You all know what do they tell you! A true PAF style humbuckers: nickel silver base plate is a must. So does NOS plain enamel wire. So does ‘merican made sand cast alnico magnets. So does the vintage accurated pole pieces. Even they must be wound on a same machine that PAFs were wound and must have maple spacers cut down from the same tree from 1950s. Don’t forget the buthyrate bobbins from the late 50s. If you are trying to exact reproduction of the 50s yes, they “might” be a must. But for a great PAF-ish bridge tone, it is not an obligation and my modded Ibanez V7 may be a great proof.
Installation
My modded V7 still sits in the bridge of my hand-made Ibanez Js/Radius formed guitar that has a lightweight korina body, a Q-sawn one-piece Honduran mahogany neck in a chunky neck profile (very similar to the Gibson R8 necks), Pau Ferro fretboard, Hantug made titanium alloy fixed bridge, 25” scale, Jescar 55090 (narrow tall) stainless steel frets, CTS 500K long shaft pots, and Thomastik-Infeld Power Brights strings (011-053) tuned half step down. The guitar has a Dimarzio PAF from late 70s in the neck. Its essence (unplugged) tone ranges from balanced to warm.
Although the shape of the guitar is Ibanez JS, the tonal design aimed for a Gibson LP or SG. Therefore, the guitar has a distinct nasal sound due to both the selected woods and the scale. Anticipating the clarity issues on the neck found in some guitars with 24.5” or 24.75” scales, I envisioned the PRS scale to be more favorable. As a result, the guitar combines the comfort of the Ibanez JS/Radius series with the sound of a Gibson LP/SG.
Evaluation
First, let's talk about a typical Ibanez V7 and its features. Technically, the Ibanez V7 is designed as a neck pickup with a standard-thickness Ceramic 8 magnet, AWG 42 gauge wires, ABS plastic bobbins, two wooden spacers (yes, V7 has double wooden, i think it is mahogany, spcers), a nickel silver base plate with long legs, and one side hex-head pole pieces. The windings with 42-gauge wires result in a DCR value of around ~9-10K. In this sense, it provides a relatively powerful neck pickup profile on a guitar with a thin maple neck and basswood body, but it tends to be slightly problematic in terms of clarity. Over the years, the most frequent negative feedback about the Ibanez V1/V2 and V7/V8 combos has been regarding their lack of clarity.
However, with a few small tweaks, it's possible to transform this pickup into an amazing bridge pickup in the manner of vintage vibes. I actually wrote about this years ago. I had shared this modification on other platforms as well, and I believe I published it here about a year ago. To summarize, I recognized the potential of the V7 and modified it to a more traditional humbucker form. Since 10K overwound PAF bridge pickups are my particular interest, I wanted to make the most of this potential. I replaced the pole pieces with traditional screw-type ones, added an oversized Roughcast Alnico 2 magnet, and painted the slug coil bobbin with model airplane paint to create a zebra look for aesthetic purposes.
Anyway, here comes the technical mambo jambo
Modded Ibanez V7
Magnet – Roughcast Alnico 2
Advertised DCR: 9 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 9.74 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 4,83 K Ohm (Slug Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 5,62 H (Series)
Inductance @100Hz: 2,32 H (Slug Coil)
Measured C: -30,1 nF (Series)/ -56,8nF (Slug Coil)
Output: Vintage/Moderate
Wire Gauge: AWG42
Gauss: 190G screw, 220G slug (measured at top center of D&G pole pieces)
I had first tested this pickup in the bridge position on my Charvel Model-A guitar, which was primarily used for high-gain tones (click here). I can say that I liked it in combination with the guitar's naturally warm tones. However, I discovered its true potential when I used it in a guitar aimed at more vintage tones. Paired with a late-'70s Vintage DiMarzio PAF in the neck, I achieved a very balanced combo. To briefly summarize the overall EQ response: the lows are clear and defined, but not overpowering. The highs are smooth and sweet. The standout feature of the modded V7 is its midrange—particularly the mid-mids, which are quite clear and pronounced. I would describe it as having a somewhat nasal character. I'm not entirely sure about this, but I think I hear the 800Hz-2kHz range a bit more prominently. In this way, you can even hear a slight "cocked wah" tone with it.
In this sense, I can say that the V7 is a perfect pickup for playing AC/DC. It's not an aggressive pickup, but it handles hard rock and classic metal very well. What else can you play with it? It can pay tribute to many of the Les Paul masters from the British Invasion era, for example. Additionally, there have been moments when it reminded me of the tone from Rory Gallagher's solo around the 2nd minute mark in "Easy Come, Easy Go."
Modded V7 is truely a dynamic bridge pickup. Has a slight compression feeling on full volume but still has quite well i) response to volum pot drops and ii) reaction to phrasing. Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that you can get quite "usable" clean tones simply by lowering the volume pot. Of course, the tonal range can be expanded even further with adjustments to the tone pot as well.
Its output is not much. Can’t say its moderate output fully nor can’t tell it’s in all the vintage territory. But somewhere between both.
When you kick the amp from crunch to higher gain territory, i mean in the Marshall style hi-gain, you can get some serious early Eddie Van Halen stuff, too.
Conclusion
As i have said many times, the electric guitar community is quite conservative unfortunately. Therefore, many of my readers may still skip V7 modding and lose the opportunity to ride it with a joy. My advice to you who enjoys making some minor mods to their humbuckers or guitars is don’t hesitae if you have a chance. Because finding a used V7 is not difficult or costly. Especially if you live in US, achieving 6 humbucker screws and a magnet of your choice is very affordable. So this could be your best weekend fun. In the end, you will have a very pleasant bridge humbucker full of mojo.
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Modded Ibanez V7 Review
Guitar pickup reviews
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