jff Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Hey, last year I got an Ibanez Jet King...like this: I'm thinking up upgrading the pickups, but all the options on the market are kind of overwhelming. The stock pickups are really muddy and flat sounding. I'd like to get something along the lines of a Les Paul sound. The guitar has a coil-tap switch, so the pickups would need to be compatible with that. Any ideas/tips? What kind of price range is realistic? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigWheeledWagon Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Gibsons (at least electric ones) aren't really my specialty, so I don't have much to offer for getting a more Gibson sound our of your new pickups (except to suggest using actual Gibson pups, but I don't know about the coil tap feature). I was actually just surprised no one around here had any advice for you and wanted to bump the topic to see if some of more experienced gearheads had any ideas. Anyone? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted April 22, 2009 Author Share Posted April 22, 2009 I'm not totally set on Gibson pickups, they just seem like the easy/obvious choice since the guitar currently has low quality copies of a Gibson humbucker. I'm leaning towards humbuckers, but I'm also considering P90s. TV Jones Gretsch style pickups are intriguing, too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
deepseacatfish Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 P-90s would probably look and sound good in that! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
In a little rowboat Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I think a main concern is determining whether the stock pickups are the same size as gibson humbuckers (it looks like it but i can tell from pics)...from there id say look in to some duncans. I had the jazz combo in my old sg standard and they sounded remarkable (just cause they are called jazz doesnt mean the dont rock hard if needed...great tonal variances) If you are going for a Les Paul sound, TV Jones is not for you...and again youd have to worry about fit With the coil tap, you should be able to use almost any humbucker, the wiring should be the same as what you have now... Standard P90s would require different hardware and mounting if they were to fit at all, but there are makers that do p90 'style' pickup that would fit What do those little black switches do? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyjimmy Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 If you are going for a Les Paul sound, TV Jones is not for you...and again youd have to worry about fit With the coil tap, you should be able to use almost any humbucker, the wiring should be the same as what you have now... Standard P90s would require different hardware and mounting if they were to fit at all, but there are makers that do p90 'style' pickup that would fit Sums it up nicely, and quoted for emphasis. Price point will probably be a factor for you. That said, Lollar Imperials are pricey but I've been happy with the set that I use in a LP standard.You'll find a few variants on this page, along with a single coil near the bottom that will fill the route of a standard humbucker. lollars Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 I think a main concern is determining whether the stock pickups are the same size as gibson humbuckers (it looks like it but i can tell from pics)...from there id say look in to some duncans. I had the jazz combo in my old sg standard and they sounded remarkable (just cause they are called jazz doesnt mean the dont rock hard if needed...great tonal variances) If you are going for a Les Paul sound, TV Jones is not for you...and again youd have to worry about fit With the coil tap, you should be able to use almost any humbucker, the wiring should be the same as what you have now... Standard P90s would require different hardware and mounting if they were to fit at all, but there are makers that do p90 'style' pickup that would fit What do those little black switches do? I'm almost certain the pickups are the same size as a Gibson humbucker. The black switches are the coil tap, one for each pickup. Thanks for the info. I'll look into the Duncans. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Robert South Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 I really like the duncan Phat Cats, essentially a P90 in a humbucker cover. I bought some recently and couldn't be happier with them. I love shopping for pickups! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a.miller Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I have Gibson '57 classics in two guitars: one, in a Telecaster neck position and two, in a Gibson 335. They are great pickups, but damn if they aren't expensive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted May 15, 2009 Author Share Posted May 15, 2009 I have Gibson '57 classics in two guitars: one, in a Telecaster neck position and two, in a Gibson 335. They are great pickups, but damn if they aren't expensive. Those were the first ones I looked at. I'm sure they'd sound great but yeah, they're expensive. More than I payed for the guitar. I'm tempted to put P90s in there, but then I'd lose the coil-tap. I'm not as set on getting a Les Paul type of sound as I was at first. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.