Looking for Some Pick Up Recommendations

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Iron Dog
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Hi all, I have a new Ibanez RG550 Genesis coming and I'm looking for some recommendations. I'm looking at Dimarzio. I have three basswood RG's with maple fretboard and have:
- Tone Zone (B)/Air Norton (N)
- X2N (B)/Gravity Storm (N)
- Gravity Storm (B)/Protrack (N)

I want something different. I'm looking at:
- D- Activator X (B&N)
- Evolutions (B&N)
- Super 3 (B)/PAF Pro (N)
I'm open to other suggestions. There is no particular sound I'm chasing. Favourite bands are Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Anthrax, Megadeth, & Metallica.

Any help is appreciated.
 
The FRED is amazing and it doesn't make the player sound like Joe Satriani. It also has the most amazing harmonics I've ever heard come out of a pickup. Tight but not clinical, bright but not shrill at all, beautiful singing mids, no mud. Really great in basswood guitars. The Mo Joe is a FRED with a bit more balls.

FRED vs Mo Joe Pt 1 - "Rest in Peace" by Extreme



FRED vs Mo Joe Pt 2 - "Burn" by Deep Purple

 
JohnnyGtar said:
The FRED is amazing and it doesn't make the player sound like Joe Satriani. It also has the most amazing harmonics I've ever heard come out of a pickup. Tight but not clinical, bright but not shrill at all, beautiful singing mids, no mud. Really great in basswood guitars. The Mo Joe is a FRED with a bit more balls.

FRED vs Mo Joe Pt 1 - "Rest in Peace" by Extreme



FRED vs Mo Joe Pt 2 - "Burn" by Deep Purple

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Tighter than an Evolution? Tone Zone? Good for metal/thrash?
 
JohnnyGtar said:
The FRED is amazing and it doesn't make the player sound like Joe Satriani. It also has the most amazing harmonics I've ever heard come out of a pickup. Tight but not clinical, bright but not shrill at all, beautiful singing mids, no mud. Really great in basswood guitars. The Mo Joe is a FRED with a bit more balls.

FRED vs Mo Joe Pt 1 - "Rest in Peace" by Extreme



FRED vs Mo Joe Pt 2 - "Burn" by Deep Purple

Click to expand...

Thanks. I have a Mo'Joe in an Ibby SV5470 and it's great. I'd still like to try something new.
 
I recently got a D Sonic. I am liking it so far. It has a pretty modern sound.
 
I have a Pariah Pasadena Black in my ‘91 MIJ HSS basswood Strat and am very impressed.
 
I like the EVO 2 a lot. Still has plenty of high end, but that nasty screech that the Evolution has is gone. A wee bit less power. Great harmonics. Really nice cleans, too.

If I had to pick one DiMarzio high output pickup, it's the EVO 2.

https://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/high-power/evo-2-bridge

Description:

The original Evolution® Bridge Model did exactly what Steve Vai wanted it to do: kick butt and produce serious scream. Then he wanted something a little more complex — the same basic tone with increased headroom and dynamics, so that the sound kills on 10 and cleans up when the volume is rolled down. With a little less power than the original Evolution®, Evo 2™ balances perfectly with the Evolution® Neck Model and performs equally well with high gain and vintage amps.

Tech Talk:

Although Steve was happy with the basic sound of the original Evolution® bridge pickup, he felt that a pickup with similar tone and less output would be useful — particularly for live performances. He also requested the frequency response in the 4000Hz to 5000Hz range to be reduced slightly compared to the original Evolution® Bridge Model. The Evo 2™ accomplishes these tasks by using a less powerful magnet to reduce the pickup's power, and patented Virtual Vintage® technology to alter the frequency response without drastically changing the overall tone. The Virtual Vintage® technology also allows the Evo 2™ to produce a very good single-coil sound when switched to split mode.
 
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It's not that hard to be tighter than the ToneZone.
Enter the Norton! Apparently it's halfway between a FRED and ToneZone; great harmonics, awesome split tone and not as bloated in the low-mids.
Otherwise, purely based on specs and description I'd recommend the EVO2. I had the original Evo bridge in my '97 Ibanez S540FM and found it too bright in the end. Switched it to a Super D and later on to a ToneZone. But the ToneZone might leave once more.
What makes the Super D interesting is that when playing it clean, it's a lot more clear than you'd expect from such a low/mid heavy high output pickup.
 
