Need help finding a pickup for my ibanez

[Lasse Lammert]

As you might have read I wanna load my rg550 with green/purple passives.
I really love the sh6 and have had good experiences with the sh5, sh4 and sh15 as well.
For some reason I kinda think "dimarzio" when I'm thinking ibanez, but tbh I don't have much experience with dimarzios (or ibanez).....
My favourite passive is the sh6, I love it in mahogany guitars, have never tried it in basswood though....
I hated the crunchlab, thought the d-activators were "alright" (tried them a couple of years ago), and liked the pickups in the universe777 (custom breed?).

So just judging from the description on dimarzio's page I'm leaning towards evolutions or d-activators....
But as I said, I really don't have much experience with dimarzios, and I'm not sure yet if I should risk getting them or rather take the safe route with the duncans?

I need ultra tight palm mutes (fan of sh6 and emg81 etc)....

So yeah, for an rg550, low tunings, what would you recommend?

 

[blue_fAng]

I had a dimarzio d-sonic in my ibanez and I got very tight palm mutes, chugging sounds nice too and I tuned it from E to C standard and still sounded good. For Seymour Duncan I think the sh-4 sounds best and chunky for being a passive.

 

[Robert W]

For higher output, I always liked the sound of the Super Distortions. Don't know if that's the kind of tone you're interested in, but I always thought they delivered a very workable metal tone.

Of course my experience with them came a long time ago, so they may not sound the same as the ones I used way back when. Still, I don't think you can go too wrong with them.

 

[Rex Rocker]

I hate the C-Lab too. Way too dark, stuffy, and bloated in the low-mids. I swapped mine out of my Ibanez for an EMG 81.

I don't see the Duncans not working in basswood, but yeah... I think the Evo and D-Activator are worth a shot. The Evo is nice. Haven't tried the D-Ac.

The Super 2 might also do the trick for you.

 

[mickrich]

My rg550 which also has a rosewood board has an emg 81 in the bridge wired pickup to volume to output bypassing the switch and tone.
I leave this guitar in b tuning and it sounds fantastic.
When I bought it, it had an invader in the bridge and sounded very mushy with not much attack.
I can send you a di if you want to check it out.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

I can't get the EMGs in pink, purple or green
I'd also like to keep it passive

 

[FrancescoFiligoi]

I find Duncans generally not working very well in basswood, on the other hand Dimarzios and certain BKPs are phenomenal in there. I'd suggest a D-Activator bridge and Paf Pro neck if you wanna stay with Dimarzio, otherwise ceramic Nailbomb and VH2 if you want to go the BKP road.

 

[EffigyForgotten]

I doubt your going to persuade Lasse to try BKP's.

 

[Rex Rocker]

The D-Sonic is even bassier than the Crunch Lab...

The Evo is kinda cool. It's got nice mix-slicing upper mids like the 81 or the Duncan Distortion, but it's voiced more DiMarzio towards the rest of the spectrum (bigger lower mids, mainly, lol).

Nowhere near as tight as the 81, but it's more along those lines than the Crunch Lab for sure.

 

[Pxz]

How lower is the tunning you gonna use?
The sh-5 rules for basswood

 

[blue_fAng]

The D-Sonic is even bassier than the Crunch Lab...

I remember the d-sonic being bassy but I flipped the pickup and sounded more mid aggresive and modern-metal. Evos are and d activators are really good and thet are my favorite di marzio pickups, you can get really tight sounds from them. The sh-4 are my fav for seymour duncan and passives in general, like it more than the blackouts but that grainy sound it has can get fatiguing sometimes.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Yeah, definitely no blachknuckles got me.

 

[Scottxx]

Seymour Duncan JB SH-4 or Distortion. SH-4 sweeter for cleans too.

 

[EffigyForgotten]

I highly suggest the BKP Miracle Man set, but otherwise I've heard the Duncan Custom SH-5 sound good in basswood.

 

[sprack]

I've gotta try that. It's the reason I took it out of my baritone.

I remember the d-sonic being bassy but I flipped the pickup and sounded more mid aggresive and modern-metal.

 

[Matt-Steele]

It sounds like Evolutions will work best for your needs and we know they are at home in an RG 550. I own 1 Ibanez Premium 6 string and I have Evo's in it and it's a good, some what "neutral" sounding guitar. I also have Evolutions in one of my Universes. I have 2 7 strings with D'Activators in them and for what you're going for, I doubt you would be happy with them. They are great for more aggressive playing/music styles.

 

[DocSauerkraut]

I really like the SD Invaders. They are loud as hell and have an amazingly transparent sound. Since i have been an EMG man for the last 15 years, i am not too familiar with other SD pickups, but I would try Invaders on my next guitar too...

 

[neptunian]

Dimarzio Dominion and Evo 2 are tight and balanced too.

 

[lanky noob]

I'll be honest, although you didn't mention it and it might not give the tightest of palm mutes, i'm completely and utterly in love with my dimebucker

 

[FIXXXER]

I can't get the EMGs in pink, purple or green
I'd also like to keep it passive

EMG HZ and a spray can!