A Place for Musicians

[Kaliden]

I want this guitar so bad.

Ibanez S470DXQM:
http://ibanez.com/eg/guitar.aspx?m=S470DXQM

Would you use the stock pickups?

Nah, I'd swap them out for some active EMGs.

Ick, I'm totally not a fan of EMGs- any active pickup, really. An 81/85 combo -isn't horrible-, it's just not my thing. You're gonna have to spend a lot of time tweaking your EQ if you want the right kind of sound, unless you're looking for a high treble output. Same with Duncan Blackouts (think of the bullet for my valentine sound.)

Personally, I'm more of a fan of Dimarzio and Duncans. The Dimarzio D-sonic pickup is -amazing- in the bridge, imo. It's very balanced for just about any style and any tuning. It doesn't get muddy or harsh. If you're looking for a more thrash'ish sound, you can always adjust the gain on your amp/distortion pedal, but for most hard rock/metal, it sounds great.

As far as a neck pickup, I'd say Dimarzio breed is a wonderful pickup. Either that or a PAF pro.

Actually I forgot about those pickups. I play mostly Post-Hardcore (like metal fused with punk), so I'm looking for something that can give me some high output.

(example: The Fall of Troy) The sound I'm going for, I can get kinda close on a strat. I was thinking I was doing something wrong, then I realized I was playing on a single coil setup. Hopefully I'm not disillusioned and think that new equipment = answer to all my problems. When really it's less than half.

[Shadowstalker]

Actually I forgot about those pickups. I play mostly Post-Hardcore (like metal fused with punk), so I'm looking for something that can give me some high output.

(example: The Fall of Troy) The sound I'm going for, I can get kinda close on a strat. I was thinking I was doing something wrong, then I realized I was playing on a single coil setup. Hopefully I'm not disillusioned and think that new equipment = answer to all my problems. When really it's less than half.

Well keep in mind every guitar is going to sound different, and I mean literally every guitar, even the same model. Every pickup sounds different through different types of woods not only on the body, but neck as well.

Also you have to consider the fact that even live, you're still running through a sound board, so it's not going to sound exactly the same.

Here's a list of what Thomas Erak uses:

This is equipment that is currently being used on tour.

* Guitars:
o Gibson Les Paul Studio Swamp Ash edition
o Gibson Les Paul Standard Double Cut Plus, Rootbeer Finish, with a Seymour Duncan JB humbucker in the bridge (second of this model Erak has used)
o Gibson Les Paul Les Paul Standard Classic 2002
o Gibson Les Paul Les Paul Junior 1957' Reissue
o Gibson SG GT in Muscle Green
o Gibson SG-X Caribbean Blue (being repaired)
o Gibson V Factor, Vintage white 1967' Reissue
o Rickenbacker 330, Maple-Glo Finish (only in studio, as it was a gift and may be broken on-stage)
o LTD Viper-400 Vintage Sunburst (Erak has stated he dislikes using this guitar)

* Amplifiers:
o Orange AD-140 Twin Channel Head
o Budda Superdrive 80 Series II Head

* Speaker Cabinets:
o Two Orange PCC412 4x12" cabinets

* Effects pedals
o BOSS TU-2 Tuner
o Ibanez TS-9DX Tube Screamer Turbo
o Digitech Whammy Pedal
o Maxon AD-999 Analog Delay Pedal
o BOSS DD-5 Digital Delay
o BOSS DD-3 Digital Delay
o BOSS RE-20 Space Echo
o Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi USA
o Line 6 FM-4 Filter Modeler
o Line 6 DL-4 Delay Modeler
o Morley Little Alligator Volume Pedal
o Budda Wah-Wah


(from the wiki)

Outside of the Duncan, it seems like most of his pickups are stock and most of his sound comes through the Tube Screamer and Amp. Pretty basic rig, really. I'd still recommend the D sonic if you're looking for that kind of sound.

[Shadowstalker]

Dolmen, I would recommend the Dimarzio X2n in the bridge and maybe.. a tone zone in the neck. Here's an ok'ish video of that combination. It's pretty sick for metal and it's definitely got the highs and lows you're looking for (and it's passive!) You don't really need to crank the gain with it either, which is nice.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sOfKc54_RYk

[Kaliden]

I ran across a setup online that I want actually. A Standard Fender Stratocaster with a Lace Sensor-Red (extreme output, hot humbucker sound) pickup in the bridge position. So I can get the sound I want, and not have to spend too much money in the process.

[Shadowstalker]

Don't think I've ever heard anything played with that pickup setup, lemme know how it sounds.

