Help me choose pickups for my second RG550 Genesis in D standard

[Stiman]

@Stiman Have you looked into the Super 3 at all? Essentially a darker, tighter and more compressed Super Distortion. A lot of people would say the bass and low-mid ratings should be swapped over on DiMarzio's EQ graph.

Have not. There are so many options, I need to limit it as some point and just pick. It seems like it's more about avoiding a bad choice, rather than making the optimal choice, given that there's no reasonable way to go to a store and try out 10 different pickups in a similar guitar and the same rig. That would be super amazing though, if it was possible.

 

[Asdrael]

And don't forget: your picking hand is half of what the pickup will sound like. Demos, graph are great but a pickup that doesn't react well to your hand is worthless.

Here is what I do when pickup swapping:

I make a shortish (3 to 5 pickups) list of what is interesting for me.
I scout Reverb and the likes.
Pull the trigger on what seems to be a good deal within that list.
Mount the pickup, give them a fair chance
Either be happy or start over with a modified list.

Seems to me you already have a list so unless you are dead set on buying new, time to start hunting.

A pickup swap is the second easiest thing you can make to your guitar to change its tone. The first one being changing pickup height. (And not counting amp, speaker, pedals, and of course the knobs on the guitar, pedals, and amp).

 

[Dumple Stilzkin]

Sounds to me like you are describing the Tone Zone. I love it in the bridge of my Genesis 550.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

I've watched this one, and many of those comparison videos. As great as they are, it's still tough to really suss out the differences.

I can hear clear differences in that particular video, which match my personal experiences with those particular pickups.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

And don't forget: your picking hand is half of what the pickup will sound like. Demos, graph are great but a pickup that doesn't react well to your hand is worthless.

Here is what I do when pickup swapping:

I make a shortish (3 to 5 pickups) list of what is interesting for me.
I scout Reverb and the likes.
Pull the trigger on what seems to be a good deal within that list.
Mount the pickup, give them a fair chance
Either be happy or start over with a modified list.

Seems to me you already have a list so unless you are dead set on buying new, time to start hunting.

A pickup swap is the second easiest thing you can make to your guitar to change its tone. The first one being changing pickup height. (And not counting amp, speaker, pedals, and of course the knobs on the guitar, pedals, and amp).

And not counting using different picks. I notice a distinct difference between the tone and pick attack noise of the various thicknesses and materials of Jazz III picks. Primetone & Tortex are relatively warm / soft sounding, while others are brighter with a more aggressive attack (I find that Ultex really chirps).

 

[Stiman]

Primetone & Tortex are relatively warm / soft sounding, while others are brighter with a more aggressive attack (I find that Ultex really chirps).

It's interesting given that the Primtone picks are made of Ultex. But I agree with you completely. Using the Primetone Jazz III vs the Ultex Jazz III (no bevel), tthe non-bevelled Jazz III does sound different. I really like the Andy James and Petrucci Flow picks too, but they are a bit chirpy. I can't get along with Tortex, they slip out of my hands too easily unlike the smooth Flow Ultex picks...

It's one of those 'sum of the parts" thing. It's likely that my preferred tone for playing is far too smooth and warm to be good in the mix when recording. I'm not at the stage of having final mixes of any of my material, but I may end up having to brighten up my tone to sound good in a mix.

 

[Necky379]

I voted Tone Zone / Air Norton

If JB / Screamin Demon was up there I would’ve voted for that. You did say you wanted dark though, neither of those are dark. I think Super D and 36th Anniversary or PAF Pro would also be good to consider but you’ll probably like the TZ/AN combo. I’ve swapped a bunch of pickups, my 570 has a JB bridge Demon neck.

 

[broj15]

If I were you, looking for overall darker tone, playing in D Standard on Ibanez RG550, and not going into super heavy stuff, I'd go for good old Super Distortion in the bridge, and anything from your list in the neck. Probably, i'd prefer Air Norton though. Super Distortion is quite versatile pickup, which is equally at home in almost any guitar and many modern genres.

