Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Robert W on July 28, 2015, 02:10:06 PM
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So I'm trying to find an F-spaced version of an Ibanez AH2. From what I've been to gather on-line, the AH2 uses an alnico 5 magnet and is supposed to be rated at +/-13K. The closet match then seems to be the Emeralds. Yes/no?
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Hi,
I'm not sure if i've understood correctly but there's alot more going on than just the magnet and DC resistance.
I have no idea how that pickup sounds but I can see it's used in Ibanez super strats. Personal taste is personal taste but IMO an Emerald would sound woeful in a super strat! Even in my les paul custom I felt it lacked bottom end.
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I've an AH2 in the bridge of a junky IC300 and it sounds very good. unfortunately, I'm currently playing a Fender Strat with a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge, which I'm finding too bassy and lower mid-centric for the tuning I'm using, A standard. Plus, the cab I'm using is pretty bass hevay to begin with. The Emeralds, being more concentrated on the highs, seem like they might be good choice to compensate for the tonal deficiencies I'm currently experiencing.
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I thought the AH1 is a bridgepickup and AH2 the neckversion, but apparently I got that wrong. I'm not much into Ibbies.
The main question is: what tones are you looking for? I guess Rebel Yells could be a solution here.
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Looking for something with an alnico 5 and more geared towards highs and less on the lower mids with an emphasis on keeping the bass response tighter. I'm playing with a fair amount of gain and in a low tuning, A standard. Tone-wise, a good point of reference for what I'm looking for would be the tone on Celtic Frost's "Monotheist."
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rebel yell
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Looking for something with an alnico 5 and more geared towards highs and less on the lower mids with an emphasis on keeping the bass response tighter. I'm playing with a fair amount of gain and in a low tuning, A standard. Tone-wise, a good point of reference for what I'm looking for would be the tone on Celtic Frost's "Monotheist."
Yeah Rebel Yells for sure.
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I can't see how a Rebel Yell could be close to Celtic Frost.
I've been a fan of that band for over 25 years and have two heptagram tattoos so I know their work pretty well ...
My recommendation would be either a Cold Sweat or a Miracle Man. I have a Cold Sweat in my SG. You need to turn down the tone knob a bit but it can get there. I had an A-Bomb (related to the RY) and it definitely couldn't.
Tom always records - at least on the early albums and on Monotheist, as well as in Triptykon - with that old Ibanez IC50 Iceman (bolt-on neck model) with the tone rolled off. The same one he used in this clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41PxFzoqULU
Rebel Yell would be better suited for the Cold Lake sound ...
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I can't see how a Rebel Yell could be close to Celtic Frost.
I've been a fan of that band for over 25 years and have two heptagram tattoos so I know their work pretty well ...
My recommendation would be either a Cold Sweat or a Miracle Man. I have a Cold Sweat in my SG. You need to turn down the tone knob a bit but it can get there. I had an A-Bomb (related to the RY) and it definitely couldn't.
Tom always records - at least on the early albums and on Monotheist, as well as in Triptykon - with that old Ibanez IC50 Iceman (bolt-on neck model) with the tone rolled off. The same one he used in this clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41PxFzoqULU
Rebel Yell would be better suited for the Cold Lake sound ...
Yeah, I've been onboard with that sound since the Hellhammer demos.
I know about the tone roll-off. Have been doing that for years.
For their most recent stuff, Tom's been using that Giger Iceman with the AH1/AH2 set in it.
Right now, I'm playing an alder bodied HH Strat. The pup in there now is too bassy for the rolled-off tone/low tunings. The low mids, around 500-700, are pretty annoying sounding as well, which is why I'm looking for something with more emphasis on the highs.
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I don't think there is anything in the BKP range that would be a 100% match. The Cold Sweat bridge would be the closest, and you'd have to get the rest of the way using EQ. It has the highs and the bottom end, with more mids and more subtle highs and lows than the Miracle Man. The third pickup to consider out of the range would be the ceramic Nailbomb. The alnico Nailbomb is not even remotely close. It sounds more like Possessed or Sepultura.
What guitar are you using it in? Something similar to an Iceman?
