# NGD Ibanez S8bk



## LORD S810 (Feb 12, 2013)

I bought a new Ibanez S8bk from The Axe Palace in Walpole, Ma yesterday. The owner is a user here named zimbloth. Great guy with a TON of really high end guitars in stock. I haven't posted here often, so forgive me if this doesn't work out right.
Going from a Schecter C-8 neck to the Wizard II-8 was unbelievable. The setup was great. I even sort of like the stock pickups atm, but I need to play it a few more days before I can really judge them. The body is super comfortable to play while standing or sitting.
I also picked up a pair of Dimarzio Ionizers while I was there. I didn't have much time so I declined zimbloth's offer to have his tech install for me. Bad mistake. When I attempted to mount them it just did not look right at all. The stock pickups in the S8 are HUGE and the cavity looked horrible with them. I haven't decided if I'm just going to throw them in my other 8, a Schecter Hellraiser C-8 limited and convert it from active (I hate the 808's), or get some pickup rings for the S8 etc.... Anywhoo, here is the guitar porn.






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## LORD S810 (Feb 12, 2013)

OK, I don't know how to post pics correctly. Let me try this???



View image: DSC 0311

View image: DSC 0312

View image: DSC 0313

View image: DSC 0315

View image: DSC 0316


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## AKopp (Feb 12, 2013)

I'll help...






















Happy NGD! Congrats. Looks sweet.


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## LORD S810 (Feb 12, 2013)

Thanks AKopp!


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## splinter8451 (Feb 12, 2013)

Oh mah lawd. I want. Congrats man!


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## rekab (Feb 12, 2013)

Looks awesome. You should post a video or sound clips


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## XEN (Feb 12, 2013)

zimbloth rules.
And so does that guitar! Congrats! I'm seriously tempted myself, but have an 8 on hand and 2 more on the way.... 
Need beano for my G.A.S.!!!


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## JPMike (Feb 12, 2013)

I think I should get one of these. HNGD!


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## LORD S810 (Feb 12, 2013)

rekab said:


> Looks awesome. You should post a video or sound clips




Working on it now. Not sure I have the guts to post anything here I'm working on though. I SUCK at mixing and bouncing, lol.


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## HOKENSTYFE (Feb 12, 2013)

Nice pickup man! 

By the way, how much thinner/smaller are the Ionizer's? Comparison pictures would help. 

HNGD!


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## LORD S810 (Feb 12, 2013)

HOKENSTYFE said:


> Nice pickup man!
> 
> By the way, how much thinner/smaller are the Ionizer's? Comparison pictures would help.
> 
> HNGD!



I have a pic on my cellphone of the disaster. I'll attempt to upload tonight......


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## crg123 (Feb 12, 2013)

AKopp said:


>



Nice guitar! I was excited when I saw these were coming out. Any idea why the pickups are so wide, it seems like there's extra space between the pole and the edge. I was curious if that would make it difficult to replace?


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## simonXsludge (Feb 13, 2013)

LORD S810 said:


> I have a pic on my cellphone of the disaster. I'll attempt to upload tonight......


Are the routes big enough to fit active PUs or is this really a completely useless new pickup size for 8-string pickups?


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## wookie606 (Feb 13, 2013)

LORD S810 said:


> I also picked up a pair of Dimarzio Ionizers while I was there. I didn't have much time so I declined zimbloth's offer to have his tech install for me. Bad mistake. When I attempted to mount them it just did not look right at all. The stock pickups in the S8 are HUGE and the cavity looked horrible with them.



I was worried about that!
HNGD anyway


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## K3V1N SHR3DZ (Feb 13, 2013)

I barely noticd the extra room in the routes....


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## Orsinium (Feb 13, 2013)

Nice I love ibanez s series happy ngd!


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## Rook (Feb 13, 2013)

So there's the weird pickup confirmation lol, worst of both world really cos they aren't active or passive sized, what the hell was the point?!?

Anyway the guitar is cool as hell and you got this FAST haha, really neat. Enjoy!


