Norton in basswood Rg 1570?

Ibanez910 · #1 04-19-2006, 09:41 PM

Hey just got a MB Ibanez Rg1570 prestige. Great guitar by the way I already set it up to fit like a glove now im sure its time to swap out the stock pu's. Im going for a versatile axe here. I have a Vox Avt50 which is a great amp for the money ive played on higher end amps and cant get the tone of this thing. For bridge I want a good fat but not over the top tone with clarity between notes for rhythm and arpegiated distorted chords and such. I know alot swear by the breed to me i think it might be fat with out much harmonics which is a no no for me. Im thinking the Norton would kinda be in between so im sure that will work. Has anybody played one in an rg with the same wood? For neck I really just use it for the cleans so maybe something on the lines of Fred, paf pro, or air norton should cut that. Any help would be greatly appreciated. *Justin*

ibanezcollector · #2 04-19-2006, 10:17 PM

Fred in the bridge/ Paf Joe in the neck

what the heck do I know LOL.. I personally didnt like the fred cause of the harmonic overtones. I want heavy punch you in the teeth kind of tone. So I dont know why I bought it to begin with LOL

Also PAF Pros in both positions is nice

Ibanez910 · #3 04-19-2006, 11:05 PM

haha well good choices yeah I was thinking a Paf Joe Im pretty sure from teh specs he designed it for nothing but cleans if you ask me so it should be perfect for that. The fred hmm idk I wanna be some what original I know Norton has some of the freds quality but with more output and such so idk. I think I would enjoy alittle more output then fred so not too sure. Only way to be sure is to put every pickup in my guitar and try them all ha but dont have the budget for that maybe i'll wait till Im famous and have them make a Jaybucker hahah j/k.

ibanezcollector · #4 04-19-2006, 11:14 PM

buy it from a authorized dealer if you dont like the fred or whatever as long as you got a sales reciept you can send it in for something else.. Thats what I did with my fred. I opted for the Tone Zone/Air Norton

Ibanez910 · #5 04-19-2006, 11:30 PM

Oh ok that does help a bunch I will do that just hopefully I'll like what I choose the first time ha thanks.

TheToneZone · #6 04-20-2006, 02:46 AM

I had the Norton in my Mohagany RG for awhile. I really liked the thing, just not in that guitar. My guess is that it would naturally be brighter in basswood. It might even borderline "toppy". Anyway, the Norton is a Tone Zone/Paf Pro hybrid. It's more juicy and natural sounding than TTZ and more riffy than the Paf Pro. It really is a strange pickup with a pronounced mid peak. It's like it has qualities from every dimarzio humbucker all rolled into one. And yes, more authoritative than the Breed in the crunch and harmonics department.

Give it a try.

Mike

toshiro · #7 04-20-2006, 04:24 AM

The Norton is a Fred + Tone Zone hybrid.

I had one in an RG570, and side by side with the Breed bridge in my RG750 it was thinner and more nasally. That might be what you're going for though, so not really a negative. I sold mine.

marlb5150 · #8 04-20-2006, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheToneZone

I had the Norton in my Mohagany RG for awhile. I really liked the thing, just not in that guitar. My guess is that it would naturally be brighter in basswood. It might even borderline "toppy". Anyway, the Norton is a Tone Zone/Paf Pro hybrid. It's more juicy and natural sounding than TTZ and more riffy than the Paf Pro. It really is a strange pickup with a pronounced mid peak. It's like it has qualities from every dimarzio humbucker all rolled into one. And yes, more authoritative than the Breed in the crunch and harmonics department.

Give it a try.

Mike

norton sounds like every dimarzio humbucker rolled into one? hmmm... that's interesting... dimarzio describes it as a cross between the fred and the tone zone. that would be like a cross of joe satriani and paul gilberts or EVH's tone... I have an air norton in one of my guitars and it has a very nasal sound. does the norton sound very similar to the air norton? air norton just being the airbucker version of the norton...

Ibanez910 · #9 04-21-2006, 01:14 AM

More Juicy then TZ and more riffy then Paf pro. Doesnt sound bad sounds like more on teh lines of what I want yeah Im sure it would be brighter then in Mohagany. The bass of the norton would sound good in Basswood im sure its not over the top like TZ and yes I do want good harmonic over tones and when I bend I dont want it ear screeching but be high enough to cut through ya know. Little bit of nasal I can deal with I kinda like the sound to me it sounds like a unique tonal feature that Im sure would be good for dynamics as well as cutting through the mix. Thanks.

RG450 · #10 04-25-2006, 02:36 PM

I had a Fred in the neck of my basswood rg450, and I wasn't extremely impressed with the sound. It comes alive in the bridge position, though. I have a sound clip of it that I can PM you or whatever if you want to know what it sounds like. It's clean, direct from the guitar to the soundcard of my computer.

manfromplanetX · #11 05-04-2006, 09:34 AM

I am not sure i want a 'juicy' pickup!!!
but my favorite combo is a TZ bridge and regular Norton in the neck, the air Nortons are fine...but the reg Norton lowered down a bit to where its volume matches the TZ is ideal for me.

just my 2 centavos

Ant1981 · #12 05-06-2006, 12:12 PM

Air Norton neck and Tone Zone bridge.

Splendid.

rgr · #13 05-06-2006, 09:37 PM

The Norton is kinda like, according to a converstion with DiMarzio, a TZ with tighter bass, it's a great sounding pickup IMHO. I used it in a guitar that the TZ was too flabby sounding for and it tightened it up nicely.

Ibanez910 · #14 05-06-2006, 11:40 PM

I thought of somethign though what about clarity from specs im sure norton would have a signature voice but would it work for odd chords and such and ring through or be a ball of mud?? If that wouldnt work Ive heard that Air Zone has great clarity???

j.arledge · #15 05-06-2006, 11:45 PM

i had a norton in my 570 for awhile , it had too much mids and was sort of harsh , the roundness of the tone zone is ok because it has that bass responce but is fairly clear , the fred is cool because it has good mids and highs are pronounced plus the power isn't too high . The norton was the wrong combination of the two pickups to me . I switched it to a tone zone and was really happy but i'd either go with the fred or the tone zone but not the norton .