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Hi all
Hope you are well, apologies I've been lurking around here for a while but never posted. I've been debating upgrading/ replacing my Ibanez AF55 for a few weeks but I'm undecided what route to go down.
I love the guitar (playability wise) I just feel it sounds a bit cold, or maybe a bit thin or watery. As a result I'm mostly using a Gretsch solidbody with a P90 neck pickup as I prefer the sound but this feels a bit backward. I've played around with my Pre-amps and EQ but have convinced myself its not quite there (and it also feeds back at almost any volume which is annoying and I don't know if thats related to the pickups or something else!)
So I'm wondering if a pickup change would help? My AF55 has dual Infinity R humbuckers (which are the cheaper all purpose Ibanez pickups). Is there anything relatively inexpensive that I could drop more or less straight in to give my guitar a big upgrade or should I just be thinking about replacing the whole thing if I want a tone upgrade? I've built a couple of DIY kits so I'm not scared of simple wiring but I don't want to have to make any modifications to the body if possible.
Any advice appreciated
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10-17-2024 04:11 AM
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A pickup change probably wouldn't help much. I don't know what "relatively inexpensive" means to you, but any good pickups you could put into the guitar would cost nearly as much as the guitar itself cost - two Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups, for example, would cost around US$250. Not worth the cost or trouble, in my opinion.
Originally Posted by Mrniall
My advice? Sell the guitar and find one you like. And consider that an archtop (particularly if you are financially constrained) might not be the right kind of guitar for you. Concentrate on the sound and not the appearance. For example, listen to Ed Bickert - he used a beat-up Telecaster with either a standard Tele neck or humbucker neck pickup and generated some of the nicest sounds you'll ever hear.
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Thanks for the response. Yes I'd wondered if that might be the case. It's ok I quite like how the guitar plays, I'll maybe just dust off my EQ pedal!
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I believe this guy uses the stock pickups.
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I've got one too and I've replaced the neck-PU (the only one I actually use) with a Gibson P 94 and am really pleased with it.
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Nice sound, I guess, is not coming from good pickups only. I planned to swap these infinitys "R" humbuckers for Seymour Duncan HS-2 jazz... but...
I couldn't really hear a big difference on someone's post on YouTube, so I cancelled my order..
I consider first right amplifier settings, guitar settings, strings (I use full nickel), maybe wooden ebony bridge.. play style etc...
Well let's see (or hear
)
Ossie
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Agree, just replace your neck pickup. Don't sell a guitar you love.
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I don't have any answers that I can stand by confidentally, but I just wanted to chime in that, as the owner of an Ibanez AF75, I have the same impressions of my guitar that you have of your AF55. Originally Posted by Mrniall
I started this thread a while back and got some good suggestions ...haven't acted on any of them yet, but the pickup that got the most upvotes was the Gibson ‘57 Classic, so that's probably what I'll try when I finally get around to making a move.
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Im personally a single coil fan.
If it were mine Id drop a p90 in the neck position and call it good.
You can get a nice fat sound as well as a more acoustic tone if you roll off the volume a little
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I worked for Ibanez and I would literally assess hundreds of guitars in the course of a single week, adjusting the builds, listening to feeling the differences between individual guitars, individual models, individual electronics, individual factories and countries they were built in. I got a good sense of just what made the difference for me.. Originally Posted by Mrniall
I can only speak for myself, but the pickup is the single most important thing not just in what can be heard, but much more to the point, how an instrument feels; how it talks to me. The pickup is also the first place a guitar company will cut corners when designing and building a low/mid level guitar. Why? Because feel is so individual, and honestly, the more experienced you are as a player, the more likely you are going to want your own sound and feel yourself. So as a mass market component, it doesn't make sense for them to put expensive magnets and windings into a guitar when, by their perspective, it's not going to be appreciated.
