Talk to me about the glorious tone of this early 80s Ibanez Blazer

[Guest]

Ibanez Blazer flats vs rounds comparison

I love all of this, especially when he plays the roundwounds with a pick at 2'15"

He doesn't mention what strings he's comparing - in the comments someone guesses the rounds to be Rotosound 66s. 

What is it about those Japanese split pickups which give them such a clean punchy tone? 

And what else is making a significant contribution to that tone?

[hooky_lowdown]

The pickups aren't Japanese, they are DiMarzio (USA made) PAF, Ibanez used as stock pickups in late 70s and early 80s.

DiMarzio PAF pickups and all maple neck will give the punchy and snappy tone from 2:15 with a pick.

Edited December 27, 2020 by hooky_lowdown

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

DiMarzio PAF pickups

Thank you, that's a helpful bit of info I didn't know about. Did Ibanez use them a lot late 70s / early 80s? And is there anything specific about their construction that contributes to the punchy tone?

When I googled them, one result was you withdrawing a pair of them from being on sale recently!

[hooky_lowdown]

These pickups are overwound, so have a higher output and more midrange, which gives them their punch, and more 'beefy' sound.

The pickups I had for sale were from a 1979 Ibanez rs924 bass. I guess Ibanez used DiMarzio pickups in many late 70s and early-ish 80s basses.

[Guest]

That clip of the Blazer reminds me very much of the sound Craig Adams  was getting out of his Roadstar / Roadster in the early / mid 80s, so presumably the same pickup