Brutal Budget Pickups in My Ibanez RG Knockoff! - Dragonfire Hexbuckers, Demo / Review / Tutorial
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- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- Let's upgrade my cheap Ibanez Ebay knockoff with a set of budget friendly Dragonfire Hexbuckers! I originally bought this guitar, brand new, for less than $80 on Ebay! The original pickups were pretty weak, so it's time to upgrade. Tutorial included!
Checkout my original review of this guitar here: • The $68 Shred Guitar! ...
Link for pickup set (Ebay) here: ebay.us/dBlVa9
For the demo, I'm playing through a Blackstar ID Core. Link Here: amzn.to/3utWxwk
My Backing Tracks: sellfy.com/max...
www.guitarmaxmu...
Rubric: -5 points for Danzig references. -5 points for not reading the description. -5 points for not watching far enough into the video to answer your own question. -5 points for misquoting me in your comment. 20 points possible. Everyone starts with an A!
Make a video on how to grow forearms pls
Industry secrets...
Guitar MAX *slides you $20*
I like seeing the process it takes to make changes to instruments please keep showing the process.
Will do!
Must confess man. Everything gear related i search for, and you pop up. Had to sub, and I truthfully don't regret it. Keep doing what your doing dude. This is quality content.
Thanks Aaron!
I got this guitar an a couple of things:
- The Volume Knob was not grounded, so it wasn't working, I grounded it and working fine now, in other words, check the wiring just in case something else could be wrong.
- For the back of the neck, I used Steel Wool 0000 and now it shining but not sticky, it looks way better IMO
Hope this helps to somebody around here
Earth needs more people like you
Thanks Alexander!
I have 2 guitars I installed Dragonfire Pickups.
They are decent.
The Guitarheads Alnico Supremes are pretty good too. They were great before Guitarheads doubled the price on them.
TheRosswise agreed. additional note, both brands are good, not decent like the poster said they are good.
Eric, do you know the wiring color code for Dragonfire.? thanks.
I just rewatched this video, and got it.
Thanks Max, I love this kind of video! Ive been getting into building kits and planning on upgrading them over time, I don't need top of the line right away because im a casual player, but I wanted something decidedly better than the really cheap ones that come in the kit. I know there's good and bad affordable ones out there so I appreciate you taking the time to find the hidden gems for us!
It's amazing how you can find good pickups at a reasonable price today! Those are nice because of they have the 4 wires that allow you to do coil splitting. I did find some good pickups a little cheaper, but they only have the 2 wires...can't split the coils easily. The Dragonfire ones are a good deal!👍😎🎸🎶
I have those pups on a Les Paul and they are pretty badass.
I use Dragonfire and Irongear pickups in all of my guitars. The Irongear Tesla Shark pickups are amazing.
thank you glenn... again a nice video
Check yea man. I've been using Dragonfire pickups and doing all my own work. Thanks for giving me the boost I needed, it allows me to do a lot more and save a bunch of money.
These videos inspired me to buy two sets of Dragonfires. If your not sponsored by them Max, you should be.
I have the Dragonfire Screamers in my RG. They surprisingly compare very well against my Gibson LP with 57s. Which is weird considering that the 57s are low-output with Alnico 2s and Screamers are high-output with ceramics. It probably helps that my RG has a mahogany body.
i think i give this a shot!
thanks man, subscribed
*budget bedroom guitarist*
Heard lots.of good things about dragon fire. Great tutorial as usual. Good to see Dans’ guitar hanging in the background
So i got a set of these for a Harley Benton CST-24t. I have to say they sound way better than I thought they would.. They look great too. The only thing i don't like that much is the neck pup with distortion for leads, it's not as "creamy" as like, but again all my neck pups are Pearly gates, SH2, Tone Zone and Evo. So maybe my standards and expectations are to high, however if I roll the tone back a little it gets a little creamier. But honestly.. 50 bucks shipped to my house in Alaska for the whole set, vs. 145-200 bucks..no brainer.. and they have really cool colors avail.etc. and honestly, they were very easy to install. no confusion as to what goes where. Very basic and easy. I'll order more. Might try a different Dragon fire neck pup like the Gate buster w/ a hex see how that sounds.. I have a new Rg570, thinking about this combo..
Another rock'n video! I really like the simplicity in the how to for installation of pickups. I have been told it's not very difficult and Guitar MAX proves that to be so. Great stuff man!!
Thanks Groove Train! Wiring a guitar from the ground up is more complicated but if you're just swapping things out, it's really pretty easy!
