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So I purchased a used AF151F which is in fantastic condition. But I am totally dis-sastified with the sound. I just can't get it to "round out" with the tone control. The tone pot is working fine, I even had a different capacitor installed, and still I hear very little difference with the tone fully on or off. I have also not had a lot of luck dialing out the high even with them completely cut on my Roland Cube.
I am curious. The instrument has a floating mini-humbucker. Has anyone here changed that pickup out and to what. I am hoping for a much darker tone/less bright, tone.
Thanks in advance.Last edited by Echoshill; 08-02-2019 at 01:02 PM.
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08-02-2019 11:51 AM
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How loud is your amp ? I recently found with my Godin Composer that the reason I thought it was too bright was that I was hearing too much of the acoustic output from the guitar and not enough from the amp. Once I was in a situation where I could set my amp volume sufficently high, the tone was perfect and "rounded out" nicely, as you put it. It was only t hen that I realised the brightness that I thought had been coming from the amplified sound was actually the direct acoustic sound.
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That is a really good point. The Amp is house "office"/ practice room level. But yes, what I am getting off the guitar is very bright (Acoustically).
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Hmmm,
I admit that in every offshore guitar I ever purchased the one lacking quality in all of them was the electrics, and the wiring. I'm not stating that this is the answer but with with high-end guitars the electrics were always less than nominal, shockingly so in some cases. I have basically gutted and replaced and made those guitars sound what I was looking for and not what came out of the factory.
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If the tone control has no significant effect I’d suspect incorrect wiring and/or incorrect values of resistance and capacitance. If the pickup is too bright even with the amp’s treble control turned to zero, I’d suspect a defective pickup.
I’d suggest removing the electronics, carefully checking the wiring, and measuring the capacitor and potentiometer values. You might also try connecting the pickup directly to your amp input (bypassing both the volume and tone pots) to see if it seems to be giving a good signal. I think Ibanez floating pickups do have more treble than their set pickups, but if the tone control isn’t working there is something wrong.Last edited by KirkP; 08-02-2019 at 01:53 PM.
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Before looking for an electronic solution, listen to the guitar with a good pair of headphones plugged into your amp to eliminate the acoustic element. You'll probably be surprised at the difference you hear.....
Last edited by Ray175; 08-03-2019 at 05:02 AM.
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It was just checked out by a very good luthier who said everything was working as it should. They did change the capacitor out to give a little more scoop, but I will be darned if I can hear a difference from when I took it in.
I will certainly try the options offered above (headphones...etc).
Back to my original question, what is a good pickup to swap this small floater out for? Assuming all else fails.
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Bartolini, Benedetto, maybe a Kent Armstrong design out of Loeller. StewMac might even have some options.
I prefer CTS pots and a Switchcrafter jack. You can find the specs on the proper cap (because I'm not sure right off the top of my head). But StewMac has the proper values listed in their online catalog.
Replace the wiring with a good quality wire as well. And remember every component in the chain from the pickup to the Jack has resistance value. A general assumption is that resistance does effect the high-end of the signal (i.e. not just the capacitor).Last edited by geogio; 08-02-2019 at 03:42 PM.
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Anyone ever play a floating minihumbucker that wasn't bright?? Anyone?
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Well, then there's the tone pot, and the EQ on the amp. Or perhaps an EQ stomp box or in the rack.
Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
When I gut a guitar it is usually because of inferior components. Plus I really don't care for printed circuit boards on pots ect... but I really abhor the crap used from the factory. For 10 or 15 bucks more a factory wiring and components could be much, much better quality.
Pickups? Don't get me started.
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The Ibanez AF151F floating humbucker is known to be thin and bright sounding without any midrange warmth. The Korean and Chinese floating hums aren't their strong suit. Most buyers would swap them out for Kent Armstrong Handmade in Vermont (note that the licensed Made in Korea Kent Armstrong floating hums suffer the same ills).
Call Kent Armstrong or Pete Biltof of Vintage Vibes and either man will wind you a pickup to sort it out, assuming that you are in North America.
I have a 2010 AF151NT with inset humbuckers that I bought in 2010. It took a good 5 years to mellow out and for the acrid smell of glue to dissipate. Still mellowing. And yeah, 14p, 18p, 24W-56W gauge pure nickels help a whole lot. It is not too bright today but I guess the same can be said about the person who owns it.
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Yes, they are probably brighter by design. Although I quite like the one on my Furch G-1, it certainly isn’t overly bright but I did add a tone pot to that guitar to be able to roll off some treble, which tells something I guess - I felt the need for that with this pickup. Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
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Amps, strings, EQ all count....
Don't really know what the OP is ultimately pursuing, I can only guess.
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ive got a couple of Ibz boxes Originally Posted by Echoshill
and got lovely results stuffing the upper bouts (which keep it away from the wiring)
with soft foam
and topping off with a bit of black leatherette
less bright , more thump ,
less feedback .... huzzah
but note ....
less acoustic volume
but still fine for practice unplugged ....
mine have built in pus but
I too found them too bright for
me (i like dark)
so i think the principle still applies
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You could try turning the amplifier up and the volume knob on the guitar down. It may warm it up a little.
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