synystersolo
Member
What picups should i change to? I am thinking of duncans or dimarzios. I play classic rock, christian rock, alternative, hard rock and a little metal. I want a thick sound even on those high notes when shredding. Thanks guys.
What Picups For An Ibanez Rg550
- Thread starter synystersolo
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HarrisonYeo
New member
Dimarzio Super3 \m/
HarrisonYeo
New member
he wans a thick sound on end notes too! the jb is pretty treblely!
synystersolo
Member
wah so many different choices cant decide lol
subversion
Moderator
depends on your set up. i find that if you have the Duncan JB bridge & you employ a straight-through set up, the drive can be thick & substantial.
klover
New member
haha dude i have fralin paf humbuckers and a vintage hot in my rg550ex with gold pickup covers.. u will not believe how much it brings the guitar to life! thick sweltering mids with sparkling highs.. just a note though, the pafs are not built to split so my 2 and 4 positions are actually humbucker plus single coil. but still very chimey and twangy. awesome! =]
synystersolo
Member
does this sound good in clean too?
Ripper
New member
HarrisonYeo
New member
hahah DEF LEPPARD! SUPER3!
Ripper
New member
Awright Harris! Phil Colin huh? Haha.
Super3 is full of crunch and chugga with distortion! Just donno if you can get it anymore though....
HarrisonYeo
New member
yea , Super3 is still for sale !
Go to Dimarzio's website, look at the tone charts/descriptions of the pickups.
Then listen to the acoustic sound of your RG with fresh strings - that can give you an idea how a pickup can compliment your RG.
I don't think you need to worry too much about the cleans, after all, that is why the RG550 has a single coil and a 5-way pickup selector.
A rule of thumb with pickups, the higher the output & winding = more compression, more mids (fatter), darker / rounded trebled... which doesn't translate to anything versatile in my books because it can get to the extremes and you're straightway limited from the source - the guitar. Why be limited when you can have an array of pedals to get you all the gain/compression/eq-tweaks you need? (However, to be fair, it is still slightly different when using pedals compared to pickups to achieve those things... YMMV)
For a basswood guitar, I've heard/played/coaxed good tones out of the Breed set (neck & bridge) and I find the eq of the pickups to compliment the basswood + edge setup well.
I wouldn't recommend anything over-the-top high output like the super3 because ... its really at the extreme end of things and unless you "play your amp with scooped mids and intense overdrive" - its really not your thing.
Then listen to the acoustic sound of your RG with fresh strings - that can give you an idea how a pickup can compliment your RG.
I don't think you need to worry too much about the cleans, after all, that is why the RG550 has a single coil and a 5-way pickup selector.
A rule of thumb with pickups, the higher the output & winding = more compression, more mids (fatter), darker / rounded trebled... which doesn't translate to anything versatile in my books because it can get to the extremes and you're straightway limited from the source - the guitar. Why be limited when you can have an array of pedals to get you all the gain/compression/eq-tweaks you need? (However, to be fair, it is still slightly different when using pedals compared to pickups to achieve those things... YMMV)
For a basswood guitar, I've heard/played/coaxed good tones out of the Breed set (neck & bridge) and I find the eq of the pickups to compliment the basswood + edge setup well.
I wouldn't recommend anything over-the-top high output like the super3 because ... its really at the extreme end of things and unless you "play your amp with scooped mids and intense overdrive" - its really not your thing.
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Ripper
New member
Yo solo, try my configuration. Neck pickup for thick solo, bridge super 3 to make your 550 play like a.. 550! Metal, metal and just metal. High output pickups are dangerous - dangerously fun. Not muddy, rich in mid! Learn how to control them and the rewards are satisfying! (My morse has 450mv pickups - higher output than the Super3, my goodness. And they are REALLY versatile in tone!)
Read 1st post. Threadstarter wants to play "classic rock, christian rock, alternative, hard rock and a little metal".
Point with higher output isn't with control. There's less control with them because by virtue of the way they are wound and the magnets used - you have a smaller degree of dynamics / more compression. Which can be wonderful if you play lots of legato, tapping, shred stuff... but can be woeful if you wish to explore more subtle nuances.
P.S. I wonder how many pickups a Morse has... makes it really versatile too...
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