Also, I would consider Tone Zone, X2N (old version only).

Props to shouting out the older X2N (power plus). I have them in the bridge in a couple guitars and it rips.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

It's interesting given that the Primtone picks are made of Ultex. But I agree with you completely. Using the Primetone Jazz III vs the Ultex Jazz III (no bevel), tthe non-bevelled Jazz III does sound different. I really like the Andy James and Petrucci Flow picks too, but they are a bit chirpy. I can't get along with Tortex, they slip out of my hands too easily unlike the smooth Flow Ultex picks...

It's one of those 'sum of the parts" thing. It's likely that my preferred tone for playing is far too smooth and warm to be good in the mix when recording. I'm not at the stage of having final mixes of any of my material, but I may end up having to brighten up my tone to sound good in a mix.

Once an Ultex Jazz III has worn to a similar bevel (they wear annoyingly fast IME), it still has a much chirpier attack than a bevelled Primetone Jazz III.

Btw I was talking about the "standard" yellow 1.38mm Ultex Jazz III. The black 2.0mm variant looks, feels and sounds like a different polymer (just as the Primetone does, but in the opposite direction tonally), despite being marketed as "Ultex".



I find the difference to be far more significant than between the nylon Jazz III variants (standard red vs. black 'stiffo' vs. titanium), although I notice a clear difference between those too. I understand the titanium variant being stiffer and brighter, but not why the black 'stiffo' variant is stiffer and brighter than the red variant, when the only difference is supposedly the dye in the nylon (same thickness and same polymer). I have some signature Tortex picks, which were thrown into the crowd at gigs, that are a different colour to the standard Tortex pick of the same thickness and they behave the same (e.g. green 0.88mm Tortex vs. black Gojira 0.88mm Tortex).

I've gone off on a bit of a tangent, but perhaps something to consider when your tone is almost but not quite where you want it.

 

[Stiman]

Once an Ultex Jazz III has worn to a similar bevel (they wear annoyingly fast IME), it still has a much chirpier attack than a bevelled Primetone Jazz III.

Yeah, I can see that. For me, all Ultex picks last forever, so I'm probably a relatively light picker.

Btw I was talking about the "standard" yellow 1.38mm Ultex Jazz III.

I was too. I should have mentioned that I meant the yellow Ultex Jazz III. That black 2.0 was a real disappointment when I first tried it. Sounds and feels worlds apart from the yellow one.

but perhaps something to consider when your tone is almost but not quite where you want it.

I play around with different picks a lot. My current go-to is the Petrucci Primetone Jazz III. It's essentially the same as the Primetone Jazz III grip, but the grip is different and I prefer it. The Primetone grip is too aggressive IMO. I also use the Andy James and Petrucci Flow picks, mostly because the regular Flow picks have too aggressive of grip, and Ultex is perfectly grippy enough without physical bumps IMO. If they cam out with non-grippy Flow picks I would use them instead because they would be cheaper than these signature picks. Can't use anything Tortex, too slippery for me.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Yeah, I can see that. For me, all Ultex picks last forever, so I'm probably a relatively light picker.

I find that nylon Jazz III picks last pretty much forever, whereas Ultex Jazz III picks wear down faster than any other material I've used.

 

[primitiverebelworld]

I have Tonezone in rg331 basswood+maple fb. You could not wish for more musical and singing bridge pup for leads. LOve it. Almost no need for neck pup most of the time. For rythm its ok, still quite smooth not brutal and definitely does not like anything lower than D.
I have Liquifire in neck that was chosen over Air Norton(not tested but looked too vintage warm on paper). You could go Paf Pro neck too - Per Nilsson used to play that in Scar Symmetry(correct me if not) - sounded great but then again its P.Nilsson

 

[Neon_Knight_]

I have Tonezone in rg331 basswood+maple fb. You could not wish for more musical and singing bridge pup for leads. LOve it. Almost no need for neck pup most of the time. For rythm its ok, still quite smooth not brutal and definitely does not like anything lower than D.

