Grateful Dead Music Forum

General question: Thinking about swapping out my Super 58's (Ibanez AR305) to see if I can improve on my tone. Been poking around Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan - lots of choices out there. Anyone have any thoughts, experience, preferences?

Dimarzio Super 2's or Dual Sounds are the pickups of choice around here. If you want that vintage PAF sound I installed a Bare Knuckles Stormy. On his site he says its voiced like a 1965 era PAF. I happen to have one of those as well in my Les Paul DC. Yep it nails the vintage tone for sure. BKP are pricey. But you get what you pay for. Still it was cheaper than the real thing. If you can even find one. I lucked out scoring a set of PAF's a few years back.

Garcia played with PAF's on Live Dead (60's SG) and also on many of the tracks from Skull and Roses (using Rick Turner's peanut guitar). They are a sweet pick=up. I like his tone with the humbuckers more than his tone with the Les Pauls that had P90's (mid to late 1970, and much of 1971 I think).

Peace,

James

This is categorized under Bobby tone. So Super II's are not what you want.

A bunch of us here like the DiMarzios DP196 and 197. I never found the Super 58's appealing.

Bobby tone. Sorry missed that one completely....

Peace,

James

No worries, good stuff.

All depends. What era/sound are you looking for?

mk

Good question - I'm thinking the pickup isn't really the key factor for Bobby tone (maybe I am wrong?) so just want to be in the ball park of making sure the pickup/combination is a good, clean (maybe bright?) combination of pickups. My theory is I should be able to dial in the rest of the tone through my amp and if necessary, effects/equalizer. Currently been toying with the idea of Seymour Duncan's:

Maybe a JB in the bridge:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/comparetones/view/58

And a Jazz in the neck:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/comparetones/view/56

The problem of course is that right now, I have been listening to the samples through my cheap iPod headphones at work. When I get home I will try them through my recording headphones and see if I can perceive better subtleties. Seymour Duncan is getting preference over DiMarzio if for no other reason than they provide almost exact baseline sound samples so you can compare the tone of each pickup.

I have a set of Dimarzio Virtual PAFs ( the same used in the Ibanez cowboy model)
I believe these have been discontinued
T

If he's offering to sell those pickups you won't be disappointed.

It's slightly off topic, but I saw Max Creek last january in Costa Rica and have become a big fan. Scott plays a stock Ibanez with Super 58's through a Vibrolux and I think his tone really kills!

Here's a great video if you start watching at 7:00 mins to check out his clean tone.

He may be playing through a twin, which he did at Jungle Jam - supplied by the venue.

Peace,

James

I can't argue that. I've been going to creek shows since the 80's and this Ibanez has been his main ax after all these years. It's a fantastic sounding guitar. He's able to get a great clean weir like rhythm sound and sweet sounding leads. I've always said he can pull of the Weir/Jerry while he's playing. Scott is a hell of a guitar player.

Scott's guitar is wired uniquely. He has a control where he can regulate the degree of single coil. In one extreme, it's completely humbucker. In the other, it's completely single coil. And, we can choose anything in between.

If you're going to use the Dimarzio's, you'll need to wire with a single coil option toggle.

mk

I had no idea there were so many boutique pickup makers out there. Check these guys out if you have some time (just a few I found):

http://www.jimwagnerpickups.com/index.html

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/

http://www.amalfitanopickups.com/

http://www.sheptone.com/

Going beyond that, there are guys in many of the larger cities that fly under the radar of most and will wind you custom pick-ups to your own specifications. There are at least two such options in Vancouver for custom winds.

Peace,

James