Ibanez sounds too harsh...

[Hartmut]

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.

The only PU made by Ibanez in this guitar is the Single coil. The humbuckers are bridge: Dimarzio Tone-Zone, the neck: DiMarzio PAF. This PU´s shouldn´t be too bad...?

 

[RockNRun]

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.

The only PU made by Ibanez in this guitar is the Single coil. The humbuckers are bridge: Dimarzio Tone-Zone, the neck: DiMarzio PAF. This PU´s shouldn´t be too bad...?

Nice lookin guitar. Shame it's overly bright and bugging you. I'm sure it's basswood (?)...though you never know, it looks a little older and there are some other wood type Ibanez guitars out there and of course that affects pickup choice. Don't know what to say about your Tone Zone, I have them in the bridge of both by Ibanez (Alder w/maple top & Basswood w/maple top) and it sounds great in both, the overall tone is very balanced and rounded, perfect for lead type playing. Is that your only axe at the moment? Just curious if other/friends guitars sound similar through your rig (you've prolly tried that but had to ask).

 

[sinfish]

I would just try swapping the 500k volume pot with a 250k pot. it will warm up the sound and take the harshness out. I would try that first because it is a $5, 10 minute fix.

 

[D-Rock]

^^^^Good suggestion ^^^^

 

[JakeAC5253]

^^^^Good suggestion ^^^^

I agree. To make it even easier than swapping a pot and partially rewiring your guitar, go to Radio Shack and pick up a 470k resistor and wire it across the pickup to achieve the same effect, albeit much more easily reversible.

 

[racerevlon]

The Dimarzio Tone Zone uses Alnico 5 magnets and has a B/M/T EQ curve of 8.5/8.5/5

Either you're getting WAY too many high mids or something is fishy. I would go with the recommendation of swapping out the volume pot first. Problems with the underlying electronics could cause this, and as mentioned, this, and the other recommendations are simple, reversible operations.

If you can't get around those frequencies, I'd try a Dimarzio Crunch Lab in the bridge. The mids and highs are sufficiently pulled back so that if the bridge position is still too shrill, you may be better-served by a different axe.

Good luck!

 

[Hartmut]

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.

The only PU made by Ibanez in this guitar is the Single coil. The humbuckers are bridge: Dimarzio Tone-Zone, the neck: DiMarzio PAF. This PU´s shouldn´t be too bad...?

Nice lookin guitar. Shame it's overly bright and bugging you. I'm sure it's basswood (?)...though you never know, it looks a little older and there are some other wood type Ibanez guitars out there and of course that affects pickup choice. Don't know what to say about your Tone Zone, I have them in the bridge of both by Ibanez (Alder w/maple top & Basswood w/maple top) and it sounds great in both, the overall tone is very balanced and rounded, perfect for lead type playing. Is that your only axe at the moment? Just curious if other/friends guitars sound similar through your rig (you've prolly tried that but had to ask).

I have a Fender Telecaster Thinline with humbuckers (sounds KILLER!!!), a Fender Classic Player 60´ and a Les Paul Standart. This guitars sound round like they should! But the Ibanez is a little bit too bright. Sometimes so bright that it hurts...

 

[Hartmut]

I would just try swapping the 500k volume pot with a 250k pot. it will warm up the sound and take the harshness out. I would try that first because it is a $5, 10 minute fix.

I´ll try this first! I´ve been reading this on the DiMarzio homepage, too. Thanks for the advice!