[barber2006]

Up until about 7 years ago I had some really amazing equipment. The best part of the setup was a strat style guitar from Tom Anderson Guitarworks. For those of you that don't know about these guitars, they are pretty revolutionary. When I ordered it there was a 10 month waiting period. After about 7 months they called me, and I kid you not, asked me which side of the forest I wanted the wood to be cut from. I asked them if it mattered and they said no, but they like to give their customers total control during the process. Throughout the process they called me 4 more times asking specific questions. Other than the beauty and playability, the thing that stands out the most is the tuning system. As you may know when most guitars are in tune in the open position they will be slightly out of tune in other positions. I can't remember if floating or fixed bridge is better or worse, but both have small variances as you move up and down the fretboard. The tuning system they use someone alleviates this problem. You can read up on it here:

http://www.andersonguitars.com/


After dropping a ton of money on that I went out and bought the works. A full Slash signature Marshall full stack, 7 of the major effects pedals, a multiprocessor with a instruction book 300 pages thick.....etc etc etc. There was only one problem. I was only an average guitar player.


I sold it all and now am sporting about 180 bucks total in equipment. For the last 7 years I've used this to practice practice practice but am totally clueless when it comes to picking out equip for the tone I want. Every single person I talk to about choices is either a) biased toward their own setup or b) trying to sell me something. Is there a resource you guys know about that can help someone build their setup from the ground up?

I'm talking everything:

How different woods in the body effect tone and resonance
How fret size changes tone and playability
What it means to choose a differently scaled guitar
How does the fretboard affect tone
floating or fixed bridge
locking tuners or not
active vs passive pickups
single coil vs humb pickups
use of a preamp
pedal settings
and so on and so forth


a messageboard. A walk thru. Whatever. Just something I can use to study up on now that I can actually play the music I want live.

[Vandole]

this is my baby-
http://www.melkmusic.com/instruments...etBach180S.jpg
with gold valve caps and screws though.

but im learning guitar too, my dad gave me his old fender strat and i have access to a really nice custom peavey electric and a takamini 12 string accoustic, he has alot of pedals and a halfstack too lol. alot of fun when im the only one home.

[Shadowstalker]

a messageboard. A walk thru. Whatever. Just something I can use to study up on now that I can actually play the music I want live.

How different woods in the body effect tone and resonance

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm



How fret size changes tone and playability
Fret size affects intonation and bending, mainly. It affects string tension, (taller frets in particular). Different types of fret metal (ie. nickel vs. stainless) affect the overall brightness of the tone.


What it means to choose a differently scaled guitar

A guitar's scale length is the distance between the bone nut or zero fret and the bridge's saddle. This measurement not only determines the placement of the frets for proper intonation, but has a profound effect on string tension, tone, and in some cases, tuning stability.

While some electric guitarists use a shorter scale instrument to achieve less string tension and easier playability, others see it as an opportunity to get a "thicker" tone utilizing heavier gauge strings. For instance, take two identical electric guitar bodies, one fitted with a 25 1/2", and the other with a 24 3/4" scale neck. If you find your technique requires using .009 - .042 gauge strings on the longscale, you'll probably get the same feel utilizing a heavier .010 - .046 gauge on the short scale instrument, The heavier gauge strings will also have the side-effect of inducing more voltage in your pickups, resulting in a "thicker" fundamental note, and more output.

(stolen from http://www.12fret.com/fret/fv4n7.htm cuz it's easy to copy/paste)



How does the fretboard affect tone
That first link, (the jemsite one,) has a comprehensive look at fretboard woods and how they affect tone/playability



floating or fixed bridge
Here's some wiki information about the two:
Floating (floyd rose): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Rose

Tremolos in general: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tremolo_arm



locking tuners or not
Locking tuners are especially nice if you have a tremolo installed on guitar, especially if you don't have a locking nut installed. If you have a fixed bridge/stop-tail/anything not a tremolo, I honestly don't think it matters that much unless the tuners you have installed on guitar are terrible and fall out of tune even with quarter/half step bends.


active vs passive pickups

Passive Pickups: Passive pickups send a low output, raw signal to the amp that can only be affected by the volume and tone controls on the instrument itself. Passive pickups tend to lose the extremes of high and low frequencies, but still give a very even and punchy tone. This is because passive pickups tend to push out more midrange frequencies. While passive pickups might give players less dynamic control, their smooth sound is still very unique and desirable.

Active Pickups: Active pickups have preamps that are built into the pickup housing; so they can drive the signal to the amp themselves. This preamp must be powered by a source other than the amp, so active pickups require a separate battery to operate. This allows the pickup to send a higher output signal, producing a more complete, full-range sound than most passive pickup systems and giving players more control of instrument dynamics, projection and tone. (http://www.elevation-music.com/guqu.html)


single coil vs humb pickups

Here's a contrast between the two, it's pretty technical but I actually didn't know everything that was on this page:
http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/pickups.php


use of a preamp
This is a pretty good site on using digital preamps, (in particular the line 6 POD)

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun06/a ... reamps.htm



pedal settings

What kind of pedals? Distortion, EQ? Most of that stuff is totally dependent on what you're looking for in terms of sound. What kind of music do you listen to, or what kind of tone do you think you may be looking for?



Here's a general site full of some useful information:

http://www.joetheguitarman.com/factors_ ... hoosin.htm

[Dmitry]

Does anyone know if there's a way to order replacement hardware directly through Gibson? The toggle switch for my pickups seems to have disappeared and I suspect foul play. Almost wouldn't mind replacing other stuff to make mine a more authentic guitar.