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Author Topic: Pickups for my Ibanez S5470F...I could use a hand here  (Read 2550 times)

EchelonXIII

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Pickups for my Ibanez S5470F...I could use a hand here
« on: May 06, 2015, 05:20:01 PM »
Hey guys!

So! I've recently got myself a new Ibanez S5470F trough a trade(Mahogany body w. Flame Maple top, Maple neck, Rosewood board, w. vintage style trem), and I LOVE it! It has an amazing feel and it sounds simply amazing unplugged. The only problem is that the stock pickups sound okay-ish clean, with high gain it kinda sounds like someone farting trough a walky-talky (I am not kidding).

I'm thinking on once again taking the plunge due to my fantastic experience with BKP in the past, and i'm looking for that one pair that will make my S sound fantastic. I've already ordered a Triology Suite for the middle position to offer hot single coil sounds, and now I'm looking for a good pickup set to match what I'm looking for.

I'm looking for a set that can go from crystal sparkling cleans, which sound great with a lot of reverb (Think TessaracT)
to a nice bluesy tone (think Gary Moore), to all out metal with a good amount of tightness and a modern tone which still gives a ''roar'' (Like the intro of Trivium's Strive)

Now BKP has reccommended the Holy Diver set, but before I pull the trigger I'd like a bit of more feedback on this combination. Next to the Holy Divers, other sets I have been thinking about are WarPigs (A or C), once again Aftermaths, or Nailbombs (A or C).

Your input is much appreciated!

Slartibartfarst42

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Re: Pickups for my Ibanez S5470F...I could use a hand here
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2015, 06:34:04 PM »
It's a hell of a range of tones you're looking at there and some of your suggestions just won't work in my view.

The Aftermath would be my least favourite option of those suggested as it's way too modern and aggressive for the tones you want. The Warpig, in my opinion, is also too hot and too 'big'. The C-Bomb won't give you the cleans you want as you're going to need alnico for that and while the A-Bomb is certainly more flexible, it does have a very aggressive edge to it that can be tough to tame in the wrong guitar. I always think it would work great in a mahogany guitar like a Les Paul and there's enough in the guitar to tame it a bit but while yours may be mahogany, it's also very thin, limiting the effect of the wood. Out of that lot, I'd say the A-Bomb would be closest to what you're after but you's need to like everything to have that aggressive edge and hairiness to it.

The Holydiver is much smoother and sweeter so to my mind has a bigger operating window. It's tight enough for Metal and would do some Trivium quite well but it's also a thick sounding pickup so the tightness isn't overpowering. Instead it comes across as just being very articulate. The cleans are good and it has a really special lead tone. You're not going to get a single pickup to do all you want so it depends where your priorities lie. If you want the balance to be a bit more towards Metal than Blues then the Holydiver is undoubtedly the way to go.

Conversely, if you would rather have ability in Metal but have more of a focus towards Blues Rock and Gary Moore then you might want to consider a Crawler. It's not as tight as a Holydiver but it's fat, articulate and has a very distinctive growl to it. It will move your Ibanez a lot closer to what you might expect from a Les Paul. It's very versatile and is perfect for Blues Rock and Classic Rock and Heavy Rock. Overall, I'd say it's more versatile than the Holydiver but as ever, there are compromises.

The Holydiver has its natural home in 80s Metal but it will do more modern styles and will carry off Heavy Rock and Classic Rock very well. The more you go towards Blues, the more it will struggle. The Crawler has its natural home in Blues, Blues Rock, Classic Rock and Heavy Rock but it will do 80's Metal quite well. It will struggle with styles more modern than that. The Crawler also has the best split tones I've ever heard. I don't much care for split tones but the ones on the Crawler are incredible. Either the Holydiver or Crawler will do what you're after and do it well but each will struggle at one end of your spectrum.

For the neck, I'd go with either an Emerald or Holydiver; both are incredible. The Emerald neck is hotter and more modern sounding but with some real sweetness from the AIV magnet while the Holydiver has more of a PAF feel to it.
BKP owned:

Bridge - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; A-Bomb; Holydiver; Miracle Man; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

Neck - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; Holydiver; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

EchelonXIII

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Re: Pickups for my Ibanez S5470F...I could use a hand here
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2015, 06:49:36 PM »
Thanks for your input man.
I'm mainly looking for a mode modern-ish tone. I prefer modern music styles with the ocasional throwback to vintage tones. But I think most of the time I'll be playing metal-oriented stuff. And that's kinda the thing with the Holy Diver, I've heard it's got kind of a vintage tone, and I'd prefer a modern sounding pickup.
So a modern sound, with great cleans, and the ability to do some more vintage stuff would be ideal I guess ^^ (hence me LOVING juggernauts, but the same pickup 2 times would seem a little redundant to me)

Slartibartfarst42

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Re: Pickups for my Ibanez S5470F...I could use a hand here
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2015, 09:09:44 PM »
I wouldn't say the Holydiver was a 'vintage' tone at all but perhaps you're a hundred years younger than me so anything prior to 2000 is considered vintage  :wink:

The Holydiver is very much an 80s Metal pickup so it's smooth rather than aggressive and has enough versatility to go a reasonable way in either direction from there. Think 80s era Ozzy with guitarists like Jake E. Lee and you get the idea. It's often referred to as a massively improved Seymour Duncan JB. I'd say it's both tighter and more articulate than a JB and that's a pickup that appears on plenty 'Metal' guitars like Jacksons etc. Indeed, I believe bands like Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine etc. have all used JB pickups at some point.

