ADA Depot - A Forum To Support Users of ADA Amplification Gear

Non ADA Gear => Guitars => Topic started by: Dante on April 27, 2014, 02:40:49 PM

Title: NGD!!!
Post by: Dante on April 27, 2014, 02:40:49 PM
Meet the new girl, an Ibanez AR 420
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: Peter H. Boer on April 27, 2014, 11:21:43 PM
Very nice  O0
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: kawai2g4b on April 27, 2014, 11:53:21 PM
An AR420s was calling out to me at GC for a while.  My old MC400 really turned me onto the hum/split/phase switches and that setup really impressed me in this AR setup with the Super 58s.  How are you liking it thus far through your gear and what guitar pickup/tone settings are you liking most on it right now?
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: rnolan on April 28, 2014, 04:38:25 AM
Go Dante, nice  :thumb-up:
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: Dante on April 28, 2014, 09:35:28 AM
An AR420s was calling out to me at GC for a while.  My old MC400 really turned me onto the hum/split/phase switches and that setup really impressed me in this AR setup with the Super 58s.  How are you liking it thus far through your gear and what guitar pickup/tone settings are you liking most on it right now?

Y'know, I was not very fond of the Super58 customs in my semi-hollow (AS103), but I am finding them very useful in the solid body. The tri-sound switches don't get much use onstage (yet) because they lose a bit of volume. I'll write some 'single coil' patches for that. I find the ADA to be more flexible with compensating for the pickups...this coming from a guy that usually has soldered in new pickups within an hour of bringing home a new guitar. If anything, I may replace the neck pickup for a GHS Alnico 2 Classic 2 from guitarfetish.com. Those sound great in every guitar and are half the price of a Seymour Duncan Jazz.

I've been looking at 3 of these guitars on the wall at a local shop for about a year now (blue marineburst, cherry sunburst and antique violin)...when I went in the other day, the blue one was gone. I will give you guys the whole story later, when I'm not at work ;)
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: kawai2g4b on April 28, 2014, 09:55:17 AM
I will say the Super 58 Customs use ceramic magnets vs. alnico for the regular Super 58s.  I have the customs in my AF105, which is a full hollow-body and actually sound excellent in my guitar, especially when set just short of breakup.  I too played the AS103 at GC and thought it to be a bad match, I couldn't give you the most detailed explanation as to why this was though.
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: Batsinthebelltower on April 28, 2014, 07:36:55 PM
Lookin good Dante ! A new addition to rock with the Tone Monkeys !!
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: Dante on April 28, 2014, 08:30:14 PM
Here she is, doin' her job. My job is to make the rest of you look good with my ugly mug  :thumb-up:

Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: rnolan on April 29, 2014, 07:00:36 AM
You undervalue yourself my friend  :thumb-up: Great to see you having such a good time, very good for the soul IMHO.  BTW I also run with a sweat thingy on my picking hand.
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: kawai2g4b on April 29, 2014, 09:29:07 AM
Nice gig pic Dante!  That guitar is one hell of a beauty.  :thumb-up:
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: MarshallJMP on April 29, 2014, 03:39:15 PM
Well looking at the pic,it seems this guitar suits you very well,perfect pair IMHO.
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: Dante on April 29, 2014, 04:02:21 PM
Well looking at the pic,it seems this guitar suits you very well,perfect pair IMHO.

She feels like an old friend, very comfy and much lighter than my Gold top.
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: Dante on June 04, 2014, 07:15:12 PM
I'm still loving this guitar, despite my recent actions. Yes, it's story time:

I found some decent PUs on Craigslist for dirt cheap and decided to pull the plug and replace the stock PUs in my new Ibby. I think the stock PUs are okay, but I feel like they could be a bit more 'open' sounding (hard to describe). I LOVE the Seymour Duncans I have in my other Ibanez Artist (the gold top). The PUs I bought were not that - they are a PAF clone set from GuitarFetish.com. I believe they're called Vintage 59s or something. Anyway, they just weren't for me.

They do have great tone, and they do sound very 'open' and articulate, but they just were not hot enough. Yes, I could get all the gain I needed out of them using the MP-2, but those patches would never be useful for any other guitars. They were not a step up, just a step over.

I took them back out, and it took me a LOOOOOOooooonnnnggGGGGGg time. The two microswitches make the job more time consuming, believe me. She's back to stock and playing a LOT better now that I had her frets leveled and lowered the action a bit. :whoohoo!:
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: Zilthy on June 04, 2014, 07:58:15 PM
Eww.... mismatched pickup output between guitars can be a pain unless you have an easy way to change just 'that' gain when switching guitars.

Glad to hear that you are enjoying it, that is yet another example of one fine guitar. :)
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: rnolan on June 05, 2014, 06:23:13 AM
Don't forget the neck relief (LOT better now that I had her frets leveled and lowered the action a bit.), the  first thing you should do BTW  :thumb-up: (although I'm probably speaking to the converted...
Title: Re: NGD!!!
Post by: RandallRG on June 05, 2014, 06:31:35 AM
Nice Axe Dante..Best Of Luck with her Dude!!  :thumb-up: