firejack
Well-known member
So I got my guitar back from the shop today after a Plek job and a pickup swap.
The pickup swap didn't go to plan, but it just so happens that I received a little blessing in disguise...
THE BACKGROUND:
I had decided that I only wanted the Aldrich buckers in my PGM301.
The middle single-coil was to be removed along with the PAF Pro's.
So my tech had drawn up an elaborate schematic to get the most out of a dual-humbucker setup with a 5-way superswitch and only one Push/Pull coil-split potentiometer to work with (the PGM only has a volume knob).
So cut to today, I find out that my tech has had a falling out with his Manager and quit - just before he was supposed to work on my guitar.
So the other techs in the store have no idea how to do the install (my tech was a bit of a guru) and as a result they decide to just wire the pickups back to the original specs with the middle single-coil pickup still in the guitar.
I figure it's no big deal and that I'll just go chase up the Guru to finish his wiring job for the dual humbucker setup at a later date.
THE PICKUPS VERDICT:
Well I got home and after my slight annoyance had worn off, I fired up the Gryphon and plugged in the PGM301. Wow!
In it's stock form (PAF Pros & Jem Single-coil) the PGM just sounded bland and uninspiring to me in the 2 & 4 positions.
So I was taken completely by surprise when I started playing on the clean channel with the Aldrich Set + Jem single-coil.
Positions 2 & 4 are now yielding some of the best cleans I've yet heard from my rig.
And I thought I had already heard the best that my Halo channel had to offer.
Warm, sparkling and scrumptious are the words that come to mind.
My previous favorites were an ash body/maple fretboard Richie Kotzen Strat with Dimarzio custom single coils, and a mahogany body/ebony fretboard superstrat with coil-splittable Bare Knuckle HolyDivers and
Not any more.
I don't know just how good the Aldrich buckers split cleans are on their own, but I can attest to them breathing some much needed life into the 2 & 4 selector positions mixed with the Jem Single coil.
And under high-gain the Aldrich buckers are amazing.
At first, I thought there was something wrong as the pickups sounded too clean.
I kept reaching for the volume knob on the guitar to check that it was wound all the way up.
Then I came to realize that they just have a very clean and clear tone that responds like no other pickup I've tried before.
They are still thick and aggressive for chord work if you dig in, but play some single-note solo lines and they get all sweet and syrupy with unrivaled sustain.
And if you use your fingers to create dynamics and subtle textures with your phrasing, then the Aldrich buckers respond like no other.
Just super articulate with sweet clean tone at your fingertips.
It's the cleanest high-gain tone I've heard and just has the most amazing sustain.
THE PLEK VERDICT:
Although that incredible sustain could also be partly due to the Plek job.
Ibanez dropped the ball big time with the fret finishing on this guitar.
No amount of truss-rod tweaking and bridge/saddle adjustment could overcome the sloppy job that Ibanez had done on the fretboard.
So to save this beautiful guitar, I decided to take the plunge and Plek it.
And I'm happy to say that the Plek has completely changed the way this guitar feels, sounds and plays.
I'm now a firm believer and supporter of the Plek.
It's no wonder all you Suhr lovers feel the way you do about your instruments.
I'm starting to wonder just how much of that amazing playability and sound that Suhr devotees attest to is related to them being Plekked.
Anyways, I really have to get some clips of this guitar in action through my Gryphon.
In the meantime, here's some pics:
The pickup swap didn't go to plan, but it just so happens that I received a little blessing in disguise...
THE BACKGROUND:
I had decided that I only wanted the Aldrich buckers in my PGM301.
The middle single-coil was to be removed along with the PAF Pro's.
So my tech had drawn up an elaborate schematic to get the most out of a dual-humbucker setup with a 5-way superswitch and only one Push/Pull coil-split potentiometer to work with (the PGM only has a volume knob).
So cut to today, I find out that my tech has had a falling out with his Manager and quit - just before he was supposed to work on my guitar.
So the other techs in the store have no idea how to do the install (my tech was a bit of a guru) and as a result they decide to just wire the pickups back to the original specs with the middle single-coil pickup still in the guitar.
I figure it's no big deal and that I'll just go chase up the Guru to finish his wiring job for the dual humbucker setup at a later date.
THE PICKUPS VERDICT:
Well I got home and after my slight annoyance had worn off, I fired up the Gryphon and plugged in the PGM301. Wow!
In it's stock form (PAF Pros & Jem Single-coil) the PGM just sounded bland and uninspiring to me in the 2 & 4 positions.
So I was taken completely by surprise when I started playing on the clean channel with the Aldrich Set + Jem single-coil.
Positions 2 & 4 are now yielding some of the best cleans I've yet heard from my rig.
And I thought I had already heard the best that my Halo channel had to offer.
Warm, sparkling and scrumptious are the words that come to mind.
My previous favorites were an ash body/maple fretboard Richie Kotzen Strat with Dimarzio custom single coils, and a mahogany body/ebony fretboard superstrat with coil-splittable Bare Knuckle HolyDivers and
Not any more.
I don't know just how good the Aldrich buckers split cleans are on their own, but I can attest to them breathing some much needed life into the 2 & 4 selector positions mixed with the Jem Single coil.
And under high-gain the Aldrich buckers are amazing.
At first, I thought there was something wrong as the pickups sounded too clean.
I kept reaching for the volume knob on the guitar to check that it was wound all the way up.
Then I came to realize that they just have a very clean and clear tone that responds like no other pickup I've tried before.
They are still thick and aggressive for chord work if you dig in, but play some single-note solo lines and they get all sweet and syrupy with unrivaled sustain.
And if you use your fingers to create dynamics and subtle textures with your phrasing, then the Aldrich buckers respond like no other.
Just super articulate with sweet clean tone at your fingertips.
It's the cleanest high-gain tone I've heard and just has the most amazing sustain.
THE PLEK VERDICT:
Although that incredible sustain could also be partly due to the Plek job.
Ibanez dropped the ball big time with the fret finishing on this guitar.
No amount of truss-rod tweaking and bridge/saddle adjustment could overcome the sloppy job that Ibanez had done on the fretboard.
So to save this beautiful guitar, I decided to take the plunge and Plek it.
And I'm happy to say that the Plek has completely changed the way this guitar feels, sounds and plays.
I'm now a firm believer and supporter of the Plek.
It's no wonder all you Suhr lovers feel the way you do about your instruments.
I'm starting to wonder just how much of that amazing playability and sound that Suhr devotees attest to is related to them being Plekked.
Anyways, I really have to get some clips of this guitar in action through my Gryphon.
In the meantime, here's some pics:
