westhemann

not as hard as you might think.all of these pickups(tone zone,jb,etc.)have very similar sounds.just remember,basswood has a very scooped sound naturally so you need a pickup with alot of mids(tone zone,jb)to balance it out.(for that queensryche sound.)if you were going for the slayer sound i would suggest 81's for the attack and to keep the scooped sound.body wood and style of music dictates alot.i just had a great suggestion for the neck.duncan blackbacks.very versatile.

i agree.oh by the way the tremelo with the 550 is much better than the one that comes with that kit.well worth the extra money.

if i had to guess i would say it might be a wizard 2 neck.the wizard is a little thinner than the 2 is.is the neck super thin or merely thinner than most.does it have a skunk stripe down the back?the wizard 2 is the superior neck because the wizard is so thin that unless you have hands like angus young(small)then the fatigue to your hands is too much.don't put too much stock into whether or not it's a wizard.more important is whether or not it feels good to you.but if it is a 97 550 neck then it's probably a wizard 2

your in luck.double check the serial on the back of the headstock.is the first "number"the letter f?if so it is made in japan(a good thing)i believe all 550s were made in japan.look at the neck pocket for any markings there to make sure it is indeed a 470.

have you considered a duncan jb?great pickup for that rich full sound.does dimarzio still make the tone zone?also a great pickup

all i know is he says right on his web page that he doesn't reccomend those parts and that he does consider them cheap imitations of the real thing(handmade guitars).consider this;you run a business providing top quality replacement parts(handmade)for guitars such as ibanez.you believe that the necks,bodies,pickups,etc.that you sell are much better than what originally came with the guitar,but once you have upgraded these guitars you have all those parts you just replaced sitting around,perfectly serviceable but not up to your standards.what do you do with them.you sell them very cheaply to people who can't afford the top quality lines.the only other choice is to throw them away.i have several duncan desighn pickups sitting around right now that i don't consider good for anything.ed roman sells pickups he pulls out of some guitars for $5 apeice just to get rid of them.somebody out there wants them.i just bought a fernandes revolver pro for $380 bucks which i consider a piece of junk now that i have played it for a while.did the music store i bought it from rip me off?no.did fernandes for making a guitar that beginners could afford but which for me was just an impulse buy because i liked the sustainer pickup?no.but i bet you that some other people would say yes and would trash the store for selling it to them.my advice is this;if you want a cheap beginner ibanez kit to learn to play on,buy it and don't complain when it's not the same quality as a $3000 custom instrument.bottom line,is that a real ibanez?yes.is it a cheaply built ibanez with inferior parts?yes.but i bet if you called him and asked him those same questions he would tell you the truth about it.why do i say this?because if you read the whole website you will see that he says the very same things in his rants about ibanez.but rather than throw them away he sells them to people who want them.just look at the size of the man's business and the quality of the work on his handmade instruments.i can see that lgm does top notch work.superb in fact and better than 99%of what else is out there.but i bet someone who doesn't like him personally might say different just to slam him.some people would rather blame another for their mistakes than admit it was their own. this is in no way meant to disrespect lgm or anyone else.i have all the respect in the world for your work and knowledge of finishing.i only mean to make the point that if 100 people told you that your best friend,girlfriend,or neighbor were a loser,would you believe it just because someone said it or would you form your own opinion based on your experiences?i respect everyone elses opinion but not as much as my own. peace

check these out pretty cool cooler disgusting

i think many people don't like his opinions on foriegn guitars or the use of body filler.i have heard people say negative things but as they don't say why i don't know how much credit to give to that.my opinion is he has a good website and has obvious pride in his business,his guitars,and his country.but i think you will hear a different viewpoint from others on this topic.having said that though i think that is too much to pay for that kit guitar as you can get a japanese made(thats the good one)rg 550 for $380 at music 123 if memory serves.and it comes ready to play.back to the opinion of ed roman though,if anyone has an example of why he is not a good person i would like to hear it as i one day may purchase a quicksilver guitar from him.he does have an awesome website and you can learn alot by reading through it.

i don't know what the stewmac stuff is,but i imagine graphite is the thing to use.

the guitar guy at musicmakers can get me one for under 2 grand.just the hardware and wood to build one would cost me almost half that.not to mention the time and labor.but the guitar is top notch.notice the upper fret access and genuine kahler flatmount.(oh by the way i hate inverted headstocks,i restring my guitars so much that it's really important to me to not have to reach across the body to wind the strings and for some reason i hate speedwinders.how wierd is that?)

