you use unless you plan on using it for clean stuff. To hear the differences in voicings of pickups, you must have a decent solid state amp or a decent tube amp set on clean.

some pickups seem to have "more gain" than other pickups, but that can also be done with a turn of the gain knob.

Alot of Pickup manufactueres know that pickup marketing will get people, for most people who haven't been p[laying long don't have as mature ears as professionals and cannot tell much of a difference as more expereinced musicians. However most intermediate players can tell the difference in gain sounds rthough. but ultimately your amp will be the most important piece of gear you have. you can make a ****ty squire sound hella nice through a Bogner Uberschall or a Mesa Solo head into a marshall 10960 cab, but you cannot make a high end custum guitar klike a PRS to sound good through a crappy Crate solid state POS amp.

[Paper_Shredder]

At least go with 1 - 10 on this link. The others are helpful also.
http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/index.htm

I hope you checked here
http://www.jemsite.com/tech/

This S-series porn helped make my decision. Also, good set up tips
http://www.jemsite.com/forums/showth...ighlight=point

[-Rhaab]

For pickups, if you want active check out Seymour Duncan blackouts. Or the usual emg 81/85.

For passive, check out Seymour duncan/ dimarzio Super distortions, Or dimarzio's D Activator, D Activator-X