DiMarzio+Ibanez

[Jackie]

I've been thinking about giving my Ibanez RG370DX a "makeover" - taking out the FR, cleaning it, sharpening the knife edge, putting on 10s or even 9s (the horror!!), then I came to the conclusion that the lead guys that I like to listen to more or less use DiMarzio pickups (Satch, Timmons...). And Ibanez tends to put DiMarzios in their guitars too. So I thought - why the hell not?

The guitar is HSH, basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard. The PUs that are in stock are the Infinity INF3(N), INFS3(M) and INF4(B). They sound pretty ok, but are very "flat" and muddy, undefined. Flubby low end too.

I'm looking for a bridge pickup that's warm but has enough clarity to come through, a PAF neck PU that sounds hellasmooth and a single coil that complements those two - the latter I have the least idea what to choose.

My idea was PAF Pro(N), ToneZone(B), no idea for the single coil, the Area 58 or 67 look good (on paper)

What would you recommend?

(bear in mind that this guitar probably won't be used in a band setting, this is for me more or less)

 

[littlephil]

I prefer the PAF Joe in the neck, the PAF Pro was a little muddy for me (this is in a mahogany S, it might be different in an RG), and I'd probably go for a D-Sonic if you want clarity on the bridge pickup, ToneZone's can get a little muddy. If you aren't using heaps of gain the ToneZone would probably be fine though.

Do you want a true single coil for the middle, or a single sized humbucker (like the Area's)?

 

[Jackie]

Thanks for the response, I thought no one would chime in...

Wait... I thought the Area series are true single coil, just noiseless (does that make them "not-so-true")? They are under "Hum Canceling Strat" on the DM website, and they sure don't look like a "bucker in a single coil"... But no, I want a single coil in the middle, so I can have positions 2 and 4 of my 5-way selector to do a 2xsingle coil "quacky" Strat tone.

Well, since you have a mahogany bodied guitar, I'm guessing the neck would be mahogany and rosewood fretboard? Then I think it could get a little muddy too... I don't use a ton of gain, as you said, and I already got 2 votes for the ToneZone on another forum, so I think I might be ok. Biggest problem is that I can't try out any of the pickups so I gotta rely on info like this... I'll check the D-Sonic out, thanks for your suggestion.

Anyone else?

 

[littlephil]

It was a maple neck/rosewood fretboard.
The Area pickups are stacked humbuckers (2 coils, one on top of the other), they sound more like a true single coil than a rail humbucker, but they're not all the way there. If you use a superswitch you can wire it so you will still get hum-cancelling Strat like tones in positions 2 and 4, while still having no hum on the middle pickup alone, if you're using one of the Area's. With a true single coil there will be hum in the middle position.

 

[RR]

What about a Fred bridge, PAF Pro neck and as for the middle, some Dimarzio RW/RP single coil relative to the Fred's and PAF Pro.

So when you have a Super 5-way switch, the 2 and 4 position you get hum-canceling. Well I would lke this set-up on either a mahogany or basswood body guitar. I rarely use the middle alone anyway.

 

[Metaghius]

I use Tone Zones in all my RG570's with a Mesa Triple Rec and would not change a thing. It suits my taste in tone. I play modern rock. I can get great cleans and unbelievable low end chunk without mud...

 

[littlephil]

What about a Fred bridge, PAF Pro neck and as for the middle, some Dimarzio RW/RP single coil relative to the Fred's and PAF Pro.

So when you have a Super 5-way switch, the 2 and 4 position you get hum-canceling. Well I would lke this set-up on either a mahogany or basswood body guitar. I rarely use the middle alone anyway.

You only need a Super switch if you have a single coil sized humbucker in the middle, and want to split it in positions 2 and 4.
With a regular single coil, a standard 5-way will work with the auto-split in positions 2 and 4.
And I think the Fred/Single/PAF PRO would be a good combo too.

 

[Steinway]

Fred in bridge is great solution. And, an old Super Distortion would be bingo !

