Creating The ULTIMATE Rock Machine! - Ibanez SA Upgrades!

[@maackjohnny]

14:18 I honestly like the silver knobs better, but I think that same type of knob in white might look pretty dope. The strat style knobs just look out of place to me

[@CsykKrit]

Agreed.

[@phicun74]

Seconded no strat knobs

[@fdezvanttablet]

Silver looks great.

[@ponsau]

I agree. I generally like strat style knobs on guitars with pickguards. But without pickguards, I think the other knobs look better.

[@ajack913]

Yes the silver matches better

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Sorry for the late night upload! These vids always take a while to put together :) I've had a ton of requests to mod an affordable Ibanez, so hopefully it was worth the wait!

[@FrendyLin]

Where can I find this Ibanez? It's really rare here in Indonesia

[@hollywoodactress]

Great video that shows are to mod the essentials and means most guitars can be made to play and sound better. The only thing stopping the player is the desire he practice and play if they don’t 100 % love the guitar. If they as always after an RG550 for example then they best save and get one, as could lead them to be inspired to play everyday.

[@spokes1355]

Could you make a video talking the specs on the special edition strat hh fender. The aqua burst .

[@spokes1355]

White knobs

[@spokes1355]

Take that back black strat knurled knobs with pearl tops

[@clintwhite4372]

I've always wanted a mid-range SA Ibanez. They make great necks. Even on the super cheap models. I think Ibanez is kind of an under-rated guitar.

[@someoneelse101]

Especially the SAS models.

[@twantheunisz9281]

Okay those single coil sized humbuckers genuinely convinced me they were single cois but without the hum! I've never ever heard such convincing single coil tones. They had all the spankiness, twang, attack, clarity and reacted like a single coil! These guys have made something truly special! I'm a fan!

[@endtyme1345]

I prefer the silver knobs but white looks pretty fine too. Loveeeeee absolutely S series from Ibanez. Their shape,neck their thin body...i have my S470 with that INCREDIBLE ZR Trem and i´m still in love with her. Great work Darrell! beautiful transformation. You always doing magic with those hands!

[@ClaySmith]

*Remember to cover your pickups with some painters tape before you use the steel wool. This will keep the steel wool from sticking to your pickup magnets.*

[@robertkorn]

Amen, I was cringing a bit there when he whipped out the wool.

[@JC-11111]

It's not the magnets you need to worry about so much. It's the steel wool dust/trash getting into the copper windings that screws things up. They can rust, dig through the coating on the wiring, etc... I've seen pickups that had internal shorts due to rusted steel wool trash in the wiring around the bobbins.

[@luisntreal5738]

16:09 who else thought he was gonna play smoke on the water?

[@steelattack]

0 3 5

[@skaresimpyy7830]

I was gonna comment 0-3-5 but he didnt play it

[@nunyabusiness9547]

Ikr

[@frogginbullfish3372]

He probably would if it wouldn't get his video copyright striked.

[@blacklotus3205]

More like copyright on the water

[@g0ld3nh34rt]

Silver knobs tie into the trem and the tuning heads.

[@anthonystark5412]

For the noobs like me who ponder such things: Darrell offers great advice on rounding, cleaning and oiling the fingerboard, from about 09:12 to 11:30 - and explains why it should be done.

[@montlejohnbojangles8937]

SA160 was my very first electric guitar way back about fifteen years. Still got it, even if she doesn't get played as much lately. Won't ever get sold, I love it too much.

[@rickeguitar9086]

That is cool you went with the JBEs as well. I did the same with my Ibanez remake. On my Ibanez the pickup config is HSH. However, like you showed in the video, i was able to split the Humbuckers using push/pull knobs. It created a PRS config with the five way switch plus the added split for each of the two Humbuckers. The one problem I have that I did not see with you is my mid pickup is noticeably quieter than the Humbuckers. You had a smoother transition across your set. I wish you shared how you wired the pickups to see how that pick up may have differed from mine. Enjoy your new toy. IBANEZ makes a great body. Like you said, with a couple of tweaks and replacing a few pieces of hardware and you have a really great instrument. Cheers!