i agree.i was using the argument i hear the most but on all my bolt ons have tremendous sustain(except my ibanez)because i took the neck off and cleaned out the neck pocket on all of them and i only use the hottest pickups i can find.but i must say i do hear a difference in sound between the two.i think wood choice has more effect on sustain than neck construction.

that fretboard appears to be ebony.

interesting question diver,i love the playability of my sabre.the reason i am not crazy about jems is they don't have the look or feel i desire.i have a fernandez revolver pro which feels pretty good but i'm not crazy about the looks.i love the b.c.rich beast look,but the playability is not good.i am on a mission to build a beast type guitar,only lighter(lightweight korina body and neck)and more balanced.i have never played a guitar that i was totally happy with,which is why i got into building them.the closest i have come is my sabre but i don't like the wizard neck(too thin)or the harsh highs.i am really interested in korina guitars as they are supposed to be light and tonally great.i am trying to build a set of guitars which look mean,sound good,and are light and easy to play.i feel that guitar manufacturers are producing 24 fret instruments(which i like)and not modifying the body to create the balance i like.for example a 22 fret instruments upper horn will extend to the 12th fret but the same instrument with 24 frets will have the upper horn at the 14th fret.having said all that,i love the esp jeff hanneman model in a word,perfection.the only other guitar i will ever buy.gorgeous and playable.

ya'll are probably sick of hearing me say this but emg single coils have no hum.none,zilch,nada.evenwith super high gain.and the sound awesome.ever hear"play that funky music white boy"the s single coils sound like that.funky,bluesy,and sharp.and by the way no ground is necessary.

i don't share your enthusiasm for jems but i was looking at an rg570 the other day and the workmanship is great(made in japan).you can tell alot about a guitar from the inside of the control cavities.only thing i noticed was the ground was cold soldered(they didn't get the trem claw hot enough to bond to).

it does make a difference in sound.the argument goes like this:with a neck thru you have more sustain and tone and better accessibility to the upper frets than with a set neck.having said that though,some people prefer the set neck(gibson fans).it really depends on personal taste and i don't really agree that a neck thru gives you more tone as much as it gives you a different tone.my opinion is i like em both but i lean a little towards neck thru.as far as which is easier i don't know because i have never made a neck,but it seems like a neck thru would be easier because you don't have to fit the neck to the body(that little neck tenon seems like a bitch to get right)but someone else would know better than me.

emg homepage kh20(pro series)look around for the lowest price.i paid around $200 for mine but nobody wants to list their prices.i found it was cheaper to buy the system than to buy them seperately.one useful thing though when you order emg pickups the price includes all the electronics you need to wire it up(control pots,jack,battery connect,etc)

i don't think you're wrong,what are the chances of it being coincedence?on the bright side though it's kind of lame to sell pieces of shaped plywood.the least he could do is make em out of plexiglass or plastic(ya know something that would last.)believe it or not though i draw my guitar bodies freehand.i take the neck scale,place the bridge,pickups,and controls,and draw whatever shape i want around it,keeping in mind things like balance and playing comfort.then i cut it out of the posterboard i draw it on and trace it onto the body wood.that way i can be sure of having something original.(i probably will do a warlock soon though in which case i will want it just like the original)

i though gophers already came precolored.

you gotta be real light on the grinder.i did that on a basswood body and i was happy with it but be careful.

emg all the way man.you can get a pickgaurd setup like kirk hammets and transfer everything to your new pickgaurd without doing a bit of soldering.but can you color emg's?if not a dimarzio tone zone is a great pickup with the standard pole piece design.

good question.i was on the same search about 3 months ago and i gave up and went with a tailpiece.on the bright side i bought tone pros(they really do make a difference).

i bought an esp for my wife(which of couse she never plays)and the distance between center of tom and center of string ferrules is 1 1/2 inches(holes are staggered to match the bridge compensation)but i don't think it matters,look at a string thru v and you'll see they are quite different from a string thru strat.

i just had a thought.diver doesn't mean like holy diver does it?cause if you like dio then a dimebucker is too hot.a screamin demon is great for that hair band sound.(seymour duncan)

check out a dimebucker.i can't say enough good things about it for metal and believe it or not the clean tone is crystal clear,which is tough to find in a high output humbucker.if you do decide to go active though keep in mind that emg makes a single coil neck pickup which actually is the same size as a humbucker.check out emg's website.great stuff and the pickups aren't any more expensive than a high end passive.