pickup advice for a hardtail RG

J

Juanhanglo

Active member
Hey guys. I have an Ibanez rg921 and am looking for new pickups. It currently has the stock dimarzio/ibz pickups

First let me say that the pickups aren't bad at all, just not what i am looking for. They are too hot and have way too much low end. Especially the neck pickup.

What i want is something with more articulation and clarity. Less bass would be a good thing too (to tighten things up a bit).

So far i am leaning towards :

Screamin demon (b) full shred (n)
Full shred (b) demon (n)
Demon (b) pearly gates(n)
Full shred set

As you can see, i am more of a low to mediumish output kinda guy. My bench mark being the dimarzio norton. Other suggestions that fit my criteria and are not super expensive (translate - NO bkp! Lol) are welcomed.

My current rig is a genz benz el diablo 60 thru a 2x12, which is pretty thick sounding on it's own.
I play any rock from the '70's to the '90's. Use early aerosmith/rush to tool/AIC as a range. Classic and hair metal is in there too.

I defer to the more experienced

Thanks guys
 
Re: pickup advice for a hardtail RG

ALL of those sound great. First pickup that came to mind was the full shred. Sounds exactly like what you want. The demon in the neck would be a warmer and bigger alternative to the full shred neck. Pearly gates in the neck would also be awesome and is a LITTLE darker than the FS neck.
 
Re: pickup advice for a hardtail RG

The Demon and Full Shred are some of the most articulate pups Seymour has to offer. I would not recommend the PG for the neck not for what you want.
 
Re: pickup advice for a hardtail RG

What about a 59/Custom Hybrid for the bridge? That's extremely versatile and moderate output. Full Shred neck is fantastic in RGs too.
 
Re: pickup advice for a hardtail RG

LonePhantom said:
What about a 59/Custom Hybrid for the bridge? That's extremely versatile and moderate output. Full Shred neck is fantastic in RGs too.
Click to expand...

Love your videos dude!

I will admit to being intrigued by the hybrid.

Riddle me this (these?)
FSn or demon in the neck, which is warmer/more organic/less sterile?
FSb too hot to clean up well when the volume is turned down?
Can i run a set of demons without having a major volume mismatch?
How do the split and parallel sounds compare?

Where does the hybrid fit in soundwise? My concern is the eq balance might not balance well with the neck choices. What would work with it in the neck position?

My rg is really neutral sounding. Very resonant, but not very loud. The top 3 strings seem louder than the bottom three but yet, it isn't bright......just neutral.
this is my first basswood guitar. It won't be my last! It is becoming my favorite tonewood. in fact my mahogany rg520 sounds all thick and congested next to it. Exactly what i don't want!

As far as cleans go, i don't think i ever really play super clean. There is always a tubescreamer type of break up going on either through a pedal or the amp by itself.


Thanks for the help so far guys
 
Re: pickup advice for a hardtail RG

Screamin' Demon is probably a little warmer than the Full Shred Neck. I feel that that Full Shred Neck almost has a single coil quality to it's tone in the neck, it's quite cool.

I haven't tried a Full Shred Bridge yet, I am curious to try one though.

As long as you set the pickup heights appropriately the Screamin' Demon pair would work ok.
 
Re: pickup advice for a hardtail RG

59/c hybrid is my favorite bridge humbucker. I love it to death. The fullshred will have more sustain and less noise but harsher cleans. Demon in the neck will be MUCH warmer, maybe even too bassy and gainey for you, its supposed to be only for bridge but matches well with high output bridge buckers, so there will be mismatch even with height tweaking. Fullshred and 59/c split are kind of on par, BUT the 59/c when split could use either the 59 coil or the custom coil, so its a more versatile choice. The hybrid is like a Brobucker but clearer, louder, and less compressed with a little hum because of the slightly mismatched coils. It really is too unique to just describe. Check out some clips, it's very good for nailing a more articulate version of EVH's early brown sound stuff.
 
