Ibanez V7

Passive neck Humbucker which was originally in my 92 RG550. 9.1K.

Installed in the neck of a 22 fret Korean Hamer Archtop. Replaced the original Duncan Designed 103B. (The "Blameless" series from them. "Hey, we only designed it, we didn't make this piece o' crap.)

In the bridge is a Ibanez V8.

The reasons for the change is that the "Blameless" pickups were toneless. Lots of midrange, but no bass in the neck. (I'm primarily a neck player.)

It's a lot hotter than the "blameless", with massive amounts of tone and response. With the tone wide open. it has brightness and depth at the same time. Even with loads of gain, the notes still articulate well.

I took the guitar out on it's first gig after the change. A jazz setting, with 2 other guitarist. (One had been playing for as long as I've been alive, 45 years, the other had been playing for over 60.) The guitars tone easily matched the L5S and the ES335 I was playing with.

Jazz Rock Blues, even Metal works for this pickup. Country, I'm not so sure about.

Been a player and a tech for over 25 years. I seriously thought about a Lawrence XL500, or a DiMarzio DP107. Both good super hot pickups that have loads of tone. The Ibanez pickups were sitting on my bench, and I thought, "Hmmm, why not?" And a wonderful choice that was!

Run thru my Roland JC77, it can be warm and soulfull, or get that beautiful Robert Fripp "sustain till the amp fries" sound. Great pickup all around.


If it were to die, I would replace it with the same one. No question!

Pickup features: Humbucker, passive
Impedence or other specs: Huh?

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG1550
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: It was stock
Other pickups on guitar: Ibanez S1 (S.C) - Ibanez V8 (humbucker)
Artists using this pickup: Dunno.
You musical style(s): Hard Rock / Metal
Reason for pickup change: None... it came stock!

Perceived output level: Medium output.
Tone: Not too balanced. A bit boomy, low mids and a nice high-mid spike that clears things up.
Sonic evaluation: I'm using an Ibanez RG1550 directly into a Roland Cube 60, and this pickup came stock on the guitar. Being fair to Ibanez, this pickup is not bad at all! It's much better than most stock Ibanez pickups, and better than most Duncan Designed neck pickups that I've tried on some Jacksons and Schecters.
It has a nice bass response, it could be more focused but lowering the pickup a bit helps a lot. It has what I'd call a hollow mid section, but a nice high-mid response that de-muddifies the pickup, and makes it cut through fast picking runs, as long as you don't go crazy on the gain. The poster above defined it as an "Icy smooth tone". That's as clear as it can get.
The hollow mids also mean that the pickup is great for chord strumming on clean sounds. Leads sound with a nice character to them, and the high mid spike means you will get heard on a band. (Something that can't be said about the Ibanez V8 that also came with the guitar...)
The highs are just right. Very present, but not ear piercing. Just enough to try to balance everything.
It's a very decent stock pickup!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play mostly Rock and Metal, and it suits perfectly. It would fit the bill for other styles with the right amp!

Comments: I've been playing electric guitar for 8 years, and my setup is quite humble: Ibanez RG1550, Roland Cube 60 (GREAT amp for the price! Got it yesterday) and a Boss GE-7.
I like the fact that this pickup is much better than what you'd expect from a stock Ibanez. I've tried other guitars with their Powersound pickups and they are abysmally worse than this set. I didn't compare them side by side, but the difference is HUGE.
This pickup is keeping me satisfied, so far. I don't have the urge to change it (unlike the V8 -bridge- which will leave this guitar as soon as I have the money to buy another pickup) The only thing I'd change about it is that it had a bit more output and that it wasn't muddy on the lower strings. Still, it's not that bad. It probably won't hold it's own against some aftermarket pickups but hey, it comes stock!
A very decent pickup, overall. I'm satisfied with it.

Pickup features: Humbucker, passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG(Japanese, basswood body w/ floyd rose and wizard neck)
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: came stock
Other pickups on guitar: paf pro and tone zone(i replaced v8 and v7 with these)
Artists using this pickup: -
You musical style(s): Rock, metal, fusion, improvisation
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: medium.. i guess similar or a bit lesser than paf pro(which is 300 mV)
Tone: in neck it sounds balanced... warm mids it has
Sonic evaluation: I' ve used a lot of gears with these pickup. Mostly boss effects and distortions, in several amps(mostly marshalls in different sizes and models: avt's, valvestates and mg's)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: It is cool to play solos with this pickup. It is really good for a stock pickup, at least better than its bridge version v8. it has a cool mid-spike(like dimarzio fred), which adds warmth... You can get good cleans of it when you combine it with the single at middle position. With distortion, can be used in very different purposes, with different levels. But loses in some fast passages and studio environment, it gets a bit muddy. It has not so much clarity of course, when compared to quality pickups like dimarzio or seymour d., but still better than most stock pickups i' ve tried.

Comments:

Pickup features: humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: rg470ibanez
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: its a stock
Other pickups on guitar: jb trembucker, bridge of course!
Artists using this pickup: don't know
You musical style(s): jazz to metal, blues to shred
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: hot, but still warm and moderate
Tone: balanced, smooth, nice tone and quite enough
Sonic evaluation: marshall 8040, sansamp gt-2, dd-3boss, mister
crybaby.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: it sounds great for any music, i play retro, but mostly shred.

Comments: actually i'm thinking of buying someting for a
change, but i was afraid of becoming dissapointed
from getting a new pickup, it might not give the
tone i'm after. the tone of the v7 is decent and
versatile. please feel free to e-mail me, i'm
confused about which one is better, SEYMOUR JAZZ
NECK or DIMARZIO HUMBUCKER FROM HELL. i'm also
thinking of 59 NECK, but i dont know if you can
shred with 59 NECK.
i still like the tone of the V7, it is warm,
smooth perfect for shred. but i'm still looking
for something better.