Gear Talk with Kristian!

[Kristian Niemann]

Congratulations!

I dunno if the tone changed that much. I´ve heard from some people that it does change it if you strip it, and some guys say it doesnt affect the tone at all. All I know is both of my sanded ones sound different. My #1, the C# one, sounds super-great. Even, thick, chunky, sustainy tone in all registers whereas my E guitar sounds a bit thin. Almost hollow. No beef in the lower mids.

If you sand it, you take a risk though, coz you dont know how it will look underneath the paint. I lucked out with my C#, it looks cool. But the E again is not that great-looking.

 

[Jacob Kjær]

Thanks

It is very odd that you experience these differences between the guitars. Do you know which year they were made in? (You can check the headstock). Mine is a '89, and the seller described it as "a very warm tone, but lacking the attack needed to play hardcore death metal", in B tuning. I'm very tempted to sand it just to hear the difference myself - I'm a huge nerd like that ;-).

EDIT: BTW, how about the matte and the glossy black ones that you have?
EDIT2: Did you finish the sanded with some oil/varnish?

 

[blackrose2]

I don't buy a lot of guitars but from what others have told me you can have the exact same make, model, and year and get a different kneck, sound, feel etc. Especially with the cheap ones. What I was told is one of the main differences between an "expensive" guitar and a cheap one is the expensive models they throw out all the ones with defects or that come out shitty. So if you look through enough cheap ones you can find a really great guitar, just need to change pick ups and have a few adjustments.

But that's always been my experience. Just to play it first before you buy it and see if its the sound you like. Stripping and everything I don't know about. But you have to understand when dealing with things like wood, you can take a piece of wood from the same species and they are totally different. Even from the same tree. I think there is some legend about stratovarious violens that they just happened to be made with the wood from these trees that had a long drought or something and they came out with this beautiful sound that can never be replicated.

So even in the lifetime the guitar can change or warp or be adjusted. Same with strings- old strings sound different than new ones. Humidity and temperature can effect things. No two guitars are going to be exactly alike. Even if all the specs are the same on them. But usually the same make and model and year will be about %95 the same.

So I'd say its totally not strange to get two very different results.

 

[Kristian Niemann]

All of my PII´s are from 1989. The two black ones doesnt have EMGs in them so it hard to compare with the sanded ones but the four of them are indeed very different from eachother, especially in terms of the neck profile. The matte one has the thinnest, roundest, nicest profile of the four while the shiny black one has an uncomfortable, "blocky" shape. I had my brother Johan try both of them out to see if he would notice anything different about them; he couldnt BELIEVE that there was such a huge difference!
So its not just me!

They are finished with something, yes. Dunno what though.

 

[Jacob Kjær]

Gah, that sucks. I'll be holding my breath until mine arrives. Thanks anyhow

Did you ever check to see if the guitars had shims in their neck pockets? (Yeah yeah, I'll leave you alone and let you record in a minute )

 

[Kristian Niemann]

Umm...good question. I never removed any of the necks on those guitars myself so I dont know. However, some of them had shims underneath the locking nut.

 

[Jacob Kjær]

Interesting - I read on IbanezRules.com that shims are more common in american made/assembled Ibanez guitars than Japanese equivelants. I don't know, but maybe it affects the tone. Don't your endorsement deal open up for a lot of free guitar service that you could (ab)use to check it out?

 

[Kristian Niemann]

It probably does but shipping guitars overseas is DAMN expensive. But actually now that I think about it, my local guitartech/gearwizard DID put in shims in the neck pocket of one of my PII´s! Definitely more sustain. I think. Maybe. Ahh, fuck it!! Turn up the amp instead!

 

[BloodLegion]

I think there is some legend about stratovarious violens that they just happened to be made with the wood from these trees that had a long drought or something and they came out with this beautiful sound that can never be replicated.

That was actually proven, when they started X-raying those violins to find the secret. Apparently, the drought significantly reduced the content of water in the trees, producing denser wood for the violins!

 

[BloodLegion]

Oh, Kristian, I've got a question! About EMG pickups again!

Have you dicked around with any other pickup in the neck besides the 85? I swear by my 81 in bridge now, and I'm forking out for a 60 in the neck. I've not tested it personally, but after listening to samples and all the cleans James Hetfield gets from them, I think it's the perfect foil for the nasty 81! Your thoughts, kind sir?

 

[Kristian Niemann]

Nope I havent tried the 60, but please share your opinion on it. Its a bit lower in output compared to the 85 right?
For me its a bit easier to find a neck pickup that sounds cool than a bridge one. My faves are the 85 and the Dimarzio Super 2. Also the Chopper which is a singlecoil-size humbucker sounds really good. On my shiny black PII Im planning on getting an EMG SA for the neck and an 81TW (with a coilsplit) for the bridge.

 

[BloodLegion]

I most definitely will, Kristian!

It's got more high end than the 85, and it was actually developed to be placed in a Tele (some deal with Fender) so it has that thick, single-coil tone to it. In fact, I think it has the most high end among all EMG pickups.

I didn't want a neck pickup that has too much low end, I'll tell you more once I get it fixed in early December (very busy til then - 2 gigs to prepare for!).

Take care bro!

 

[Jacob Kjær]

@Kristian/BloodLegion:
Ever tried connecting two 9v batteries in serial? I saw some videos on YouTube with people who did that, it seemed to work out well for them.


EDIT: BTW, I see a DG-1000 and a JMP-1 on Vendolin for nearly the same price. Which would you recomend for all-around usage? Metal as well as sweet cleans (for my mothers sake).

 

[BloodLegion]

18V for EMG pickups apparently gives the pickups more headroom, and slightly enhances the tone too. I've actually heard the difference through a video on YouTube as well, and there was a noticeable improvement to the 85 pickup (the guitar had a 85/81 combo in it). But, sadly, my Ironbird doesn't have the room for 2 9V batteries. In fact, my tech had to disable the tone knob on my guitar to fit in the 9V in the control cavity!

 

[Kristian Niemann]

@ Jacob:
I used the JMP for years and years and it worked very well up to the point where I just got fed up with its sound. Ive never used the DG in a livesetting or even at rehersal so I dont know how it will hold up. I know for sure that the JMP works so go with that.

@ Bloodlegion:
Thats true, there is a very slight difference. But if you increase say, the volume and gain on your amp just a tad, that makes a slight difference too, know what I mean? The tonal change is, to my ears, zero. I wouldnt go through all the hassle with having to install two 9Vs, maybe even route the body! Naah.

 

[Jacob Kjær]

I know for sure that the JMP works so go with that.

Sweet. Seems like a good buy because of the quality/price ratio - don't think I will go wrong with it . BTW, how much better is a Triaxis than a JMP-1?

On my shiny black PII Im planning on getting an EMG SA for the neck and an 81TW (with a coilsplit) for the bridge.

But EMG SA is a single-coil size pickup. Do you mean a EMG 89 with push/pull pot?

 

[Andiferum]

Kristian, if you had to choose between EMG & DiMarzio, what would it be? Interested in what you think as I'll look into it for a future Ibanez.

 

[Jacob Kjær]

Interesting find!

My guitar did not sound very crunchy when I tried it, but the strings were old as hell, tuned in B, and I'm still using stock pickups. However, I also found out that there is a plastic shim in my neck pocket. Somehow, I don't really like the idea of having a piece of plastic filtering the sound between the neck and the body, so I'm gonna remove it and replace it with some brass or veneer. I'll let you know how the beast sounds when I'm done.

Pic:

 

[Jacob Kjær]

YUM!

 

[BloodLegion]

Damn, those PII's are the sexiest Ibanez guitars EVER!