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DimarzioForum.Com => The Pickup Place => Topic started by: Angelectrico25 on December 31, 2018, 04:43:09 PM

Title: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: Angelectrico25 on December 31, 2018, 04:43:09 PM
Hi, I want to change the pickups of my Ibanez RG570, I want the classic sound of older Jem's that had Paf Pro's on bridge and neck, but I had never known what model of pickup is the single coil on the middle position? So, if I buy two Paf Pro's (or maybe a Fred for bridge position) what model of single coil pickup should I buy to pair well with the Paf's?

I also like the Paul Gilbert's sound with the Paf Pro's, but I also don't know what sigle coil he uses in the middle?

Another option I would like to try is: Norton for bridge, and Air Norton for neck. If I decide to go this road, what would be a good single coil match for this pickups in the middle postion?

Thanks in advance!
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: buddroyce on December 31, 2018, 06:52:06 PM
I'd just go with the True Velvet middle.
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: greenlion on December 31, 2018, 11:49:41 PM
Several of the Area pickups and others do a better job without the hum of the True Velvet. If you use 2 PAF Pros, the neck is going to overpower the bridge by quite a bit. The Fred works well with the Paf Pro and adds some contrast. Paul Gilbert also used the Tone Zone with his Paf Pro neck at one point. I like both those combos. The Area 61, Cruiser Neck, Virtual Vintage Blues, and Virtual Vintage 54 Pro all work well in the middle position without a big dip in output when you run the single by itself.
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: Angelectrico25 on January 01, 2019, 01:46:46 AM
Thanks for the answear, so the old classic JEM's had that problem of the PAF Pro neck overpowering the PAF Pro bridge? I've never noticed that. But still I'm open to try another bridge pickup, maybe a Satur8?

But just out of curiosity, does someone knows if the single coil in the middle position on JEM's was a specific DiMarzio model? Or it was made by Ibanez?

That's why I want to know what DiMarzio single coil would be the closest to the JEM's?
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: marcwormjim on January 01, 2019, 05:25:08 AM
Apologies if this isn’t what you’re asking, but you can buy JEM single coils through any Dimarzio dealer, including eBay/Reverb. The pickup is the ISCV2. Unless I’m mistaken, it was also the stock middle pickup in the PGM guitars.

In my case, I found the pickup a bit lacking in output compared to the humbuckers unless it was set very close to the strings. Though rated as having the same mv-output, the FS-1 sounded a bit fuller in the particular guitar I tried both in. I haven’t auditioned the 200mv-rated SDS-1 or Dark Matter single as middle pickups, but I’m curious to.

Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: Angelectrico25 on January 01, 2019, 08:15:33 PM
Marcwormjim your comment does help me, at the end I just want a single coil pickup that matches well sonically and in levels, with the PAF Pro, obviosly I don't want a single coil that can sound less louder when I switch to it, I just don't know what specific models would be good
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: marcwormjim on January 02, 2019, 12:37:07 AM
I’m afraid personal experimentation is necessary. The compromise is that, the hotter the singlecoil you use to balance with the humbuckers, the less like a singlecoil it will sound like on its own. The strategy many use is to find a singlecoil that matches the DC resistance of the split humbucker coil they’re putting it in parallel with (within 1.5k or so), but this typically results in split sounds that are half the output of the humbucker switch positions.

I have three HSH guitars in which the middle pickups range from an FS-1 to an ISCV2 to a Seymour Duncan SSL4. None are “best”, so much as they’re each a compromise I arrived at.
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: Angelectrico25 on January 03, 2019, 10:17:18 AM
Thanks for the help, I'm thinking: Fred bridge, PAF Pro neck, and Area 61 middle. Could that be a good set?
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: greenlion on January 04, 2019, 05:58:33 PM
I have had that set recently in an Ibanez RG. I liked it a lot, but ultimately changed the neck to a PAF Joe simply because I had a PAF Pro in another guitar. I think I like the Joe SLIGHTLY better overall with the Fred, but it is rounder, and does not have as much bite as the treble on the Paf Pro, which I miss sometimes.
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: Angelectrico25 on January 07, 2019, 03:37:53 PM
Thanks greenlion for the help, but my main concern is the single coil in the middle, so the Área 61 works great for you?
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: Angelectrico25 on January 09, 2019, 03:43:39 PM
I sended an email to Dimarzio asking for some advice, and they told me this about the hum cancelling single coils:

"Are you aware that positions 2 and 4 will not cancel hum with standard RG wiring unless the middle pickup is split along with the humbuckers, and that the standard Ibanez 5-way does not have the ability to do this?"
"If the middle pickup has to cancel hum, the 5-way wiring will need to be altered for all 5 positions to cancel hum, and the neck and bridge pickups will no longer split in positions 2 and 4"

So, Let me see if I get this right: if I put a hum cancelling middle pickup, only when that pickup is selected alone with the 5 way switch un the middle position (3 position) the sound will be noise free, but in 2 and 4 positions I will still have hum? Or in every position I will have hum? People from Dimarzio say I will be better with a True Velvet or Red Velvet. Anyone has some advice?
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: darkbluemurder on January 10, 2019, 11:01:04 AM
There are two easy set ups, depending on the attributes you want most.

1. If you use the middle pickup a lot by itself, use a humcancelling unit such as the Area 61. Without any specific wiring, any combination with a split humbucker will hum. The solution to that is either to not split the humbuckers or to split both the humbuckers and the Area 61. This may require a different pickup selector switch, in which case the question arises will it fit into the guitar?