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## 77zark77 (Feb 13, 2013)

Cool ! Congrats and HNGD !


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## Aris_T (Feb 13, 2013)

Congrats! Really love the S8!

HNGD!!!!


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## Santuzzo (Feb 13, 2013)

AWESOME!!!!!

Congrats, sir!


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## Ocara-Jacob (Feb 13, 2013)

Sweet, I really need to get myself one of these.


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## LORD S810 (Feb 13, 2013)

Here's a couple pics of the pickup cavity with a Ionizer swimming in it.

View image: 20130211 174306

View image: 20130211 180833

View image: 20130211 171432

View image: 20130211 180842


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## FrancescoFiligoi (Feb 13, 2013)

LORD S810 said:


> Here's a couple pics of the pickup cavity with a Ionizer swimming in it.
> 
> View image: 20130211 174306
> 
> ...



Ibanez. What the actual fuck.


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## Fred the Shred (Feb 13, 2013)

What the fuck is up with those routes? Damn!


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## Vostre Roy (Feb 13, 2013)

I second the collective wtf... Nice guitar but those routes...


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## LORD S810 (Feb 13, 2013)

Any ideas on how to upgrade them without it looking too horrible?


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## simonXsludge (Feb 13, 2013)

Jackson's new budget 8 has the same pickup size and routes. Two new and almost useless 8-strings on the market. Wow.


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## HOKENSTYFE (Feb 13, 2013)

I haven't dealt with uncovered 8-string pickups. Are uncovered 8-string pickups sized more like the stock S8's or the Ionizer's? Covered 8-string pickups look like they ain't going to fit too good, either.

Well, already February and we got ourselves a "fixin' issue".

Bring back the RGA's.


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## LORD S810 (Feb 13, 2013)

Maybe a cover that fits the entire route, with the pickup centered underneath it?


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## technomancer (Feb 13, 2013)

FrancescoFiligoi said:


> Ibanez. What the actual fuck.





So we've got passive routes that won't fit an active or an after-market passive. 

Was considering ordering one of these, but not now 



LORD S810 said:


> Any ideas on how to upgrade them without it looking too horrible?



You're either going to need to get custom pickup rings made by somebody like Frets on the Net or route it so an active will fit and put active covers over the passives. 

Seriously, who at Ibanez thought this was a good idea?


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## Nonservium (Feb 13, 2013)

How sad


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 13, 2013)

EDIT: Had to read again. At first I was sad I jumped on the RG8 first and not this one. Now I'm thinking maybe I should just get another RG8.


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## Khaerruhl (Feb 13, 2013)

Konfyouzd said:


> EDIT: Had to read again. At first I was sad I jumped on the RG8 first and not this one. Now I'm thinking maybe I should just get another RG8.



Pretty much seems like it. If Im not mistaken, the strings on the RG8 at least are aligned with the poles of most passive pups, right?


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 13, 2013)

No clue... I use Lace.


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## Khaerruhl (Feb 13, 2013)

Hah! Seems like a good way to not have to think about pole-alignment at least. 

OT: Damn sad about the Ionizers... What are you going to do now? Keep using the stock pups, or keep the ionizers?


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 13, 2013)

Route that shit and get covers!


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## LORD S810 (Feb 13, 2013)

Khaerruhl said:


> Hah! Seems like a good way to not have to think about pole-alignment at least.
> 
> OT: Damn sad about the Ionizers... What are you going to do now? Keep using the stock pups, or keep the ionizers?


 
I just talked to one of the guys I work with who owns a machine shop. He's offered to make me a set of covers. I just need to decide what material I want to use. If not then they're going in my Schecter C-8 Hellraiser, which isn't going to be fun either.


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 13, 2013)

Brushed Aluminum...


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## obZenity (Feb 13, 2013)

I wonder if the Duncan Distortion 8 string PUPs with the active style covers fit weird too. I was really considering one of these but not this sort of turns me off to it. It looks soo good though . . .


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## sevenstringj (Feb 13, 2013)

You can always get them rewound by Duncan or Wolfetone. Pickup size problem solved.