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

I could really care less what the subject is, I come here to see and hear this guy play. This is *REAL* talent on display folks, not some amateur. Yeah, the guitar is nice and the tips are helpful, but when I can learn a new lick, phrase or riff? That's gold. Thank God for the quarter speed option. I can slow it down and figure out exactly what he's doing, then tailor it to me. Magic!

[@chubbz3450]

Silver knobs are better looking

[@aristotlefromebay]

I know

[@derp5620]

yep

[@Gldn__yami]

Me with black no-name locking tuners i bought of amazon for thirty bucks: 😬

[@killybilly685]

Whatever it’s HIS guitar.

[@chubbz3450]

@@killybilly685 my bro it's been 3 years

[@duarteestelita7257]

the middle "single coil" was really surprising. Really bright! I loved the position 4 clean tone. Its sounds fantastic..! Thanks for this, Darrell !

[@jolof96]

White and blue looks amazing. Its a beautiful looking guitar

[@scottbagwell9144]

Great vid. Silver knobs!! Btw, I did a similar mod set up back in the 90s with a BC Rich NJ Gunslinger with DiMarzio X2N humbucker and HS1 & 3, and a Original Floyd. Still have that guitar and plays great for almost 30 years old. Actually been shopping for a Ibanez S Premium to add the family.

[@BeardedBluesDude]

Pickups look sick. Keep the silver knobs!!! :)

[@holnak]

Hi Darrell, I'd like to see PRS SE Custom upgraded next. Cheers!

[@alexmurphy5289]

The true budget axe for all

[@jbognap]

Please consider replacing the 3-way pickup selector switch with a 5-way.

[@rpelzer]

@@jbognap??? He demonstrated all 5 positions of the existing switch

[@jbognap]

@@rpelzer In the case that he upgrades a PRS SE Custom...

[@rpelzer]

​@@jbognap Ah, sorry... I'm still hung up on the Ibanez

[@nevilletaylor3942]

Silver knobs please

[@joeberard5810]

Darrell, you are really brave! It took courage to say what you did about the Seamore Duncan Zephyr silver pickups. And this is coming from someone who has them being installed on his new custom shop super strat to having the Zephyrs being installed on it as we speak (OK type). I feel the clear crisp sound that emanates from them is worth the cost-plus the magnets are encased are made with two different metals surrounded by a special material, if I am correct here, sorry for not being able to remember what they were made of, but the sound is phenomenal! And the great people at BYO Guitar do excellent custom instalations, as Shawn over there is an engineer. Joe B

[@grilledspaghetti]

Know im not in a majority here, but I really like blade pickups and wish they had caught on more. Add a coil tap for that bridge, or series/parallel if it's that hot.

[@SarahEHowson]

Who cares if they "catch on", they sound siiiiiiick. I have two different types in two different guitars.

[@timmccorkel2989]

I have an SA160, with a Duncan Dimebucker. They get a lot of hate, but I think it's a killer combo!

[@sammyp1971]

Great Job Darrel! The Ibanez’ really hot rod nicely I find! And thanks for the sanding sponge idea .... I had been rolling with hard, flat blocks and the fret end profile is too easily messed up ..... sponge gives incredible results! Best guitar tip I’ve learned on KZbin to date! I’ve done most of my guitars, as well as numerous student’s guitars in the past month or two!

[@HARwinsOUTagain]

The blue with the white pickups looks GREAT. But keep the silver knobs. I never liked those Fenderish knobs.

[@michaelcontos5480]

Love the quilted maple and color. I'd like to build one with the same color, pickup's and tuners. Apparently as of 6/21 you can't find any on the used market. These must be a hot commodity and/or people are holding onto theirs.

[@chuwy2k]

Silver knobs for Volume and Tone, defenitly. Look at headstock, Blue, Silver and White, that is winner combo! Nice upgrade job, totally amazing sound. Keep on rockin'! 🤘😎🤘😉👌👋🙂VEVE

[@MozVideoz]

Very nice JBE pickups! Danny Gatton was indeed a Master of his Telecaster/JBEs.

