Dimarzio, Seymour Duncan or EMG

[Morgan138]

Erm, the SD is mids, mids, and more mids... the JB is pretty scooped. Unless by 'a little less exaggerated' you mean 'actually having mids... and tons of them' I don't see where you're going with that.

I guess compared to the non-"metal" pickups I've used they both seemed like they had really tight (rolled-off, even?) low end combined with a pronounced higher-frequency bump, just the JB's bump was more high mids (or low highs or whatever) while the SD's was a bit lower/warmer.

I don't know though; they were in different guitars and I never A/B-ed them so this isn't an expert assessment.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Help me here. The eternal question.

Guitar: RG470
Body: Basswood

Dimarzio, Seymour Duncan or EMG??? (bridge position)

Sell it & get a Hellraiser. Ibanez + Basswood = uke:

Doesn't matter what you throw on there... you can't polish a turd.


Seriously, had one come in loaded up with an EMG 81 & it wasn't much help. Maybe an 85 might, but why fuck around? If you're looking for a "full rhythm sound" use the right guitar for the application.

 

[MetallyGuitarded]

Quotes from DiMArzio.com on the Evolution Bridge Humbucker:
'The pickup is tight, aggressive...'

'...more harmonic overtones than conventional humbuckers...'

'The Evolution® pickups were originally designed with live gigs in mind, but they have so much presence and definition that they're great recording pickups, too; they slice right through even the densest mix.'

'Low notes are very tight, and the highs have a lot of presence, enabling the pickup to be heard in almost any situation.'

As a 10 year long user of EMG 81's and 85's I can tell you that the remarks from DiMarzio about the Evo are fact, not opinion.
I was pretty happy with my sound and got the Evo just to hear what the hype was all about. I was amazed.
The clarity, tightness and definition are tits. It's got plenty of gain/power. It sounds more lively than the EMG, the highs are more articulate and there's so much more harmonics the guitar seems to sing. It's tighter than my EMGs. Solos cut right thru.

The Evo 2 is supposed to be even better and the D Activators, man if they're that much better than the Evo... holy shit. I did my comparison with my only guitar thru my only amp and it was like night vs. day. I don't plan on buying EMG's again. I can't really see how the D Activators can be better but if I were to get different pickups, it'd probably be one of them.

That said, I played a Schecter C-1 Classic with the JB/Jazz combo and although they weren't as striking as the Evo is they were better than the EMG's to me too. Not as much power as the EMGs but in every other way they were nicer.

Just my $1.95... Here's a $2 bill. Keep the change!

 

[RemoWilliams]

I remember James Malone used an RG (I believe it was one of the older models that had the all maple neck, RG550 maybe?) for the first couple of years of Arsis. I believe he used a pair of EMG in them. I'm not sure if thats the same setup he used for "A Celebration of Guilt" and "A Diamond for Disease", but I love the rhythm sounds on those albums, and the leads too

 

[Rupturemetal]

I happen to have a brand new set of SD distortions{mayhem Set}Im selling for 65+ship.still have the shrink wrap on the box

 

[emjay75]

Try the Dimarzio Deactivators... I'm very curious about those! Heard good things. Also heard great things about the Seymour Duncan Crazy 8.

I just bought a set of D-Activators. I have not received them yet, but will let you know. I have an Ibanez RG42dx with Edge II tremolo. Mahagony body. As for the winner? I like all makes of pick ups. They all have their finer points. The JB in Splat's Ibanez S sounds bloody great. I have an 84 Gibson SG with EMG 81/85's in it and they sound fantastic. That guitar is second to none. I think having one guitar in your arsenal with EMG's is handy espesh for metal shit.

 

[emjay75]

Sorry the Ibanez RG42DX has an Edge III trem.

 

[Metaltastic]

If it's the RGT42DX, meaning neck-thru, then it's probably maple neck with mahogany wings, like my RGT42FM - a recipe for one BRIGHT motherfucking guitar. I have the ZW set in mine, but the EMG 81 was way too shrill in the bridge and the 85 too woofy in the neck, so I switched 'em and both were hugely improved. I've not used the D-activators so I couldn't say, and I have mixed feelings about the JB (heard it sound good in some guitars, heard it sound like woofy bassy garbage in others).