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## Mordecai (Feb 13, 2013)

its not AS BAD as i expected it to be, but it could be better by ibanez just routing it the correct way. i think you should try the ionizers anyway, maybe you'll get used to the gap and it wont look half as bad when its fully strung up/set up for them.


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## Toxin (Feb 13, 2013)

omg, even string-to-string distance on this bridge is awfully wide

so how's neck dive? is there any?


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## HurrDurr (Feb 13, 2013)

LORD S810 said:


> Here's a couple pics of the pickup cavity with a Ionizer swimming in it.
> 
> View image: 20130211 174306
> 
> ...



*What is this?! I don't even...*


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## MetalBuddah (Feb 14, 2013)

This embodies my entire feeling right now


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 14, 2013)

Mordecai said:


> its not AS BAD as i expected it to be, but it could be better by ibanez just routing it the correct way. i think you should try the ionizers anyway, maybe you'll get used to the gap and it wont look half as bad when its fully strung up/set up for them.



Couldn't be any worse than when people were throwing DA8s straight into EMG808 routes.


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## HurrDurr (Feb 14, 2013)

I'm still trying to wrap my head around why they chose to rout for pickups with the hugest bobbins I've ever seen. That's some poor foresight in terms of what the heck were they thinking.

*I AM DISAPPOINT*


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 14, 2013)

That's the future of 8 string pickups clearly... All bobbins will be just large enough to be obnoxius...


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## HurrDurr (Feb 14, 2013)

Konfyouzd said:


> That's the future of 8 string pickups clearly... All bobbins will be just large enough to be obnoxius...



But will it Lace?!


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 14, 2013)

Refreshing change from the "D" word...


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## Khoi (Feb 14, 2013)

totally kills any GAS I had for the S8... I'm glad I didn't jump on it when it was first announced, that's a dealbreaker for me


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## HurrDurr (Feb 14, 2013)

I'm still tempted to get one since it looks so good. It bothers me about the pickups, but an S8 has been a huge dream of mine for a while now, and now that it's out, I don't know if I can resist. I'd have to hear what those pickups sound like first and then see if I can find a set of pups to my liking that'll fit in there without too big of a gap. Anybody know if X-bars will fit this thing? Anyone else have 'em in this model and can say whether or not they'll fit/sound good etc.?


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## m3l-mrq3z (Feb 14, 2013)

Damn she looks kind of fat. Happy NGD though.


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## obZenity (Feb 14, 2013)

Another concern is does the Mahogany muddy up the tone at all?


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## sevenstringj (Feb 14, 2013)

obZenity said:


> Another concern is does the Mahogany muddy up the tone at all?



As opposed to their basswood 8's?

Oh shit, now I've done it...


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## MikeH (Feb 14, 2013)

People are really this concerned about it when tons of others have dropped passives in active routes?


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## obZenity (Feb 14, 2013)

sevenstringj said:


> As opposed to their basswood 8's?
> 
> Oh shit, now I've done it...


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## Ishan (Feb 15, 2013)




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## FireInside (Feb 15, 2013)

I totally wanted one of these 5 minutes ago. Total gas killer seeing those routes.


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## Orsinium (Feb 15, 2013)

Well now I am just going for the PRS SE 7 or the Sterling JP70 the only other eight I would get would be a Carvin.


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## zeaoth (Feb 16, 2013)

Damn, I had some serious GAS for this and the route is a deal breaker. Seriously, Ibanez dropped the ball on this one. Shank job indeed.


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## HOKENSTYFE (Feb 16, 2013)

Dave at fretsonthenet.com. He could mod up some pickup covers to fit this. Now, he did me some custom pickup rings but, I suspect he could adapt something to this, to fit.

So if anyone is a little put off by the cavity, get an open-set and talk to Dave at fretsonthenet.com to create a cover for this. 

But further thinking about this. A weird sort of triangled end pickup rings could get over type well. Maybe some matte/aged/Battle Worn, Black Chrome, pickup rings with triangle ends. 

As the departed(Gone, not dead) Howard Jones has said, "Hope Is Not Lost".