[@dankykay1]

Great video Darrell! Just a tip - make sure you tape off your pickups with masking tape when polishing the frets to avoid metal fragments getting stuck to\in the pickups

[@Bingopete71]

Also good to use a magnet inside the steel wool to help keep much of it from getting all over the place to begin with.

[@3cardmonty602]

I would’ve stayed Black. Black & Blue are iconic. Songs have even been written about them. With that said: I love the Graph Tech tuners. I’ll surely be putting them on my next build. Pickups sound freakin’ GREAT!

[@FachryZulfikar]

usually Ibanez bridges can be replaced with Gotoh bridges without any modification.

[@MehdiS-music]

Not an Ibanez guy, but referring to your comment, sounds like the bridges are either direct copies of Gotoh or made by them... ;)

[@FachryZulfikar]

@@MehdiS-music they're made by Gotoh, some are just rebrand. but since Ibanez and Gotoh use metric (as everyone should be) they're more compatible with each other.

[@DerrickRG]

@@FachryZulfikar F that metric garbage.

[@beezusKritso]

@@DerrickRG You mean the measurement that most of the world uses?

[@ppapdddar6159]

@@jamesmcgregor7993 "feet and inches are way more accurate" I see Math is not your forte.

[@mkaali]

I'd love to see more of these! Guitars I would be the most interested in: - Cheap non Fender/Squier strat upgraded to sound and play like a more expensive Fender - Cheap non Gibson/Epiphone Les Paul upgraded to sound and play like a more expensive Gibson

[@hallobre]

Please use some masking tape on your pick ups when you’re sanding the fingerboard with the steel wool. You don’t want the magnets to pick up those micro steel particles

[@DougHinVA]

smart dude !

[@PhilippeBoissonneault]

I really love those modding videos. I've modded all my guitars since I follow you !

[@DogFoodTunes]

Assume JBE = Joe barden engineering? Danny Gatton's favorites. They are amazingly clear and defined. Your audience won't know but you will. Thanks for showcasing them😁

[@w.wrightjackson8317]

your the best brother, doubt there are many vids you've put out there that I haven't watched. I 've learned so much watching your vids plus you add some good humor to them.. Thanks brother. Keep on pickin and grinnin from Nashville, Tn.

[@dub351]

At 8:00 - why not just bring the pickup ring up from the bottom rather than push it over the top? Looks like it would have been easy. Love your vids, DB

[@artwizardsam3238]

Those clean tones are BEAUTIFUL 😍

[@ranius7388]

Whats the issue with the pots ? It is just a resistive load that can change its value. There is no difference between cts / alpha / burns Mostly marketing mojo .

[@imabluesmanIIVV]

Great video! One thing I would have liked to see is you tapping the unwanted pickups in the switch configuration when you were checking the live pickups prior to re-stringing it and plugging it in. Probably just my chronic idiosyncrasy when it comes to working on my guitars, but I always tap the "dead" pickups just to make sure there are no weird shorts/switch contacts before wrapping up the job and begin enjoying my work. Also, the chrome knobs look MUCH better than the white Strat knobs. They just go better with the bridge and the blades in the pickups. But we can all see that she screams and weeps unreal now!!!

[@Bad.Rabbit]

Knobs on an Ibanez should match the bridge and tuning machine color

[@MrMatt9793]

Tell that to Steve Vai lol

[@mccaf87]

Unless you have a pickguard, in which case they usually match that.

[@george.kollaros]

Very nice! The metal knobs look better than the white ones, they match the bridge and pickup ring. And, when testing the pickups you must tap them all in every switch position to see if there's a short circuit and some pickup may work in every position.

[@Newwaver2007]

I wonder if you would do an upgrade to a hollow body archtop guitar sometime :) Great video man, I think of ugrading my Ibanez too.

