Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

[nikosteph]

Hi good peoples of the forum,

I just bought an Ibanez RG6003 guitar as a cheap shred-stick to mess around with, and from what I hear the stock pickups are not that great. The guitar arrives in a few days, so I haven't actually played it yet, but I wanted to get your advance opinions on good replacement pups.

The guitar has a mahogany body with a flamed maple top, and will be used exclusively for high-gain playing/shredding, so a searing lead/solo tone is key. In the past I had an RG and tried both the Breed bridge and the Evo2, and didn't really love either of them. I never tried SD pups in that RG, so I'm not sure how they would sound. And since this is not the traditional basswood RG style, I don't know how applicable other threads on this topic are...

What's your take? Would the JB sound good? What about other Dimarzio pickups like the Tone Zone (never tried one of those, but am wary given my experience with the other Dimarzios)? Something else?

What's good for the neck, a Jazz? I already have another guitar with a Jazz in the neck (a PRS McCarty), so I'd be open to trying something new in this guitar.

Thanks for the help!

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

Some tend to shy away from a JB in Mahogany–I would say give it a try and see what you think.

I think you may like a Dimebucker in the bridge paired with a Screamin Demon in the neck–killer combo!

 

[nikosteph]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

Interesting, I've never considered the Dimebucker...I see that it's ceramic, which I haven't liked in the past (with the Custom, Evolution, and Evo2) because of the typical complaints (too brittle/sterile). But if many people recommend it, I'm always willing to challenge my assumptions .

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

Interesting, I've never considered the Dimebucker...I see that it's ceramic, which I haven't liked in the past (with the Custom, Evolution, and Evo2) because of the typical complaints (too brittle/sterile). But if many people recommend it, I'm always willing to challenge my assumptions .

The Dimebucker is a totally different animal (as are the Bill Lawrence L500s) so don't think of the "ceramic" as a typical ceramic magnet pickup. The Dimebucker is super hot, articulate, and is so much more versatile than just the "Dimebag" tone. Listen to some clips of

Here are two clips, clean and drive, with the Dimebucker and Screamin Demon Combo in a Walnut Strat. Typcially Walnut is super bright, but mine seemed to act more like Mahogany (did have a Gibson Scale neck)





View attachment 67460

 

[nikosteph]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

Ooh, that is some juicy tone, thanks for the clips!

 

[Jeff5]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

I'm loving Black Winter's these days. I'd put them into your consideration set.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

Ooh, that is some juicy tone, thanks for the clips!

Most welcome and thanks!

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

I'm loving Black Winter's these days. I'd put them into your consideration set.

I've not personally tried the Black Winter set, seem they would be a bit dark for Mahogany but I could be wrong.

Also, to the OP, I would update the thread after the guitar is delivered and you played it–tell us what you don't like and what you want changed.

 

[chris effect]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

I've not personally tried the Black Winter set, seem they would be a bit dark for Mahogany but I could be wrong.

Also, to the OP, I would update the thread after the guitar is delivered and you played it–tell us what you don't like and what you want changed.

They sound nice in my SG standard. Super HOT & a little 'middy' but the guitar is inherently 'middy' - Not dark at all though. I actually have to dial back the highs on my amp when switching to the SG from my Mahogany 7 string Ibanez 'LP' with the nazgul / sentient set. The guitars aren't that similar though tonally.

Anyway, what you said - he should play it first and listen for what it needs more or less of.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

They sound nice in my SG standard. Super HOT & a little 'middy' but the guitar is inherently 'middy' - Not dark at all though. I actually have to dial back the highs on my amp when switching to the SG from my Mahogany 7 string Ibanez 'LP' with the nazgul / sentient set. The guitars aren't that similar though tonally.

Anyway, what you said - he should play it first and listen for what it needs more or less of.

I stand very corrected!

 

[nikosteph]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

Thanks for the suggestions, I will definitely update once I get the guitar and have a chance to see what it lacks, but I just wanted to throw the topic out here to get a sense of everyone's experiences. More of an open "what high-gain pickups have you liked in a mahogany RG?" so I know the lay of the sonic land, so to speak .

 

[chris effect]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

I stand very corrected!

Hey man not necessarily, They could be dark sounding in a big thick slab of mahogany.. especially the neck

 

[dominus]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

I've not personally tried the Black Winter set, seem they would be a bit dark for Mahogany but I could be wrong.

Also, to the OP, I would update the thread after the guitar is delivered and you played it–tell us what you don't like and what you want changed.

I've got a set in a mahogany Schecter Blackjack. They're perfect.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

Thanks for the suggestions, I will definitely update once I get the guitar and have a chance to see what it lacks, but I just wanted to throw the topic out here to get a sense of everyone's experiences. More of an open "what high-gain pickups have you liked in a mahogany RG?" so I know the lay of the sonic land, so to speak .

Sounds like a plan dude!

Hey man not necessarily, They could be dark sounding in a big thick slab of mahogany.. especially the neck

Ha! Well, I was going off of the description and since I haven't tried them personally I should have just left it at that lol

I've got a set in a mahogany Schecter Blackjack. They're perfect.

Double corrected! :stooges:

 

[VHTJay]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

Trey, those are great demos! You can really hear the top end chime the Dimebucker has, which I think is unique in a pickup like that. Alot of hot ceramics I either find dark or shrill.Haha!

Niko, another consideration for a shred stick would be the Nazgul/Sentient combo. The Nazgul is tight and very aggressive sounding. The Sentient is a different look: a little more juice than a jazz (which I like better for leads) but retains all the clarity.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

Don't neglect the Alt8. I have one paired with an RCA4 SH-6n in a mahogany body, maple/rosewood bolt on neck Ibby and I love 'em. Heavy but clear. Usually tuned to D or Drop C.

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[nikosteph]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

Cool, lots of good suggestions everyone! And to clarify, while I want this for heavier stuff, I don't necessarily need the highest possible output, so suggestions in the more middle-high range of the spectrum are fine too. For reference, I play lots of classic hard rock and 80's type metal as well, so something that can get real melodic and crunch would be ideal.

Haven't heard much yet about the JB, does anybody else have thoughts/experience on it in this type of guitar? On other online posts/forums opinion is split...

Also, while I didn't like the Dimarzio's I tried in the past, I'm open to visiting the pups I haven't tried yet, like the Norton or Tone Zone. Lots of split opinion on those as well in a mahogany RG (especially the Tone Zone, which many claim is too dark/muddy yet others seem to love). So any thoughts there would be appreciated too.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

The JB is good. The Alt8 is the JB on steroids.

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[dominus]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

Cool, lots of good suggestions everyone! And to clarify, while I want this for heavier stuff, I don't necessarily need the highest possible output, so suggestions in the more middle-high range of the spectrum are fine too. For reference, I play lots of classic hard rock and 80's type metal as well, so something that can get real melodic and crunch would be ideal.

Haven't heard much yet about the JB, does anybody else have thoughts/experience on it in this type of guitar? On other online posts/forums opinion is split...

Also, while I didn't like the Dimarzio's I tried in the past, I'm open to visiting the pups I haven't tried yet, like the Norton or Tone Zone. Lots of split opinion on those as well in a mahogany RG (especially the Tone Zone, which many claim is too dark/muddy yet others seem to love). So any thoughts there would be appreciated too.

I took the JB out of the Blackjack and put the Black Winter in. The JB is hit-or-miss in mahogany, and it was a definite miss for me. Tone Zone will probably be a little too thick, but definitely try the guitar first and see what the overall tonality of the guitar is.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Good high-gain pickups for Ibanez mahogany body RG?

I took the JB in mine and stuck a double thick ceramic in it.

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