I'm not familiar with the AH2 but if you like the sound in an Iceman I'd say you'd need a guitar relatively similar to an Iceman.
Monotheist seems to mainly differ from the early stuff in terms of tuning, and maybe in-studio processing. As far as I can tell from interviews he has tried to recreate the basic tone from the early stuff and 'update' the sound by using lower tunings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N59La4jsOjA
Jonathon from Feline Guitars might be the guy to ask. He has plenty of experience with Icemans and Cold Sweats. He is around the forum sometimes and I guess you could send him an email
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Am playing an alder bodied Strat atm.
The AH2 is the tone you hear on Monotheist and in Triptykon.
For Monotheist, they tuned down to B standard. That tuning was kept for Triptykon
Tone-wise, I can get a fair approximation of the CF/Triptykon tone given what I have to work with. One thing I definitely need to do is swap out the cap in the tone pot for one of a much lower value, as the one in there now is making things sound too muddy. This is being somewhat exacerbated by the DiMarzio SD in there now, which has a little too much bass and low mids for the A standard tuning I using. Unfortunately, the F spacing precludes a straight pup swap between my Strat and my IC300.
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The Cold Sweat has tight bass, enough but not too much, and scooped mids. Could be perfect. I just don't know what the high end would sound like in an alder body. Could be too much. The high end tends toward crispiness. Also some people have said they didn't like it for low tunings. It might be the case that a different pickup might work better. I don't have a lot of experience of B tuning. Maybe have a look at this video. The other one I would consider is a (ceramic) Black Hawk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEkD_F8jM6g
Aftermath
Crunchlab
Black Hawk
Cold Sweat
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I would throw an email at BKP. Cold Sweat in an alder bolt-on is quite risky bec of the scooped voicing and the pronounced topend. Hence I thought the Rebel Yell might do, and I think in this case better than the CS.
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I think a Cold Sweat, Rebel Yell and A-Bomb would all be too much in an alder Strat. The Holydiver works well in Strats but I don't think it's the tone you're after at all. If it was me, I'd be looking at either a Miracle Man or Juggernaut for the bridge.
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I was thinking the Miracle Man might be the safest
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I'm not sure as to what adjectives one would apply to this tone, but this what I'm looking for, more or less.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYAcWw6CSUs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYAcWw6CSUs)
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I have a pair of Ibanez AH1 and AH2 here in front of me (from an Ibanez Iceman - IC300 I believe)
Lets take a look
Here's a shock
The bridge one I have here is only 8.4k ohms, so like a mule with an A5 magnet
Did Ibanez change the specs at some point?
Neck pickup is AH1 - ceramic magnet and 7.4 k - so much like a ceramic magnet PAF type or ceramic version of a mule
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I have a pair of Ibanez AH1 and AH2 here in front of me (from an Ibanez Iceman - IC300 I believe)
Lets take a look
Here's a shock
The bridge one I have here is only 8.4k ohms, so like a mule with an A5 magnet
Did Ibanez change the specs at some point?
Neck pickup is AH1 - ceramic magnet and 7.4 k - so much like a ceramic magnet PAF type or ceramic version of a mule
I'd expect them to be symmetrical and polysol, more like t-tops or dimarzio pafs
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I have a pair of Ibanez AH1 and AH2 here in front of me (from an Ibanez Iceman - IC300 I believe)
Lets take a look
Here's a shock
The bridge one I have here is only 8.4k ohms, so like a mule with an A5 magnet
Did Ibanez change the specs at some point?
Neck pickup is AH1 - ceramic magnet and 7.4 k - so much like a ceramic magnet PAF type or ceramic version of a mule
Thanks for the info. :)
I'd read that the AH2 were supposed to be hotter than that. Something like 13K, if I'm remembering correctly. That lower output is sort of revelation to me. Makes me think that maybe something like a vintaged voiced PAF might be what I'm looking for then.
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I wonder how the VH2 might work in your guitar for this sound?
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I wonder how the VH2 might work in your guitar for this sound?
Easy enough to find out. ;)
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Black Dogs could be a great choice. Right kind of output without being obviously vintage in tone. It isn't a dark pickup but has enough tight bottom end to work well in an alder guitar and should cover a lot of styles.