Looking for new pickups

[yurosis]

Hi

I own an Ibanez S320 and would like to switch out the factory pickups. I play mostly rock and metal, but like to do some clean blues and jazz to wind down. Currently looking at the Seymour Duncan Invader SH-8 for the bridge and Seymour Duncan Jazz Model SH-2 for the neck.

What do you think?

[R Whittington]

Hi yurosis,
I guess my question would be, what is it about the stock pickups that you don't like? Then we'll have something more to base things on.

[yurosis]

Hmm, well I don't really have big issues with them but they do sound rather bland to me. The neck pickups are alright, but the bridge's inf2 just sounds muddy and a mess to me. I also have difficulty trying to get it to sound well in recordings.

I've been using them for about 3-4 years now and have never really used anything else beside these (Not too picky with my gears). I just thought it would be a nice change to try different pickups for once in my life That and if I do get new pups I could use the inf2 on another guitar I'm trying to restore.

[R Whittington]

ymmv...but the Invader is an extremely hot pickup and in most cases...the hotter the pickup the less detail you get in the higher frequencies. I've always personally liked a balance of power and tone. As for Duncan, an SH6 (Duncan distortion) I think would be a better call if you want more detail and less mud. The SH2 is a good call for the neck. I have that PU in several guitars in neck position and it's a winner.

[yurosis]

Hmm... I guess I'll take a look into the SH6, thanks!

Also one more question on pickups, but more hardware based. I'd like to replace the pickup ring on the guitar I mentioned above, but I'm not sure how I can make sure i'm getting one that fits. Any idea?

[R Whittington]

pickup rings like the ones on your guitar are somewhat standardized. You just want to make sure you're getting a bridge pickup ring because a neck ring will be too tall.

[yurosis]

Thanks. I've read about pickup rings for curved and flat bodies, but how can I tell?

[R Whittington]

This is the one you'd need for a guitar with a flat top:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PRPR020