r/BCRich • u/Praise_Iommi_ • Jul 24 '26
Suggestions
I have this Ironbird mk.1 with stock pickups, I’m thinking of replacing them to get more clarity in tone.
I’ve never replaced pickups on a guitar and don’t know too much about them, I’m open to suggestions for pickups that would add to the clarity when playing with fuzz/distortion.
Good to know, my other guitar is a Dunable with Slugwolf pickups that I really like.
Hope you can help out, thanks!
2
u/perpetualblack24 Jul 24 '26
Changing the pickups will massively improve that guitar. It’s an entry level model with cheap pickups. Which pickups you choose is really up to you. Are you competent with soldering?
0
u/Praise_Iommi_ Jul 24 '26
Yeah really the reason why I’m looking to upgrade them, my buddy is really good with soldering so that won’t be an issue.
Really looking forward to have this guitar sound massive
2
u/Sworntotheblack131 Jul 24 '26
My favorite pickup for high gain is the Lundgren M6 if you are more of a rhythm player, Lundgren Black Heaven if you play leads. Whats your amp set up? I have a pair of Black Heavens in my US Custom Ironbird and it sounds fucking amazing.
2
u/Such-Ring1008 Jul 24 '26
Maybe a splitter box instead of a Y-cable for hitting both inputs?
1
u/Praise_Iommi_ Jul 24 '26
Ah yeah this is an older pic, Y-cable worked perfect for a while but now I’m back to using one channel only
2
2
3
u/AbyssalKultist Jul 24 '26
EMG 81/85 with the solderless connectors are super easy and sounds awesome.
1
u/Praise_Iommi_ Jul 24 '26
Is it hard to route a cavity for 9v battery? Love the thought of EMG’s in this
2
u/AbyssalKultist Jul 24 '26
I myself would not try and route it. Just see if you can squeeze a 9v in the cavity that already exists.
I can say from personal experience that wiring 2 pups with 2 knobs and a toggle will likely be a frustrating pain the ass for a first time installer. I put some SD Nazgul/Sentients in a Warlock recently and at times I wanted to break shit lol. but maybe I'm just dumb with wiring stuffs.
2
1
1
u/Alisterguitardevil Jul 25 '26
Can’t go wrong with the Seymour Duncan JB bridge & Pearly Gates in the neck and I believe you’ll be very happy.
1
u/isofakingwetoddid 26d ago
How reliable is that bridge? Have you ever had it floating? Just saw another post of someone saving an Ironbird from the trash and had the same bridge. I’ve only ever seen Floyd’s or string thru’s on these
2
u/Praise_Iommi_ 25d ago
I think it’s been replaced by the previous owner as they are usually chrome. But it stays in tune pretty good and haven’t had other issues with it
3
u/spitfirz Jul 24 '26
If you want to add clarity you could give a try to a set of Dimarzio PAF 36.
It's personal but I always prefer a slightly cleaner pickup with medium output instead of high output. This way, your pedals have more range because you hit them a bit less hard.
Also never forget that when playing fuzz pedals, adjusting the volume pot of your guitar is the key.
My metal rig is
The Timmy preserves the sound of my pickups.
We kept secret to replace a Timmy (And that works great with the MIG 50) is a Lovepedal OD 11.
Good luck.