[@chuckyinges]

I've had the SA120 ( I think exact same spec as 160 except with dual humbuckers) since 2007. Am so grateful I chose it as my first guitar. It has enough twang and thiccness to get close to the Strat and Les Paul sound. The flat neck makes it super easy to move around and this guitar's real light and easy to carry around. If you still have any doubts about SA series guitar, look up Anton Oparin Paganini Caprice No.5 on KZbin. Dude is gonna prove to you the guitar has no issue.

[@dogfalcon]

You nailed it! After seeing this mod, looking for affordable SA models the deserve a double check out. How about a Yamaha Pacifica mod? Cheers,

[@Andres9632]

Buy your Ibanez used! Major discount

[@wilsonkok4754]

I'd actually like to see what you would do, for a squier mini to be fully upgraded. That's one thing I'm thinking of to have a smaller, lighter guitar, but with full on strat type tones.

[@mochi65]

I'm really happy that you did this video. Yea😎

[@MoragTong_]

The chrome knobs look amazing.

[@FunkiesLOL]

I love that guitar... are they still in stock ???

[@maxwolfe7194]

Have you got any gutars without a fing great tremolo hole in the body. Its got to stop the sustain vibrating.

[@scoots8519]

Hey thanks for the videos. I checked the price on those pickups and tuners and it is around $600? Is that right?

[@charliejamz.]

I like the silver knobs. But this is the best finish on any of the guitars I’ve seen on this channel.

[@Mr.Goldbar]

I would put a Dimarzio IGNO in the bridge and a couple of True Velvet singles, going full Polyphia mode

[@lowlifeangler]

I put Tone Zones on my SV470 when I bought it in 1994

[@MichaelBeck324]

just pull that middle he put in and drop a True Velvet there. It will blend nicely with all switch options.

[@elevenAD]

@@lowlifeangler how do you like them!? i have been thinking about putting them in my SE Standard.

[@gscgold]

Yes the white knobs look great, didn't think I would like the pickups but look really good with that I'm guessing all local guitar centers sold out all their used inventory of these

[@hotdogslayer4430]

Hi Darrell I Just Wanna Say That You Do The Best Reviews!!!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Thanks Marcus!!

[@Justin.Franks]

If you want white knobs, you can get some of the knurled metal knobs with a pearloid or white acrylic top. It would tie in with the white bobbins and silver hardware.

[@yeahhyouvish]

I have two guitars One classical one normal acoustic Both guitars combined cost less than those tuners.

[@jonathancohen4427]

I think that the music Man white rubber knobs (just like a music Man majesty's knobs, but white) will go amazing with it. They are super smooth!

[@elevenAD]

I like these pick ups just not the price!

[@Darkseidx]

I had one of those with the walnut finish,threw a set of Dimarzio super distortion in the bridge.

[@countblue]

Great mod as usual. I would go for steel knobs but thats just my personal preference. BTW Thinking about doing that to my SA260FM I bought used. I have a set of "Ultrasonic" pickups in mind since I got some on one of my strats and they are just great and very similar to that what you used (blades). I could get a set H/S/S for 75EUR here used. ;-)

[@jcoulter43]

Looks and sounds amazing. I like the chrome knobs best. God bless and rock on! 👏🎸😎

[@malcolmhardwick4258]

Chrome knobs is unanimous. The masses have spoken ☺

[@stephenwevans]

This was great. I recently did some upgrades on an S-type signature Ibanez. This gave me a couple of ideas for the next round of mods. Thanks for doing what you do, it's great to see the process and you do a great job breaking it down, step by step.

[@AbenteuerWildnis]

"How many guitars do you have?" Darrell: "ALL" 😆

[@KutWrite]

Love your channel, Darrell. You obviously know your stuff and love playing! Your Canadian accent is icing on the cake.

[@vladimirtubic6060]

"We want something that pops" I thought you wanted something that ROCKS!

[@KutWrite]

If the player rocks, so does the guitar.

[@no-tj8ee]

@@KutWrite r/wooosh

[@falcongunner33]

Hey Darrell! I just recently bought a really cool 1971 made in Japan Epiphone 6732e. It was only like $100 which I though is a steal for a vintage instrument, since vintage instruments are considered to have a better sound when they've absorbed more moisture. That might be a pretty cool video to compare and older acoustic to a modern orangewood and see what the differences are. It would also be super cool to see you get a guitar that needs some work and restore it to playable condition!