 

[emjay75]

It's the recipe for a bright guitar, which is what I like, but that Mahagony is so dense. So you put the 85 in the bridge and 81 in the neck?......That's madness!!!

 

[JBroll]

I love my D-Activators - I've tuned my 6 with D-Activators down to FCGCFBb and never lost clarity anywhere.

Jeff

 

[viggen666]

Try the Dimarzio Deactivators... I'm very curious about those! Heard good things. Also heard great things about the Seymour Duncan Crazy 8.

by duncan crazy 8, do you mean the alternative 8 ?
I put that one in my les paul, but it wasn't great, sound was good, but the pickup had some serieus feedback issues, couldn't keep it under control.

the Gibson 500T & duncan invader i had in the same guitar before didn't had that problem.

The duncan invader can be pretty cool, lots of mids and bass, no so much highs. Thought it would be over the top in a les paul, but it works fine in mine, lot's of balls.

full shred is nice too, very clear pickup.

 

[Ericlingus]

I havent tried many pickups out but I really like my D activators. They have a lot of clarity. Also, have any of you guys tried out the shadow pre amp cable that makes passive pickups active? My friend bought it and i've been borrowing it for a couple weeks and it's great. It has an eq on it and two different voicing switches. You can also control the gain aswell. Only drawback is you are forced to use that cable.

 

[TravisW]

I'm a big fan of the SH-5 (Duncan Custom) for guitars that need a bit more body (mids and low) to their sound. For guitars that are already kind of bright, the Full Shred will tend to add more brightness.

 

[The Rhone]

Help me here. The eternal question.

Guitar: RG470
Body: Basswood

Dimarzio, Seymour Duncan or EMG??? (bridge position)

Why just these three brands. Bare Knuckle Pickups will give you more options tone wise.

Check the site they have some pretty cool clips. A Miracle Man will slay in your guitar.

http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/

 

[Splat88]

I have mixed feelings about the JB (heard it sound good in some guitars, heard it sound like woofy bassy garbage in others).

That's interesting. I was just talking about this with emjay today about how I think I might switch the JB out of my Ibanez S for this very reason. Its far from garbage, but I'm noticing that the JB tends to be a little woofy in that guitar. Its almost too fat sounding. I'm finding myself cutting nearly all the pre bass on the EQ stomp box in my POD to get it to cut. It sounds great, but I don't think I should have to cut it that far. I know that it sounds better than the Duncan Distortion that I had in it, but I think I may be interested to see how emjay's Deactivators sound. We should probably be playing through similar pickups anyway for the recording. Did you get your woman to install them for you yet, Matty?

 

[Metaltastic]

Really, so you liked the JB more than the Distortion, Splat? How come?

 

[Splat88]

Really, so you liked the JB more than the Distortion, Splat? How come?

The Duncan Distortion sounds great, but it had just a touch too much midrange for me for the stuff I play. For straight up metal it is very cool, definitely better than the JB because you can djent it out a lot better. But for the material I play now, I like to hear individual notes in full chords with distortion. All the midrange of the Duncan Distortion seemed to blur chord work together. I might try putting it in one more time to test it again. I never recorded it so I could A/B with the JB. The JB just seems much better suited for my style of play. I love EMGs and have a set in my Hamer guitar and it sounds awesome, but it loses clarity during full sustained chord work also. It sounds heavy as hell for palm mutes though. I think I need to split the difference somehow and get the best of both worlds. Any suggestions for passive pickups that anyone can recommend?

 

[trendkill1168]

For that guitar I would either go with the Evo or the Seymour Custom, especially if you're gonna drop tune. I have the Full Shred and I like it in Alder guitars and currently have it in a Alder Warmoth V and it's a great combination. It was pulled from an Ibanez Prestige because I didn't like it with Basswood. The JB is a great pickup but more suited for Mahogony IMO and standard tuning. To me the Distortion and JB get muddy when downtuned.

 

[Rex Rocker]

I personally don't like most duncans... most of them have that voicing that sounds too trebly for my taste, with the exception of the Invader, but that's just my opinion/experience.

you should definitely give the DiMarzio Super 3 a try... talk about a BIG, mean tone...

 

[fabz]

I recently fell in Love with the SD Dimebucker! Bought a white Razorback V and there it was! Everything the EMG's lack (in my case at least)... But if you want clarity and a lot of output get an EMG.

My Drummer prefers my EMG equipped guitars though....