ibz/usa f1 and f2 users...

[kevlahnota]

hi to all,

i recently swapped the pickups and put the ibzusa f1 in the bridge position and the ibzusa f2 in the neck in my rg. the body is basswood. for my ears it's a better combo than f1 in the neck and f2 in the bridge. have anyone tried these? need opinions please...
also what good single coil can i put in the middle position? (i just bought the pickups 2nd hand)

thanks in advance.

pic:

[velocity]

f2 is a bridge pickup

[JESTER700]

I like the F1 in the bridge, but never tried the F2 in the neck, and I suspect it'd be too bassy & not clear enough for me there - I like a cleaner, crisper neck pup.

No problem swapping pups like you've done, if you like the results. Pups are only called "neck" or "bridge" because that's where the company figures MOST people will prefer them. The only thing is, the wiring will be different so that the coils that USED to be inside are now outside in terms of wire colors. Keep that in mind when you wire up your middle or else the 2 & 4 positions might be out of phase.

[kevlahnota]

thanks, i will check my wiring.

[rty13ibz98]

the f2 in the neck sounds good, but its pretty muddy. not smooth like an air norton. i put one in my sc420 before i swapped it with a paf pro. now the sc420 has a paf pro/tone zone combo. way better for that particular guitar. the f1 is a good pickup, but i didn't like it. i had one in a 540r s/s/h. not a great sounding guitar with the c1/c1/f1 combo. had i kept it longer, it would have ended up with a either fast or pro tracks and a super 3. that or fender 57/62's and a super 3. right now the only guitar i have with ibz/usa's is my rg770dx with an f4 and c3. the f2 is now a super 3. the f4 will be a fred before long.


rich

[Roadstar]

Originally Posted by rty13ibz98

the f2 in the neck sounds good, but its pretty muddy. not smooth like an air norton. i put one in my sc420 before i swapped it with a paf pro. now the sc420 has a paf pro/tone zone combo. way better for that particular guitar. the f1 is a good pickup, but i didn't like it. i had one in a 540r s/s/h. not a great sounding guitar with the c1/c1/f1 combo. had i kept it longer, it would have ended up with a either fast or pro tracks and a super 3. that or fender 57/62's and a super 3. right now the only guitar i have with ibz/usa's is my rg770dx with an f4 and c3. the f2 is now a super 3. the f4 will be a fred before long.


rich

what i would do is wire the F2 in the neck parallel so that it is almost single coil sounding
at full series humbucking it may be too dark but wired to parallel it would smoke!
the F1 is very reminisent of the breed so that is cool in the bridge spot

[rty13ibz98]

Originally Posted by Roadstar

what i would do is wire the F2 in the neck parallel so that it is almost single coil sounding
at full series humbucking it may be too dark but wired to parallel it would smoke!
the F1 is very reminisent of the breed so that is cool in the bridge spot

not even an issue now. that pickup is long gone. i can't even remember what i dropped it into. it ended up in the bridge of something ibanez...maybe in a student or buddies guitar. what replaced it was one of the paf pros that came with my rgt3120. my sc420 had the f2 and tone zone in it and i had already received the air norton/air zone for my rgt before i arrived so i pulled the paf pros and one went into the sc420 and the other i sold to a buddy and installed it in the neck of an sa220(with tone zone). i like the f2. supposed to be like the tone zone, but i disagree. like a really weak tone zone. kinda has the same tone. a bit more mellow and a lot less output. weaker than an air zone to my ears. the air zone is more of a vintage, more focused tone zone. i have a spare f2 around. the purple one that came out of my rg770dx, but i will hang on to it. it is direct mount only as ibanez drilled it out from the factory. so it may never see the light of day in a guitar again.


rich

[Roadstar]

Originally Posted by rty13ibz98

not even an issue now. that pickup is long gone. i can't even remember what i dropped it into. it ended up in the bridge of something ibanez...maybe in a student or buddies guitar. what replaced it was one of the paf pros that came with my rgt3120. my sc420 had the f2 and tone zone in it and i had already received the air norton/air zone for my rgt before i arrived so i pulled the paf pros and one went into the sc420 and the other i sold to a buddy and installed it in the neck of an sa220(with tone zone). i like the f2. supposed to be like the tone zone, but i disagree. like a really weak tone zone. kinda has the same tone. a bit more mellow and a lot less output. weaker than an air zone to my ears. the air zone is more of a vintage, more focused tone zone. i have a spare f2 around. the purple one that came out of my rg770dx, but i will hang on to it. it is direct mount only as ibanez drilled it out from the factory. so it may never see the light of day in a guitar again.


rich

i agree about the F2 to me it sounded real far off a TZ
I guess the closest is the breed and F1 to one another
the F4 i tried was sort of like a paf pro
and the F3 was like a super 3 to me
what i really dont get is why dimarzio did not just use the TZ in place of making the F2 and the breed in place of making the F1
the paf pro in place of the F4?
why make a whole new pup when those better exsiting models were available?