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## LORD S810 (Feb 16, 2013)

At the moment I'm still not positive what to do with the ionizers, going from a c8 with emg 808s I'm actually very happy with the sound after a few days of testing with my fractal std. I might just grab a white rg8 and throw them in there instead with some hipshot saddles and a custom pickguard. I don't think the s8 pickups sound bad at all, and why not get another ibanez with a sexy wizard neck. Overall I'm very happy with the s8, and I'd still buy another knowing what I know now.


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## Eclipse (Feb 16, 2013)

I love S series guitars. Not so sure about the S8. I'll just have to play one to form an actual valid opinion.


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## LORD S810 (Feb 17, 2013)

A


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## viesczy (Feb 18, 2013)

OMG you guys whining like babies with sore butts... It is a $700 guitar, what were you expecting? Everything you wanted? C'mon, there's only so much near slave labor in a 3rd world country can getcha. Plus, there was an easy fix previously mentioned. 

FWIW, she looks great and now I'm really debating if I should go the 9 string route through Rondo or just get one of these or the Iron Label 8. 

Happy NGD!

Derek


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## ImNotAhab (Feb 18, 2013)

viesczy said:


> OMG you guys whining like babies with sore butts... It is a $700 guitar, what were you expecting? Everything you wanted? C'mon, there's only so much near slave labor in a 3rd world country can getcha. Plus, there was an easy fix previously mentioned.
> 
> FWIW, she looks great and now I'm really debating if I should go the 9 string route through Rondo or just get one of these or the Iron Label 8.
> 
> ...



Well all their other guitars from the same factory come with appropriate routing... Asking what Ibanez was thinking is a very valid question in fairness.


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## Alberto7 (Feb 19, 2013)

viesczy said:


> OMG you guys whining like babies with sore butts... It is a $700 guitar, what were you expecting? Everything you wanted? C'mon, there's only so much near slave labor in a 3rd world country can getcha. Plus, there was an easy fix previously mentioned.
> 
> FWIW, she looks great and now I'm really debating if I should go the 9 string route through Rondo or just get one of these or the Iron Label 8.
> 
> ...



The only problem with this were the pickup routes. It's not like the people working at the factories are doing the routes by hand, in which case this would be a manufacturing problem. They're done with CNC machines, which require programming the size of the routes into it, which is part of the original design. It's not a factory problem. It's a design problem. It would be the same regardless of country of manufacturing and labor conditions.

This looks like an otherwise very fine guitar.


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 19, 2013)

obZenity said:


> Another concern is does the Mahogany muddy up the tone at all?



STOP


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 19, 2013)

viesczy said:


> OMG you guys whining like babies with sore butts... It is a $700 guitar, what were you expecting? Everything you wanted? C'mon, there's only so much near slave labor in a 3rd world country can getcha. Plus, there was an easy fix previously mentioned.
> 
> FWIW, she looks great and now I'm really debating if I should go the 9 string route through Rondo or just get one of these or the Iron Label 8.
> 
> ...



You, sir, are a dumbass...


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## knifefightintheor (Feb 19, 2013)

Lol. Soon enough somebody will be able to cash in on Ibanez Passive - Standard Passive conversion rings.


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 19, 2013)

Just seems odd to me... The Saber and RG shapes haven't really changed since the 80s... The RG8 is half the price and you still have viable pickup swapping options. Not only that, but Rondo has been making passive sized 8 string routes and even making their own pickups for some time--on guitars that cost half what this one does, at that.

Add that to the fact that Ibanez makes the RG2228A and there's really no reason for these weird sized pups/routes.

The pup rings is a good option, I just don't like pup rings aesthetically or the idea of having to screw into the face of the guitar to change the pickups. Someone brought up earlier... "It's only a $700 guitar." That coupled with the fact that this guitar was made by Ibanez is all the more reason to expect to have to change the pickups.


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## Danukenator (Feb 19, 2013)

I guess you could get massive Lace bars and just increase the route size to get a perfect fit.

