which pickup for a mohogany body

[zanshelby03]

I have just recently purchased an Ibanez art 100, set neck mahogany body and I like the tone but need a little more power, sustain and depth. What is the best pickup for this job? I have been told to get some blackouts , but if I do that will I need to make any major changes to the physical body of the guitar? Also Will I get that real full "Metal" sound with actives? I know active pickups have more sustain and are very tight sounding but I also heard you lose alot of you "beef" with them. I have always used passive pickups so that is what I know. I have an Ibanez rg321mh (solid mahogony) with a dimarzio steve speacial (bridge) which I like and that is the sound I am shooting for, but with more Seymour Duncan like "ass", the Steve speacial is a little weaker than I want. So what will give me the Heavy Riffing tone with out all the unnessasary mid boost that will work well with a mahogony bodied set neck guitar? Thanks hope you all can help.

[DrNewcenstein]

Not overly familiar with that particular model, but I have a Custom in a mahogany/mahogany neckthrough with maple cap. The body is thinnish like an SG, not thick like a Les Paul. I had one in an identical model but without the maple cap and it sounded a bit muddy, so now that one has a JB with a ceramic magnet (regular thickness like the Custom has).

[zakk_speed]

I have that guitar...the stock pups are pretty hot wound 3 wire ceramics so if you want to get more output you need to look at pups like the jb or the distortion. To go active you'll need to replace the volumes and tone and put in a battery clip so id recommend a set that includes these parts.

Ahb1 blackouts set based on what you say in the op. For passive the mayhem set which would be a slightly cheaper option

[Stef]

So what will give me the Heavy Riffing tone with out all the unnessasary mid boost that will work well with a mahogony bodied set neck guitar? Thanks hope you all can help.

l500xl

[uOpt]

Does that one have non-standard humbucker rings?

[zanshelby03]

thanks! sounds like some good info, this will help me make my decision. Mojo's I'm not sure if it has non-standard rings, how would I know?

[zanshelby03]

the art 100 has a les paul shape, mahogany set neck with a solid mahogany body and is also on the thin side. It also comes with a flame maple top and a rosewood finger board. It's a really nice guitar and the pickups are hot, I just want a fuller more powerful tone. Thanks.

[zakk_speed]

If its the same as mine - it has standard size chrome pickup rings. One thing I'd recommend is to buy trembucker/f-spaced for the bridge : although its not a trem guitar the spacing at the bridge is closer to tb/f spaced. The original pickups are both f-spaced.

[Funkfingers]

It's a really nice guitar and the pickups are hot, I just want a fuller more powerful tone. Thanks.

You have said nothing about your amplification and any pedals. This could have a huge influence of how your guitar is sounding. Something as simple as turning up the midrange EQ control could solve the original problem.

[zanshelby03]

I split my signal with a crate gt1200 w/300 watt 4/12 Sunn cabinet loaded with eminence speakers and a Sunn Beta lead 120 watt with a 300 watt 4/10 Sunn cabinet. I use a behringer multi effects and a behringer ultra metal on the Sunn amp and run the Crate on it's own. I should probably mention I use boomer thick thins. Zakk thanks for the tip on the F spacing. I had actually passed on a few good deals because they were F spaced or trembucker style.

[crguti]

I have almost the same guitar, an Ibanez ART500. I removed the original ibanez active pickup and I put a LW-Must set. Much better sound with lot of low end, but it's too much for drop tunnings. I'm thinking of changing the active pickups and get passives. Probably I'm gonna get some DM AirZone/Paf Pro set or duncan custom/59 set.

[Funkfingers]

I use a behringer multi effects and a behringer ultra metal on the Sunn amp

Is this between the guitar and the amplifier's input jack or in the amplifier's Effects Loop?

Either way, try WITHOUT the Behringer digital effects in circuit.

[blueman335]

How far are the PU's from the strings? They usually should be about 1/16" on the treble side, slightly lower on the bass side.

I'd stick with passives, as you could make some mods to the guitar to get actives in and then not like them.

[Franknfilms]

I wouldn't hesitate to put in a custom, if you want heavy riffing without too much mid boost. Balls, clarity, and character all in one. If you want an all out screamer, your next move would be something of the bill lawrence/dimebucker variety. Duncan distortion is usually a good match with mahogany, nice mids but not too overwhelming, it will tear a tube clean channel a new *******, but not a problem with your setup.

[zanshelby03]

thanks! Your on the same page with me. Definitely needs bigger balls. I actually like the tone I just wish I could get more sustain out of it. My Rhoads has an sh6 in the bridge and gets the sustain I like but I want some more bottom end. My rg321 mahogany has a Dimarzio Steve Special, awesome tone but lacks sustain and power. Now that I have a set neck guitar with the fixed bridge I really want to get that heavy tone and great sustain and not lose the clarity and rich harmonics.

[dominus]

TB-5 Duncan Custom is exactly what you're looking for.

[Frogman]

off topic, I'm envious of your Sunn gear!

I want a Beta Lead and a Model T!

[Franknfilms]

Check out surface's clips to hear the custom in action. Some clips are Custom 8, but there are plenty of regular custom clips as well. If you really want insane sustain, an od pedal is probably more important than pickup output in my opinion.
http://netmusicians.org/?section=user&value=surfacex

[zanshelby03]

Yea they just don't make them like that anymore. It is seriously sick. I used to run both cabinets off the Beta lead before getting the Crate. Wow , I turned alot of heads. Thanks. I used to see Beta lead 212 combos on Ebay all the time. I actually missed out on one a few years back, the guy got for $251.00 I bid $250.00.