I completely agree with this (based on experience of the Tone Zone in RG655 & RG652). I can see how it would be ideal for leads for some people, but it's essentially voiced how I like my neck pickup to sound. I choose my pickups to that I can use my bridge pickup for agressive, punchy rhythm and more cutting / jarring leads & solos (e.g. a lot of thrash & OSDM solos sound better on an aggresive bridge pickup)...and then to switch to the neck when I want a slightly smoother tone, without having to engage a pedal or change my amp settings to get my desired tone.

 

[primitiverebelworld]

I completely agree with this (based on experience of the Tone Zone in RG655 & RG652). I can see how it would be i deal for leads for some people, but it's essentially voiced how I like my neck pickup to sound. I choose my pickups to that I can use m

y bridge pickup for agressive, punchy rhythm and more cutting / jarring leads & solos (e.g. a lot of thrash & OSDM solos sound better on an aggresive bridge pickup)...and then to switch to the neck when I want a slightly smoother tone, without having to engage a pedal or change my amp settings to get my desired tone.

I completely agree with this (based on experience of the Tone Zone in RG655 & RG652). I can see how it would be ideal for leads for some people, but it's essentially voiced how I like my neck pickup to sound. I choose my pickups to that I can use my bridge pickup for agressive, punchy rhythm and more cutting / jarring leads & solos (e.g. a lot of thrash & OSDM solos sound better on an aggresive bridge pickup)...and then to switch to the neck when I want a slightly smoother tone, without having to engage a pedal or change my amp settings to get my desired

I completely agree with this (based on experience of the Tone Zone in RG655 & RG652). I can see how it would be ideal for leads for some people, but it's essentially voiced how I like my neck pickup to sound. I choose my pickups to that I can use my bridge pickup for agressive, punchy rhythm and more cutting / jarring leads & solos (e.g. a lot of thrash & OSDM solos sound better on an aggresive bridge pickup)...and then to switch to the neck when I want a slightly smoother tone, without having to engage a pedal or change my amp settings to get my desired tone.

Aah... The rg652... That axe is noish

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Aah... The rg652... That axe is noish

Mines a Galaxy Black RG652FX.

 

[OneTwoThrill]

Without knowing all them all, it's tricky to give an advice.
We are both into quite the same music style so I propose my experience.
EVO : had them on an RG470 made in Japan in the late 90's. Too shrill to me. To much gain but real precise pickups.
TONE ZONE+AIR NORTON has always been a great combination. Well balanced, they let all the nuances alive and they do not deliver too much gain.
DC/RM : I don't know at all. I just ordered them, 5 min ago. 1 month to wait and I will tell.

 

[Stiman]

Ok so, I went ahead and ordered the Tone Zone and Air Norton. I'll report back once I have them in.


What I am wondering though, is if I want the TZ + AN in my E standard RG550, and put the Gravity Storm set in the D standard RG550

 

[Neon_Knight_]

What I am wondering though, is if I want the TZ + AN in my E standard RG550, and put the Gravity Storm set in the D standard RG550

Good job it would only take a quick restring & retune to find out

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

Good job it would only take a quick restring & retune to find out

It might even be possible to just dive the bridge down and make enough slack to remove the entire pickguard from under the strings. Or block the bridge, unlock the nut, and loosen the strings from the tuning pegs if you need more space.

Not the most elegant solution, but it would be a lot faster to swap the pickguard/electronics as a unit and only have to desolder the jack/bridge ground and tune back up each time vs doing a full setup between tunings. I don't have any guitars with everything mounted on a pickguard, but I've done this a bunch of times on guitars with direct-mounted pickups or rings.

 

[Marked Man]

D Activator bridge all day.

Also, either bypass the tone control or install a No Load with detent just before 10/full treble. As far as I'm concerned, any HB guitar is better with full blast treble. And this is the only way I will use the Tone Zone at all, but it makes all pickups meaner.