please help me choose a pickup for my Ibanez RG570

[Lasse Lammert]

I've just bought a pre 92 RG570...should be here in the next couple of days.
I don't expect great tones from the stock ibanez V2 pickup, so I'm thinking about replacing it.

I have a set of EM81/SLV/85 left, but somehow feel that the EMGs are "too good" for an ibanez (feel free to convince me otherwise)...
so I thoght about replacing just the bridge pickup with another passive pup.....

I'm looking for a very tight and articulated tone with lots of output...when I tried the Duncan Distortion in a les paul I really liked it, I also like the sh15 in a Mahogany Explorer a lot....but obviously an RG Ibanez is something entirely different.....

what pickup would you recommend to go with a basswood ibby?
it needs to be high output, tight, focussed yet chunky...I hate that weird fizz that most passives have, also do I HATE the muddyness most of them have for fast low tuned palm muting.

atm I'm gravitating towards the SH15

 

[TonyS.]

I like Dimarzio Evo 2 in my RG's! But I I dont play even lower than drop D... and also dont like EMGs at all, so overall our tastes will be different.

 

[Robert W]

Have a BKP Warpig in a basswood Schecter and it sounds fine. Works very well for lower tunings w/o getting muddy. Also adds plenty of "chunk".

 

[Lasse Lammert]

I'm through with bare knuckles....tried painkiller, nailbomb, aftermath.... No pickups for me.
I lime them for sludge etc, definitely not for modern and tight stuff

 

[Robert W]

I'm through with bare knuckles....tried painkiller, nailbomb, aftermath.... No pickups for me.
I lime them for sludge etc, definitely not for modern and tight stuff

Have you tried Lungdrens?

 

[Lasse Lammert]

too expensive for an Ibanez...at least for me, I think I'd rather go with the classics..Duncans, diMarzio etc

 

[kev]

Evos.

 

[Robert W]

too expensive for an Ibanez...at least for me, I think I'd rather go with the classics..Duncans, diMarzio etc

When I was shopping around for a replacement pup for that Schecter, I asked about SD Invaders and was told that they are not a good choice for guitars w/ basswood bodies.

Haven't used a DiMarzio in a long time, but I remember the Super Distortion being very good. I had one in an old Ibanez V, and it handled D standard very well. I also remember it sounding good when used w/ a tube screamer, but this was like 20+ years ago so take what I say w/ a grain of salt.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

yeah, I'm not a fan of the invaders myself....
atm I'm torn between the duncan alternative 8 (have tried that in a mahogany guitar, liked it very much), duncan distortion (tried that a couple of years ago, liked it a lot), Evo (never tried it, description reads nice though).

I've also tried the Dimebucker (didn't like it...too harsh), Duncan Custom (is alright, but somewhat fuzzy), Duncan Jeff Back (don't like it, too muddy, too "rock n roll" sounding), dimarzio crunchlab (have got the 7string version in my other Ibby..it's alright, but nothing special, a bit fuzzy and muddy as well, not a huge improvement compared to the stock pups), Bare Knuckles (all the BKP I tried were muddy and fizzy at the same time...I hate those pickups), Lundgren M7 (sounded nice in a les paul, too expensive), dimartio D-activator (load of muddy bollocks), I also dislike Gibson and Bill Lawrence Pickups, they're all either too muddy, or too fuzzy or too low output....

I've never heard anyone else on this board talk about the SH15 Alt8 has noone tried it?


Although I'm leaning towards the Alt8 and distortion I knida feel an Ibanez should be equipped with DiMarzios, not Duncans...but that's just some weird thing in my head, I could perhaps ignore that)

 

[Robert W]

A common complaint I've heard from those who've used the Ibanez Apex 7 string was that the stock pups, DiMarzio PAF-7, were on the muddy side.

For DiMarzio 6 string pups, I still think the Super Distortion might be worth considering. Again, I haven't used any of their newer hi-output pups, but I do remember the SD sounding very good when cranked and boosted w/ a TS. Although maybe it'll sound a little too old school for what you need tone-wise.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

I had a super dist in the Fender HM strat I used to have, not a bad pickup indeed, but yeah, a bit old school

 

[Line666]

So I'm curious, why did you buy an Ibanez if you can't stand the things? (understandable)

Was it just a case of if someone desperately had to use one then they could use a slightly less shitty model you've already modified?

 

[PhilTheBeard]

I absolutely love emg's in all of my ibanez guitar's i like how tight they sound. And they surprisingly work very well with basswood

 

[Lasse Lammert]

So I'm curious, why did you buy an Ibanez if you can't stand the things? (understandable)

Was it just a case of if someone desperately had to use one then they could use a slightly less shitty model you've already modified?

Some weird case of GAS, was actually gassing for a yellow (!) rg550, but someone offered me this 570 for 320, so I had to take it.
I really can't explain it, I hate ibanez' but had to quench my gas.....
Like when you've got this appetite for something you usually hate ....then you go to the shop, buy it, eat it, despise it... But it satisfies your lust for it for another year

 

[Lasse Lammert]

I'm gravitating more and more towards the Alt8....

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Have you tried the 85 on the bridge? I know it sounds kinda kindy and you might need to wash yourself afterwards, but it might be a positive surprise in the end.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

yeah, the problem is that I don't wanna "waste" 3 EMGs on an Ibanez, and if I went the passive route I'd just have to replace 1 pickup

 

[SimonTaddio_Qc]

is the body in alder?
I have a SH-6 in an alder body, and I love it's tone now. Previous pick up was a EMG, and I didn't quite liked it in that particular guitar

 

[Lasse Lammert]

nah, it's basswood

 

[Lasse Lammert]

listened to my guts and ordered the SH15