1

Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The Breed

« on: July 14, 2021, 02:18:42 PM »

They are special order now? I still have a set of Breeds I have never installed..... 

2

The Pickup Place / Re: Air Zone...Anyone?

« on: June 30, 2021, 09:09:30 AM »

I really didn't like the Air Zone. I put it in an ash RG421 which was probably the brightest electrics I have ever played and it turned into a mud fest. I guess if you gain out your amp and EQ it to sound like a bees nest it would be OK.

3

The Pickup Place / Re: DiMarzio wins double cream trademark battle

« on: June 30, 2021, 09:03:32 AM »

While Dimarzio may in fact have legal standing on this based on the law, the principle on which it is built is questionable. The double row of hex heads has technical merit and was truly a unique aspect of their design. Granting privilege to a color on the other hand, not so much. Are we going to let people trademark smells to? Its a slippery slope to say the least

4

The Pickup Place / Replace baseplate?

« on: May 15, 2021, 10:38:08 PM »

I had to drill out the mounting holes on a set gravity storms to direct mount them in an Ibanez. Is their a way to repair or replace the baseplate to use them in another guitar?

5

The Pickup Place / Re: The feel and response of air pickups

« on: May 15, 2021, 09:31:04 PM »

I have an air zone in an ash RG hardtail that seems quite bright acoustically. The air zone is a touch dull. Not really a fan to be honest.  The air classic in the neck is better but I think a set of 36 anniversary PAFS might be a better option. The gravity storms in a mahogany RG hardtail seem dark too

6

The Pickup Place / Re: Ibanez RG421AHM pickup options

« on: April 14, 2019, 08:21:03 PM »

I just finished installing the Air Zone / Air Classic combo.  So far I am happy with the sounds. The brighter quality of the ash has not been lost which I am very please with. The lower output neck pickup gives the neck and split sounds a different character than the same positions in my mahogany RG42 with Gravity Storm which I also like.  Just those two guitars now can cover a lot of ground. The other change i have been making to all the Ibanez guitars is changing the tone cap to either .0047 or point .0033. It makes the tone control range much more usable.

I want to try out a bass cut control but these guitars really don't need it.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Ibanez RG421AHM pickup options

« on: March 14, 2019, 08:14:09 PM »

Breeds sound good in alder, so I would bet they would work here too. If you like them, I think they would make a well balanced set here. The Air Zone works in almost anything, and the Air Classic neck would probably work well with it. I have never tried those two together, but i know the Air Zone works well with the 36th neck. My only reservation with that set would be the question of whether the Air Classic would balance in output, and not have too much of a contrast in feel. It has been a very long time since I played an Air Classic.

The bridge to neck balance doesn't concern me much but the split coil balances do.  Even those I think will be ok. I just want to make sure I don't go too dark and lose what makes the ash sound unique in this guitar. My mahogany RG has dark and smooth covered. I want this one to be chimey and brighter sounding

8

The Pickup Place / Re: Gravity Storm and RG550 Wiring Help

« on: March 09, 2019, 08:23:10 PM »

Hey everyone, I just got a new Ibanez Genisis RG550 and also picked up some Gravity Storm pickups. I kept the original middle pick and wired the guitar this way.

Gravity Storm pickups: black + white wires taped together, red to correct positions on the switch.
Left the middle pickup wired as it was from the factory.

My issue seems to be that when you switch to positions 2 & 4 the pickups sound thin and aren't usable at all.
Position 2 should be bridge + middle
Position 4 should be neck + middle

I used this diagram.

https://d2emr0qhzqfj88.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/diagrams/RG270%2C350-3hb.pdf

Can anyone tell me what could be wrong? The neck, bridge and middle all sound fine on their own. Could the cap on the volume pot be causing this?

Position two is one coil of bridge and middle. Position four is one coil off neck and middle.

9

The Pickup Place / Ibanez RG421AHM pickup options

« on: March 09, 2019, 10:36:37 AM »

I just picked up an Ibanez rg421ahm which is an ash bodied hardtail rg with maple neck and fingerboard. I thought it would be a nice alternative voice to my rga42fm. I have a set of breeds and an air zone/air classic set on the shelf that I might put in this guitar. I don't want to lose the brighter/zing quality of the ash, just refine things. The quantum are quite good for stock pickups but they have a piercing quality that is just little too much for my taste. I am concerned the breeds and air zone might be a touch too dark. A set of air classic might be the best option but might be a touch too bright in the bridge.

What do you guys think? I have little experience with ash bodied guitars and I am not sure where to go with this one.

10

The Pickup Place / Re: Quantum pickup color codes

« on: February 23, 2019, 10:48:44 PM »

I the little printed circuit board hooked on this switch were ridiculous. I went with an alternate switch and installed the gravity storms today in the rga42fm. So far I am really loving them. I will need to find something else for the S670 now but I would rather have them in this instrument

11

The Pickup Place / Quantum pickup color codes

« on: February 21, 2019, 10:21:52 PM »

Does any one know the wiring/color codes for the Ibanez Quantum pickups? I am trying replace them with either Dimarzio or Duncans. I need to know what is North Start/Finish and South Start/Finish so I can translate the wiring.

Im 99.99% percent the 3 wire bridge pickup is white=hot, black=ground and Red is tap. I think the neck is White=N+ Green= N- Red=S- and Black=S+ Can anyone confirm that? I know W/G go together and R/B do but I need to know which end is which so I get the phase relationships right. I don't want to have to do this multiple times trying to guess.

If I can lock down the color codes, the switch will be simple to sort out. That said, any one have a schematic for the 3SWLSC switch

12

The Pickup Place / Re: Gravity Storm vs Breeds

« on: December 15, 2018, 12:18:13 PM »

What about them didn't you care for?

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The Pickup Place / Gravity Storm vs Breeds

« on: December 12, 2018, 10:45:24 PM »

How do they compare? Looking to install in an Ibanez S series

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The Pickup Place / Re: Air Zone / Air Classic combo

« on: November 21, 2018, 01:46:50 PM »

You could use an entire Air Classic set. The Air Zone is not brighter than the Tone Zone. It has less mids and compression, but I wouldn't call it brighter. The Air Norton is the furthest thing from clarity that I have ever had in the neck of my guitars. I thought it was a mud-bomb. I have the Tone Zone paired with a PAF Pro, and the Air Zone paired with the Paf Joe. Both those sets work well together in an Ibanez RG.

Its not the worst idea and I have considered it. I am used to a traditional PAF sound and output. I want this instrument to be more modern sounding. The Evolutions I put in a 521 recently have me reconsidering. They are so hot and bright everything turns to fizz until I dial back the gain a bit and tweak the EQ. I thought they might be a pretty seemless transition as the Legacy was designed around those pickups but my ear is definitely not tuned into that sound yet and my rig is clearly fine tuned to a different type of sound.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Air Zone / Air Classic combo

« on: November 21, 2018, 07:52:18 AM »

I was originally considering a tone zone / air Norton but thought they may be a little bass heavy for a legacy amp. This guitar is for instrumental stuff so I need enough clarity from the neck for faster lead playing and maybe something with a little less output since that amp had massive amount of gain