2. If you don't use the middle pickup by itself but only in combination with the split humbuckers, a True Velvet would make these combinations humcancelling, depending on which coil of the humbucker is active. This wiring should be doable with the existing switch.

To get all combinations humcancellng is possible but the wiring is more complex.

Cheers Stephan
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: Modis on January 25, 2019, 06:14:09 PM
Thanks for the answear, so the old classic JEM's had that problem of the PAF Pro neck overpowering the PAF Pro bridge? I've never noticed that. But still I'm open to try another bridge pickup, maybe a Satur8?

But just out of curiosity, does someone knows if the single coil in the middle position on JEM's was a specific DiMarzio model? Or it was made by Ibanez?

That's why I want to know what DiMarzio single coil would be the closest to the JEM's?

Depends on the JEM model, most common is the Ibanez made S1 which is in your 570 others had the ISCV2 Dimarzio. They are all around 160mv output and similar spec to the Dimarzio FS-1.
The Ibanez HSH middle pup's are wound South CCW the same as a fender neck so make sure you have the correct wind sorted before purchasing a replacement such as a True Velvet.
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: Angelectrico25 on February 01, 2019, 08:14:10 PM
Thanks to all for the help. At the end I went: Fred (Bridge), True Velvet (Middle), Paf Pro (Neck) and the result wasn't what I expected... Every pickup by itself has a sound that I love, but I feel they don't complement each other well, the Paf Pro sounds a lot louder than the Fred, I had to pull up the Fred too close to the strings, and lower the Paf Pro too low to try to get them at an even volume, but the sound is too different as well, the Paf Pro sounds really fat and bassy, but not a clear bass, the bass is too boomy and undefined, and the pickup sounds too loud, the Fred sounds weak, anemic, thin, skinny, without bass, no body, and less louder, with less gain, and the True Velvet sounds really nice on it's own, sounds beautiful, but maybe a little too bright. So I feel like any of the pickups complements each other in a good way, so now that I tried this set up I think I can make some changes to get a better balance. I was thinking: Paf Joe (Neck) a little less output, and a clearer more defined bass, Satchur8 (Bridge) more output, more bass and mids, more body, less highs, to see if they complement each other better, because now I have to much differences in tone and volume. And I don't know if it's a good idea to try another middle single coil with more output and less bright. I'm tired of thinking. Any suggestions?
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: greenlion on February 02, 2019, 03:09:26 PM
If you want to keep the Fred and have better balance, you could use a brighter, lower output pickup like the Humbucker from Hell. If you want to keep the Paf Pro, you could use a more powerful bridge pickup like the Air Zone or Tone Zone. I already posted my opinions of the single coils.
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: Angelectrico25 on February 02, 2019, 06:07:37 PM
Thanks, I think I'll keep the True Velvet, after a gig I had yesterday I'm really loving it, the Fred is the one that makes me more unhappy, I need more output and lows and mids, so it's the one I need to change first, my thoughts are: Satchur8, Tone Zone or Gravity Storm Bridge, and after that evaluate if I need to change the Paf Pro
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: darkbluemurder on February 03, 2019, 08:11:29 AM
I like greenlion's suggestion and of these two I would select one depending on how much more output and compression is needed.

Cheers Stephan
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: Angelectrico25 on February 03, 2019, 07:10:50 PM
I'm thinking Satchur8 because I'd like to keep a Satriani kind of tone and the Satchur8 have (at least on paper) everything I feel the Fred lacks: more output 375 is fine for me, more bass, more mids and less highs. And after trying that pickup see if I need to change the other pickups.
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: jim777 on December 12, 2019, 04:55:44 PM
Holy thread resurrection!

When I tried to have a Chopper put in my Jem's middle position a few months ago, I was told it couldn't be done because the Chopper was too tall, and with the cutout for the trem in the center of the body I needed a different, shorter pickup so I just left the stocker in there. This is a Jem 505, so one of the Japanese ones that had the IBZ pickups in it. Would an Area 61 pickup be shorter than the Chopper and fit in there? I want a different sound than I am currently getting and am going to swap all of the pickups in this guitar.
Thanks :)

jim
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: greenlion on December 12, 2019, 05:56:17 PM
If you are keeping the PAF Pro in the neck, a Tone Zone or Air Zone bridge works well with it.
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: jim777 on December 12, 2019, 09:11:30 PM
I've got Bartolinis in that one now, but I have another with the Evos in it that I'm leaving stock. I'm looking to put an Air Classic in the neck and use a Steve Morse bridge I have already, but I want something clean, bright, and hum free for the middle slot. I just can't tell how tall the singles are by the available stats, and I know the Chopper was too tall. So, height is as important as anything else for that middle slot on the Jem (and I imagine a number of the RGs as well).
Title: Re: Pickup used on Ibanez JEM middle position?
Post by: jim777 on December 13, 2019, 10:36:14 AM
Saw an ad for a "Tall Single" pickup cover on Reverb that stated the following (which was close to exactly what I was looking for):

FITS: Virtual, HS series, Evolution Middle, FS-1, Area 58-61-67, Injectors and SDS -1.
Will NOT FIT: vintage Fender pickups or DiMarzio Class of '55, True Velvet or Red Velvet pickups.

These Tall DiMarzio Covers dimensions are as follows.
15 MM tall.
52 MM from center of hole E to E hole.
5 MM between each hole.
70 MM from end to end left to right.
17 MM width.


So, this is just for singles with pole pieces, I am guessing the ones with similar form factor to The Chopper won't fit either in a "short" pickup situation. Too bad about the Area '61 though, as that was the one I wanted. I will email DiMarzio and see if they have any hum cancelling "short" single coils.

jim