Ibanez JEM Forum banner

Crunch Lab, Liquifire combo VS Air Norton, Steve's Special

19K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  tearsx 
#1 ·
Hey Jemsite,

I am an avid fan of souping up lower end guitars to put out live and in the studio. For a couple of years now I have been playing a typical Ibanez RG 350dx With the Dimarzio SS in the bridge, AN in the neck, Cruiser in the middle. (Typical set up for the progressive music I love) Changed out all the circuitry. Knobs, Selector switch, input jack etc.
In the studio this guitar has put out phenomenally!!

Huge fan of Petrucci and his tones in the early years with DT and Liquid Tension.. Soaring warm leads of the Air Norton, Defined and articulate chords of the SS with a gained out amp. Just a perfect combo with a basswood body guitar, and are which the qualities I need for the music I play. Over these past 2 years of having them installed I noticed some very minor issues that my ear has picked up on.
At times the AN can get a little muddy and notes seemed to mesh together with fast lines. Sometimes a little boomy too. The upper register is GREAT! but when you start getting lower, MUDD!!! I also play finger style classical rep on a compressed clean channel with the AN and notes would just Mud up and have no clear full chord definition. When this would happen I would switch to my SS. Now what I noticed about the SS is that it can get a little shrill in the high end and piercing. OUCH! With cleans especially. Great bite by all means and the definition of huge chords are awesome with gain! But seems way to bright in a combination with a really warm (sometimes boomy) AN.

In terms of a Bridge Pup:
I need a combination that is as define and articulate as a SS but a bit warmer and Tighter in the low end frequencies. I need it to sound huge with full chords on a gained out amp with no fuzzy hiss of what a lot of high output humbuckers put out. It needs to also clean up nice with the volume rolled down and sound full but not piercing bright with cleans for my classical rep.
Sounds like a crunch lab no?
Well I need your opinion and experience!

In terms of a Neck Pup:
Needs to have huge sustain that sings and does not get muddy when I play down in the lower register with full on gain and cleans. I still want it to be warm and midrangy with Tight low end!
Sounds like a Liquifire!?
Once again need your opinions!

In essence will the crossover to the CL and LF fill my picky needs for tone, or is there another combo out there with the same qualities that I'm not aware of..
Talk to me People!!
 
See less See more
#2 ·
The Air Norton and Tone Zone combo have been really great for me through my Ibanez, however, could sound different in anything else. AS for the LF/CL combo, I love them. I've used them in an RG550, an RG220A BBQ (Ash body) and have them in a basswood JP6, a JP7 and also in a BFR with mahogany tone block. They perform quite well in each instance. There are tonal differences between each one, but I tend to lean towards the wood resonance than the performance of the pick ups.

If I could suggest something here that might suit you, the D Sonic will do some really tight bottom end, very huge, no fuzz. It's output is hotter than the CL, and cleaned up really nice in one of my BFR's.

As for the neck pup, you really can't go wrong with the LF, it's a great pickup, it's very similar though to the AN, very very close, so if you aren't happy with the AN, you might want to think about another option. I don't have any complaints however with the LF/CL in any of my guitars. What's the worse that could happen, you buy them, install them, turn the bridge bar facing the neck, flip it if you don't like that towards the neck, try it, and lastly, if it doesn't work, sell them. It's not like they will be obsolete if you turn them around, maybe loose a few dollars being that they aren't new, but it's well worth the test.
 
#7 ·
If I could suggest something here that might suit you, the D Sonic will do some really tight bottom end, very huge, no fuzz. It's output is hotter than the CL, and cleaned up really nice in one of my BFR's.
The Crunch Lab is more agressive and powerful, but I find the D Sonic much better sounding. In fact, those 2 pickups share the same visual but that's all.
 
#5 ·
I am jealous of your collection of Petrucci guitars man.. Those guitars are truly second to none..

How would you describe the the tones of your RG's with the CL/LF combo
*Neck Pup
-Clean Channel, Dirty Channel
*Bridge Pup
-Clean Channel, Dirty Channel

Its the best way I can kind of get a feel as too what It can do for my RG

Another debate that seems to pop up in my mind after your comment about wood resonance is if I should just do a total upgrade toward a higher end model RG like those new "Premiums" which look gorgeous and feature a similar construction to the JPM models.
Than swap those Pups out for a CL and LF
 
#9 ·
Come to think of it, I also had two JP6's, identical to each other, with this same combo, I sold the older year one with the AN/DS, and I found that one also to have more bite. Perhaps my ears just liked what the D sonic did through my equipment. Long story short, both guitars with the LF/CL are still with me and the other two are sold. The pickups in them played no part in them leaving my arsenal.
 
#10 ·
I find that AN only works well when used in either the S or T form factor. Something wonderful happens when they shrink it down. In standard "humbucker" form it's just lifeless and bland (to me). The S and T versions have a growl and bite that is simply awesome. YMMV...

Cheers,

Race
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top