Dragon Fire. Vs DiMarzio pickup battle. That would be a great comparison video.
Dude thanks to you I've used most of the different Dragonfire stuff. It was alot of fun. Improved my wireing skills and all with guitars. Or is a labor of love now. Thanks dude.
I really like that flamed Ibanez look. The pick up's look like they are made for that guitar. Very cool. If you're ever playing out here in the West let me know I definitely want to see you live.
Thanks Max, just picked up that same guitar only in a Blue paint finish.
I'm going to shop for replacement pickups. This video is a big help.
Another great one Max. Nice to see you branching out a bit with the tutorial. Keep 'em coming!
I’m impressed with how it turned out.
Those pickups sounds sweet enough that I checked out their web page. I have to say, they do a lot of nice stuff, things like configurable pickguards and misc hardware and components. Kind of like Guitar Fetish only with reasonable shipping which makes them a much more attractive proposition. Thanks for sharing :)
I just got a pair of Dragonfire Phury Humbuckers in the mail today. From what I take from the description is they are Dragonfires version of Duncan’s Screaming Demon bridge and something comparable to the lil screaming demon for the neck. I’m putting them in now. Can’t wait to try them out and compare to the originals.
DragonFires have 12 adjustable hex heads.... most HBs have only 6 slot head screws. 12 is a lot more variety of adjustability! This is what was used in nice Fernandes back in the day... Adjustable polepieces means you can get string-to-string balance exact. I learned how from the luthier who makes the custom guitars shown on Fralin's website vids .
Thanks for all your videos Mr. Max!! You're the man!! Greetings from México!! \m/
Gracias Esteban!
I have and still own some Dragonfire pups. Excellent for the $
Well done Max! Guitarheads has single coil hex pickups...would fit in nicely with this setup. The RW middle pickup is sold separately - you don't have to buy a set.
Thanks again for another great video Max.
You're welcome Paul!
I bought these 2 days ago,bid on them on eBay won them for $15 lol, glad to see they sound great!
Hope you do more budget parts videos
Great vid. Dragonfire pickups sure have gone up in price over the past few years!
Thanks I'm replacing my PRS custom 24 SE with those. You Rock . God bless 🙏
love the videos great help for looking for gear on a deal keep up the great work
Thanks!
I am the proud owner of Dragonfire screamers purple these pickups are amazing
So informative! I'm ordering this set up. I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks
Great video! Tks for the info max! You rock🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
I have a screamer in a HSS strat with the Dragon Fire Texas version of their strat single coil pups. It is a SIC axe now. Love screamers.
Sorry for over posting, but I love guitars. I always loved the Custom LP with three pickups, but can not afford it. These guitar has three pickups h/s/h. An is cheap. I can even experiment on it without feeling guilty!
2:12 Sounds very EMGish, but it has a nice crunch to it as well like Duncan Designed. Man, hell yeah I'd put these in a guitar if I was strapped for cash. Probably would be good live setup pickups when you're adding reverb to mask the inconsistencies anyway, lol.
Yeah! I think these have a bit more low end and upper clarity than EMGs, but less mid-range. I like these a lot!
They remind me of S.Duncan JBs, good pickups anyway. They do the job very well.
You're right. I actually got a set of those installed in an old LTD M-50. Love that tone!
Dammit Max ! Now i can’t decide wich one to get for a cheap explorer i have ... ill be using it for dropped tuning and anything pretty metal think Avenged, pantera, slipknot ... any advice ? Hexbuckers ? Crusaders ? Power rails ?
Thanks !
Also have you tried the vintage humbuckers ? Thinking of these for a harley benton cst-24 hollow body ? 🤘
If you're still looking, maybe check out the Dragonfire Screamers. Very similar to DiMarzio's X2N, which definitely fit the bill for downtuned Metal, considering that was Chuck from Death's only pickup.
another good video Guitar max i will consider these for my rg clone i just pruchased theo ther dya wiating on it to arrive to me still
Great video Max! I’m looking to buy a knock off and upgrade it just to learn. If you have any tips they are most welcomed. Hope I got all 20 points 😝
For a cleaner job use some shrink tube instead of tape.
Warman pickups are also a great bang for the buck.
agreed! Warman Teles are good bridge pups for a mid level Tele (Squier Standard, etc.)
When dropping in the new pickups, Does the pole position on the dragonfires matter or are both sides of the pickup identical. Upon inspection the both seem to be the same
So I'm going to find that guitar, put those pickups in it, and play and sound just like him. Awesome. Then I woke up. Dam it!
