Pickups for Walnut Bodied Ibanez RG Hardtail.

[nickcoumbe]

Ok,

I am in the process of finishing a custom build and need some help with pickups.

The guitar is a solid one piece walnut Ibanez RG shape with a bolt on maple/rosewood neck. The neck may change to ebony/maple in the near future. Tunomatic bridge and sperzels with ebanol non locking nut will handle the tuning etc.

It is an H-S configuration with volume, no tone and a 2 position (push-push) switch to give a choice of neck or bridge  pickup only.

I like a pickup with a tight bottom end, and nice open harmonics. I am looking to play blues and rock, with a bit of metal.

I have pretty much decided on a Holy Diver for the bridge. What single coil works well in the neck with those and is good for soloing without becoming too shrill.

[Nolly]

Hi!
Personally, I enjoy pairing a Trilogy Suite neck with the Holy Diver bridge - should ensure a fluid lead tone without any shrillness.

[nickcoumbe]

Hi!
Personally, I enjoy pairing a Trilogy Suite neck with the Holy Diver bridge - should ensure a fluid lead tone without any shrillness.

I have to admit that I already have a trilogy suite and I am not all that keen on it for this guitar. Principally because of the volume.

I have Sultans in another axe which I probably wouldn't want to use for this project.

Any thoughts on Mother's Milk?

[Nolly]

Ah, interesting to hear.
The Mother's Milks give a very traditional strat tone - hollow and bright, with a percussive low end response. If you're after that kind of sound they are hard to beat, though arguably the Irish Tour would provide a similar voicing with more output that give a closer match to the Holy Diver in the bridge.

[nickcoumbe]

Ah, interesting to hear.
The Mother's Milks give a very traditional strat tone - hollow and bright, with a percussive low end response. If you're after that kind of sound they are hard to beat, though arguably the Irish Tour would provide a similar voicing with more output that give a closer match to the Holy Diver in the bridge.

Funnily enough I am just revisiting the clips thread and the ourIrish T and Sultans sound great. Irish Tour has it at the moment, but I am concerned that it will be a bit too bright.

[Nolly]

Hmm, I'm not sure I'd describe the Irish Tours as much brighter than Sultans, and even so with the fuller bass and mid they definitely put out a thicker sound.
I'm assuming you will be using a 500kΩ pot in the guitar?

[nickcoumbe]

Hmm, I'm not sure I'd describe the Irish Tours as much brighter than Sultans, and even so with the fuller bass and mid they definitely put out a thicker sound.
I'm assuming you will be using a 500kΩ pot in the guitar?

Yep, 500K push-push with a skull knob :)

I think I'll go with the Irish Tours. I am really impressed by the sound clips and BKP's always seem to translate well from demos to the actual guitar. What you hear is what you get.

As I have two of the other options in other guitars I can always swao around if I don't like.

Thanks for all the advice, and here is a picture as of the progress last night.

[Madsakre]

Go sinner and ceramic warpig. take no prisoners ;D

[nickcoumbe]

Go sinner and ceramic warpig. take no prisoners ;D

Sorry, I thought about it and chickened out and went with my original line up of the Irish Tour/Holy Diver.

[Telerocker]

You will love the IT-neck and it is not thin or too bright, at least not in my customstrat. It does fluid leads very well.

[nickcoumbe]

Well it is finished.

Pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52686097@N08/5421326570/in/set-72157625598908129/

To be honest I haven't had a chance to give it a full work out, but the initial signs are positive.

[Telerocker]

Congrats! Hope you like the combi HD/IT

[FernandoDuarte]

Nice!

[nickcoumbe]

Well,

It has been a while since I installed the pickups,  and I have some thoughts:

Holy Diver (Bridge) - Excellent bridge pickup. Reasonably tight and melodic when over driven and cleans up well. For a guitar with focused highs this pickup works very well. This guitar is thin bodied and I feel the HD conveys enough of the natural bite of the wood without becoming too nasal. I might try it in padauk next.

Cleans up well. TBH all Bare Knuckles seem to do that, which is what makes them great.

Some Clips:

HD Clean
http://www.youtube.com/user/nickcoumbe#p/u/6/tRZgS_DX3gw

HD Dirty
http://www.youtube.com/user/nickcoumbe#p/u/4/tbcFUKpNfgc

Irish Tour (Neck)

To be honest, I fond it difficult to assess this pickup as the wood is probably slightly too thin sounding to show it off well. I think it is OK when over driven but really comes into it's own with the volume rolled back. In a bright guitar it still manages to give a glassy, almost bell-like shimmer without becoming too shrill. I like it a lot in that regard.

Again with the clips

IT Dirty
http://www.youtube.com/user/nickcoumbe#p/u/5/ydsBvGl6HIY

IT Clean
http://www.youtube.com/user/nickcoumbe#p/u/7/hIi60kZZa0I