I have not gotten a chance to play new amps yet but, here is the update.
If you search my posts you can see the changes I have made to my rig.
Here is a hi-level summary.
EQ using the Gmajor in the FXLoop.
Reduce 200Hz, increase 100Hz and increase 700Hz to 800Hz.
In the front of the amp I add a pinch of gain and 5db of 800Hz using my Radial Tonebone.
I have two Mesa Tremoverb Combo Amps and one 1990 Marshall 1960B 4x12 loaded with G75s. The cabinet is rewired, new switch plate and insulated...it sounds tight and full.
These changes along with letting the amps run by cranking them to very high levels has really changed my tone and playing style and now I have a hard time not playing at those volumes because the relationship the guitar has with the amps is crazy great.
SO!
Here is what I did with my Ibanez Jem 7VWH.
I played around with pick up height and ended up only raising the bridge pick up a little. I originally kept all the pick ups low to have a great clean sound. I found the right height to get more gain without sacrificing too much of the clean that I like and besides, I tend to use position 2, 3, and 4 for cleans anyway. This change made a big impact on tone, in my opinion.
I ordered CTS pots and measured them at 516K, which I felt was acceptable and used only one for volume.
I restored the wiring from a push/pull tapped humbucker scheme to the original Ibanez Jem wiring design and moved the volume pot to the tone pot location and eliminated the tone pot from the design.
My tone is now unbelievable!
It is everything I wanted and have been looking for.
Very open, clean, responsive, fast, percussive and tight, articulate and musical, and at medium to high volumes with the 4x12 it is thumping and crushing, without any harshness or ice pick tones. Harmonics are jumping off the neck, hell the guitar plays itself.
Using hi-gain (even though I backed that down a long time ago to get more note definition when playing intricate chords) is very musical and I have even more definition with chords...I might even increase it a little, but it is not necessary so I probably won't.
I have incredible sustain and usable harmonics and changing pick ups is very useful or I should say it pops a little more than before.
Let's face it this is a tone quest that really has been a great journey and before I did anything I had great tone. It is not like I had horrible unusable tone and nothing worked.
It is just that I was trying to hone in on something that I heard in my ear or head, and the LONG journey (that I am sure never ends, and you can chime in and agree or not...LOL) was a great love for me, as well as frustrating, but at the same time was a time of discovery and opportunity to learn and share.
So having said that, what does my tone sound like or what/who can I use to help describe what I feel and hear now.
O.K., so don't tear me a new A-Hole and read carefully so that there is no confusion.
I use these examples very carefully and don't want anyone to say "oh you should just by a marshall or yadda, yadda, yadda", as these are only examples that come to mind, and in no way does it sound "just like" these examples...but instead, have a likeness to them in some small way.
Here we go:
Yngwie Malmsteen
Nuno Bettencourt
Van Halen (first album)
Using the artists above and the aforementioned description should pull you a little closer to what I am hearing. I still have the Mesa Tremoverb signature tone and retain the Ibanez Jem 7VWH signature tone, but now they work together to sing a little differently with slightly different voicing or tone.
All I can say is that it is incredible. I can't hide my mistakes anymore, but I can hear what is happening and am correcting for those mistakes and playing better.
I even turned down last night and was able to play and enjoy it, albeit, I was itching to crank it, but I wanted to hear what if any restrictions a lower volume would place on me and there was none. I still had the great tone and inspiring feel that kept me playing for a long time.
I now work to get every note correct and since I can hear it, the effort is worth it, and not hard to do.
Oh, and check this out. Before these recent changes there was a sweet spot and a not so sweet spot to stand and play. The sweet spot was always twice as large as the not so sweet spot.
Now, the sweet spot is three times as large and all the room is a stage.
I consider myself lucky to have played a Tremoverb and a Jem back in 1990. It is a Mesa amp that is different from all the rest and I think it is that detail and design that lends itself to the tone I have now. The Jem is a different guitar from all the rest and believe me I tried them all.
I played the Tremoverb back in 1990 and bought my first one in 2004 and I never even demoed any other amp after the original 1990 demoing where I demoed them all including, Saldano, Vox, Orange, Marshall, etc.
Then 14 years later I bought two used ones...I will be buried with them both along side my Jem, which I bought new in the same year.
Thanks for all of your help and I look forward to your thoughts.
