Need Pickup Suggestions For My Artcore Hollowbody

I'm looking for a set of pickups for my Ibanez Artcore AF85TDG shown below... I've been asking around online and getting mixed info/suggestions so I figured I'd ask here. Looking for two tones out of this guitar... a warm, thick jazz tone (I want to be able to dial down the tone without it being too muddy)... and a twangy rockabilly tone.

Here is a list of some I am considering but I'm looking closest at SD Seth Lovers or Gibson 57s... I do want to stay with gold humbuckers as shown in the pic. What do you think?

N>Gibson 57 Classic B>Gibson 57 Classic Plus
Seymour Duncan Seth Lover Set
N>Seymour Duncan Seth Lover B>Seymour Duncan Phat Cat
Low Wind Lollar Imperial Set
N>Lollar Charlie Christian B> SD Phat Cat
Tonerider Alnico II Classics AC2 Set

**TV Jones pickups will not fit this guitar**

If you want the twangy tone, I reckon you'll need a P90 at the bridge, and Charlie Christian managed quite well for a jazz tone.

Just my humble opinion.

G.

A set of Duncan 59s with a coil tap would do the job quite nicely!

Welcome aboard Sockfoot...I have a friend that put 57 Gibson Humbuckers on his Epi 335 and it makes a great reduced volume jazz box with sweet neck pickup tones...plus you can crank it up for some blues and rockabilly R&R.

ps. love the way the pickguard matches the body and that's a nice looking honey of a guitar! Wondering if that scratch pad under the bridge is stock and if it's really necessary? My buddy also installed a roller saddle bridge which helps the guitar stay in tune when using a Bigsby. I have one on my Taylor T3 and it does the J.O.B...

1) the SD '59 is probably my favorite SD HB these days.

2) can't see how Lollar would be anything but great.

3) I believe it was picker who recommended me to Vinage Vibe for a pickup upgrade on my Dean EVO, and they're going to be doing a HB/P90 set for me that will effectively be custom wound for a very reasonable price. As I understand it, their design also allows for magnet swapping for additional fine tuning of your sound. The set in question may well meet your specs: the H540-42 SW humbucking pickup and either the HCC or HS-90 SW pickups.

4) another project I'm doing will be using custom wound pickups from The Creamery.

5) I'm surprised the TV Jones don't fit! Too big? Too small? Too wide? You might want to contact Reverend about their RevTron mini-HBs or the new Railhammer pickups.

That's a piece of packing foam, used for shipping purposes only with floating bridges. It should be removed by the end user upon purchase, since it's a tone killer. I believe these are promo photos, not Sockfoot's actual guitar.

TV Jones Gretsch pickups are direct replacements for Gretsch pickup models, i.e. Filtertrons, Hilotrons, 'Gretschbuckers', Dynasonics. Gretsch pickups don't fit a standard humbucking mounting ring, but I believe there are various adaptors available. It might require a bit of additional routing to get a Gretsch style pickup into a humbucking rout.

I don't know if routing would be needed, but yeah- they do have a variety of mounting options for most of their pickups. Still, its possible there is no good fit possible.

thank you... the pic shown is the one that was taken at sweetwater before i bought it... they photograph every guitar so you can "pick" the one you want as grain patterns change from one to another and did so on this model very much... the piece under the bridge is just the foam that was there from the factory.

That is what they told me at the TV Jones manufacturer when I contacted them... there is a video on youtube of a guy who did it with an Artcore and shows how... they are a little to small... I'd kinda like to stick with the gold style humbuckers anyway... forgot to remove the TV Jones off the poll btw...

Too small? Forget the RevTrons I suggested, then. And on reflection, the Railhammers are more voiced for rock than what you're looking for, so nix that idea, too.

The rest, though, stands.

Actually it's promo photos of my actual guitar

As to the TV Jones fit interest I'm seeing, this is a reply directly from TV Jones tech support... the combo I was looking into originally was a TV Classic set or N>TV Jones Super’Tron B>TV Jones TV Classic... I also asked them if it was possible to fit them under gold covers:

"The TV Jones Filter'trons will not fit into those covers. They have two rows of poles screws and the pole spacing is different. Most other humbuckers would fit, but you would want to compare the pole spacing to be sure they would fit.