I think the point I'm trying to make is that if you want the kind of versatility you mention and have a pickup that is still primarily at home with Metal, then you should be buying a Holydiver because anything beyond that and you're starting to make huge compromises. To my mind there is nothing beyond the Holydiver that will give you 'great cleans' and some 'vintage stuff' unless your concept of 'great' is very different to mine. Sure, an Aftermath will do a very modern Metal tone better than a Holydiver but it won't have an 80s Metal tone, the Rock tone will be heavily compromised, the Blues tone will be poor and I imagine the cleans will be limited at best. The trouble is that to have that modern sound, it needs to be all the things that your other requirements aren't. BKP know their stuff and I'd say they were spot on in suggesting the Holydiver because that will do what you've asked for best by a country mile. It seems to me that what you're after isn't what you've described. My second suggestion for you would be the A-Bomb. It's not going to be as versatile as the Holydiver but it has a more modern voicing and is MUCH more aggressive sounding. The cleans are good and it will cover the tones you mention, though without the subtlety of the Holydiver, and is certainly more modern sounding .
BKP owned:

Bridge - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; A-Bomb; Holydiver; Miracle Man; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

Neck - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; Holydiver; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

EchelonXIII

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Re: Pickups for my Ibanez S5470F...I could use a hand here
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2015, 10:26:32 PM »
haha, well I'm begin twenties, so that might be so ^^.
I guess it's down to either Nailbombs, Holydivers, or a Coldsweat/Warpig combo for me.
Which is hard, because they all are awesome at what they do obviously but in the end I'm looking for quite a modern sound and i'm fearing that the HD would be a bit too vintage sounding for me

Slartibartfarst42

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Re: Pickups for my Ibanez S5470F...I could use a hand here
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2015, 11:56:01 PM »
Out of that lot I'd go A-Bomb then. You sacrifice a bit of versatility for a more modern voicing. I don't think the Warpig would suit you as well, though oddly enough, using a Coldsweat in the bridge was another option that crossed my mind. It's more modern than the Holydiver but not as overtly aggressive as the A-Bomb. It's ceramic but the cleans are surprisingly good.
BKP owned:

Bridge - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; A-Bomb; Holydiver; Miracle Man; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

Neck - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; Holydiver; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

Telerocker

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Re: Pickups for my Ibanez S5470F...I could use a hand here
« Reply #6 on: May 07, 2015, 12:53:26 AM »
Divers. Better in the Ibbie than NB's I think, especially considering the maple neck since the NB has quite agressive uppermids, which could turn out to be a bit unbalanced.
Mules, VHII, Crawler, MM's, IT's, BG50's.

Dave Sloven

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Re: Pickups for my Ibanez S5470F...I could use a hand here
« Reply #7 on: May 07, 2015, 03:28:35 AM »
using a Coldsweat in the bridge was another option that crossed my mind. It's more modern than the Holydiver but not as overtly aggressive as the A-Bomb. It's ceramic but the cleans are surprisingly good.

You would have more chance of getting something remotely Gary Moore ish out of a Cold Sweat than an A-Bomb.  I say this as a person who owns and appreciates both pickups.  The A-Bomb is quite hairy.  The Cold Sweat can be pretty modern as well as being able to do '70s and '80s rock stuff. It's tight enough for Pantera too.  Best cleans out of the ceramic BKPs for sure.

This is the 7 string version, but it might give you some idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl2QzOMMm6w

Also in these clips you can hear what people have been saying about the Nailbombs (hair) and Aftermath (honk).  Just depends on the qualities you want in a pickup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMJj_DbZly4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILpDPYKI0Tc
« Last Edit: May 07, 2015, 03:43:03 AM by Agent Orange »
BLACK HAWKS
IMPULSES
COBRA-T
WAR PIGS
STOCKHOLM
COLD SWEATS
MIRACLE MAN
TRUE GRIT

https://slovendoom.bandcamp.com/releases

Slartibartfarst42

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Re: Pickups for my Ibanez S5470F...I could use a hand here
« Reply #8 on: May 07, 2015, 08:25:57 AM »
I agree, and that's why I originally moved away from the A-Bomb. The Holydiver would be a much better choice all around but he seemed to want modern and aggressive more than a Gary Moore tone and the A-Bomb is certainly modern and aggressive. Personally I wouldn't go near an A-Bomb for this application, I'd go either Holydiver or Cold Sweat but he's not me and seems to be after a tone that is far more modern than most of his target styles demand.
BKP owned:

Bridge - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; A-Bomb; Holydiver; Miracle Man; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

Neck - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; Holydiver; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

Dave Sloven

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Re: Pickups for my Ibanez S5470F...I could use a hand here
« Reply #9 on: May 07, 2015, 08:44:25 AM »
I think you can get a crispness out of the Cold Sweat with the right EQ that will give a quite modern sound.  The Holy Diver I'm not so sure, it always seems warmer and less metallic in clips (that said I've never owned one).  I think the Cold Sweat might be a good choice here, the ceramic tightness, punchy but not too fat bottom end and lovely cleans and smoothness that are missing in the C-Bomb.  I would say that the A-Bomb and Cold Sweat are on a par for cleans, slightly different character but equally as good. The C-Bomb I've always heard as inferior to the A-Bomb on cleans.
BLACK HAWKS
IMPULSES
COBRA-T
WAR PIGS
STOCKHOLM
COLD SWEATS
MIRACLE MAN
TRUE GRIT

https://slovendoom.bandcamp.com/releases