And the Sentient sounds great when split too, which is especially handy for those times when I want to tune the low string down to E to play fake bass lines. The clean tones have great punch and clarity, the overdrives are crunchy and detailed, and the high-gain stuff is oozing rich harmonics and great articulation no matter how distorted they get. What I really like about this set is that whatever gain level I use it at, it feels like it’s designed to be used with that tone. I’ve put active-mount 8-string Pegasus and Sentient humbuckers in my Iron Label 8-string and it sounds great for a wide range of tones. Here’s the Nazgul and Sentient in a Basswood RG 7-string, where you can really hear the power and thickness of the Nazgul, and the smooth-yet-vocal articulation of the Sentient.
And the Pegasus, Nazgul and Sentient are great in Basswood whether you’re rocking 6, 7 or 8 strings. Or consider the Parallel Axis Trembucker line of pickups, which are designed for locking tremolo guitars and which seem to really come to life in Basswood. Other pickups that are particularly suited to Basswood include the Black Winter set, the Gus G Fire Blackouts and, if you’re into Texas blues tones, the Pearly Gates. It also cleans up beautifully when you roll back the volume knob (and it matches really well with the Jazz). And the Jason Becker Perpetual Burn is a monster pickup no matter what you put it in, with plenty of detail and crunch, and just enough output for hard-hitting rock tones but not so much that your sound will get too saturated.
Ibanez rodstar pickup mounting ring full#
I’ve also found that the ’59 works well with the Full Shred, in a weird ‘doesn’t actually match, but sounds really cool way.’ It’s almost like a Joe Satriani kind of tone, where the bridge pickup has a particularly powerful harmonic kick while the neck pickup has a smoother, more velvety vibe when you pick soft, and a more punchy, detailed attack when you pick hard. The Full Shred has a clear high end that cuts through without sounding shrill, and it offers a chunky, thick metal rhythm tone. The Full Shred is another pickup that works really well in Basswood, and you can pair the bridge version with the Full Shred neck model or the Jazz with equally great results. The Jazz model is also great in the neck position of an RG, where it’ll give you a sort of ‘noodly’ quality: a somewhat rounded treble and yet a clear pick attack. If you have a Basswood Ibanez RG, the Distortion bridge and neck models are going to give you an aggressive, slightly raw tone which is great through a cranked Marshall or Mesa.
Ibanez rodstar pickup mounting ring series#
And there are plenty of S Series models with thin Mahogany bodies too, Let’s look at some recommendations for each, with particular focus on Basswood since that’s such a common Ibanez tone wood. There are also some models which feature Basswood bodies with Maple tops, or even Mahogany bodies with Maple tops.
Now, a lot of Ibanez guitars are made of Basswood, a generally growly-yet-even-toned wood which is generally felt to be not as warm as Mahogany and not as lively as Alder. So I thought it might be fun to share some of what I’ve found. Personally I’m a huge Ibanez geek (seriously, I think I have a problem – that problem is not enough space for all my Ibanezezes!), and although I consider it my duty as a guitarist to own a Strat, Tele and Les Paul (and some day an ES-335 please, Santa), I have plenty of experience with all sorts of Ibanez guitars and all sorts of Seymour Duncan pickups. Seymour Duncan makes a lot of pickups that are great in vintage designs like Strats, Teles and Les Pauls, but there are plenty of more modern-voiced pickups in the line-up too.
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