If you still want to upgrade the pickups to TV Jones, you can order the pickups in the English Mount with a USA Gibson-style ring (EM1). The English Mount pickups are smaller than standard humbuckers, so you'll need to order an EM1 ring or there will be an unsightly gap around the pickup. The holes in the ring may not match up exactly with the stock rings if the stock rings are metric, so you would need to fill the old holes with wood glue and a toothpick. In this case I recommend the Super'tron in the neck position. Another option is the Humbucker Mount, which will suspend from the stock rings. The Super'tron is not available in the Humbucker Mount, so I would recommend a Power'tron in the neck position."

Here is a video of a guy who shows the process he took to mount TV Jones into his Artcore:

I thought that scratch pad would be a tone killer...thanks Scott and Sockfoot for clearing that up as it being only a shipping concern. I've never ordered a floating bridge guitar. I have reveiwed actual pictures (ie. not just promo) of my specific Nylon guitar and an electric guitar before ordering. It's a very cool looking guitar and upgrading the pups can really make a difference.

Thanks again! I do LOVE this guitar... I have only one very small complaint, really not a concern for interested buyers... but this is my first time with this style of Bigsby tremelo and I really wish the bar could swing upward toward the strings just a little bit more as I have an odd playing style/preference which is pretty unconventional in the way I would normally use a tremelo keeping the bar sometimes in my fingers as I pick some parts... but being the only tremelo work I would be doing with this guitar would be in the rockabilly genre it's really not that big of a deal because the approach to that style of tremelo "accent" is very different than a Van Halen or Hendrix playing style... I should mention the reason it wont move closer to the strings is because of the way the entire tail piece and bar are made... there is a "stop" that can not be adjusted at all but as I said it should not discourage interested buyers... it's just part of this style... wish it was different but not a huge deal...

Probably the most expensive pickups around but the Lollartron Humbuckers were just recommended to me by Lollar and they seem pretty sweet from what I've read and seen online...

[quote=SockfootThanks again! I do LOVE this guitar... I have only one very small complaint, really not a concern for interested buyers... but this is my first time with this style of Bigsby tremelo and I really wish the bar could swing upward toward the strings just a little bit more as I have an odd playing style/preference which is pretty unconventional in the way I would normally use a tremelo keeping the bar sometimes in my fingers as I pick some parts... but being the only tremelo work I would be doing with this guitar would be in the rockabilly genre it's really not that big of a deal because the approach to that style of tremelo "accent" is very different than a Van Halen or Hendrix playing style... I should mention the reason it wont move closer to the strings is because of the way the entire tail piece and bar are made... there is a "stop" that can not be adjusted at all but as I said it should not discourage interested buyers... it's just part of this style... wish it was different but not a huge deal... [/quote]*************************************

I've only had a Bigsby for a little over a year and I know what you mean as my Strats allow you to play with the bar in hand and get as close as you want to the strings...I'm not a big whammy bar user anyway but I really do like the Bigsby once I got used to it. It's a more subtle and tasty vibrato and it stays where you put it (ie. in the way or out of the way) so it's easy to find when you need it. I mostly use it on the ending chord(s) of the song. My T3 Taylor case has a notch cut out for the Bigsby at the bottom so that when you put the guitar in the case, the bar is turned all the way to the rear...suggest you turn it all the way to the rear even if the case has no notch cut out, as it keeps the case lid from pressing down on the bar and taking the tension off of the strings and neck when closed...anybody that likes a Bigsby will have no problem with the bar stop or the design, as they are used to it...sometimes the bar sticks up too high on some models but they make springs and/or you can remove a spacer that will lower it, but yours looks like it's adjusted pretty good and mostly level with the guitar...have fun with it!

I know what you mean about sticking up in the case!

The case for my new Reverend 15th Anniv. Flatroc arrived straight from Reverend. Only...it doesn't look like it fits!











I sent these photos to Reverend, and they said that IS how it looks before you press down & close it. They claim no harm will come to the guitar, and the pressure on the post anchors the guitar in place.

Danny, could you please post some shots of the entire guitar, just to make sure it's ok?

If you just want to see it, I posted it here: http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2469032/1

Or do you mean a wide shot of it in it's case?

