Looking for Some Pick Up Recommendations

[Speeddemon]

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..

I would then still advise you to check out the Norton.

My Charvel So-Cal Pro Mod came with an Evo neck (not bad at all, but I wanted more lows and juicyness there) and a Tone Zone bridge (pretty nice, but flubby lows/low-mids once you really pay attention).

That one went through a bunch of different pickups, both Duncan and DiMarzio and until recently, it's been a Norton for years.
Awesome harmonics, tight, punchy low-end, not screechy bright like an Evo (or how the JB can be in the wrong guitar).
Only recently I thought 'Let's throw in a Super D again in there, since it's my Adrian Smith guitar anyway' and the Norton went to my Flying V (paired with a Breed Neck, which is THE perfect pickup in that guitar!).
Now the Flying V has beautiful split tones for both pickups (Super D split is quite thin and meh...) since I have to cover a lot of ground with that guitar in a 70's/80's hardrock/metal coverband.

Maybe you already know this, but there's a great YT channel of a guy called Mike Stamper. He A/B's different pickups extensively.
Unfortunately not the Norton, but he did do the Crunch Lab, ToneZone, Super D and a bunch of others.

Here he did Super D vs. Crunch Lab (kinda hard choice for me...there's something to be said for both


And Crunch Lab vs. ToneZone (Crunch Lab clear winner!)

 

[MetalThrasher]

Try a Duncan SH-5 TB in the bridge and an SH-2 in the neck.

 

[homespun]

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.

I couldn’t possibly, I am not affected by the Swimmer’s Body Illusion. I use what sounds good to me, not what someone tells me to use.

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.

I don’t really know most of those people. But it’s still irrelevant.

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.

Not until you try Lollar or Bare Knuckle. I mean without preconceived notions or being determined to not like them out of spite.

 

[homespun]

Lollars are the bees knees on TGP. If you own khakis, you should have some Lollars as well.

Have you tried them? That’s my only challenge to you.

I have tried only 6 Dimarzio models so there may be some that pass muster but being disappointed each time has me looking elsewhere. I’m glad I did.

The only pickups I suggest these days are Lollar, Throbak and more recently Bare Knuckle but I’ve only tried the Nailbomb so far. You guys like what you like but I just think you’re doing yourself a disservice.

 

[tallcoolone]

Arguing who makes the "best pickup" is like arguing over favorite colors. I love Lollars single coils in strats, they are on par with Fralins as my favorite there. Don't like either companies' humbuckers--too 'chime-y' or 'bell like' or whatever. IME they don't grunt. But I'm sure both companies' can make one that does that's just my experience in my guitars/rig.

I don't play the music the OP does so I'm no help. I prefer non potted vintage/vintage hot pickups which would be a disaster under that much gain. Not everything is for everyone

 

[Unacceptablenorm]

The Duncan Scarlet / Scourge set in my new Holcomb SE are fantastic pickups. Super articulate and amazing cleans but plenty of growl when I want it. After playing actives for the last few years they are a refreshing experince. Both pickups at once with the coils split is just an awesome sound in itself.

 

[JohnnyGtar]

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..

The FRED will do what you're looking for.

 

[Speeddemon]

I couldn’t possibly, I am not affected by the Swimmer’s Body Illusion. I use what sounds good to me, not what someone tells me to use.

I don’t really know most of those people. But it’s still irrelevant.

Not until you try Lollar or Bare Knuckle. I mean without preconceived notions or being determined to not like them out of spite.

Look, I'll try to explain once more, since you clearly seem to be barking up the wrong tree here.

I'm not saying I got a bad case of 'I wanna play what rockstar x or y plays', as I'm actually not too fond of signature stuff.

My point with regards to the Lollar pickups is 3-fold:
1) I play a certain type of music mainly, where you hardly ever see Lollars or Fralins recommended, but plenty of Duncans, DiMarzios, EMG's (I did a stint with actives, it wasn't for me) and nowadays BKP.
I play 70's/80's rock and metal mostly, not shoegaze, indierock or derivative dime-a-dozen blues or modern *shudder* country.

2) It's not about Swimmer's Body Illusion. I use what sounds good to me and I don't play what others tell me either.
My point is, I would think that plenty A-list (rock) guitar players are tone-chasers; they're always looking for that few % more.
Riddle me this, why do they 'settle' for a 4-5 *steps* lower, 'inferior' DiMarzio then?
It's not like Mr. Vai and Mr. Smith lack funds to try some shit or even have a guitar tech to do all the grunt work for them, eh?
Ergo, they can't be (all) that bad.

3) Because pickup swapping is a lot of trial and error, even if you did your homework, it's less costly if you buy used. If it turns out it wasn't for you, sell it for roughly the same amount.
Aside from the significantly higher new-prices, because of their niche-quality, Lollars/Fralins and the like are not really often offered used.
("That's because they're so good, no one wants to sell 'em, blablabla".... Yawn.)
So, price and lack of recommendation for my musical styles combined, I'm not taking those chances. Unlike a large TGP-demographic, I'm not a lawyer, surgeon or financial guru who craves PRS, Klons and Dumbles.

So, no, I'm not obliged to you to try anything. And it's not that I think they're crap or anything, I never said that.
What I do take issue with, is you hawking these like the best thing since sliced bread in a topic, where the OP is clearly looking for something completely else.
Our buddy @napalmdeath is looking for a tighter ToneZone, without Evo-levels brightness, and your solution would be a Lollar?!
Get real, read the room, read the music style prevalent on THIS forum and THEN come back to us.

Also, your comment "I dismissed DiMarzio because of 6 types that I tried."
Lemme tell ya this, if my only experience with Seymour Duncan pickups was:
SH-11 Custom Custom, A2Pro, Hot Rails, Full Shred, Jazz and Humbucker From Hell, I could've dismissed them as a company just as easily.
"Too spongy and weak, too dark and smooth, too wooly and loud, too screechy, too scooped & clinical and too single coily bright". And 4 of those 6 are my actual experiences!

But I have a lot more experience with them and found a few gems; the afore mentioned Cream colored Les Paul Custom, that actually at some point went from a JB/59n set (considered a classic pairing, right? Not for me) to a GFS Crunchy PAF and Vintage '59 PAF (a lot cheaper, but gave me something that those first Duncans couldn't....) now houses a Custom/59 Hybrid bridge and a Pearly Gates neck. Awesome match. Before the PGn, there was a Dimarzio 36th Anniv PAF neck in there, which is just as good, just a tad different and I wanted this guitar to become full-Duncan. Same for my ESP Horizon NT-II; went from stock JB/59n to Custom5 bridge and Screamin' Demon neck. Apparently my ear (and quality of homework) for that swap was so good, it also made the other guitar player of my band switch out the Sentient and Pegasus of his brand new E-II Horizon to the Custom5 and Screamin' Demon. Just sayin'.

So, as I mentioned before, we're not going to see eye-to-eye on this.
Bye now.

 

[napalmdeath]

I solved my issue.. I traded my RG652 for a 5120. I wanted the 5120 from the get-go, a deal just fell through. I lucked out and fell into a 5120 this AM.. I wanted the Fluence Moderns and SS frets.. Yummy..

 

[anomaly]

Maybe try a Duncan Distortion or Custom? I love the Distortion and I got a Custom on the way so i'll let you know what I think of that one. The JB is a little loose in the lows but I don't find it shrill or anything like some people do.

 

[napalmdeath]

Maybe try a Duncan Distortion or Custom? I love the Distortion and I got a Custom on the way so i'll let you know what I think of that one. The JB is a little loose in the lows but I don't find it shrill or anything like some people do.

Can't go wrong with a Custom.