 

[Jackie]

Thanks for your suggestions... the FRED seems like an interesting PU. Wish I could try any of these out xD

Glad to hear that the ToneZone doesn't mud. I'll try to get a hang of a guitar with DiMarzios, to see how I like 'em...

I have heard the SuperDist before, and it "screams" a little too much for my taste - I usually don't object to that, but this time, I'm looking to get something different.

 

[RR]

What about a Fred bridge, PAF Pro neck and as for the middle, some Dimarzio RW/RP single coil relative to the Fred's and PAF Pro.

So when you have a Super 5-way switch, the 2 and 4 position you get hum-canceling. Well I would lke this set-up on either a mahogany or basswood body guitar. I rarely use the middle alone anyway.

You only need a Super switch if you have a single coil sized humbucker in the middle, and want to split it in positions 2 and 4.
With a regular single coil, a standard 5-way will work with the auto-split in positions 2 and 4.
And I think the Fred/Single/PAF PRO would be a good combo too.

I'm talking about splitting the coil of the Fred (one nearest the bridge) and combine it with the middle single coil for a 'quack' tone. Same goes with the PAF Pro, splitting the coil, one closes to the fingerboard with the middle.

Now to get a hum cancel with these two position 4 and 2 assuming the middle is a true single coil, it has to be reverse wound, reverse polarity.

This could be accomplish with either a Super 5-way switch or a Shaller Megaswitch. If it could be accomplish with a standard 5-way switch, I'd like to see the wiring diagram.

 

[Jackie]

This could be accomplish with either a Super 5-way switch or a Shaller Megaswitch. If it could be accomplish with a standard 5-way switch, I'd like to see the wiring diagram.

I'm no expert, but I think the DiMarzio diagram on their website says to turn the neck pickup around :?

 

[littlephil]

If it could be accomplish with a standard 5-way switch, I'd like to see the wiring diagram.

Here you go, from the Dimarzio site.
http://www.dimarzio.com//media/diagrams/C.pdf
If the active coil is wrong, either you will get hum, in which case you need to switch some wires (white as hot, red+green as series link and black as the ground) or it won't be humming, in which case you just need to flip the pickup.

 

[RR]

If it could be accomplish with a standard 5-way switch, I'd like to see the wiring diagram.

Here you go, from the Dimarzio site.
http://www.dimarzio.com//media/diagrams/C.pdf
If the active coil is wrong, either you will get hum, in which case you need to switch some wires (white as hot, red+green as series link and black as the ground) or it won't be humming, in which case you just need to flip the pickup.

Thanks littlephil (and Jackie). Whoa, never realize you could do that with a 5-way stock switch.

I've wired so many guitars with so many different pickups and never got around to realizing that I could actually use a stock 5-way switch for a H/S/H. I alway used Shaller Mega Switch. I guess I never dissect the 5-way switch (or do my research)

I once did a wiring with a Super Switch for PRS-style wiring. That was a dosey drawing it out which pins, which wire on which pickup. Man, I've go to do more research than go through the painstaking work drawing everything out on paper before soldering. :?

 

[littlephil]

:lol:
I know the feeling. I usually resort to the Seymour Duncan site and a colour code conversion chart. 95% of the time it has what I need

 

[Jackie]

Well, live and learn, I guess

I'm gonna try out an acquaintance's Ibanez RG Prestige tomorrow, which is loaded with an Air Norton, True Velvet and ToneZone (N/M/B), and I get to try it on a JVM410H with 1960A cab, so I'll get a pretty good idea of what a ToneZone sounds like. The only thing different from my guitar is the maple fretboard, I guess it would sound a little darker on my RG.

 

[RR]

I haven't wired Dimarzio pickups in ages. I've done mostly Seymour Duncans, some Fralins, Rio Grande, Van Zandts, Bill Lawerence ...

I used Guitar Electronic site for diagrams. Here's a good site for humbuckers if you mix-match different pickup brands and you need the proper polarity and wire color codes.