Rediscovering gear you have

[tapper mike]

It's been a while since I rediscovered my 1992 Ibanez 540R.

Killer guitar! I’ll probably never sell my 1991 RG550.

My favorite Ibanez of all time was "The Luke" roadstar RS1010SL
I played about a half a dozen during the 80's but never committed to a purchase.

[Uncle E]

The Parker P44 does have coil taps and they do sound great they just don't sound like my Telecaster. The P44 is kind of on the bright side all around and lowering the tone really doesn't boost mid's or lows.

Yes, I'm saying convert the current coil splits to PRS splits. It's a simple process of lifting the ground and adding a resistor, thereby not fully grounding the second coil and giving it a stronger, thicker tone like your Telecaster.

[mystran]

The Parker P44 does have coil taps and they do sound great they just don't sound like my Telecaster. The P44 is kind of on the bright side all around and lowering the tone really doesn't boost mid's or lows.

Yes, I'm saying convert the current coil splits to PRS splits. It's a simple process of lifting the ground and adding a resistor, thereby not fully grounding the second coil and giving it a stronger, thicker tone like your Telecaster.

Specifically take the center tap (two wires together for a 4-wire HB) add a resistor of a few kilo ohms either between the wires and the switch or between the switch and the ground. The latter is usually suggested by wiring diagrams and it's probably the mechanically more robust option where possible, but the former can be done with any sort of switching logic (eg. Ibanez-style auto-splitter PCBs or whatever) without even having to figure out how it works.

The smaller the resistor, the closer the setup is to a full split (which is effectively a resistor of zero value). Internet suggests PSR would typically use a value around 2k2. Internet also suggests that some people might like higher values, perhaps up to 6k8 or so. In theory, I'd imagine it'd even be possible to fit a 10k trimmer (as a variable resistor) and adjust by ear, but in this case I'd choose a quality trimmer (cheap carbon trimmers are noisy).

[Uncle E]

Yes, spin-a-split.

[YnJ]

It's been a while since I rediscovered my 1992 Ibanez 540R. It was my first serious guitar after a rather crappy beginner instrument not worth mentioning

That's a beauty! I see the Ibanez RG550 Genesis is still in production. Looks pretty good as well, not quite as good as the 540R though. I googled around and found a lot of people complaining about the Genesis not being as good as the original. I don't know how much this is just everything-was-better-in-the-old-days or genuine complaints though

[tapper mike]

The Parker P44 does have coil taps and they do sound great they just don't sound like my Telecaster. The P44 is kind of on the bright side all around and lowering the tone really doesn't boost mid's or lows.

Yes, I'm saying convert the current coil splits to PRS splits. It's a simple process of lifting the ground and adding a resistor, thereby not fully grounding the second coil and giving it a stronger, thicker tone like your Telecaster.

Thanks for the advice. I will remind you that I am no tech and even the slightest modifications that I do beyond tuning, truss rod adjustment and intonation often go awry. I just got the Parker back from the shop after waiting six weeks. I'm just not feeling like sending it off again.

I've also got plenty of guitars still to pick up and play that attain the sound I'm looking for.

[Uncle E]

I don't know how much this is just everything-was-better-in-the-old-days or genuine complaints though

Also could be a bias against non-Japanese Ibanez's, which I'll admit to having.

[Uncle E]

Thanks for the advice. I will remind you that I am no tech and even the slightest modifications that I do beyond tuning, truss rod adjustment and intonation often go awry. I just got the Parker back from the shop after waiting six weeks. I'm just not feeling like sending it off again.

I've also got plenty of guitars still to pick up and play that attain the sound I'm looking for.

Sure, I hear you. Well, try lowering them, that can make a big difference if they're wound too hot. You could even try removing the pickup screws.

[YnJ]

Also could be a bias against non-Japanese Ibanez's, which I'll admit to having

Apparently the RG550 sold over here is made in Japan
https://www.gear4music.no/en/Guitar-and ... ellow/28PY

[Uncle E]

Wow! Sorry, I assumed it wasn’t due to the low price. From what I’ve read, the only compromises are the pickups and case, everything else is the same quality as a Prestige.

[Mister Natural]

... P44 does have coil taps and they do sound great they just don't sound like my Telecaster. The P44 is kind of on the bright side all around and lowering the tone really doesn't boost mid's or lows.

Hmm, I have a p42 with it's different PUs naturally. My take on the Parker is that it works with dirt/gain settings(for me) best. With or without the coil taping. I don't play it a lot but it can get huge. I don't hate it's cleans @ kinda Gibson-esq which has a sorta jazz place in my head but the go-to strat here does that sexy "tone" as well into my DAW.
re: Parkers - have you guys seen Belew & his signature Parker ? Genius

[tapper mike]

Those Belew Parkers with midi pickups did not come cheap and it took a long time to bring them to market.

[BertKoor]

I've just found a pair of spoons in a drawer

[Bombadil]

[Bombadil]

I‘ve been playing my Martin D-28 all week. Bought in 2014. Now that my hand strength and callouses are back, I can do this monster justice. I‘ve been fingerpicking late at night when my Missus was sleeping, but today I went at it with a flatpick. Loud, powerful, and gorgeous sounding. A guitar that deserves to be played as often and as much as possible.
One of the benefits of laying off an instrument for a while is returning to it with fresh ears and ideas.