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Hi
I'm a retiree just starting into jazz after years of playing just about every other style (except metal) on guitar and bass.
I just bought a nearly mint Ibanez AG85 with case for a great great price. I have had my guitar tech guy set it up for me with 12-gauge Chrome flatwounds. I use a Bugera V22 tube amp andsometimes on the Pentode setting for a warmer tone.
Well ... I'm thinking I need to upgrade the stock pickups which are, I understand, ceramics tha ACh series. The neck has a resistance of a bout 8K and the bridge about 16K. I almost excllusively use the neck settings because I like to get that warm, sweet tone.
I'm not happy with the sound and I was wondering if some pickups may help. The AG85 still has the same pickups as the cheaper AG/AF 75 while the next model, the AG/AF 95 went on to use alnicos Super 58s or maybe Super 58s customs.
Sorry, I'm long-winded. Money is scarce so I'm really looking to just replace the neck pickup. I need besides to get an inexpensive pickup, too, because I will have to pay my guitar tech to install it.
I used GFS pickups in my Strat copy and they were much better than the stock pickups.
Anyway, can anybody recommend something for me?
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11-25-2014 01:49 PM
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If money is tight just forget the pickups and focus on playing. You're getting into Jazz so there is a lot to learn and what you have a good tool to work with. You're not in Rock-land any more what's important now is seat time practicing and listening to LOTS of Jazz.
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Its not to difficult to build a magnetic pickup, You'll need to do a little bit of soddering, but you should be able to buy the parts for about $15 or so…
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I can recommend seymour duncan seth lover sh-55, and seymour duncan humbuckers in general (the sh-2 for instance which is bit cheaper). But there are also many other good options out there.
I would not bother upgrading for an inexpensive PU, but upgrading only the neck PU sounds reasonable to me.
Just wait and save money until you can afford a good one and focus on your playing meanwhile like docbop said.
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I would contact Pete Biltoft from Vintage Vibe guitars. His prices are really reasonable, the pickups he makes are absolutely fantastic.
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Peter Biltoft and Mick Mc Ginnis at Manilus pickups are the most reasonable as well as my favorite p/up builders. And I think I've owned and tried just about everything available,LOL!
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Dimarzio 36th is cheap and good.
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Before investing scarce funds in a new pickup, make sure that's really the problem. It might be the speaker, the amp, or how you've set its tone controls. Try other guitars with your amp to see if it can produce a tone you love with any of them. Also, try your guitar with other amps. With each combination, note what tone control settings get you closest to where you want to be. If you're methodical about it you'll gain a better understanding of what might need upgrading.
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Think what is wrong with the sound. If You miss the high end try first upgrading the pots of the guitar. Too low resistance pots (humbuckers need 500 kilo ohms) can muffle even the best pu to un-dynamic muddiness.
If You still want to uprade the pickup, You don't have to buy a new one. The Gear Page is a great place for second hand pickups. And Member Classifieds - MyLesPaul.com is the home of all kinds of humbuckers.
But as is already said: don't worry the sound. Play!
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Stating the obvious, but ....
Have you checked pick-up height ? Easy (and efficient) (and cheap) tweaking to change your tone
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Wow, a very short but LOADED series of responses. Great advice here.
Start cheaply (shop what you got) and tweak that guitar.
Then you can start small ( pots and strings etc.) Amp. Then...
play with the dials. Amp and guitar.
You may know already that some great jazz tones exist when the neck p/u volume pot is turned
down from 10. Softer and warmer. I like the switch in mid position (with 2 p/ups) with some bridge p/up mixed in but turned way down. Just as an example. Maybe you know this.
I do all of this with my Gibsons, Epiphones, Strats and Tele.
I have also changed p/ups. I go for brighter because I feel that the more they deliver, the more I have to work with.
I can always turn down the treble. Lively p/ups are the answer.
And despite what some people have said, the better you like your tone, the more you will want to play and PRACTICE.
No????
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I am curious. How much did you pay for the guitar and what is this unusual bubinga wood that is used on the body? This wood type is a new one on me. The PUPs are probably cranky sounding if it is budget guitar. The wood is an African hardwood if I recall from the blurb I read, so like maple, it could tend to be naturally spikier and less warm than spruce on the top. It will probably have lots of bite due to the hardness of the wood, but maybe that's not what you want. However with the right neck PUP, it may come to life.
