Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

Ok, let me start by saying I normally use an EMG 60 (n)
and 81 (b) set-up on my guitars. I have the Zakk Wylde set on another guitar and an 81/81 set up too. I just picked up a Ibanez SZ520 and want to swap out for something different, I have an Ibanez Prestige with the V7/S1/V8 set up, sounds great, thinking of ordering a V7/V8. Got looking and found the Inf set-up but which ones to run? Then the option on a duncan set up poped in my head....maybe a dimebucker?? But what to run with it at the neck?? I just want something different on this set up so gimme a hand!

Well, I've always been a DiMazio fan (the set on my Ibanez Artist 250 got me hooked), but I'll give it a shot

Go with the Dimebucker in the bridge slot, with the EMG in the neck slot. Should give you a good vareity, especially when you use both.

Alright, So I have a dimebucker, now, what for the neck? I don't want to do another EMG on this guitar....Im stuck between the Duncan Pearly Gates and Invader. Any suggestions?

Had an Invader in the neck with a EMG 81 bridge on a strat. The Invader sounded great in that position. Should make a great match for a Dimebucker in the bridge.

OK here my 2 cents on pickups...
Used to use a semour duncan live wire back when I was into shred...
have used EMG's and it's pretty much the bible if you are shredding...
but I have had a lot of guitars over the years, and I worked at a music store for 5years where I would teach guitar lessons on a different guitar from the store every day... I love p90's, minihumbuckers, pafs, lipstick tubes, lace sensors, rails, alnico-pros, riograndes, customshop-texas, fat50's, that lonestar bucker, the motherbucker, those strage offset strat pickups found only on certain older gandl models, seth-lovers... and I could go on but I won't. Oh yes I will: I've wired up so many guitars so many different ways I don't think there is a trick in the book I haven't heard of... phase pot, phase switch, humbucker tap, high rollof, cap on the vol, those crazy six way megaswitches, those crazy rotary switches they put in paul reed smiths, piezo bridge, master vol on a Les paul, YOU NAME IT I HAVE WIRED IT UP AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER
Each and every one has a unique sound by itself, against others, in/out of phase, with tone know rolled off, etc, etc.
My absolute favorite pickup setup is one that I have never touched... it is in my 1989 jem 77 fp. It is a dimarzio paf pro in the bridge and neck and a dimarzio (impossible to aquire) fp1? - single coil between them. The beauty of ibanez is in the 5 way switch. They use their five way to ground out the middle coil on the humbuckers in the 2 and 4 position respectively. It is perhaps the most versatile of all guitar pickup configs I have ever encountered (with the least amount of switches).
Keep in mind that I prefer the sound of passive pickups to active ones on guitar... if you've got a prestige... and it has the humsinglehum setup... you've probably got pretty close to that...
So you have a dimebucker... you are going to want something moderately high in output for any and all other positions... perhaps one of those dbl dbl rails semour duncan makes... but in order to effectively use the wiring in this guitar (assuming it's hum single hum too?) you'd wanna go with a straight humbucker...
pearly gates is nice but it's pretty low output in comparison...
the invador... that's that one with the chrome rails? -I'd go with that.

Hey bro, I dont think the Dime's for you....I mean if you like how the EMG cuts, and the mid punch, then I'd steer away from the Dimebucker (they're nasally as sh*t !!, almost like a crybaby set at it's least musical spot).

The sweetest Bridge Pickups from Duncan for that Ibanez would be the TB10 Full Shred , or the TB6 Distortion .... here's another tip: The TB6 sounds smoother & creamier if you get the nickel/gold cover for it...I'm sure the metal cover helps spread the magnetic field around and alleviate any harshness. The Full Shred is the closest thing to an EMG that's not active, and basically has the same power as a TB6 but with more highs.. Don't get me started on the Duncan Live Wires....they remind me of the sound of Broken Glass...

For the neck ?...hmmm...someone suggested an Invader ?...yikes ! MUD CITY !! Hell, it's too fat for the Bridge position, let alone the Neck !
I'd HIGHLY recommend the Zebra SH Pearly Gates (not TB) ...Zebra's always look amazing in neck positions...hehheh..
The pearly Gates has the Alnico-type hi-end sizzle that is like icing on the cake for leads ,whether clean or distorted....Like the Duncan Alnico II pro, but sweeter.

Talk about sweet : The Uber-Rare pickups called ULTRASONIC are right up there with Joe Bardens, and Fralin's ...but look like EMG's....
Keep an eye out for those too.... you may grow into them in a few years.

Rawk ON Bro !!.

hmmmm, a Dime bucker, and an Invader, great for picking up short wave radio.......ahahahhhhaaaa!
........but really, try a Duncan Distortion (the orig one) for the bridge, and a Duncan Jazz for the neck. These two sound really good, the Jazz will give clean, even, sweet tone, and the Distortion's output is killer............and you won't scramble the neighbors TV

...........Just another opinion............Keep it Kill!

i'd stick with EMG's, myself. The 60 is great in the mid or neck position. I used 81s for years, but switched to 85s in the bridge. The 81s have a warmer bottom, but the 85s are "sharper" and are great for hi gain crunch (I'm using a Rocktron Piranha).

The EMGs are also nice because they're sunk in epoxy (or whatever) so pickup squeel at high volumes is more easily controlled. I won't use anything else.

If you want it to sound different, it's really all in the fingers.

...sometimes many factors determine a guitars individual voice . Wood such as Bass wood, Alder, Ash , Mahogany , Maple have different effects on tonal transfer.
The tremolo and or bridge also is a major factor. If the bridge is made of grade 2 metal ("pot metal") , you'll maintain lots of bass and mid frequencies with nice highs. Harden Grade Eight metals and steels will restrict bass and enhance higher mid frequencies and give lots of higher frequency responce. I noticed the difference between the (Harden grade 5 or Eight) "Original" Floyd Rose and the "copy" licenced Floyds ( usually made of grade 2 steel).
Now you gotta consider the nut , is it made of Bone, plastic, brass, or the locking type.............man I was so confused till I started noticing those factors

Ok, let me start by saying I normally use an EMG 60 (n)
and 81 (b) set-up on my guitars. I have the Zakk Wylde set on another guitar and an 81/81 set up too. I just picked up a Ibanez SZ520 and want to swap out for something different, I have an Ibanez Prestige with the V7/S1/V8 set up, sounds great, thinking of ordering a V7/V8. Got looking and found the Inf set-up but which ones to run? Then the option on a duncan set up poped in my head....maybe a dimebucker?? But what to run with it at the neck?? I just want something different on this set up so gimme a hand!

....Hehehe, in about four years, this guy (like many of us) will have a big box full of pick ups, waiting to get installed

Heck before you trash the pickups try using the tone control and volume control on the guitar. I play Les Pauls and have a huge array of sounds just waiting in the guitar to be had.

I havent had an EMG pickup in years. I prefer Dimarzios 1st and Seymour Duncans second as replacement pickups.

Good Luck and mess around with what you have a little more if you havent already.

I think tone has more to do with the way you play the guitar and set up the controls than just changing the pickups.

JW, you're half right, imo. But pickups, in general, change the way you sound. It's up to you to get the best sound out of it (like you said).
My buddy had some old pickups and I thought he sounded okay. He hooked EMGs up and it breathed life through the guitar.