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milin_im

Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
Messages
9
Hi all,

I'm going to try to make this as short as possible without missing any of the details that I want to communicate.

First of all, my JP6 BFR is the nicest, more comfortable, and best built guitar that I have ever owned. It is really a beautiful instrument. Mine was built in 2013 and have SS frets. I have owned it since February. I sold all my other guitars just to buy this JP6 BFR, including a 1999 Ibanez RG3120 and a 2006 Ibanez RG1550M, the latter which I sold before deciding to buy the JP6 BFR, because I prefered the sound of the RG3120 much more. Both Ibanez had a Dimarzio Crunch Lab in the bridge position.

When I got the BFR it sounded kinda weak through my Mesa Mark IV. It sounded like the gain was not there. I could still play it, but something sounded off. So, I sold my Mark IV and bought a JP2C, and was dissapointed by the amp. I tried lots of settings and struggled to get the sound I wanted out of it. Since the BFR is the only guitar I own, I couldn't compare the sound with another guitar, and I wasn't blaming the guitar either at that point.

About two weeks ago, I sent the BFR to a tech for a setup, and in that time a friend lent me the same Ibanez RG1550M that was mine at one point, that he had acquired it by chance. Since the first time I started playing with the RG1550M it sounded a lot better than what I remembered the BFR sounding. I couldn't believe I was playing through the same amp. All the palm mutes sounded tight and chunky, as opposed to how they sounded on the BFR, and I even had to lower the gain on the amp.

After getting back the BFR and comparing both guitars side by side, the difference is as huge as I imagined, and I have to say that the BFR lacks gain, punch, and the palm mutes just don't sound right, especially on the Low E. I don't know why this is and what the problem is. Could my BFR be a "lemon"? I was not using the piezo with the distortion before someone points that out, and I have replaced the battery twice just in case. I have also tried playing using both outputs separately and the difference between them is really minimal.

I have to say that the BFR sounds clearer, with more clarity, but it lacks what I described above.

I'm not trying to take a dig at EBMM or anything, because I really love the playability of the guitar. I just want to see if there could be a problem with it.
 

Guitarshreda

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
111
Based off your post, it sound like you bought the guitar used, correct?

If so, perhaps the original owner changed the original pickups, then returned the original pickups before selling. In that change over, maybe the Crunch Lab is mis-wired in parallel rather then series?
 

milin_im

Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
Messages
9
Based off your post, it sound like you bought the guitar used, correct?

If so, perhaps the original owner changed the original pickups, then returned the original pickups before selling. In that change over, maybe the Crunch Lab is mis-wired in parallel rather then series?

I thought about that, but my tech told me it was wired correctly. Also, I recognize the sound of a pickup wired in parallel, and it doesn't sound like that, but I asked the tech to check anyway.
 

SpeakingToStone

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 24, 2007
Messages
89
My guess is the pick up height. I've owned dozens of Petruccis and with most of them I've had to put foam underneath the pick ups to raise the height.
 

milin_im

Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
Messages
9
My guess is that it isnt the guitar for you. I mean that kindly and honestly....Probably the ibanez is a better guitar for you. Its all about having choices.

Thanks for being so direct Big Poppa. I'm not giving up yet. I love this guitar, and I had been trying to buy one since they came out. I have nothing but respect and admiration for you and your company.
 

Slater

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
145
Location
Great Lakes State
If everything is functioning correctly, it seems like that pickup in that guitar isn't right for you.

I've had the experience plenty of times where the same exact pickup worked great for me in one guitar, but was unacceptable in another.
 

milin_im

Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
Messages
9
If everything is functioning correctly, it seems like that pickup in that guitar isn't right for you.

I've had the experience plenty of times where the same exact pickup worked great for me in one guitar, but was unacceptable in another.

I will test another BFR and a JP12 to compare also.
 

milin_im

Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
Messages
9
You can do that to gain some more tonal reference, but it won't be the same piece of wood.

I know that two guitars will never sound the same even with the same type of woods and pickups. I just want to compare other similar guitars.
 

JamieCrain

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
141
I agree with BP and Slater in that it may not be right for you, but it could be tweaked. There is some luck involved. Be wary of "conventional" wisdoms like "this wood is warmer than that", or "this pickup is hotter than that one". There may be some truth but there are many factors in the mix and EVERY guitar is different. Don't be afraid to experiment.
 

milin_im

Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
Messages
9
Like I said, I had a playtest with all the guitars in the following picture:

20160910_115616.jpg


Mine is the Solar Burst in the middle.

All the guitars sounded great, specially the Cherry Burst on the left, which sounded the best in my opinion. The Solar Burst has a specific sound when hitting the strings. Some sort of metallic sound for lack of a better word, that the others didn't have, which I believe is what I'm hearing that I'm not liking. It's a high frequency sound that mixed with the sound coming from the amp is giving me a sound that I'm not enjoying. Is not fret buzz by the way.

Anyways, I traded my Solar Burst for the Cherry Burst on the left with my friend, because he liked the color better, and I'm very happy with the sound now.
 

Jamie M

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Messages
1,116
Location
U.K
I had a JP6 a few years ago, it wasn't for me at all. Great instrument but as BP says its all about choices. My ASS is the ultimate ( to me ) but others prefer Jps, ALs etc.
 
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