Uploaded August 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How to fit a VLX91 pickup selector switch to an Ibanez Guitar? Yes, you might think that it's easy to install a new switch? You would be wrong!
This all started when I was setting up a Helix rack a week or two ago and instantly I was getting a tone that sounded like a tube had failed on my tube amp (I was using the 4 cable method) - it was horrible. So much so that I switched off the amp immediately.
Well after investigation it turned out to be the pickup selector switch on my trusty Ibanez RG550LTD that I have used since the 90's. Thinking wider than I normally might, I bought a VLX91 selector switch that is typically fitted to the Ibanez JEM 7VWH and similar high end Ibanez guitars to 'upgrade' the old selector switch. Silly me!
My guitar has two Seymour Duncan pickups (a 'Jazz' in the neck and a 'Lil Screaming Demon' in the middle and a Dimarzio 'EVO 2' in the bridge. And those are the first problem. Oh yours is similar? Let the fun begin.
Watch this video to see some (but not all) of the aggravation that I experienced trying to fit this VLX91 switch to my Ibanez - even with diagrams from Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio AND Ibanez. I have some really good advice too at the end of the video if you want to fit a VLX91.
The internet was full of guys trying to figure out how this all worked, but alas I never did find anyone that made any real success of it and documented it all. I have to admit I did not document it either... but watch the video and learn from my 'mistakes'. I tell you what you need to know and it's not the answer you might think.
No links on this video, but it might help to show you what a nightmare that these switches can be - even on an Ibanez! And this video is entirely not sponsored in any way so you get a genuine overview from an ordinary user.
DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE, RING THE BELL AND THUMBS UP TO HELP MY CHANNEL.THAT'S ALL I ASK!
And what ever you do... stay safe and away from the madding crowds!
(c) A B McKenzie and tonymckenzie.com 1998-2020
All Rights Reserved. All Trade Marks Acknowledged
Visit tonymckenzie.com for more incredible reviews or my YouTube channel
#ibanez #vlx91switch #ibanezpickupselector
How to fit a VLX91 pickup selector switch to an Ibanez Guitar? Yes, you might think that it's easy to install a new switch? You would be wrong!
This all started when I was setting up a Helix rack a week or two ago and instantly I was getting a tone that sounded like a tube had failed on my tube amp (I was using the 4 cable method) - it was horrible. So much so that I switched off the amp immediately.
Well after investigation it turned out to be the pickup selector switch on my trusty Ibanez RG550LTD that I have used since the 90's. Thinking wider than I normally might, I bought a VLX91 selector switch that is typically fitted to the Ibanez JEM 7VWH and similar high end Ibanez guitars to 'upgrade' the old selector switch. Silly me!
My guitar has two Seymour Duncan pickups (a 'Jazz' in the neck and a 'Lil Screaming Demon' in the middle and a Dimarzio 'EVO 2' in the bridge. And those are the first problem. Oh yours is similar? Let the fun begin.
Watch this video to see some (but not all) of the aggravation that I experienced trying to fit this VLX91 switch to my Ibanez - even with diagrams from Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio AND Ibanez. I have some really good advice too at the end of the video if you want to fit a VLX91.
The internet was full of guys trying to figure out how this all worked, but alas I never did find anyone that made any real success of it and documented it all. I have to admit I did not document it either... but watch the video and learn from my 'mistakes'. I tell you what you need to know and it's not the answer you might think.
No links on this video, but it might help to show you what a nightmare that these switches can be - even on an Ibanez! And this video is entirely not sponsored in any way so you get a genuine overview from an ordinary user.
DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE, RING THE BELL AND THUMBS UP TO HELP MY CHANNEL.THAT'S ALL I ASK!
And what ever you do... stay safe and away from the madding crowds!
(c) A B McKenzie and tonymckenzie.com 1998-2020
All Rights Reserved. All Trade Marks Acknowledged
Visit tonymckenzie.com for more incredible reviews or my YouTube channel
#ibanez #vlx91switch #ibanezpickupselector
