Passive or Active pickups?

[MWC262]

Hey guys, I just ordered my first Ibanez 7 string! a RG7320, yes I know they aren't the quality of the 7620 or 7420, but for $350 for a pretty minty guitar, shipping, and a case, I'll take it. I figured I'd post a NGD when it gets here, don't want to get in trouble

Anyways I was thinking of getting the Seymour Duncan Blackouts or spend a little more money and get the Mick Thompson Blackouts that just came out.

As for passives I would get the Dimarzio D Activators or CL/LF combo.

My first sevenstring and bass wood bodied guitar I've ever owned. All my guitars have been neck thru or set thru style with emg's, but I wanted to stray from the path a little.

Oh and my current rig is a Peavey 6505+ through a randall xl cab with V30's, with a Boss NS-2 of course. I'm playing progressive style metal, with massive breakdowns, alot of chugga chuggas, and fast picking for everyone who got the All Shall Perish joke. So something metal, but can clean up well too.

Thanks guys!

 

[mniel8195]

If the guitar sounds like crap you can hide that more behind active. Hope it doesn't. Emgs are notorious for making cheaper guitars sound better not sure if this is true with blacouts

 

[The Only Factor]

Well, if your used to guitars with EMG's or actives, then I'd go with a set of the D-Activator 7's for it. The DA's are extremely versatile and are awesome for anything and everything you'll throw at them and play with them. Not only do they have a lot of the tonality of actives, but they also have a LOT more versatility, dynamics and headroom in comparison, not to mention the tasty coil split options and tones you can get with them too. The thing that really sets these apart from a lot of other great passives is these are pick sensitive - meaning the harder you pick the more aggressive they get. The same for when you pick softer, the cleaner they get.

I'd had an RG7420 that I rebuilt from an almost trash can status and had put a set of these in it. Compared to an ESP LTD M107 I had with the EMG 707's (which was the best sounding guitar I'd ever owned...), the sound and tonality was a very, very close tie for 1st.

The ONLY thing I will tell you in advanced is to make sure you follow the wiring diagram for the RG7620 if you decide to use the Dimarzio's in your guitar. The stock Ibanez pickups are color coded and wired differently, so you won't be able to just swap the stock ones for the DiMarzio's without the tones and switch positions not working and/or sounding right... Since the 7620 came with the Dimarzio's AND the switch should still be the same in the 7320, this is the diagram to use. When your ready for the swap, here is the diagram you'll need:

Ibanez RG7 & S7 wiring diagram w/ 2 Humbuckers and Ibanez 5-way switch:

And from what I've been told and heard a lot of, the CrunchLab and LiquiFire set is really awesome in these too... Either set will not disappoint. But if you like the tonality of actives but want a little more dynamics, headroom and versatility, the DA's are a sure-fire win.

God luck and let us know how you make out!!!

 

[purpledc]

I would skip on the actives seeing the guitar you bought would need routing to get them to fit. If you want an active 7 Id just wait awhile and pick up a schecter damien on the cheap.

 

[Konfyouzd]

I'd go with the DiMarzio D-Activators.

Ibanezes seem to love DiMarzios

 

[Konfyouzd]

I would skip on the actives seeing the guitar you bought would need routing to get them to fit. If you want an active 7 Id just wait awhile and pick up a schecter damien on the cheap.

Blackouts...?

 

[Jason_Clement]

+1 for Blackouts <3

 

[Mega-Mads]

emty blackouts

 

[acexxxoasis]

Everyone told me not to do actives.
I'm glad I didn't listen. I LOVE MY Blackouts. They were exactly what I was assuming and thats a good thing.
+1 for blackouts either EMTY or regulars.

 

[axxessdenied]

I prefer passives for distorted tones.

 

[Adrian-XI]

Actives or passives? Depends which crowd you wanna fit in with...

Seriously though, it's purely personal preference, I prefer passives.

 

[flint757]

I prefer passives personally. More dynamics and I have high gain amps so the extra power just causes me more headache rather than better tone for my purposes.

Not to derail (but making a thread to ask this would be silly) what uses can someone make of a battery compartment once they go passive? It feels so wasted since you know the wood is routed for it and all.

 

[mniel8195]

I never understood needing the power of actives with the amount of gain you can get out of amps and overdriven today. I really would love to hear a comparison of the d activator vs the blackhawk

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

I never understood needing the power of actives with the amount of gain you can get out of amps and overdriven today. I really would love to hear a comparison of the d activator vs the blackhawk

Some of us just like how they sound and the compression, regardless about how much gain the pickups have. Just turn the gain knob down.

 

[MWC262]

Well, if your used to guitars with EMG's or actives, then I'd go with a set of the D-Activator 7's for it. The DA's are extremely versatile and are awesome for anything and everything you'll throw at them and play with them. Not only do they have a lot of the tonality of actives, but they also have a LOT more versatility, dynamics and headroom in comparison, not to mention the tasty coil split options and tones you can get with them too. The thing that really sets these apart from a lot of other great passives is these are pick sensitive - meaning the harder you pick the more aggressive they get. The same for when you pick softer, the cleaner they get.

Can you coil split the CL/LF? The 7320 has a 5 way that coil splits the Ibby pickups. So I might go passive, but I am hearing nothing but good reviews about the Blackouts. If I could coil split the Blackouts that would help. Plus I'll be tuning to drop G, so would the passives get muddy?

 

[-OTW-]

Any guitar stores nearby to compare? Thats the only way to know for sure.

I use a vht and actives duncan (hmet). Sounds beastly, however when i had a 6505+ i preferred my ibanez that had passives.

 

[1b4n3z]

I'm swapping between EMGs (81 and 85) and Blackouts here, trying to decide which work better in my SL2H. To me it seems the EMG tone is all preamp and little else - X series too - while Blackouts sound like passive pickups through a clean boost. However I've found passives to deliver my tone better still.

 

[Semichastny]

Actives and Blackouts. I get amazing cleans and great distorted tones with them so I've seen no need to consider anything else.

 

[quoenusz]

passive are more natural sounding and EMG's just have loads of output

but the blackouts are a good choice, a bit of both i guess

 

[Wrecklyss]

Not to derail (but making a thread to ask this would be silly) what uses can someone make of a battery compartment once they go passive? It feels so wasted since you know the wood is routed for it and all.

If you have a locking tremolo, you can store allen wrenches in the battery compartment.