Changing the bridge pickup of my Ibanez RG7620. Evo7 or DA7?

[Innervision]

Hi,

I have an Ibanez RG7620 with stock pickups (new7 I guess). I like the one in the neck position, but I think my tone could benefit from a pickup replacement. I'm quite hesitating between the Evolution 7 DP704 and the D Activator 7 Bridge DP720 both for the bridge position. I mainly play rhythm stuff like Fear Factory, Meshuggah and Korn with this guitar.

1/ So which one do you think would sound best for this kind of playing?

2/ I like the tone of the new7 in neck position but there may be a huge output gap between a new7 and a DA7. So is keeping the new7 in neck a good idea or should I also replace it?

 

[meambobbo]

2) You could always try to move the neck a little closer to the strings than usual and move the bridge slightly further away. You can get a some change in output before you start to get any major tonal changes.

Neck pickups tend to sound louder to me than bridge pickups anyway. I would try it before deciding to swap it.

As to (1), my guess would be for the DA. I figure the Evo is a bit smoother and would get you a slightly looser distortion. Meshuggah/Fear Factory demand super tight and djenty. I certainly wouldn't complain about either pickup, but I think if your main focus is towards fast, heavy rhythm playing, the DA has the edge.

 

[leechmasterargentina]

I agree with meandbobbo; Evos won't bring you the power you need to play the styles you mentioned. D-Activators is all you need. I installed them 2 days ago and they live up to their reputation. Believe me when I say that my guitar sound has nothing to envy to the bands you mentioned.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd recomend the DA over the Evo. The evo has a kind of weird tone to it and not as much output as the DA. Also pickups in the neck position will sound a little louder sometimes becuase the strings are louder in that area, you can try lowering the pup in the neck if its a really bad gap.
Hope this helps you some.

 

[stuglue]

I'm going to watch this thread with interest. I've got an alderbody 7 string with an Evo 7 in the bridge its got plenty of bite and crunch. I have a D Activator 7 and I don't know whether to take the evo out and put the activator in.

 

[DavidLopezJr]

I love the Evo but the Dactivator will have the aggression you want.

 

[Given To Fly]

I'm sure either would work fine. I have never tried the Evo7 but I imagine the specs are similar to the 6 string version. Whenever I play a Jem, the Evo's remind me what a great passive pickup sounds like! I think an Evo bridge pickup can handle anything and its freakishly weird how easily harmonics (of all sorts) jump off the strings. But like I said, I'm sure either would work fine.