Originally Posted by Ralph124C41
I keep touting the hand-wound Kent Armstrong jazz humbuckers when I can. Take the neck PUP out, send it to Kent in Vermont and he'll gut it and rewind it in his garage with thicker wire and heavier magnets to his special recipe. $70. It is almost half the price of buying his signature jazz humbucker from a store. He uses your existing housing and you get a custom hand-wound PUP. The bragging rights alone make it attractive, IMO. You'll have an inexpensive budget jazz guitar with a top tier hand-wound custom jazz PUP at a reasonable price. Also, Kent is happy to talk your ear off on the phone (if he isn't in the shower!) He knows his shit and he is proud of his work so he'll take care of you. He doesn't take credit cards or PayPal though. You'll have to send a check. (I have only done this on floaters, but I'm sure he does full size HBs too).
Last time I called, I learned that his father was Dan Armstrong and his son does custom PUPs in London. I may have posted this here before, but it bears repeating. Quite the musical gadget family. I thought it was really cool. Especially since we got to gossip about the PUPS of another brand that gets a lot of digital ink here. He does several rewinds of their models every week.
The last time I called, I got a floater for one of my guys that bought a lefty Peerless Monarch and wanted an upgraded PUP. As a seller, it was great. $70 to salvage a sale that was about to go south. The guy just didn't like the stock PUP (although most people are OK with it), so he yanked it out, sent it to Kent and a few days later, the rewound PUP arrived in the mail. He was happy. I paid the $70, which included return shipping.
So, for whatever it's worth, it gives you an option that won't cost a ton and will give you one of the best jazz PUPs. And you'll get to jaw with Kent. He'll inform you of the proper PUP wind for the wood of your guitar and he'll custom wind it to achieve your desired sound.
What a deal!
Doc DoscoLast edited by docdosco; 09-02-2015 at 02:21 AM.
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And if the money is a subject You can always start tinkering and learn a new hobby: mag swapping!
You are not alone with Your problem. Your pickups seem to have Ceramic magnets. They are easy to swap to more musical Alnico Magnets:
Ibanez Collectors World: Artcore ACH Pickups Modified & Improved
You can get Alnico 2 magnets for some cheap dollars from Addiction FX:
Alnico magnets Guitar pickups, Guitar magnets, Guitar baseplates
It is not difficult, I have done it many times. Just be a bit careful.
Alnico 2's are great for jazz pickup but You can always try Unoriented Alnico 5's (UOA5), they are much alike but a bit livelier.
Oh, and remember to practice!
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This is great. Great ideas, I have the same problem (2010 Artcore AK95) and appreciate you all sharing these gems.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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adjust pickup height and polepiece height
roll back your vol/tone controls on guitar...and find a sweet spot
do a string change..a pure nickel flat or round sounds far different than a cobalt round, ss chrome, etc etc...different materials have different magnetic strengths ie tones
a bit trickier, but yes swap out the ceramic mags for some alnico II or V's from addiction fx
lastly, get a alnico magneted mia pickup from gfs or artcore or kent armstrong etc
but try the first three...first
luck
cheers
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Wow. It's a year and a half after my post and, to be honest, I pretty much have not touched that guitar since. It's been aging nicely in its case.
I haven't done anything at all in jazz really since then becuase I've been playing a lot of electric bass in various local bands ... classic rock, country, etc.
As for the guitar itself, I don't know what eventually I will do with it. I did add another semihollow, a stock Epiphone Sheraton II, and I completed the pickup update on my Ibanez AS73 by adding a DiMarzio P.A.F. humbucker in the bridge. I already had installed a Seymour Duncan ;59 in the neck.
So either I will sell it stock (it's been set up for jazz with flatwounds, lowered neck pickup, etc.) or if I do try to get into jazz I will probably put in some better pickups, probably with Alnico IIs.
One thing, however, I did reap from my limited journey into jazz was that I really like the small jazz-shaped picks and I use them whenever I can, even for flatpick bluegrass work. I just need to find some that are thinner but still have that iconic smaller shape.
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Of course there are lots of different ideas on tone, and what it should be. Generally, traditional jazz has a muted tone. Your Ibanez guitar was designed to be able to do this pretty well. If you don't like the tone, think about what you're asking for. If you came out of rock-blues-country, you may be expecting tones that are common in those genres. Give yourself a chance to enjoy the "new" jazz tone that your guitar is capable of. Ibanez, does a good job of selecting pickups. They may not be the best on their stock guitars, but they are certainly good, and will get the job done.
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1) Originally Posted by Musicdorian
2) Well put. I have owned several modestly-priced Ibanezes, and have never felt the need for a pickup change for jazz. Of course, I take a good deal of time finding the sweet spots for the humbuckers; vertically, horizontally, and laterally. Patience, careful listening, and a properly-sized screwdriver (thanks, StewMac!) can do a lot. Pick selection has a big effect on tone, as well. 
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