Roadster - what pick ups?

[Stumblefly]

Hello,
I just grabbed an Ibanez AX1220bkk prestige (mohogany body)off of Flea bay - and I really like the feel of the guitar but feel it needs something in the pick up department it came with a V7 and a V8 - but my other guitar Ibanez RG?? sounds like it has more balls. The music we play is metal with ocasional clean so the neck pick up is important too- not sure what I should be looking for - :?

 

[LithiumZero]

I have an Ibanez Prestige RGA121 and replaced the bridge pup with a Dimarzio Breed. The stock pickup was pretty shrill. Love the Dimarzio in there. It's a bit dark but allows you to use the presence control on the amp. Before changing it I just had the presence set at zero and it was still ear piercing.

 

[JMMP]

If your pickups are mounted in a pickup ring, try raising them to get more punch first. Cheap free solution that could work. If not, I suggest not getting pickups that have too much bass. I love my MM JP6, but i find it has too much bass with the roadster and the CL/LF pickups. My firebird with the gibson 490r/498t pickups sounds great through the roadster, and I think those are PAF inspired. Maybe more rock sounding than metal, but they sound great nonetheless.

 

[Stumblefly]

Cool, Great advice- I play metal, thrash rhythm mostly - I want something that will be the perfect match for my beloved Mesa roadster- I want people to say holy sh*# that thing sounds bad ass! keep the suggestions flowing - I am leaning towards the dimarzio's - it seems I could get a set for about 125-150$ - just alot of different models - kind of confusing :?

 

[deeman]

I'll put in a vote for the 490r 498t combo. Try out a guitar that has them, My Les Paul Studio has them. I like the sound I get with them and my Dual Rec.

 

[JCDenton6]

Ceramic magnet pickups work hand in hand with a Recto, so far I love the sound of an EMG 81 wired @ 18 volts through my Triple.
Any ceramic passive should sound great too if you don't want to go down the active pickup route.

 

[YellowJacket]

Bare Knuckle pickups!!!

I've been itching to try a set of Juggernaughts in a super strat but I have no gear money...

 

[afu]

I looked that up and it's a mahogany body. The recommendations above for the Gibson pickups are good. If you decide to go active, the EMG Hetfield pickups are awesome. Not as compressed as the old EMGs and not at all sterile. It sounds like they zeroed in on getting a passive sound and then worked on the punch and clarity of the active sound. I have them in two guitars and I've put them in a customer's Gibson SG. The neck pickup is smooth. The bridge pickup slams, but cleans up as you dial it back. If I switch from a metal song to a hard rock song without changing guitars, I just dial the volume back a touch and it does great. On my Dual Rec, I can switch channels and adjust the volume slightly for a variety of sounds. Adjusting the tone knob gets good tones, too.

My LTD is neck-through maple with mahogany wings and a rosewood fretboard. I have a Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz set in it. I also love that set for the heavier woods. The maple makes the pickups snap a little more, but they're basically made for a mahogany body.

 

[Niloy63]

I looked that up and it's a mahogany body. The recommendations above for the Gibson pickups are good. If you decide to go active, the EMG Hetfield pickups are awesome. Not as compressed as the old EMGs and not at all sterile. It sounds like they zeroed in on getting a passive sound and then worked on the punch and clarity of the active sound. I have them in two guitars and I've put them in a customer's Gibson SG. The neck pickup is smooth. The bridge pickup slams, but cleans up as you dial it back. If I switch from a metal song to a hard rock song without changing guitars, I just dial the volume back a touch and it does great. On my Dual Rec, I can switch channels and adjust the volume slightly for a variety of sounds. Adjusting the tone knob gets good tones, too.

My LTD is neck-through maple with mahogany wings and a rosewood fretboard. I have a Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz set in it. I also love that set for the heavier woods. The maple makes the pickups snap a little more, but they're basically made for a mahogany body.

I highly recommend Seymour Duncan, especially a Custom (SH-5) in the bridge and a Pearly Gates (SH-PG1n) in the neck in most mahogany body guitars. If you were able to coil tap the Pearly Gates, even better! The Custom/PG combo is my go to set in a Les Paul, and it sounds killer running into my Roadster! Add a bit of chorus, on the clean channel, and coil tap the Pearly Gates neck p'up, and I'm in tonal heaven. No joke! Not to mention, the Pearly Gates neck happens to be, in my opinion, one of the best pickups for lead guitar tones. And when I need to get rowdy, the Custom screams through Channels 3 & 4. Again, I definitely recommend these two bad boys. I personally am not a big fan of Gibson p'ups. Burstbuckers/490/498/500/57... I find them a bit stale. And I'm not too into Dimarzios either. I'd try Bareknuckles if they weren't so damn expensive! All in all, I trust Duncan pickups. They sound great, and they're reasonably priced!