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Tips for Duncans in an old Ibanez RG

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  • #16
    Originally posted by Mr. B View Post
    This is no slam against Duncan pickups. I have them in a half-dozen guitars and love them, but I have never found a humbucker set from Duncan that I completely liked in my basswood Ibanez RG's. I have Dimarzio pickups in my RG's. That being said, the best combo I found from Duncan was the Full Shred set. Should do what you want.
    Dimarzios are great pickups. But I've decided long ago to stick with Duncan. Not because they're any better, but because I have to narrow it down a bit. There are sooo many great pickups out there. Just Duncan has hundreds. That's enough for me. Otherways finding new pickups will be a full time job.

    Yeah the Full Shred sounds like a good candidate, I have them on my shortlist!

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    • #17
      Originally posted by AdrianSD View Post
      I think a lot of the end result depends on the signal chain as a whole, amp, pedals & such and such. Found even a Mesa recto or a JVM can sound boomy and loose in the bass, but chuck a tube screamer or an SD-1 as clean boost in front of it and suddenly I get tight bass and improved clarity. Custom Custom is notoriously loose but into a TS and using a 10 band EQ in the amp's loop to boost / cut frequencies to taste it actually sounds great for metal. Uber high output pickups are overrated imho.
      Yeah, from my metal days in the past I played a Ibanez with an original V2 pickup (their take on a DiMarzio Super Distortion) straight into a Marshall Valvestate 8100. Sometimes with a SD-1 in front of it. I know exactly what you're talking about. I love how it chugged, but the lead sound was suffering – too sharp and unmelodic with bad string separation.

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      • #18
        Anyone mention the Mayhem set yet? I had them in an RG-120 and loved them.

        Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk

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        • #19
          Then go for either the Distortion set for older metal, or the Sentient/Pegasus for modern metal.
          Administrator of the SDUGF

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          • #20
            Originally posted by Mincer View Post
            Then go for either the Distortion set for older metal, or the Sentient/Pegasus for modern metal.
            Why not Black Winter? It's supposed to be cleaner/more flexible than the Distortion set, though in same ballpark.

            Pegasus hadn't occurred to me, I haven't loved it in some of the brighter guitars I've heard it in. But in an RG with possibly tubby basswood (unless it's just the pickups being murky that is the problem), that could be an excellent choice. Though a lot less metal-focused than a bunch of the other options already discussed.

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            • #21
              Originally posted by robo View Post
              I've sort of ruled out Black Winter without even trying...I just thought (guessing) that Black Winter was the pickup for that Norwegian lofi black metal howl.
              The BW set is a tweaked Distortion set...it does everything the Distortion set can do and adds an extra dose of clarity. Don't be fooled by the name. It's a tight, punchy, very balanced sounding pickup set that does rock and metal wonderfully and sounds killer clean, as well.

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              • #22
                Originally posted by Despair View Post

                Why not Black Winter? It's supposed to be cleaner/more flexible than the Distortion set, though in same ballpark.

                Pegasus hadn't occurred to me, I haven't loved it in some of the brighter guitars I've heard it in. But in an RG with possibly tubby basswood (unless it's just the pickups being murky that is the problem), that could be an excellent choice. Though a lot less metal-focused than a bunch of the other options already discussed.
                I like the BW. It has more mids than the Distortion, so I don't know how well it would work with that particular guitar.
                Administrator of the SDUGF

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by robo View Post

                  Yeah, from my metal days in the past I played a Ibanez with an original V2 pickup (their take on a DiMarzio Super Distortion) straight into a Marshall Valvestate 8100. Sometimes with a SD-1 in front of it. I know exactly what you're talking about. I love how it chugged, but the lead sound was suffering – too sharp and unmelodic with bad string separation.
                  I'm using a Maxon OD9 Analogman modded, sounds fantastic to my ears. And the pickups height is set to 3-3.5mm on the bass and around 2.5-2.8mm on the treble side, the screws pretty much flush with the coil surface. It appears setting them lower helps with note definition under gain.
                  Nevertheless, the BW set sounds very tempting, maybe one day... At the moment I'm getting everything I need from the several JBs and Customs I have in the bridge position.

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by Masta' C View Post

                    The BW set is a tweaked Distortion set...it does everything the Distortion set can do and adds an extra dose of clarity. Don't be fooled by the name. It's a tight, punchy, very balanced sounding pickup set that does rock and metal wonderfully and sounds killer clean, as well.
                    Huh! I got it all wrong then. I need to check them out a bit more. Thank you!

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                    • #25
                      DiMarzio DActivator bridge/ Evolution neck and be done with your search.

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                      • #26
                        My favorite Seymour Duncan pickup for playing Death riffs was the Dimebucker. Had a great time with that back in the day. But it kinda sucks for anything else. IMO what you want is the Distortion. It'll do death and singing leads but it can also dial down a bit.

                        Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

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                        • #27
                          I bet you can't go wrong with any of the options offered as long as you spend some good time with whatever you install! Have an open mind, spend quality time getting to know the pickups (several weeks at least in my opinion), try different heights, mess around with your signal chain. Don't be afraid to try things you normally never would with your pedals, gain knob, EQ, pickup heights (for example, don't just put the new pickups in where the old ones were... try them super low! Try them really close to the strings!). The pickups will have sweet spots and it's up to you to find them with your gear and your ears.

                          Full Shred is another great all-around pickup. Tight and articulate. You can get warmth or bite easily with your EQ and guitar volume/tone. A Full Shred set would fit your bill as well.
                          Originally posted by crusty philtrum
                          Anyone who *sings* at me through their teeth deserves to have a bus drive through their face
                          http://www.youtube.com/alexiansounds

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                          • #28
                            Black Winter set would be a good choice. Or a DiMarzio X2N in the bridge and D Activator neck.

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                            • #29
                              Black Winter is my primary recommendation, but I've always thought the Full Shred was pretty amazing in this demo with an old RG:

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                              • #30
                                Originally posted by UnderTheFlame83 View Post
                                Black Winter set would be a good choice. Or a DiMarzio X2N in the bridge and D Activator neck.
                                +1
                                Glad someone else has had the pleasure of a D-Actvator N with an X2N.

                                Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk

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