Looking for a pickup upgrade.

[SpaseMoonkey]

Alright Hello All!

- Guitar -
Ibanez S770PB

- Specs -
Mahogany body
Poplar burl top
Bolt-on Wizard II 3-piece maple neck
Rosewood fingerboard

I'm still running the stock pickups which I dislike because they sound very narrow in sound. I'm looking into changing that, because I love the guitar why not have the sound be as loving.

I've used EMGs in the past usually 81/85 or the JH 81/60 set. Which I am fine with using them. But due to the guitar being a H-S-H setup, I would just throw away cash to replace the middle pickup just so they match. Which instead of that I could just get a nicer set of pickups.

I've been staring down EMGs, a set of Evos, or adventuring into the great realm of BKP.

Music styles, I listen to mainly metal. Metallica, Dethklok, Cannibal Corpse, SYL, Children of Bodom, Periphery, Aeon, Gwar, Feared, Jeff Loomis, and Buckethead to list some of my every day music.

I know over half of them tend to use EMGs. But I would really like something that is very accurate and tight but have a nice organic open rich sound. I've been reading into other posts and they list Aftermath, PainKillers, and NailBombs.

If anyone has direction of what to look into for this type of guitar, much thanks in advance.

SpaseMoonkey.

 

[Whammy]

A full set of Evos I love the Evo bridge.
The DiMarzio ISCV2 for the single coil (Steve Vai's single coil so it splits perfectly with the Evos)

If going BKP I found the Painkiller to sound great in similar guitars. IMO it's the Painkiller is very close in sound to the Evo. But I prefer the Evo. Out of the two the Painkiller is the harshest in the high end.

Another BKP option which also works great in this scenario is the BlackHawk.

I'd consider the BlackHawk or Painkiller before the Aftermath or Nailbomb.

 

[focusbob]

If youre budget minded i find dactivators do the trick..

 

[SpaseMoonkey]

Budget isn't in mind. Shooting somewhere in the 300 and under range.

I don't use the middle pickup, but then again it could be due to it sucking so much as stock.

@ Whammy: I have actually heard a set of Evos in a S before sounded really nice. But when I think of that would I go that or maybe the Evo Neck/Evo 2 Bridge setup instead? They are pretty close in output power so I thought they may blend better together.

@focusbob I've actually thought of doing the D-Activator but was wondering should I do standard or X, and they seem to be a sister pickup to the X2N. Which I've wondered about for years.

Those are actually the sets that make me think I can get a greater tone on the budget.

I use to own a set of Liquifire/Crunch Lab, they sounded good but I want something with a bit more snap to them. Kind of enjoying my RGD2127z where it has that bit of a added clarity due to the scale length.

So now we are in the area of Evo/Evo2 , D-Activator/X , X2N , BlackHawk. Shoulda asked this months ago!

 

[MBMoreno]

I've got a Guitar with Evos and another with Aftermaths. Love both. I think you would love the Evos on your guitar, but the Aftermaths (or any other BKP) is on another level - they're way more balanced across the whole neck and everything sounds great on them, from clean to way too much gain. That being said, I recommend either set, but I think I am not likely to buy any other thing than BKPs in the future.

PS: I tried the Evo 2 and didn't like it as much as the regular Evo. I find the regular Evo to be snappier and more versatile.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

BKP Black Hawks and Dimarzio D-Activators both have really wide frequency ranges, since you said you don't like how narrow the stock PU's sound.

I've never used the BH, but I can vouch for the D-Activator especially if you already like the EMG sort of sound

 

[SpaseMoonkey]

@MBMoreno: Thanks for that, I always wondered. You know how it is, you see a new number and tend to think it's more improved upon when it really is of a different taste. I have been looking at the Blackhawks, checked the video Nolly did and it really has this Hi-Fi sound to them. Really like that, seems like it would be better for recording.

@TheWarAgainstTime: I've read a lot of rave reviews of the D-Activators. I've honestly thought of tossing one in the bridge of my RGD, it has better pickups but I think that would even take it to the next level of sound.


Edit: So after hearing more clips I chose Black Hawks, much thanks for every ones help!