evo 7 and a air norton 7 would be nice.
Replacing the UV 'Blaze II' pickups
Hi,
Loads of reviewers on Harmony Central say that they love the UV777P but hate the 'scooped mid' Blaze II pickups, some suggest changing to Evo7's or Tone Zone 7's. Anyone on this forum tried changing the pickups and what was the outcome, did it make a hell of a lot of difference?
Chris
Loads of reviewers on Harmony Central say that they love the UV777P but hate the 'scooped mid' Blaze II pickups, some suggest changing to Evo7's or Tone Zone 7's. Anyone on this forum tried changing the pickups and what was the outcome, did it make a hell of a lot of difference?
Chris
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
Got to try one with a Blaze custom today, sounded sweet through a DSL100! Would have been nice to try an unmodified UV along side for comparison though.
My general rule of thumb for Harmony Central is that 75% of the reviewers are probably idiots. :lol:
I touched on this briefly in your other thread, but again: The Blaze single coil is a piece of crap. It's sterile, it's cold, it's inorganic, and it just doesn't have the "clang" of a good single coil. I'm running a custom-would Frank Falbo in its place these days, and it destroys it. A bit brighter, with much better attack and the same scooped lower mids, strong upper mids and bass you hear in a good Strat.
The Blaze neck is decent - if you like Vai's "Love of God" neck pickup tone, well, this is it. Great for alternate picking, and it sounds quite good clean, too.
The bridge, meanwhile... Well, you need an amp with a good amount of midrange for this pickup, really. Anything "modern" sounding with a scooped mids setting on the amp, and it'll sound fairly bad. However, I play a Mesa Nomad set for a Mark-IV-like lead tone, and this thing just kills in my UV through this rig. Articulate, clear, powerful, but still with plenty of midrange.
Keep in mind that this is the pickup that Petrucci liked so much he requested a sixc string version from dimarzio (which hit production as the Steve's Special), and that he's aother guy who played through an amp with rather a lot of midrange. I've always felt that the secret to great tone is contrast, and this is a fairly bright pickup without a lot of mids that absolutely kills through a dark, middy amp. However, if you use it with an already scooped amp, it just won't sound good. If that's the case, a Tone Zone of Blaze Custom might be a better option, but if you run plenty of mids anyway, this pickup is phenominal.
I touched on this briefly in your other thread, but again: The Blaze single coil is a piece of crap. It's sterile, it's cold, it's inorganic, and it just doesn't have the "clang" of a good single coil. I'm running a custom-would Frank Falbo in its place these days, and it destroys it. A bit brighter, with much better attack and the same scooped lower mids, strong upper mids and bass you hear in a good Strat.
The Blaze neck is decent - if you like Vai's "Love of God" neck pickup tone, well, this is it. Great for alternate picking, and it sounds quite good clean, too.
The bridge, meanwhile... Well, you need an amp with a good amount of midrange for this pickup, really. Anything "modern" sounding with a scooped mids setting on the amp, and it'll sound fairly bad. However, I play a Mesa Nomad set for a Mark-IV-like lead tone, and this thing just kills in my UV through this rig. Articulate, clear, powerful, but still with plenty of midrange.
Keep in mind that this is the pickup that Petrucci liked so much he requested a sixc string version from dimarzio (which hit production as the Steve's Special), and that he's aother guy who played through an amp with rather a lot of midrange. I've always felt that the secret to great tone is contrast, and this is a fairly bright pickup without a lot of mids that absolutely kills through a dark, middy amp. However, if you use it with an already scooped amp, it just won't sound good. If that's the case, a Tone Zone of Blaze Custom might be a better option, but if you run plenty of mids anyway, this pickup is phenominal.
I like the single coil in my PWH actually, I agree it's nothing compared to a Strat sound single coil, but I like it. The neck pickup is awesome. I like the bridge too. I had a UV777BK and I liked it and should've never sold it. I like the Blaze pickups though.
Bear in mind that replacing the pickups will devalue the guitar. You might consider getting a cheaper guitar and modifying it. Joshua
I also enjoy my blaze single. But my blaze neck however, I might have just did some bad wiring, but it is alot quiter then the other two pickups. Is this normal?
Adjusting the pole pieces sets the pickups straight enough for me. I like the fact that the UV has an instantly recognisable sound. But all 7 strings with a floating double locking trem sound like [email protected] because of the higher string tension and tone dissipation by the trem springs and locking nut.
I have an EVO7 Bridge & and a PAF7 neck in mine...was a huge improvement over the Blazes.
I tried an AN7 once in the neck position, but found it too bassy for my ears.
I have lots of sound samples from this guitar if you want to hear.
~K
I tried an AN7 once in the neck position, but found it too bassy for my ears.
I have lots of sound samples from this guitar if you want to hear.
~K
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Ibanez JEM Forum
A forum community dedicated to Ibanez JEM guitar owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about collections, displays, models, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Recommended Communities