This is a somewhat common complaint voiced over on the Gretsch forum, where there's a lotta Bigsby love going on. Basically the fix, if you want to fix it, is to file or grind that stop off. It has no other function beside limiting the swing of the arm, so if you like having the handle in your right palm, over the strings, you'll need to do this mod. Best to remove the Bigsby & place it in a clamp while you file, or you can use a bench grinder. Then some fine sanding & buffing & you're good to go.
I have to say, though, that I had exactly the same reaction when I got my first Bigsby-equipped Gretsch, but I never got around to removing the stop, & now I don't notice it being in the way. It's gone from a big deal to a very minor annoyance. Give it some time, you may just get used to it. And, yes, it's completely & totally a different beast from a Strat/Wilkinson/Floyd type vibrato.

DannyA, I'm sure the guitar is fine and Rev may be correct in saying it won't harm the guitar. My buddy bought an Epi Wildcat a few years back and that was my 1st experience with a Bigsby. It was a cool playing guitar. The only problem was it didn't stay in tune after a few whammys and I suspect it's because it lacks a roller saddle bridge. I also noticed that his case didn't close all the way when he put the guitar away as he left the bar forward in line with the strings. In his case [double meaning], if he turned the Bigsby to the rear, the case would close so I suggested it would be a better way to store the guitar as there would be no string or neck tension released. He didn't care either way, but I thought maybe it's just me? Then a few years later I buy a Taylor T3 with Bigsby and low and behold there in the rear of the case is a notch so that the Bar can be turned all the way to the rear and the case closes all the way before latching...and the roller saddle bridge keeps the strings from hanging up and it stays in tune.

Long story short, it looks like Taylor agrees with me. If you move the bar forward in line with the strings, you'll notice the case is higher with the lid resting on the bar before closing. As you move the bar towards the rear, you'll notice the lid gets closer to closing and thus it pushes less on the bar when you latch the case. In your pictures, it looks like the best spot is right in the corner of the case, as shown in the 3rd and 4th picture and it keeps most of the lid pressure off of the bar.

My other buddy had a Bigsby installed on his Epi 335 (along with those 57 Gibson Humbuckers) but the bar stuck up too high, so he bought a replacement spring with less height and removed the spacer (as opposed to having the bar bent in a vice). Now the bar is lower and feels better and his case closes. He also installed a roller saddle bridge and it stays in tune. He also has a T3 and sees the way the case notch, Bigsby and roller bridge all make some cool improvements. Next time you're at a GC, pretend you're interested in a guitar or 2 with a Bigsby and see if the case closes, you might find that it's no big deal and they all close that way or you might find a better case...have fun!

ps. I noticed your Bigsby roller where the string ball ends connect is mounted at the rear of the guitar body with no plate, my T3 has a plate like the one shown on Sockfoots' Ibby and more guitar body (about 4") between that roller and the end of the body, which allows the bar to stick out less passed the body when turned all the way to the rear.

pss. It would be cool if Bigsby would grind off most of that bar stop as Scott describes and maybe even come up with a quick disconnect removable bar for the no-base plate models...

+1. Have 'em in a couple of guitars and love them.

For a non-intrusive coil tap mod look into the Seymour Duncan Triple Shot pickup rings...
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/accessories/triple-shot-mou/triple_shot_swi/

Yeah mine has no problem at all with fitting in the case with the bar swung to the back... they did that part of the design well... not to say there are flaws, it's a great guitar... I think if they/Bigsby wanted to they could engineer it to where the stop could be an "option" with a tight spring lock under the stop... if you want the stop in place you leave it as it is... if the stop is in your way you press down on the actual stop itself and it clicks into a "lowered" position... press it again to raise it... I think that would be a welcomed solution to it that wouldn't require any removal of parts or tools...

(Patent Pending, Sockfoot )...

Nice axe, man! Yeah, just wanted a peak...

Save some money AND get some great tone with a pair of Golden Age / Parsons Street vintage P.A.F. style humbuckers from Stewart-MacDonald; mixed-set of AlNiCo 2 for the neck, AlNiCo 5 for the bridge.

Adjust 'em so that the pole-piece screws are screwed down low on the neck-pickup, and up a bit high on the bridge-pickup; balance treble-side to bass-side and neck to bridge and go to town with fat, warm round neck tones and twangy, stringy bridge tones.

Go with some D R Pure Blues pure/solid-nickel on round-cores 10's or 11's (my favorites for Gibson-y guitars), changing the strings and setting the action, relief and intonation before adjusting the pickup poles and heights. Trust me.