Random3

Hi guys.

I put a thread up about this a couple of months back and have since been rethinking my options.

I have an Ibanez RG2570Z Prestige with the stock DiMarzio IBZ pickups. I would like to swap the neck and bridge out for some pickups more specific to what I play.

I mainly play Satriani, Vai, Dream Theater and occasionally some other genres on this guitar. I am using a Peavey 6505 head with a Marshall 1960AV cab.

For the bridge I would like something thick and heavy, but still plenty of note clarity. I have been considering the following:

Crunch Lab
Gravity Storm
Tone Zone


For the neck I want plenty of sustain, something with a medium output and capable of handling some cleans. Is have been considering:

Air Norton
LiquiFire
As well as the Mo' Joe, PAF Joe and PAF Pro, although I do not fully understand the differences between these.

Currently I am thinking my best options would be the Crunch Lab and PAF Joe, but I am wondering if anyone can either offer other suggestions or give their view off my choices.

Thanks guys.

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Dave_Mc

i would probably go lower output than what you're looking at. I haven't tried the crunch lab or gravity storm, but i'd have said the tone zone would be the hottest i'd be looking at for what you want- satriani is medium output, and so is early vai. Even later vai isn't that hot (and can be handled with e.g. paf pros). Especially when you have a 6505.

I'm tempted to say a norton, except i haven't tried it. but it's smack between the tone zone and paf pro in terms of output, and as i said, i suspect the tone zone is maybe a little hot and dark (overkill in other words) while the paf pro is maybe a little light on output (fine for satch and vai, but maybe pushing it for DT). That being said, if you're willing to use a boost it'd probably be fine (and it's pretty versatile, though it does have a pretty modern, clear tone despite its low output).

i wouldn't worry about the neck pickup until you decide on the bridge, because you'd probably want something that matches. From what i can remember, the paf pro is slightly lower output and a little brighter than the air norton which is warmer.

EDIT; just checked the dimarzio site, apparently the gravity storm isn't that hot. it might be worth considering, too (if it's not overkill in terms of its eq curve). However, if you want a range of tones i'm not sure a signature pickup is the best idea.

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JLT73

The norton is a great recommendation. Its medium output and a great all around pup.

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steven seagull

Norton or Breed in the bridge, probably an Air Norton in the neck or maybe an Air Zone.

The Breed will definitely do thick, heavy and clear.

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DarthV

The Mo' Joe is a bridge pickup, so scratch that off your neck pup list (plus I find it to be noisy!)! I have crunchlab+liqui in my rga121, the mo'joe+pafjoe in my s540 and tonezone+airnorton in my rg3570. Out of the neck pickups, I'd take the air norton. For the bridge, probably the crunchlab. But that's just me

The IBZ pups aren't too bad, much better than the v7/v8 pair in the 'lower end' prestiges.

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Dave_Mc

ah just realised, the paf pro is slightly hotter than an air norton. aside from that, what i said holds.

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MrFlibble

'Heavy' applies to the amp and your playing style, not the pickup. Thick and clarity are hard to get in the same pickup, but there are a few. For your guitar, I'd go with a DM Super Distortion (plain strings can sound a bit shrill), SD Alternative 8 (wound strings can sound a bit soft) or DM Breed (can be a bit mid-heavy for some people, so you need to remember to dial in your amp's EQ section a little differently when using it).
The key is to place the pickup further from the strings than you usually would. It can be tempting to put them near the strings for maximum output, but by placing them further away you'll get much better response and clarity; the three pickups I've mentioned are all powerful enough to still have medium-high output even when placed further from the strings.


Sustain has nothing to do with your pickups, other than placing pickups too close to the strings can shorten sustain; "handling cleans" doesn't even make sense, it's not like a pickup is going to catch fire if you dare try to use it with your amp's gain set to 1. I know what you're getting at, just and use more useful phrasing in future.
Anyway, SD Jazz, DM PAF Pro or SD Full Shred are going to be your best bets. There is also the old SD JB neck model, though they don't produce this any more to the best of my knowledge. All of these are typical, mid-output neck pickups with just a touch increase in brightness compared to most. The Full Shred and PAF Pro have a slightly snappier tone to them, due to the hex pole pieces, which can help if you crank the bass, mids and gain all really high, but this does mean they can be very slightly flat-sounding when the gain is turned down; the Jazz and JB Neck keep more character with low, medium and normal high gain, but with really extremely high gain and bass the wound strings can get just a tiny bit boomy.

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Dave_Mc

are you really saying that the output (and maybe more importantly, voicing) of a pickup has no bearing on how well it handles heavy distortion and cleans?

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Supernaut2k

Tone Zone is an interesting pickup, it's not actually massively high output, it's really like a souped up PAF with the mids and bottom turned to eleven. It sounds great if you tend to have a nice snappy attack to your picking (using a thin gauge pick for example).

Dave_Mc

the tone zone is pretty hot, to be fair. it's no EMG, but (IMO anyway) it's definitely in the "hot" camp.

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Supernaut2k

It's pretty hot, but not "too hot", if it were a curry it would be a rogan josh as opposed to a vindaloo.

Dave_Mc

i dunno i mean it depends on what you want it for. it's "too hot" for vintage tones, really. granted it's fairly versatile considering how hot it is. But yeah.

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progdude93

I've got an Air Norton in the neck of my Warmoth, and it's really nice. Quite versatile. And I'd go with the D Sonic in the bridge, but Crunch Lab would be my second choice.

oneblackened

are you only looking at Dimarzios or are you okay with other brands?

I happen to quite like my Duncan JB for that kind of sound. It doesn't have tons of output (despite the winding to 16k), but it is rather bright.

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VanTheKraut

I've been here too long when I can predict exactly what the responses are going to be for this question. The Norton and Air Norton are two of my favorites from DiMarzio. You might think about an SD Pearly Gates or Custom. (Not a custom shop pickup, SD has a series of pups called the "Custom," "Custom V", "Custom II," and "Custom Custom." Which one really depends on your ear and the guitar it's going into. Do some homework and don't limit yourself to just DiMarzio.

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