Please help me choose new pickups for my new Ibanez RGA121.

[Rex Rocker]

So I just bought this Ibanez RGA121 a couple of weeks ago:

The seller, a friend of mine, was kind enough to throw some DiMarzios in there (Crunch Lab/PAF 36 Anniversary), but I don't know if they're exactly my thing. I find myself missing the high-mid cut of the EMG 81 and the modern, hi-fi tone of the 60 I have in my SZ (the other guitar in the pic).

So here's the deal, tho: Actives won't fit unless I remove a little bit of wood off the guitar's pickup cavities and sand off a little off the bottom corners of the EMG's, so I'm thinking passives would be an option too.

I've particularly liked what I've heard of the DiMarzio Evolutions and the DiMarzio D-Activators when it comes to a cutting, modern pickups with emphasis on high-mids. I haven't tried them, tho, so I'm not 100% I'll be satisfied with them, and I'm pretty sure the EMG's will suite me just fine... but butchering the guitar is a bit intimidating, even if it's really not gonna be visible.

So what do you think? EMG 81/60, EMG 81X/60X, DiMarzio Evoltion set, DiMarzio D-Activator set, or maybe something else?

If anyone has comparison clips between any of these sets, that'd be nice.

Thanks.

 

[Tercero]

It sounds like way more work than it is to get EMG's to fit. A few minutes with a dremel and you're set. I can't stress this enough though, an 81 in the bridge of the RGA is going to sound nothing like the 81 in your SZ. I'm a huge fan of the 81, and don't like it in the bridge of my RGA at all. If you want to stay passive, Duncan Distortions all the way.