I do have one tip, though. If you are worried about your guitar sounding too dark, choose your tonewoods wisely. Of course the pickups will also be a factor, but they are easier to change afterwards if you are not happy with them. (Not so with your tonewood, obviously.) I actually suspect that the pickups on your Ibanez may have been at least contributing factor to the perceived 'dark' sound, and a pickup change might have helped. Well that, and getting rid of the lowest, 7th string. :lol:
Alder, a classic Fender tonewood, is famous for its bright, spanky sound. I don't think you'll go wrong with that. Mahogany, on the other hand, while warm and full-sounding, also can sound dark and muddy when it is your only tonewood. Which is why Gibson likes to put maple tops on their Les Pauls, to add some top-end sparkle and brightness. I don't know what to make of basswood (found in many Ibanez builds, among others). Many people have experienced it is a dark tonewood; OTOH, I currently have two basswood guitars, and neither of them is particularly dark. One of them, a Japanese Jackson, is in fact the brightest and shrillest sounding guitar I have owned in a long while, even after pickup upgrade. I will agree, though, that basswood is a resonant tonewood.