How would these compare to Wilkinson humbuckers? They're comparable in price so I'm wondering what the tonal differences are.
Great review, I would have mentioned setting the pickup height as well.
I had a Ibanez RG 780 I gave to my nephew.It has a Floyd Rose though ,that's the model you have.
That guitar looks badass!
They look good and sound good
Will look into buying some.
Cheers bruv
Might buy these for my epiphone explorer,have a neck pick up in the bridge atm from previous owner lol
You inspired me I just bought one.
Do they make a 7-string model? I bought a budget Jackson Dinky 7-string to see if I would like playing a 7. I love it and feel like the guitar is worth more than Jackson charges for it but I would like to upgrade the stock pickups.
Just bought a set of black ones for like 20 bucks without actually hearing them; I made the right choice tho
I bought the dragonfire phat and the phat screamers to go with 2 chibson, the black beauty you reviewed, and a Jimmy Page no1. Damned uk customs seized both guitars, so the wait is still on to see what they sound like. But soon. Soon!
Hope they’re worth the wait.
I did put in a set from a company called ironstone from the uk in a Pacifica, and if you get the chance I’d seriously give those a try.
I bought an Ibanez RG for $40 at pawn shop. Plays very well, very low action.. Tremolo is cheap. I dislike the pickups. I am thinking of dragonflies phuries or brown sound. These boost the mids a bit. Since I want to get the Randy Rhoads or Van Halen sound. Any advice which ones to buy.
ive seen these on ebay,im wondering if i could replace the neck with a real ibanez neck without much mods,any input would be great!im going with di marzio paf pros if i decide to build off this particular guitar. thnx!
Max, What kind of pickup would be good for the middle pickup? I mean do they make middle pickups or does one need another neck or bridge pickup? Thank you for your great videos.
Nice reveiw, thanks-I was thinking about getting this guitar, and modding with GFS "fat pat" buckers, I think that for $60 they would be even better than these-what do you think? Also,how easy would this guitar be in also changing the wires/pots/switch?? or isn't that worth it? thanks again!
Do you have a humbucker split coil sound and install example video? Thanks!
I think the Dragonfire Screamers sounded a bit better, but I still would love a set of these in one of my guitars!
Hey Max, love the channel! Was wondering if you've found any budget Active pickups that are worth mentioning? Thanks!
Check out GFS pickups
Dragonfire also makes an EMG style active pickup.
I just got one of these. the only actually problem is adjustments, an ibanez gio is like 150 brand new, and probly needs the same adjustment..... and if you were to buy it for a kid, or someone who might not want to play that much, the 65 dollars is a lot better.
Outta all the dragonfire pickups you've ran which ones do you like best?
First green conducter I've seen lol, most green are ground. My phat screamers were like that, it's a dragonfire thing.
hello who is your top 5 favorite guitarist ? and what can you say about michael romeo and marty friedman
So Max, do the red and white wires get twisted together before taping them off? Or leave them separate?
How are they for chugs compared to the Dragonfire X2N hot rails I’m between those and these
Hey Max..! I bought one of these in blue, and a set of Dragonfire Hexbuckers, as well as a single coil. Im looking for wire color code for Dragonfire, do you have one or a link? Thanks..!
I figured it out. I just rewatched the video, lol.!
One question; i just bought a humbucker which has only two wires, how do i wire it in an ibanez guitar??
You'll have to replace the selector switch. A 2 wire humbucker won't work with a 5 way switch. You'll need a 3 way switch.
which dragonfire sound like the sd distortion neck pu??
Can you recommend a budget friendly "beginner amp" to go with the guitar and pick up's? Thanks in advance.
My honest opinion after playing guitar since 82', I've owned a number of brands etc. If you're playing in your house, ( not gigging etc) all depends on what you're looking for. In my music room I have a Peavey Vypyr VIP2 (40 watt, has a ton of onboard effects etc they're about 150-200 bucks. I never cared for Peavey but these Vypyrs put out a lot of sound. I have never turned it up more than 2 and it goes to 11 if I remember right. Plus it has headphone jack and you can run a USB to your computer through it and you can get footswitch controllers called the Sampera 1 or 2 ( I have the 2, it has expression pedals etc) it also has an onboard looper, so lots of fun. I also had the Spider years ago, I'd avoid those to be honest, cause I think the Peavey for about the same price puts out way better sound and effects etc. If you want an amp without all the built in effects I'd go with the blackstar ID Core 20 watt they run around 150 bucks but again, you'll need to get your own pedals or processor etc.
