Ibanez guitar question

[Norris-wf]

I bought what I think is an RG570CTAM a few years back, It looks the same as the yellowish one on the right of this link: http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=215&now=3
But I recently put a SD JB into the bridge and for some reason I'm not happy with the sound. It seems very muffled, as if I was using the neck pup. I checked the wiring and I'm pretty sure it is correct, but maybe I should post some picks of the wiring so someone could double check. I didnt have another one to go off so I was using diagrams from the net.
So what I wanted to ask is there any issues with the JB in an alder body (which I think it is) or should I bring this to a local tech and have him do the works on her, I guess I'm also asking does a professional setup also make a huge difference on guitars? I've usually done it myself, but I feel this is a losing battle on this one....

 

[Harry Hughes]

Alder and JBs = a match made in heaven.
Something is definitely wrong here, because a JB in Alder should sound clear and fairly tight in the bottom end/lower mids

 

[greyskull]

no thats an issue with Ibanez Rg's...
Being shit

 

[Norris-wf]

Alder and JBs = a match made in heaven.
Something is definitely wrong here, because a JB in Alder should sound clear and fairly tight in the bottom end/lower mids

Ah ok, exactly what I wanted to know. I might get it set up by a pro so, now that I know there's no issue there. Any idea what height the pickup should be at? that may be the cause, typical distance between strings and pickup?

no thats an issue with Ibanez Rg's...
Being shit

I'm normally an LTD man, but I really love this guitar, and it used to play so well until I decided to feck with it. You could well be right though, I have no idea where this guitar stands in the range, but I'm guessing it's not at the bottom of the range......

 

[kev]

Ibanez RG's have the best necks of any guitars i've ever played, cant get enough of them! And yes, somethign is wrong with your wiring i sure dude, or the pickup is borked somehow.

 

[Norris-wf]

There was a V7 in it, so I just soldered the new pickup in the same method as that was connected. Is there different wiring between the two? I guess this may be pointless with pictures of what I did so I might try post some up later...

 

[kev]

There was a V7 in it, so I just soldered the new pickup in the same method as that was connected. Is there different wiring between the two? I guess this may be pointless with pictures of what I did so I might try post some up later...

Ah, will be very different dude. IIRC shit ibanez pickups give you a red, white, bare and that duncan will have red, white, bare, green. I'll have a quick look back in time a few years ago when I was into wiring pickups and let you know what you have to do. Stay tuned!

 

[Norris-wf]

Sweet Kev, that would be a big help. I'm sure I had to solder the red and white together anyway, but they weren't connected to anything else after that... I look forward to seeing what you find

 

[Harry Hughes]

Ah ok, exactly what I wanted to know. I might get it set up by a pro so, now that I know there's no issue there. Any idea what height the pickup should be at? that may be the cause, typical distance between strings and pickup?

Honestly I never adjust pickup height by eye (that is to say, I don't get out a ruler and measure the distance between the pickup and strings)
I just get my ear, listen to it as I adjust and once I get to a point where I feel it sounds the best, I leave it there.

 

[kev]

Ok, im back with the info. This is how it was in my 2005 Ibanez:

DMZ red to Ibby white
DMZ black & white to Ibby red
DMZ green and bare to ground

Do watch out if you are combining pickup brands, as they can end up out of phase with eachother. (e.g. Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio have the same wiring colours, but they all do different things which is highly irritating if you don't know much about electronics)

Now Based on the conversion here:

Seymour Duncan- Black White Red Green
DiMarzio- Red Green White Black

You should need to wire:

Duncan Black to Ibby white
Duncan Green & Red to Ibby red
Duncan White and bare to ground


Hopefully this information is correct and I dont cause you hours of wiring frustration like what hapend to me when I was about 18!

 

[Norris-wf]

Ah, thats excellent, I may have it different, I must check, can you remember which ones go to the switch, I've forgotton which way it was, I think ibby red went to switch...

 

[kev]

Ah, thats excellent, I may have it different, I must check, can you remember which ones go to the switch, I've forgotton which way it was, I think ibby red went to switch...

I usually cut the wires and solder wires together rather than making a new contact on the hardware (this is largely due to the fact that i have a shit soldering iron and not the greatest solder technique in the world!).

If you get stuck I could check my Ibanez later on.

 

[Norris-wf]

Ah, ok. Spot on. Thanks a million for that . I have a strange feeling I have red and white connected together but not to any hardware, or else thats a different pickup I'm imagining. Cheers again Kev

 

[Norris-wf]

Hey Kev, I tried the wiring you suggested but for some reason it was only working in single coil mode if I am right. there was a lot of hum from it so something was wrong. I tracked down another wiring diagram and I'm pretty sure it's right now. Its configured for H-S-H mode with position 2 on the switch using the JB in coil split mode with the single coil. It' sounds better now too, but I'm sure it needs a pro setup. It's still not as nice as my MH to play on

 

[azistenostora]

I had a similar problem when I replaced the shitty pickups in my old Ibanez rg470 to DiMarzio Evos. I took it to a pro in the end cause I couldn't figure out how to wire it properly. If it helps I can post a picture of the wiring later on.

 

[Ionei]

I had a similar problem when I replaced the shitty pickups in my old Ibanez rg470 to DiMarzio Evos. I took it to a pro in the end cause I couldn't figure out how to wire it properly. If it helps I can post a picture of the wiring later on.

Sorry to thread hijack.

But how did those Evos work in the 470?
I've got one at the moment and wondering what i should go for pickupwise.

 

[Norris-wf]

I had a similar problem when I replaced the shitty pickups in my old Ibanez rg470 to DiMarzio Evos. I took it to a pro in the end cause I couldn't figure out how to wire it properly. If it helps I can post a picture of the wiring later on.

Cheers for the offer man, but I'm pretty sure I have it right now, It is sounding right and working in single coil mode too

 

[azistenostora]

Sorry to thread hijack.

But how did those Evos work in the 470?
I've got one at the moment and wondering what i should go for pickupwise.

They worked well, depends on what you are after really. The RG470 is the shittiest guitar in the world (well mine is...it is like 12 years old, the neck is twisted as fuck) so I am not using that guitar so often anymore.
I found that the evos have a bit of a darker sound than my other pickups (ESP with seymours).