Can you hear a difference? Ibanez S Series - Iron Label vs S770PB

The Ibanez Iron Label SIX20DBG comes preloaded with Dimarzio Air Norton + Tone Zone. Let's hear how the Dimarzio pickups can make a difference from the Ibanez INF pickups on the S770PB.

I tried to cover Joe Satriani's Cryin'

[michaelp]

man - you got some great stuff goin on - great playing, editing, camera work, everything

[muratincedemir]

This was so helpful, i also hear no difference between these pickups. I will keep my INF on my ibanez s540. Thanks for the review.

[iloveitall]

"I tried to cover Joe Satriani's Cryin'"
Aha. So please rule out "tried" !!
Great job!

[AnarchyAudio]

in this comparison. over the medium of a youtube recording...i head the inf having a smoother top end roll off. your can hear the dimarzio being brighter in the top end...which is more noticable in he sections where you play on lower notes.

[mattolsson]

Not sure if anyone already mentioned the obvious difference of how these pick-ups are mounted. One is screwed into the body of the guitar and the other one is mounted to the pickup ring..(Unless I am mistaken on that)...
I used to own an old S-series that I modified by screwing the pickups into the guitar body. Made a difference in the sound for sure. Guitar sounded more full bodied... :).

[jfjusa]

they both sound incredible to my ears!

[JD-tpmd]

Good playing. Good editing to actually hear the difference. The INF2 pickups had just a slight bit more treble voicing. The Dimarzio's were definitely warmer. Good comparison.

[harveytrevino]

Dimarzio makes some really good pickups.. Take the Dimarzio Fusion Edges that come in the new Ibanez Iron Labels.. they sound fantastic.. More overtones in the 3.5k range.. which for rhythm is so good. makes pinch harmonics so pronounced.

[ricardo_gfo]

the solo is just mezmerizing hehe...so relaxing and dreamy

[SpartacusColo]

Nice post.  Nice playing!  Low end and middle there is nary a difference.  The stretch after 1:30 sounds identical.  Higher than the 12th fret and the INF sounds crisper.

[matthewonusz]

I have a s670QM now with Ibanez pickups. To me the Air Norton sounded a little warmer. Not to sure about the Tone Zone more sustain for sure.

[robertkent]

I have a S770pb and put 2 Dimarzio TONE ZONE GREEN Humbuckers and left the INSF single, re-wired it with a strat 5-way switch and two tone pots. PS it's hard to fit that switch in such a thin body. Sounds decent? I love the guitar because of the weight . But I prefer that Iron Label sound in the match up.

[burnnlearn]

Both the DiMarzios have more bass, in my opinion. They also seem to have more output. However, I’d choose the INF over the Tone Zone for the bridge because it sounds more trebly.

[hkpr-roui]

Very nice playing. Beautiful song and beautiful guitars.

[sidgb]

Both sound great. Anyone who says one is better then the other doesn’t recognise that the average listener isn’t gonna notice the difference and even the most avid audiophile in a crowded gig is probably not notice the difference in the mix. A lot of pickup videos have already shown that the differences for the most part don’t justify the variation in costs. None of the great guitarists back in the day where worried about what pickups they had they just wanted to know that they would work.

[MarbsMusic]

I had some INFs in an RG that were the worst pickups ever, and I mean ever, worse than the pickups in a 1985 Kramer striker! Then I traded for an S670PB (2009 before the S770) with the intention of swapping immediately but to my astonishment, they sounded pretty darn good. Not as good as the Dimarzio set in the S1070 I have but definitely not bad. Maybe it's the combination of woods or the thin body but this is a great demonstration of how they sound in an S, it's definitely different than in some other Ibanez guitars. Great video!

[melexdy]

Hey great playing!!! Are those S models really lighter than the RGs. I find the RGs a bit heavy

[anthonymarez]

I closed my eyes and really couldn't tell much of a difference. and thought to myself is it really worth paying extra money for DiMarzio or any other kind of pickup INF one and two are pretty good

[seanbrian]

I'm trying to upgrade on a budget here, I have some gnarly $200 electrics and a fairly nice $400 electric acoustic. I was contemplating between Ibanez JEMJR Steve Vai vs Ibanez S Series S670QM. Two things: #1 I want the 24 frets, #2 I play everything from clean melodies to metal and the occasional bluesy songs. The question is which is more worth it in the long run as I don't want to buy another one for a while because of other financial responsibilities. Thought's? Advice?

[dstrats]

Was hoping you'd play it all the way through. Great job. I gotta say, the tone diff was hardly noticeable. Very hard to separate. Lol Kinda disappointing in a way cos I want to get a standard S series and put an Air Norton in the neck and a Tone Zone in the bridge. The S's stock pick ups sounded so close to the DiMarzio's. Crazy.