New Pickups For My RG

[Brobray1]

Hey all, this is my first thread in the SD forums and i wanted to know what options would be best, as far as pickups go, to upgrade my RG350.

I play mostly hard rock and metal, so a fair bit of thrash: metallica, megadeth etc. and some more thrashy metalcore such as Trivium but i also like to move back to some earlier bands like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden and other 80's metal. So i guess what i am trying to say is i need a set of pickups (just the humbuckers for now, not the middle single coil) that will work for most genres of hard rock and metal in a basswood guitar.

At the moment i will be playing through a Peavey Vypyr

I would like to keep it under AU$200 For everything

I live in Perth Australia and am willing to buy internationally and ship them in if that helps.

oh and will i have to get an F-spaced bridge pickup? or will a regular spaced one do the job?

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[xCaptainx]

Re: New Pickups For My RG

I have a Seymour Duncan Distortion in a Gunslinger Retro, which I believe is basswood. It sounds great.

Made the steady transition to it after using EMG 81s for a decade, then Dimarzio D-Activators. The distortion is definitely the more 'well rounded' of the lot and can handle both low and high gain situations quite well. I don't think you'd need anything hotter than that.

Spacing depends entirely on the measurements. Measure the distance between outer E strings over where your pickups are gonna go. If it's 51/52ish millimetres, get F-Spaced. If it's closer to 48/49mm, get regular spaced.

 

[LonePhantom]

Re: New Pickups For My RG

A lot of good options for those styles. I use mostly Ibanez RGs as well.

Seymour Duncan Custom is a great pick for the bridge with a Pearly Gates in the neck. DiMarzio Dominions if you want a crazy sharp tight attack. JB/59 combo can do it, DiMarzio Super Distortion will do all the classic stuff, and still be pretty good for the more modern sounds. Lots of options out there, depends exactly what you want from your guitar, and what it's lacking currently.

I'm in Australia, and am doing a bit of a clean up of pickups I have that aren't being used in anything. If you are looking for some good pickups priced reasonably let me know via PM and we can discuss what might work for you. I may have something in the box that will suit you.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: New Pickups For My RG

I say Jb, Distortion, or the Invader if you're planning on staying passive and with duncan.

Jb is more balanced with emphasis on mids and highs and is the brightest and lowest output of the 3 (all are high output)
Distiortion is a bit more compressed with a tighter low end and more aggressive highs and gain.
Invader is full on active levels of output, bass and lower mids oriented with a very smooth high end and more compressed then the Distortion.

For versatility the Jb is the best bet but you might like the tone of the others better.

Hetfield used the Invader early on then switched to EMG around Master of Puppets, I think Kirk had EMGs since Ride the Lightning.
Mustaine and Friedman used Jb's for Rust in Peace and other albums and his active livewires bridge is based off it.
Heafy uses EMGs.
Iommi has always had his signature pickups to use (The El Diablo in the custom shop is also an option).
Maiden uses Jbs and Dimarzio Super Distortions.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Re: New Pickups For My RG

^^ Fwiw, James Hetfield had a custom wound Duncan set for a while as well. Someone on the forum a while back ordered them.

Another option is the original Parallel Axis, though can be hard to find used. Pricier than run of the mill Duncans new, about $90-100 US.

Most lower output pups like the '59, Jazz, PG etc. will keep up just fine output-wise with a hot bridge.

 

[Brobray1]

Re: New Pickups For My RG

A lot of good options for those styles. I use mostly Ibanez RGs as well.

Seymour Duncan Custom is a great pick for the bridge with a Pearly Gates in the neck. DiMarzio Dominions if you want a crazy sharp tight attack. JB/59 combo can do it, DiMarzio Super Distortion will do all the classic stuff, and still be pretty good for the more modern sounds. Lots of options out there, depends exactly what you want from your guitar, and what it's lacking currently.

I'm in Australia, and am doing a bit of a clean up of pickups I have that aren't being used in anything. If you are looking for some good pickups priced reasonably let me know via PM and we can discuss what might work for you. I may have something in the box that will suit you.

Thanks for the offer LonePhantom, i think i need to think about it for a bit and you know, come up with some money somehow (i am a poor uni student)

 

[BloodRose]

Re: New Pickups For My RG

welcome to the forum!! I have a 59b model in the neck and Custom 8 in my 570 and it rips! Covers alot of ground!

 

[darthphineas]

Re: New Pickups For My RG

For what you're talking about, the JB would be awesome.


Sent from my armored battle station using Tapatalk

 

[LonePhantom]

Re: New Pickups For My RG

No worries, and don't worry, we'd be able to keep it under $200.

 

[elelpe]

Re: New Pickups For My RG

Seymour Duncan Custom is a great pick for the bridge

+1

Neck hb? Well, look into Lonephantom's box

 

[chadd]

Re: New Pickups For My RG

There are a hundred different ways to get those tones and any of the pickups mentioned above can get you there with the right amp settings. Personally, I prefer the screamin demon for hard rock in an RG. Your amp will give you plenty of distortion but I like the clarity that the demon gives you.