[@davebauchat9869]

sounds awesome..but I have to say..playing it through mesa boogie will make just about any guitar sound great...lol

[@tim-tim-timmy6571]

I agree. The only thing that a good amp cannot remove is the humming. So if your pickups are quiet, with new strings you can make it sound like a 1000 USD guitar easily

[@carloscantu3679]

I have the Ibanez SA360QM (got discontinued, as far as I know). Modded it with Seymour Duncan pickups (Alnico II Pro bridge, Little '59 neck). Now, it looks and sounds amazing.

[@camillegrove5278]

well i guess ill take a new dbg video in the middle of the night

[@ph0kused]

DBG - are you planning on checking out the ibanez AZ series? seems like they would be right up your alley.

[@rockandrollmd541]

$540 USD + tax + shipping for pickups and tuners. Looking at roughly $800 Canadian, Yowzer!

[@noahbergman7777]

Yeah,cheap

[@whatcher8151]

yeah, crazy prices. HSS lookalikes without the name, same specs on the bay for 26 bucks

[@ScottK1018]

Ibanez are great guitars to mod. At any model level you are getting an awesomely made guitar. I like to get the RG standard models and upgrade the nut, tuners, bridge and pickups. Usually with hipshot locking tuners and hardtail bridges and Dimarzio or Seymour duncan pickups and of course a graphtech preslotted nut. Sometimes even sanding the bodies down and repainting them to totally make a custom guitar. Because of Ibanez's great quality on all of thier guitars you can take a $350.00 guitar and turn it into a $1000.00 guitar. Great video.

[@maddilynpeterson4180]

When you started playing i thought you were gonna play smoke on the water

[@michaelhamerin3814]

U can get nice knurled chrome knobs with a white cap. I think those would look great

[@meat_dragon8834]

Their not single coils. Their humbuckers shoved into a single coil size. Their ussualy called hot rails

[@TheWolvesCurse]

hot rails is pickup of that type made by seymour duncan. it's a "kleenex" thing, everybody knows it's paper towels, but people call it kleenex due to the brand popularity.

[@REBELSCL]

I’ve got an idea of how you can add weight to the trem block. I worked in the car business for years. As alloy wheels became popular the type of weights that were used to balance the wheels changed. The result was lead weights that had an adhesive backing. They are thin so they don’t take up much room. I imagine that you could easily add several ounces of additional weight to the trem block without requiring anything to be replaced. If in the future you wanted to return it to stock it would be a simple process to remove the weights. As regards the knobs, I prefer keeping them chrome.

[@mochi65]

Noooo! Keep the silver knobs and find a silver switch tip. 😎

[@NickelStee1]

They are great playing guitars, once you upgrade the pickups, you can have an awesome guitar. I fitted one of these with Seymour Duncan Sh1 and classic stacked stks4 think it's called. Yeah great guitar. Block the trem block to improve sustain and tuning stability etc. I like what you did with yours.

[@acecarolino101]

too much sizzle/treble for my taste... metal knobs

[@shaft9000]

yeah...pickups alone can't make a cheap guitarsound/play like an expensive one. no matter how good the components the build and finish is even more crucial.

[@nickburmanmusic]

If you’re in the UK, I’d recommend Fletcher, Irongear or Tonerider pickups. It would be cool of you to hunt down local pickup winders and support them, given the amount of exposure you could give them.

[@dadihandini4684]

hi, my name is idey from indonesia ... ibanez SA guitar that you upgraded makes me fall in love ... i want to buy that guitar but i don't have money, can you give it to me 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@dontderockmeriz4546]

I like the silver knobs better. Matches the trem, tuners & pu ring. A nice detail. Beauty of an axe Darrell.

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

Great video. I think I will pull the trigger on a 6 or 7 string Premium S with stainless steel frets. It has eveything I personally could want. HSH dimarzios, stainless 24 jumbo frets with rounded ends, zero 2 trem, etc. Just everything and it's beautiful with a blue poplar burl top, etc.