A really good replacement is something that a good player can feel in the attack, the sensitivity of response, the way the note decays and the overall feeling of warmth, or articulation you may need to feel connected with the instrument. Guitar makers built a guitar for the lowest common denominator for the mass market and what they perceive will do the job at any price point.
I'd buy lots of guitars (perks of working at a huge facility that processes every single Ibanez for an entire country) and the first thing I'd replace is the pickup. Well yeah you can take just about any pickup, roll off the highs and make it warmer by doing that, but the more one needs from a guitar as an extension of yourself, the more you can appreciate a guitar that can "pick up" what it is that you put in.
I happen to like the attack and honesty that I feel from a Guild pickup. That's what Jimmy D' chose for his guitars he built for Jim Hall and Joe Pass. But that's not for everyone and different pickups work better with different guitars, different players and different styles.
I love Duncan Seth Lovers for that old warm woody sound of old Gibsons. Gibson PAF pickups have always felt inspiring to me.
I'm a finger player and I have a pretty wide range of finger attacks and Duncan Jazz pickups force me to play more thoughtfully, they reward my efforts by giving me a wide range of sounds that result in me getting a wider range of expression from my string attack. A lot of people hate the Jazz pickup because it can sound harsh if you have a playing style that brings that out. It's ALL up to the individual.
I might add as a sidenote that I never used to use the bridge pickup, but years into growing and changing as a player, I craved a warm bodied decay envelope and the snap of the attack that brought out the acoustic nature of a good instrument. That wound up with me finally figuring out a combination of a Duncan custom wound neck pickup and a stock Ibanez mini floater on my own GB10. I would blend the sound of the bridge just enough so I couldn't hear it, but I'd FEEL it.
But that's me. Neck is the one that really matters. I can live without the spice but it's nice. Single pickup guitar is my choice anyway.
I remember getting my first JP20 Joe Pass. Loved it acoustically. Plugged in, it felt like cardboard to me. I put in a Gibson PAF and the instrument came alive. I couldn't put it down.
After working with lots of Ibanez guitars, I personally feel that a pickup change is the single thing (after a good setup) that can change a sow's ear into a silk purse.
But that's just me. Give it a try, and know you'll need to try different options to really know what a given guitar can offer you. Find its potential and it can make you a better player. If it inspires you to play more, then that's it.
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OP...Go read Jimmy's post above this again!
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So my final decision is that I changed my both Affinity's 'R' Bridge and Neck pickups for Seymour Duncan's Sh-1 '59. (209€)
The neck one has a warm sound on my Ibanez af55tf with it's hollow body. I play a lot by finger picking and the closer to the neck, the more "old school jazzy". It has very nice definitions and I think the are more sensible than the Ibanez Affinity's (which aren't bad at all).
Because of my multiple music styles I set the bridge one in it's "attack" position and made it as bright as possible (close to strings + screwsetting).
Middle position gives that warm but attack sound.
I think I found what I was looking(listening) for …..
Ossie
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I have a Gibson humbucker (patent # from the 80ies I suspect) at the neck in my AF55 and I love it. At the bridge I have an SD59, just like you (but I hardly use that).
This is an older vid, but it sounds like this:
And here’s a thread for more inspiration to upgrade your AF55:
Ibanez AF55
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Nice sound, (little Jay, from little country I see?, I came from Voorschoten ;o)
Warm and fat sound! Perfect for jazz.
If I turn over to Roxanne from the police or so, than I have my attack pick up on the bridge and to turn over to
Barney Kessel blues I switch over to middle but that's too many pretentions
Cheers
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Yup, from the Netherlands ;-) Originally Posted by Ossie
Nice sound, (little Jay, from little country I see?, I came from Voorschoten ;o)
Warm and fat sound! Perfect for jazz.
If I turn over to Roxanne from the police or so, than I have my attack pick up on the bridge and to turn over to
Barney Kessel blues I switch over to middle but that's too many pretentions
Cheers
Den Haag!
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