Ibanez sounds too harsh...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hartmut
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Hartmut

Hartmut

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Hey folks,
I need some advice for my Ibanez. The bridge PU sounds way too shrill! Can I mod something in the guitar that cuts off the high frequencies like adding a capacitor? Or will I have to change the PU? In this case, what will you recommend me to put in there? I´d like to have a balanced PU with not too much bass, no shrill hights and not too much output (because my VH4 gets too compressed and has already enough bass). The sound I´m into is rock like Big Elf, Guns´n´Roses, Toto etc...
 

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My guess is that you will likely need to replace the pickup with a smoother less shrill one.
What pickup is currently in the bridge?
Have you considered swapping it with the neck pickup? Or is that one too low output for your taste?
Might sound better in the bridge(?)
 
I don´t know what´s in the bridge. I bought it new with those PUs in it. The Neck PU sounds good in the neck position so I don´t want to change this one :no: But thanks for the good Idea. Perhaps I´ll give it a try and then buy another one. There are so many PUs on the marked that I can´t decide which one I should buy... :doh:
 
I suggest Dimarzio, maybe the Tone Zone as it's thick sounding with nice mids and harmonics. Check their site, they have some pretty good descriptions, sound bytes and spec graphs.
 
So I finally found out what is in my Ibanez. It´s a RG1200. The bridge is a Dimarzio Tone-Zone, the neck is a DiMarzio PAF. The description from DiMarzio says that the Tone-Zone shouldn´t be harsh at all... So it is the guitar. I´ll have to find another way. Any ideas? :confused:
 
Sell the guitar...

Honestly, I love my RG because I get the meanest snarl out of it, harmonics galore for shredding and really metallic cutting rhythm tones.

However, my RG sounds a lot thinner than my other guitars. That is just the nature of the beast, and you shouldn't try to fight it with pickups.

Just my opinion...
 
Is there a tone control? Sorry I can't tell from the pics. If there is not one, you can take a 470K or 250K resister in seriers with a .022 or .047 uf cap and run it from the lug that's not the center and not the ground of the volume knob to ground - that will roll off some hi's like a tone control in the circuit.
 
1. Yes, you can install a cap to bleed highs

2. Or, you can use a dark pickup. (Duncan Custom Custom, Dimarzio Breed, etc.)

3. Or, you can sell the guitar. Honestly, if it sounds REALLY bright, a pickup change might not tame it enough. I had this problem with a 540 Saber.
 
dstroud":chgfo6p8 said:
Is there a tone control? Sorry I can't tell from the pics. If there is not one, you can take a 470K or 250K resister in seriers with a .022 or .047 uf cap and run it from the lug that's not the center and not the ground of the volume knob to ground - that will roll off some hi's like a tone control in the circuit.
Click to expand...

Yes, there´s a tone control. If I turn it down it cleans up the hights but also the distortion somehow... What I like about the guitar ist the clean sound with the neck PU mixed with the Ibanez C3. That´s why I keep the guitar. But perhaps I can do some experiments with some caps! :yes:
 
grunge782":2kb38reu said:
Sell the guitar...

Honestly, I love my RG because I get the meanest snarl out of it, harmonics galore for shredding and really metallic cutting rhythm tones.

However, my RG sounds a lot thinner than my other guitars. That is just the nature of the beast, and you shouldn't try to fight it with pickups.

Just my opinion...
Click to expand...

The guitar doesn´t sound thinner but it has too much highs. The bottom is fat enough but the highs kill´em all :D
 
Hartmut":3m78yw9b said:
dstroud":3m78yw9b said:
Is there a tone control? Sorry I can't tell from the pics. If there is not one, you can take a 470K or 250K resister in seriers with a .022 or .047 uf cap and run it from the lug that's not the center and not the ground of the volume knob to ground - that will roll off some hi's like a tone control in the circuit.
Click to expand...

Yes, there´s a tone control. If I turn it down it cleans up the hights but also the distortion somehow... What I like about the guitar ist the clean sound with the neck PU mixed with the Ibanez C3. That´s why I keep the guitar. But perhaps I can do some experiments with some caps! :yes:
Click to expand...

yeah, I've had a couple guitars I've had to "tune in" to the tone I wanted using various caps. good luck!
 
Just curious, have you tried lowering the pickup?? looks pretty close to the strings in that pic, but its hard to tell from that angle, I had a Super D3 in a RG that was not harsh, sounded perfect, combined it with a Fred in the neck, FWIW.
 
How does the guitar sound unplugged? There are several pickups that may work for you depending on what you're looking for. Suhr DSH+, Duncan Custom, Alnico 2 JB.

gibson08: your avatar makes me drool.
 
gibson08":c1fhx7cp said:
Just curious, have you tried lowering the pickup?? looks pretty close to the strings in that pic, but its hard to tell from that angle, I had a Super D3 in a RG that was not harsh, sounded perfect, combined it with a Fred in the neck, FWIW.
Click to expand...

I tried all positions from high to low but this didn´t change the dominating hights... :doh:
 
SFW":3ftzb54a said:
How does the guitar sound unplugged? There are several pickups that may work for you depending on what you're looking for. Suhr DSH+, Duncan Custom, Alnico 2 JB.

gibson08: your avatar makes me drool.
Click to expand...

The guitar sounds warm and punchy when played unplugged. That is what makes me think that the PU is the "evil-doer" :lol: :LOL:
 
In my experience stock Ibanez pickups sound terrible across the board. If the pickups in the guitar are stock then I would say swap them out any way that you can.
 
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