Re: pickup advice for a hardtail RG

Any vintage output humbucker will work with the 59/c. A2pro, 59, Jazz, PG, Fullshred neck, you name it. And basswood is awesome, affordable, light, takes a finish well. Awesome for solid finish strat style guitars. Yeah I suggest at this point a fullshred neck model with a 59/c hybrid bridge. I would've recommended the 59/c right away but I feel like I recommend it too much.
 
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Re: pickup advice for a hardtail RG

Falloffthebonetone said:
I would've recommended the 59/c right away but I feel like I recommend it too much.
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with that.

Shout it from the mountain tops!

Yeah, i drank the "basswood is crap" koolaid for years until i was at a GC one day and saw a 921qm in blue. First thing that drew me in was the fixed bridge. (Ok, it was really pretty too. Shoot me.) I liked nearly everything about it.
Fast forward about 2 months, i own a great example of a red one. I don't touch my 9+ lb 520 anymore. I may end up selling it. Who knows.

Thanks for the info
 
Re: pickup advice for a hardtail RG

LonePhantom said:
Screamin' Demon is probably a little warmer than the Full Shred Neck. I feel that that Full Shred Neck almost has a single coil quality to it's tone in the neck, it's quite cool.

I haven't tried a Full Shred Bridge yet, I am curious to try one though.

As long as you set the pickup heights appropriately the Screamin' Demon pair would work ok.
Click to expand...

Single coil quality? ( Juan's ears perk up)

I think i may start out with a tb12 since it the only pickup i would try in both positions. This way i can narrow down wether i should mix a neck or bridge pickup with it if it stays.

and yes, both of my pickups are f spaced oddly enough

I have a feeling that i will be adding a full shred set to it, against my better judgement.

I do have a bassy strat i could throw the "rejects" into.....hmmmmm.
 
Re: pickup advice for a hardtail RG

Sounds like a good way to go. I liked the sound of the Screamin' Demon in my basswood RG, but it didn't quite have enough grunt for my liking in the bridge, and I preferred the Pearly Gates Neck in the neck by a hair.

If you are looking for one to buy drop me a PM, I've got one I can sell. :)
 
Re: pickup advice for a hardtail RG

I just installed a full shred set in my basswood rg and they are anything but bright. I got them to first and for most get rid of the slight mud from the stock dimarzio/ibz pickups ( which are actually pretty good in retrospect- I'll use them somewhere else... gladly). Next, i wanted an eq shift upwards, as in more treble and less bass. I sorta got it. Both the neck and bridge ibzs have more treble than either fs.

Lesson learned? TRUST YOUR FORUM BROTHERS MORE THAN SEYMOUR'S EQ RATINGS!
I'd rate it like: B5 M8 T8

I find them them to be very neutral,balanced, and clear. I don't hear increased treble. the mids that are not typically scooped seem to be brought up to par with the highs. The bass is also chopped below the lowest of the low mids which eliminates the mud.
In short, remove the highest highs and the lowest lows and you get a full shred.

I haven't had the shred set too long and i am still figuring out how to eq them and use the volume and tone controls on my guitar. Also, they get less round and brighter as you lower them from the strings.

Has anybody fooled with pole pieces on a full shred? Perhaps 6 fillisters àla screamin demon? Would this technically become a custom/fs hybrid of sorts?

Definitely keepers.

A sidenote: Carvin's h22n neck pickup sounds a bit like the FSn but clearer (possibly due to it's 7.3k wind and 22 phillips head polepieces) the h22t is no slouch either.
 
Re: pickup advice for a hardtail RG

Just an update.

I absolutely love these pickups! They sound amazing at higher volumes. My new benchmark.
I now reach for this guitar as my others don't stack up due to them not having full shreds.

my strat is next.

Can I get chrome hexpoles? Perhaps as a shop floor custom or something?
 
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