Yeah, outside of the custom pickup rings I'm at a loss here. What the fuck was the logic that went into this decision? They didn't muck this up on the RGA8, RG8 or RG2228, so why here?


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## knifefightintheor (Feb 19, 2013)

The thing is though, I've bought many guitars under $700 that I've been able to swap pickups in with no problems. Whatever thought process is going through some Ibanez engineer/designers head when putting this one together should be examined..


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 19, 2013)

What if--and I'm just spit-ballin' here--it was just and accident that they didn't notice...?


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## simonXsludge (Feb 19, 2013)

Konfyouzd said:


> What if--and I'm just spit-ballin' here--it was just and accident that they didn't notice...?


While the EXACT SAME mistake happened to the people at Jackson?


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 19, 2013)

Wait... Did it? I'm a bit outa the loop...


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## obZenity (Feb 19, 2013)

shitsøn;3422106 said:


> While the EXACT SAME mistake happened to the people at Jackson?



Fun little tid bit. The guy who had a big part in the ERG range for Ibanez the past several years now works for Fender on their Jackson line.


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## ImNotAhab (Feb 19, 2013)

obZenity said:


> Fun little tid bit. The guy who had a big part in the ERG range for Ibanez the past several years now works for Fender on their Jackson line.









There is no justice like angry mob justice!


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## HOKENSTYFE (Feb 19, 2013)

Maybe this isn't so much a "mistake" as it's Ibanez way of trying to make the ERG, S-series different. So perhaps they calculated this sort of design would of been unique enough that people/consumers wouldn't consider modding the guitar. Which is arrogant in to itself but, not beyond Ibanez to do. The constant with this company is their inability to accept their pickups are not to the consumers liking. 

I chalk this up to a calculated plan but, arrogant dismissal of the old story of pickup displeasure. 

We'll deal....*sigh*....


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## codycarter (Feb 19, 2013)

viesczy said:


> FWIW, she looks great and now I'm really debating if I should go the 9 string route through Rondo or just get one of these or the Iron Label 8.



With cavities that big, I'm sure with a little help of a router and you couple swap the neck, bridge, and pup and have yourself a little s9


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## LORD S810 (Feb 19, 2013)

A


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## knifefightintheor (Feb 20, 2013)

HOKENSTYFE said:


> Maybe this isn't so much a "mistake" as it's Ibanez way of trying to make the ERG, S-series different. So perhaps they calculated this sort of design would of been unique enough that people/consumers wouldn't consider modding the guitar. Which is arrogant in to itself but, not beyond Ibanez to do. The constant with this company is their inability to accept their pickups are not to the consumers liking.
> 
> I chalk this up to a calculated plan but, arrogant dismissal of the old story of pickup displeasure.
> 
> We'll deal....*sigh*....



If they really want people to stop modding the guitars they should compensate by starting to install some more useable pickups..


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## Xaios (Feb 20, 2013)

*Sigh*

So much hope for Ibanez this year, it really looked like they were going to have a grand slam with their new offerings. This really tarnishes it, though. Instead of a guitar with actives that won't take passive-sized pickups, now we've got a guitar with bizarro passives that won't take normal passives or even actives!


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## Kroaton (Feb 20, 2013)

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080930211521/dcanimated/images/f/f2/Bizarro.png


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## simonXsludge (Feb 21, 2013)

Konfyouzd said:


> Wait... Did it? I'm a bit outa the loop...


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## Inferno_dante (Feb 27, 2013)

I wouldn't be surprised if ibanez and jackson get the pickups made in the same place. They look so similar...


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## jimwratt (Feb 27, 2013)

This is similar to the development of f-spaced pickups. That's where the whole angled humbucker thing came from; a work-around until a humbucker with string aligned pole pieces was released for fender style guitars. I wouldn't be surprised if Dimarzio rolls out some bobbin size options on their erg pickups.


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## Philligan (Feb 27, 2013)

jimwratt said:


> This is similar to the development of f-spaced pickups. That's where the whole angled humbucker thing came from; a work-around until a humbucker with string aligned pole pieces was released for fender style guitars. I wouldn't be surprised if Dimarzio rolls out some bobbin size options on their erg pickups.