roland cube or blackstar id core 10
SchadowCcs +1 to the Roland cube series. I've had a micro cube now for about ten years now and that thing is a tank. Puts out a surprising amount of sound and TONE as well. If all you need an amp for is practicing/bedroom jamming, the micro cube may be all you need. I've even shoe-horned a 6 and 1/2" speaker in place of the factory 5 and 1/4" one, and the increase in volume was only marginal (same speaker impedance and wattage rating, so can't expect much), but I accomplished my goal of adding a tiny bit of low end to it. I've got many amps; tube, solid-state, and hybrid. But if my little micro cube ever does kick the bucket, I'm gonna be getting another asap. More then likely upgrading one step above the micro cube to a.. 15x I believe it's called?
Out of curiosity, would it be possible to install the single coil that dragonfire offers?
Just bought a yellow one for $60. Frankenstein it!
Are the pickups any good in a squire?,, also I need a neck for it!,,,
could you possibly review the floyd rose that dragonfire offers on there website or atleast recomend a good one thats budget friendly. im in desperate need to replace the tremolo in my ibanez its there version of the F.R i believe its an edge 3 and it cant stay in tune if you screwed it in place. any advice is much appreciated.
what about the middle pickup
Meh.
Are Dragonfires are in-house designs, of are they clones of specific SD/DMZ products? If they're clones, anybody got a chart for what's what?
Are there any other budget pickup manufacturers i should check out?
I ordered one of these from Ebay, as you said it did need some TLC to setup, the action was very high and intonation was off on several string positions.
yeah, but those are easy fix's that ibanez gio probly need.
Today I replaced the stock pickups with Yibuy Hexbuckers B14.72k and N7.62k, I also replaced the middle pickup with a much hotter single coil @ 5.47k and this guitar sounds awesome now! Of all the cheap brands of pickups Yibuy are my absolute favorite.
Damn, I just looked them up. Getting just an individual pickup from them is cheaper than one from GFS but, they don't have nearly as many options as GFS does
Love that shirt.
Hi Max, what do you think is the most versatile of the dragon fire Humbuckers? Looking for a single Humbucker in the bridge position for a HSS setup in a Ibanez SA160. Thanks.
For versatility, I think the Phat Screamers are the best, but the ones in this video, the Hexbuckers, are the most expressive.
Guitar MAX Thanks a lot!
YEEEES , YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESS!!!
Can you show off the dragonfire active pickups, like the 81c? There arent many videos on it
Any experience/opinions on the Dragonfire locking "sperzel" style tuners?
I never found that damn guitar on eBay after you posted the video so sad LOL
Hey man! I just added a link to the guitar in the video description. They might have different colors, but it's the same guitar(s).
Guitar MAX thanks you kick ass
Here is the same Guitar, but $10 cheaper: www.ebay.com/itm/New-170-Style-4-Colors-Electric-Guitar-Strap-Cord-Gigbag-Picks/401465104211?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=671131002489&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
As for buying directly on dragonfire (aka tnt guitars), it’s not cheaper really, they display a cheap price on products, but have a high shipping and handling cost, guitar fetish (aka gfs) does the same
Are you outside of the US? They have free shipping on their site.
I'm wondering if you tried these cheap invader clones that are being sold all over eBay I've tried them and for around 15 bucks you actually get some decent pickups for the price the only withdraw about them as there not as hot as real Seymour invaders but for 15 bucks that actually decent especially for that price
Nice! Sounds like something I should check out!
I love your videos both the budget and high price guitar videos
Dragonfire has a set of Invader knockoffs called “Crusaders” that are about $40-50 for a pair, and they are sick as hell. Perfect for thrash and shred.
I bought a couple of those but haven't put them in a guitar yet sounds like I need to
I put a set of those in my Squire Affinity Jazzmaster. For $15, you can't go wrong.
Between the Hex and the screamers, what do you think are better for a C tuned guitar
Hex
hola regalame las pickups que no usaste porfavor
Has the audio been edited? Or is it directly coming from the cab
There's no editing, but there is some stereo delay in the amp.
i was told Dragonfire and Guitarheads are both Artec pickups. can anyone confirm this to be true?
Yes they are
I think IronGear Pickups are (in my opinion) better as far as budget pups go
where did you get that shirt?
Thanks Max. Do you twist the red and white together before taping them off?
They are already connected, so you really only need to cover them.
Are these reverse zebra or regular?