parhelia_0000's Metal Music Gear Setup

So after years of using a Fender Jaguar HH back in my high school years to the point where its frets started to wear out, I've figured it was time to step up the game and buy myself an Ibanez S521 Mol. First impressions? The guitar was fabulous to play. The neck and fretboard of the guitar was so much more comfortable to play on. My fingers flew on it. The mahogany body is nice too - you don't get the 'heavy' feel on S-type Ibanez bodies as compared to Gibson and Epiphone guitars. That is pretty awesome. However, when it came to the sound, the stock pickups weren't that great. The tones that came out of the INF humbuckers were somewhat bland. Not a big deal for high-gain tones but if you're more of a clean tone player, the INF humbuckers might not be the first choice for you when it comes to that application. The guitar by its own stock was not gig-worthy. At one point back in one of the concerts I played back in my first year of university, the guitar's gain suddenly dropped without warning. I checked and re-checked the connections and my multi-effect processors, but those were fine at the time. Turns out the guitar's wiring crapped out. Not a huge deal, but when you're playing metal most of the time, that particular bullshit is painful as hell. However, as I've seen several other YouTube videos where other guitarists used the same guitar without any problems, I'd have to say that this was an isolated case. Since then, the pickups have been swapped out for Seymour Duncan pickups (JB SH-4 in the bridge and Jazz SH-2N in the neck), and the tone pot has been bypassed. The tones were a huge improvement, as the Seymour Duncan pickups helped to provide a more defined mid-range sound as well as the 'crunch' that helps to cut through the mix. The tuners were also swapped out with Grover locking tuners. This was a huge improvement on the tuning stability and setup as it saved me a huge grief when it came to changing guitar strings. If you're looking for a metal guitar that is easily customizable to your own personal specs without having to shell out thousands of dollars for a custom shop, then the S521 Mol is a great guitar to start on. However, if you're looking for something that is gig-worthy even with the original stock material, then this guitar may not be the best guitar for you. As it stands, I have used the modded S521 Mol to this day, and the guitar is much more reliable and it sounds great. I personally love to use this guitar for live shows as well as for lead tracking.

Ever since I've trashed the Jazz pickup and went with the 59 in the neck with my S521 MOL, I've always been waiting for that one opportunity to swap out the DiMarzio's in my RG652FX with Duncan pickups. I needed something that'll really help the clean tones shine with mid-gain and high-gain leads sounding clear AF without compromising clarity.

Enter the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates SH-PG1N. Don't be fooled by its marketing that claims it was designed based on a Les Paul pickup, 'cause hiding within this pickup is a 4-conductor wire, which allows for split coil positions that really allow the clean tones to sparkle and shine through. The split coil positions remind me of positions 2 and 4 in a Fender strat, and truthfully speaking, I couldn't be much happier. The lead tones are fluid and sing very well, and the Alnico II magnet really helps to clean up the mid-gain tones with the volume knob rolled back.

If you want a neck pickup that truly sings clarity in its gold standard, combining the best technologies of the 59 neck pickup and a Fender strat single-coil pickup, take a serious look at the Pearly Gates in the neck position. I did, and I'm glad I made the jump for the upgrade.

When it comes to guitar strings, I am always picky about the string lifespan. If there's one thing I've always had to deal with back in my university years, it's the fact that regular brand guitar strings always rusted a lot faster, and lacked harmonic response. This was a major problem for me as a lead guitarist, as I need my strings to be able to sing very well and respond to harmonics instantly.

Enter the D'addario NYXL series. These strings are professionally designed to have better tuning stability with instant response to bends and harmonics. These strings brought life to my guitar sound, and I really love how they last a lot longer than regular brand guitar strings. I've even done A-B testing with these strings against generic brand strings, and the NYXL's won every single time. They sound brighter, last longer, and respond better. And I can honestly see the reasons why other guitarists like Leda and Tosin Abasi would vouch for D'addario NYXL's.

If you want the best strings for your guitar tone, take a serious look at the NYXL guitar strings. I did, and I never looked back ever since.

When it comes to guitar tones, midrange is always extremely important to my guitar tone. The heart of a perfect guitar tone lies in the perfect amount of midrange with balanced low's and high's, along with a perfect amount of gain that will cut through the mix for high-gain tones, but retain clarity and character for clean tones as well.

Enter the Seymour Duncan JB. Before I had the trembucker version, I was originally using the SH-4 on my Ibanez S521 MOL, and even that did the job pretty damn well for a while. The trembucker version, however, fixes a lot of issues in terms of string spacing for superstrat guitars from brands such as Ibanez, ESP, Strandberg, and others.

So what makes the JB stand out from others? It has a tight low-end, which allows for palm-mute chugs to sound tight AF. The low-mid "growl" adds the extra attack to your pick attack, but it doesn't go over-the-top to the point where your ears become tortured. The Alnico V magnets help to tame the harsh frequencies while retaining the mids that are crucial to my high-gain tone. The treble frequencies also add a nice presence to my guitar tone, giving it a nice sparkle for clean tones. Oh, and did I mention that this pickup is 4-conductor as well? You can do split coils with this pickup, which sounds very close to a strat for mid-gain tones. Pretty neat.

If you're looking for the ultimate versatility and you don't know where to start, take a serious look at the JB. After upgrading my S521 MOL, I'm making serious considerations to phase out the DiMarzio's on my RG Prestige for the JB/59 combo as well.