[@electroKrunch]

Nice upgrade, Darrell! Those JBEs sound pretty dang nice! Thanks for the vid man!

[@aristocrap]

Apparently, the stud spacing on the trem of the SA is 74mm, same as a Floyd. I got a Wilkinson Gotoh VS100N for mine, but it required relocating the stud anchors, so I shelved it for my RT150 and ordered a Floyd Rose Non-Fine Tuner trem instead, along with some Gotoh locking tuners. My SA was a very lucky buy because it had a Japanese Fujigen neck on it.

[@Otize1]

Getting a beautiful Ibanez RG370AHMZ for my birthday in a few weeks, excited to test it out and play with the humbuckers. I love my Strat but I am dying to play with humbuckers and a Floyd! And then later I might mod it with some Suhr Doug Aldrich pickups maybe

[@JackJD]

Oh yes! That white/blue combination looks stunning!!! And the sound is absolutely top!

[@barbmelle3136]

Nice guitar, nice mods. I tend to be more aggressive rounding my fret board but even a little bit helps noticeably. I do not like Strat knobs against a nice finish. I think I would go with chrome or pearl top chrome knobs, or small white knobs without the numbered flange. Nice sounding pickups, an NO HUM.

[@akasgsvirgil9503]

I had a set of Duncan hot rails in my strat. They were some seriously hot pickups. But, they lacked character. Swapped them out for set of Lace Sensor Reds. Haven't looked back.

[@jjc75019]

Yes, did that but with the Andy Timmons pickups (AT in bridge, and bridge Cruisers in middle and neck), great guitar now.

[@hdkk33]

I prefer the silver knobs :) but the white pickups are much better then the stock ones!! Such a cool mod! I love how you explain things, thanks to you I know dare to mod my guitars myself to instead of paying a lot of money for someone else to do it! :)

[@Swabere]

Love your Channel. If you were to ever put a video out with all your mod tips and tricks I would definitely purchase it!

[@ehabsh9427]

That's an amazing job! Thanks Darrell for educating us about modding cheap guitars. I may do the same.

[@marcmore]

Thanks Darrel! The mod that I was searching those days!! You are always great!!!

[@DarthV506]

If the machine heads are just unbranded Gotohs, you can get a set of drop in replacements from Gotoh, the SG381-MGT. Last set I bought, for my s5470, cost around $60.

[@davespin9034]

Love your demo's, would have been nice to hear the trem and how well it stays in tune. Nice stock bridge and tuners

[@lgnd6188]

Awesome playing and great video, as always. Kick-ass pickups, too. Thanks for doing all the hard work, makes it easier to find the right gear without the headache and hit to the wallet. Much appreciated.

[@PaulyDTheKiwi]

Another Awesome video Brother!!! Looks amazing! As for the colour of the knobs, it doesn’t matter. Either way it looks killer!!! I wanna know which ones you prefer? Have a great week!!! Pauly D

[@frankdiehl8749]

That Ibby trem is really reminiscent of the Wilkinson one isn't it? I love the simplicity of it... Nice job all-round.

[@tomopie4296]

Because of these two videos... found a black one on the net for 200 bones. Daryl is right. The neck is fantastic. Pick ups sound pretty darn good. I did replace tuners with Gotoh in-line locking tuners for 60 bucks and they work great. Stays in tune even using the tremolo. Because of that neck I keep on picking this one up. Thanks a million Daryl!

[@percythrower9193]

Hi Tom - I think you are just the fella I need to get some advice from! I want to replace the tuners on my old SA but the Graph Tech ones seem OTT price-wise. I see you mentioned the Gotoh ones - would you be able to tell me exactly which ones you have bought/used on your guitar. I'd be really grateful! Thanks a lot. Cheers! PT.

[@tomopie4296]

Sorry for the delay Percy....Bought from Amazon...Gotoh Magnum Lock-Trad 6-In-Line Guitar Tuners, Chrome The screw position worked perfectly... This guitar stays in tune, the price was right , and they look great.