getting rid of excessive guitar spank

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bulletproof_funk

bulletproof_funk

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I've been pretty happy with the way my Ibanez RG3XXV guitar plays but I find it sounds way too spanky when distorted. I'm not sure what causes it, the neck and fretboard are both maple, it has a locking trem and DiMarzio D-Activator humbucker in the bridge. In contrast, my Peavey HP Special (similar to EVH Wolfgang for the uninitiated) has a maple neck and board and sounds just right (I do have its Floyd blocked to down-trem only so there is added contact of the trem block to the body). The action on the Ibanez is a bit high at the nut and I don't have problems with buzzing.

Does this sound like a setup problem? Would a change of pickups help? Or is this just the nature of the beast (i.e. floating trem, maple board)?
 
Higher frequencies aren't the problem. I've tried turning down the tone knob and treble on the amp, it's still the guitar sounding spanky. I don't have this problem with my other guitars.
 
I found I could change spanky-ness most by either changing nut or saddles.
 
I've experienced this with several Ibanez guitars I've tried and owned. I wouldn't describe it as spanky though, moreso tinny. Dunno what caused it, didn't bother to try to fix it.
 
rokket2005":wskzxbfs said:
I've experienced this with several Ibanez guitars I've tried and owned. I wouldn't describe it as spanky though, moreso tinny. Dunno what caused it, didn't bother to try to fix it.
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+1 for me. Had a prestige....looked...felt awesome. Couldnt stand the way it sounded plugged in. Had that tinny spound as well and just kept squealing on High gain.
Did several a/b tests....and it was the guitar.
 
i would troubleshoot the pickup that sounds bad. check the wiring and meter it. you'll want to unsolder it from the pots to do so. not really a big deal. if it's metering ok, you might have a volume put that isn't functioning as designed (not opening or closing all the way). if you suspect this, you can also open the control cavity and meter the pots. you could also have a wiring issue.

also, look and see what value (if any) capacitor is on the volume pot between the hot lug and the middle lug (the treble bleed). if your volume pot is messed up, the bleed will seem like it's always on.. im not talking about the tone cap on the tone pot. a lot of ibanezes have a treble bleed from the factory, and i have seen some that dont. you can lower or raise the value of the bleed cap depending on what you want to be accentuated when you roll back the knob...or no treble bleed at all for "normal" operation.

this is where i'd start. you could also have a ground off somewhere, or a short.

check this thread for some insight maybe too

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=130515
 
I have a spanky guitar... so far for me raising the action helped somewhat... next I would try saddles. After that, f_ck it, sell it. I have a custom custom in there and it def warms it up but then you have warm SPANK! The pickup is not the answer.
 
The Edge II Pro trem and nut are both Ibanez so changing saddles and nut aren't viable options as I doubt they have drop-in replacement parts that would fit exactly (though feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Shimming the nut any higher than it is would be pretty uncomfortable and not playable as the strings already feel kind of high. I gave the neck a bit more relief as it probably straightened out due to the change in weather, no real difference.

The bridge pup where I'm getting the spank sounds fine otherwise, good volume and distorts well and doesn't squeal when the gain is turned high. I measured the DC resistances of the pups and they are within advertised specs. There's no bleeder cap in this guitar, and I can't make out the value stamped on the tone cap. The volume and tone pots are 500K as recommended by DiMarzio. Input jack is wired well and generally so is everything else. No shorts or opens, everything electrically seems fine.

@Kapo: so the hotter and smoother Custom Custom didn't help your guitar... is it a floating trem setup?

Also, does anyone with a hard tail Ibanez have a spanky sounding guitar?
 
bulletproof_funk":3ebf0640 said:
The Edge II Pro trem and nut are both Ibanez so changing saddles and nut aren't viable options as I doubt they have drop-in replacement parts that would fit exactly (though feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Shimming the nut any higher than it is would be pretty uncomfortable and not playable as the strings already feel kind of high. I gave the neck a bit more relief as it probably straightened out due to the change in weather, no real difference.

The bridge pup where I'm getting the spank sounds fine otherwise, good volume and distorts well and doesn't squeal when the gain is turned high. I measured the DC resistances of the pups and they are within advertised specs. There's no bleeder cap in this guitar, and I can't make out the value stamped on the tone cap. The volume and tone pots are 500K as recommended by DiMarzio. Input jack is wired well and generally so is everything else. No shorts or opens, everything electrically seems fine.

@Kapo: so the hotter and smoother Custom Custom didn't help your guitar... is it a floating trem setup?

Also, does anyone with a hard tail Ibanez have a spanky sounding guitar?
Click to expand...

Trem set to bomb only and locked from floating upwards. Not a floyd though. It is an alder body with koa top (so brighter) + maple fretboard. Raising the action got me less of the spank. The Custom custom is great for fluid leads but it is a little too fat even on this guitar. It washed out the cut and tightness I liked. A little mushy in the low end in other words. That's what I mean though, you can change the EQ but that god aweful spank might stick around if you have already messed with the action. How is the action up past the 12th fret? Maybe a truss rod adjustment required..
 
Get one of those huge brass blocks. That will make the guitar sound fatter and feel slower and less snappy IME. The heavier the block the more pronounced the effect. I've used a big brass block and a big tungsten block btw.
 
Actually I did adjust the truss rod (relief) to bow forward a bit more and then lowered the trem slightly to compensate, but no dice. Action past 12th fret is not buzzing, and actually I don't get any spank above the 12th, mostly on the wound strings open to around 5th to 7th frets.

Unfortunately the Edge II trem is Ibanez meaning it's specialized and probably isn't licensed to anyone else to make and sell, so no third party trem blocks. Instead, I'll try some way to block the trem and see if it helps. I also turned off the Bright switches on my amp as per Reza's suggestion of trimming some highs and while it made the spank less noticable I don't get the same amount of cut. I'll try jumpering the 500K volume pot with a ~ 500K resistor to drop it down to around 250K to see if that will help too before replacing the stock pots.
 
cardinal":27hacqw2 said:
These guys have some for the Edge and Edge 3 it looks like. Maybe one fits the Edge 2? No idea. Maybe you are out of luck with this option...

http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/index.ph ... 8p7kjgv2t2
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Well I'll be, there are third party Ibanez parts, thanks for the link! The Edge II has a very small trem block to accommodate the Zero-Point counter-spring system, a second pair of springs and bar fit around the trem block to pull the trem against a pair of stops, so the Edge III block might also be a no-go if the replacement block's screw holes don't line up with the II's. I also watched their installation video near the end where the guy demos his Ibanez post block swap: I guess the block adds sustain but the guitar still sounds spanky to me.
 
I think all edge's have the same route, maybe not the lo pro, but you might be able to trade out that Zero system for a different edge.
 
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