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I got an Ibanez GB10 yesterday and really love it, great tone and playability. Had to compare to my humble and faithful Artcore AG75 I have since 2002 and that has a wooden bridge I fitted after a few years – and surprise: the guitar itself is not so much worse. It's different of course having a mahagony / rosewood neck and maple body while the GB10 has a maple/ebony neck and spruce top – but not as much inferior as the price difference would suggest. I get my tone with the neck pickup, volume slightly rolled back, tone on 10 and a fender tube amp. Both guitars are strung with Thomastic flatwounds. The pickups in the GB have a more refined tone than the Artcore pickups, which are rockin' and loud in comparison. Rolling the volume way back helps a lot but I have the feeling there's more in it. So I thought that maybe a different pickup would help the humble older, humble sister to live to her full potential. Do you have any suggestions for a more delicate tone akin to the mini humbuckers in the GB? I thought about a Seymour Duncan Jazz pickup, but maybe you have other ideas? I don't think it needs a "boutique" pickup, so something good and budget friendly would be welcomed.
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10-08-2019 12:27 PM
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Try looking for a humbucker with Alnico 2 magnets.
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Mini's tend to be brighter and more articulate...I'd be tempted to look at a humbucker sized P-90...
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Originally Posted by Lobomov
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Part of the sound comes from the pickup. size or aperture. Sound's like you want a brighter humbucker for your guitar. If your humbucker is 4 conducted vs std 2wire. Try running it parallel vs std series wiring. This might be a solution for you. If not try Peter Biltoft at Vintage Vibe Pickups and have him custom make one that fits under a std humbucker cover.
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Sorry for the wander off topic.. but what is a favorite humbucker sized P90? Christmas is coming.. making lists.
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mini humbuckers due to their size and construction have enhanced upper mids and less bottom than fullsized humbuckers...a humbucker sized p90 has a similar tonal response, but most made are not humbucking..so be prepared for increased hum/noise...that's why mini hums were made in the first place!!!....on the cheap, take a look at asian made humbucking goldfoil pickups..like gfs sells...they have the pointed mids yet are humbucking..just be careful as there are many varieties...you want the humbucking type...cheers
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ps- humbucker sized p90 comparison..a few years old but still relevant...https://www.premierguitar.com/articl...review-roundup
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Check the Parsons Street pickups from StewMac. They're good pickups, and fairly priced.
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There are pickup makers that actually build mini-humbuckers in a full size humbucker casing.
You may be served well by a lower output humbucker. It won't sound like a mini humbucker but they have a less thick/fat sound, almost more acoustic sounding in a way.
If you're playing clean I would also suggest getting pickups that are not potted, so they may better pick up some of the acoustic qualities of the guitar.
They're nothing like a mini humbucker at all but I'm really enjoying the sound of a set of HB sized Dearmond Dynasonics made by Gabojo Lab pickups.
They're unbelievably clear and detailed sounding, but still fat and smooth. It might be something to check out.
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Wilde L-90?
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Seymour Duncan Seth Lover Neck pickup in gold. Amazing jazz tone. Made my AKJV95 sound a lot like my L-5.
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Originally Posted by neatomic
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Seymour Duncan Jazz Neck
Jazz neck | Seymour Duncan
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Maybe a Gibson mini humbucker with some kind of adapter ring?
Small is Beautiful: Gibson Mini-Humbuckers
Humbucker to Mini-Humbucker Adapter Pickup Ring Pair Set | Reverb
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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Looking at the recommendations, they're all over the charts. As you already have a GB, why do you need to upgrade the other guitar to same standards? After all, there's got to be something justifying the price difference. Or if I'm wrong, what's the implication? If you insist, a MIC Super 58 in the neck position is probably all you want, if you currently have the ACH. I recently provided the guitar and bass backline (TOOB cabs, of course) to a medley of eight jazz bands. The price range of the guitars was € 400 - € 6,000, with a couple of budget Ibanez archtops representing the bottom end. Guess what: they all sounded great! In a band setting, it's the playing and interaction that matters, not the tonal nuances that would leave 95% of the audience indifferent even if you played solo.
Last edited by Gitterbug; 10-09-2019 at 04:04 PM.
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OK, so you recommend a MIC-Pickup? Never heard of that brand. And what are TOOB-cabs? BTW my wife asked the same question: Why would I want to upgrade the cheap guitar? Because I still like it and want her to live to her full potential. I know that the original pickups are not that bad. Yet they are a bit rowdy and lack brightness and articulation. Really, played without an amp the difference between the two guitars is smaller than I expected – probably because both don't have a great acoustic tone as they are optimized for loud amplified playing. So to answer your (and my wife`s) question: I think I'll still want to play the artcore at locations that are a bit rowdy ... Maybe the stock pickup is good enough for that. But isn't this forum all about discussing gear and looking for the little improvements that can be had?
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Based on the suggestions I made a search for a budget Alnico II Humbucker. The local music store offers these:Page not found | MUSIC STORE professional | en-US experience with this pickup or brand?They also have a version with the same specs but an Alnico 5 magnet – what differences are to be expected?
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MIC= Made In China TOOB are cabs made by Gitterbug, using a tube as the cabinet, he has some threads promoting it on the forum. I just dug my Finley Super 400 out, for no good reason, and found that the SD Benedetto A6 I put in it sounds really good, more like a single-coil than a humbucker, very clear with abundant treble. I had forgotten how good that guitar sounds and plays. I quit playing it because it's so big, 18" wide and 3.5" deep is just an armful. But I think I'll keep it out, for both the acoustic and amplified sound are wonderful. That's a very good pickup. I don't know how to help with formatting. Suddenly the forum software doesn't seem to recognize carriage returns/EOL characters. I tried adding multiple spaces, and that didn't help, it won't accept anything after a period other than an alphabetic character. This needs work from Dirk.
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I noticed the link in my previous post don't work, fixed it Roswell Pickups LVS-N Alnico II Humbucker Neck Chrome | MUSIC STORE professional | en-DE think that's our local store's own brand – probably made in China. Anybody has experience with roswell pickups?They do make a version with an Alnico 5 magnet – everything else being the same – any idea what difference Alnico 2 and 5 make?
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Originally Posted by sgosnell
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I've never heard any other pickup of any size that has the same tonal profile as what's in a GB10. Part of this is, I'm sure, due to the floating nature of the pup as well as the very hot winding. I had a MIC GB10 for a while and listening to clips of GB back in the day, it was a perfect tonal match.So, I'm not sure you'll find a one-to-one replacement in a full-sized set-in humbucker. However, having said this, I have one of these in my Comins GCS-16 which I like a lot: Fralin Hum-Cancelling P90: Noiseless P90 Tone In a Humbucker Cover
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I have a Harley-Benton Les Paul clone as a test guitar, a whopping EUR 150 or something. It sports Roswell humbuckers, which are not bad according to my shredder son. Roswell is the 2014 branding attempt by an older maker of OEM pickups. They cite Fender and Thomann among their clients. But being ok on a plank doesn't automatically translate to being good on an archtop. If you really want to upgrade, stop looking at the cheapest alternatives. They may well come from the same line as your originals. For the peace of mind, pay a little more for one of the recommended PU's. But when you take that step, are you sure your pots and capacitors shouldn't be upgraded, too? All this done by a pro will easily cost you the price difference to a higher-up Ibanez, of which there's plenty to choose from. Any of them equipped with a Super 58 PU will do the job in rowdy places where you don't want to take your GB. To wit: I today played my AFJ-91 at an old age home, and the applause would have been no different if I had brought my ES-175 or Benedetto Bravo instead.
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