Cool, I never made that connection. If the S or the Jackson do well, or this size becomes more common, that would make sense. Duncan's already announced active-sized passives, and I'm sure DiMarzio is gonna follow suit soon enough; I can't see it being too difficult to throw a larger bobbin and baseplate on existing pickups.


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## viesczy (Mar 15, 2013)

Konfyouzd said:


> You, sir, are a dumbass...



I have been considered that many times. I don't expect custom shop features from a slave labor special guitar... 

Derek


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## CanniballistiX (Mar 15, 2013)

viesczy said:


> I have been considered that many times. I don't expect custom shop features from a slave labor special guitar...
> 
> Derek



Not sure how being able to replace a stock pup with an aftermarket pup is now somehow considered a "custom shop feature".


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Mar 15, 2013)

viesczy said:


> I have been considered that many times. I don't expect custom shop features from a slave labor special guitar...
> 
> Derek



How is installing traditional-sized passives a custom-shop feature? 

Not sure if troll or dumbass.


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## Shredmon (Mar 16, 2013)

AKopp said:


> I'll help...
> 
> 
> 
> ...




nice one  i have the same in trasparent red  awesome axe for the buck


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## Kristianx510 (Mar 31, 2013)

I understand why everyone is so unhappy about the routing issue, but I think everyone forgot to ask a question that could possibly make the whole situation a bit better. How do the stock pickups sound? If there's no need to replace them, then there's no problem.


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## shawnperolis (Mar 31, 2013)

So sexy!


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## XxStatiX (Apr 1, 2013)

The guitar looks so good man! :')
HNGD!
Sound clips coming?


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## Señor Voorhees (Apr 2, 2013)

Kristianx510 said:


> I understand why everyone is so unhappy about the routing issue, but I think everyone forgot to ask a question that could possibly make the whole situation a bit better. How do the stock pickups sound? If there's no need to replace them, then there's no problem.



In the short time I've been here I've gathered that people don't like stock Ibanez pups, but I agree fully. Usually I replace pickups not because they sound bad (I even recycle them and dump them into guitars I've gutted in the past), but for the aesthetics. I've only ever replaced one set of pickups that I hated, and those were the stock Omen 8 pickups. The pickup change in that made the guitar pretty damn useable, whereas before I'd played it like twice in the first year I owned it.

I love bladed pups, colored pups and I love the cover options that Bare Knuckle's offer. Not sure what the stock pickups in this guitar were like, but if they weren't muddy and awful, I'd have taken them over the abomination that is the standard size pickup in that swimming pool of a hole. I actually dig the looks of the wide pickups, but functionally it seems a bit silly. If it didn't have a curved top I'd suggest maybe covering up the holes with a pick guard.


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## Kyle Jordan (Apr 9, 2013)

Kristianx510 said:


> I understand why everyone is so unhappy about the routing issue, but I think everyone forgot to ask a question that could possibly make the whole situation a bit better. How do the stock pickups sound? If there's no need to replace them, then there's no problem.



I received my S8 10 days ago and my thoughts were that I'd have to put up with the stock pickups until I could replace them. I was so sure of this that I bought a little Danelectro Fish n' Chips EQ to run between the guitar and amp to help alleviate the problem.

Lo and behold, the pickups are actually not bad at all IMO. Not what I'd call great, but beyond being simply usable. This will sound a bit insane to many people too, but I actually prefer the tone of the S8 with it's stock pickups over the tone of my two SL2H Jacksons with their stock Duncans. (Though to be fair, I REALLY don't care for the JB. I've just been too lazy and away from playing to swap it out.)

The S8 has a really mean sound to it, but it's still fairly clear. Acoustically, it's not as loud as my Jacksons, but plugged in, it's great. Part of the reason it's not as loud as the two Soloists is the damn tiny, plinky strings that are on the guitar. They're getting swapped hopefully next week.


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## Skygoneblue (Apr 9, 2013)

This is probably the silliest of suggestions... but if you look at the current Ibanez S series page, 99% of them have the exposed pole pickups. Very few have covered pickups. 