Speeddemon said:
It's not that hard to be tighter than the ToneZone.
Enter the Norton! Apparently it's halfway between a FRED and ToneZone; great harmonics, awesome split tone and not as bloated in the low-mids.
Otherwise, purely based on specs and description I'd recommend the EVO2. I had the original Evo bridge in my '97 Ibanez S540FM and found it too bright in the end. Switched it to a Super D and later on to a ToneZone. But the ToneZone might leave once more.
What makes the Super D interesting is that when playing it clean, it's a lot more clear than you'd expect from such a low/mid heavy high output pickup.
Click to expand...

The Norton rules! It sounds great in parallel, too.
 
Skolphy said:
BKP Alnico Nailbomb
BKP Cold Sweat
SD Custom
SD PATB1
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I am also in the anything other than Dimarzio camp. I mean they’re usually better than stock overseas pickups. SD is 4 or 5 steps above and then when you move into boutique (Lollar and Bare Knuckle, et al.) you can’t look back.

Just my personal opinion based on experience.
 
homespun said:
SD is 4 or 5 steps above
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Then please point me towards SD alternatives of the Norton, Air Norton, Chopper, DP103 36th Anniv PAF neck (for that price!), Twang King and Super Distortion, to name a few.

You can argue that in general, SD has a bunch with more clear and defined character compared to a lot of Dimarzio's with the cocked wah tone (looking at you, PAF Pro) or an overall too smooth tone, but to state that they're 4-5 leagues above DiMarzio...oof. 😑
Ace Frehley, Steve Vai and Adrian Smith do not agree apparently. But what do they know, right? 🙃

Full disclosure, I use both and I have some great Duncan's, but especially when it comes to neck pickups, DiMarzio has more options for what I'm looking for. A2Pro hell no, Breed neck hells yes...or a Jazz vs Air Norton... It's like asking "Sarah Silverman or Halle Berry"...
 
Speeddemon said:
… but to state that they're 4-5 leagues above DiMarzio...oof. 😑
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I said “steps” not “leagues” as in barely but still better quality. Personally, I’ve been disappointed with Dimarzio 100% of the time.

Speeddemon said:
Ace Frehley, Steve Vai and Adrian Smith do not agree apparently. But what do they know, right? 🙃
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I just knew someone would say that. None of those guys are known for their quality of tone.

Try some Lollars and get back to me.
 
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JohnnyGtar said:
Yes, yes, and yes.
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I have a Tone Zone in my Ibanez Prestige. It's actually a killer pick-up, BUT, it's a bit more low-mid focused. It's better than a JB, in that it will get tight, but it's very dark. I'd like a little sharper attack in the rhythm department, yet still searing for leads. I was toying with an EVO mostly, but a Crunch Lab came to mind, and somebody else mentioned the Fred..
 
Right. "Not known for their quality of tone". 🤣😑

Please do enlighten me which A list guitar player who's influenced more than just a few weekend warriors plays Lollars.
Lynch? DeMartini? EVH? Rhoads? Nah.

And this list of 'meh' (IMO of course) : https://www.lollarguitars.com/artists

shure ain't got shit on the amount of influence that many DiMarzio players had on me.

But I know where this is going, so I'll save you the trouble; we're not going to see eye to eye on this. Peace.
 
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Speeddemon said:
It's not that hard to be tighter than the ToneZone.
Enter the Norton! Apparently it's halfway between a FRED and ToneZone; great harmonics, awesome split tone and not as bloated in the low-mids.
Otherwise, purely based on specs and description I'd recommend the EVO2. I had the original Evo bridge in my '97 Ibanez S540FM and found it too bright in the end. Switched it to a Super D and later on to a ToneZone. But the ToneZone might leave once more.
What makes the Super D interesting is that when playing it clean, it's a lot more clear than you'd expect from such a low/mid heavy high output pickup.
Click to expand...
Yes, the Tone Zone is all low mids and dark. It's not as farty as a JB, (nor is it as ice-picky). Overall, it's a serviceable pick-up, especially boosted with an EQ in the mix.. I can tame it and tighten it up just fine. Plus, it does very well with an amp that's all high-mid Marshall. BUT, I still need to do too much EQ'ing, (which I don't mind until I plug in my SG and it's the polar opposite. Searing, cutting, super tight. Thought about getting an EQ with presets and fine-tune to the guitars..
 
Speeddemon said:
Right. "Not known for their quality of tone". 🤣😑

Please do enlighten me which A list guitar player who's influenced more than just a few weekend warriors plays Lollars.
Lynch? DeMartini? EVH? Rhoads? Nah.

And this list of 'meh' (IMO of course) : https://www.lollarguitars.com/artists

shure ain't got shit on the amount of influence that many DiMarzio players had on me.

But I know where this is going, so I'll save you the trouble; we're not going to see eye to eye on this. Peace.
Click to expand...
Lollars are the bees knees on TGP. If you own khakis, you should have some Lollars as well.
 
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