I wonder if they put these in just to keep the S series appearance a bit... ?


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## possumkiller (Apr 9, 2013)

Penis is now flaccid.


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## ExtendedRange (Apr 9, 2013)

It's official, nothing will ever please anyone around here.


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## Rhyooski (Apr 9, 2013)

I got this guitar a few days ago with the quilted maple top and trans red finish and I'm really digging it. As some have said the pups are pretty good for Ibanez really and I haven't had the urge yet to swap them out. Although I still don't understand how guitar companies can put such thin strings on their ERGs! The F# (tuned to F as factory standard) was flopping about everywhere so I HAD to stick a 85 on it as soon as it was unboxed...


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## Skygoneblue (Apr 10, 2013)

ExtendedRange said:


> It's official, nothing will ever please anyone around here.



Well that's the case in any hobby. The more you learn about it, the pickier you are. 

I'm lucky enough to be a long-time bassist who enjoys 8-string guitar as a hobby, and I plan to keep it that way. My wife plays a $400 Ibanez with stock pickups through a $100 Line 6 amp, and it sounds killer to me. I'd rather not know why most people around here would hate on the pickups, amp, tone, etc because it will just ruin the fun for me. 

Ignorance is bliss? Yea, sure...


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## codycarter (Apr 12, 2013)

ExtendedRange said:


> It's official, nothing will ever please anyone around here.



If everyone settled and was happy with what was available there would be no need for progression and variety. If enough people didn't bitch enough about Schecter having fat necks, we wouldn't have the Slim Line Series. Just some food for thought


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## studmiester7 (Jun 20, 2013)

Holy crap the routes are f***ing huge! This it totally mind boggling. Gorgeous guitar, but those routes sure makes for an ugly PUP swap. It's like dating a chick that is super hot, bangin' body, but her grill looks like she's been chewin' rocks lol. This is a definite WTF Ibanez moment.


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## RagtimeDandy (Jul 26, 2013)

Bumping this cause I'm thinking about doing the same thing. Did the OP or anyone seeing this install aftermarket PUPs in their S8 yet? If so how's it look and sound? Also what PUPs? I've had to jam a BKP into a Carvin C26 route, so putting a smaller PUP in a bigger route will be a welcomed challenge


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## LORD S810 (Jul 26, 2013)

RagtimeDandy said:


> Bumping this cause I'm thinking about doing the same thing. Did the OP or anyone seeing this install aftermarket PUPs in their S8 yet? If so how's it look and sound? Also what PUPs? I've had to jam a BKP into a Carvin C26 route, so putting a smaller PUP in a bigger route will be a welcomed challenge


 
So far I've just left it as is. I was looking into covers, rings, possibly getting them rewound, but just decided they really don't _need_ to be replaced at the moment. 
I'm going to use the Ionizers to convert my Schecter C8 to passive eventually, I'm just too lazy to take off the bridge and drill out the hole for the ground wire right now.
If anyone else comes up with a solution in the meantime I'm all ears.


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## Acreator (Jul 28, 2013)

I recently acquired the S8, and have been in contact with Ibanez, Bare Knuckle, and Dimarzio about the pickup situation. BKP and Dimarzio both have stated in their replies that they have no intention to put out direct replacement pickups with this oversized bobbin, and are baffled that Ibanez and Jackson have both put out models with this problem. 
Ibanez's justification was that the larger bobbins accommodated more wire, and "more wire means more power!!!". Pretty ridiculous, but there you have it.

In any case, I've ordered my BKP Holydivers and will be installing them soon; I'm planning to go with custom wooden rings. Hopefully that'll all work out.


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## cip 123 (Jul 28, 2013)

This may have been covered already, but do the new EMG's fit better? like the 57-8H etc.


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## ArnoldHablewitz (Aug 17, 2013)

I love the S8. I bought one recently too and threw in a Nazgul and Sentient. Sounds great, but the pickups look weird in that cavity. Oh well...it sounds awesome at least.


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