Pickup suggesstions for Ibanez RGA121

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dave Simpson
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Dave Simpson

Dave Simpson

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Just got this RGA121 in and need some suggestions on replacement pickups. Thinking of maybe trying a Dimarzio D Activator set but would like some suggestions if there might be a better choice. For amps I have a Friedman modded Marshall JCM 800, Marshall DSL 2000 50 watt and a EVH 5150 III 50 watt. The videos are some of the guitar tones I'm shooting for. I apologize in advance for the cheese content of the videos, but love the guitar tones on the recordings.







 
I think D Activators will be a bit thin in that guitar, and the Crunchlab too gainy for the 80's tones. I'd suggest the Dimarzio Norton for the bridge and PAF Pro or Joe for the neck.
 
I think you are on the right track looking at a brightish, hi-mid type pickup with the mahogany body. If you're looking to stay in the Dimarzio family, I'd give a serious look at the Evolution as well. I had an RGA121 years ago with that pickup and it sounded pretty damn good.
 
Oh yeah and Humbucker From Hell in the neck is really good if you like using the neck pickup for leads.
 
Super Distortion + Super 2. That nails all those tones and a lot more. Timless pickups, so they'll cover old and new with aplomb.
 
I have a Deactivator in my bridge. Dig it, but not going for those tones. Mine is in drop B for sludge/doom/metal stuff.

EDIT: took em at face value man, sorry. It'll cover that Anthrax.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not narrowing it down to just using Dimarzio's, but with their exchange policy it might be a good idea to try them.

The stock neck pickup doesn't sound bad, but the bridge pickup is a little under powered and the low end is flubby. My main concern is trying a pickup with a mid bump in a mahogany guitar. Don't want it to end up too nasally sounding. I have a Steve Special and Air Norton in my RG570 and they sound pretty good. Would the Steve Special work in a mahogany body guitar? It's pretty mid scooped, don't know if that would be a good thing or a bad thing with this guitar.
 
That's sounds awesome. The D Activator handles the low tuning no problem. I've heard a few clips using standard tuning and they didn't sound bad either. Too many choices!
 
Detroiter or just a JB. Those are all classic 800 tones. Just different boosts through jmp's or jcm's imo.
God krokus was such a victim of the 80's lol. Would have been just a solid rock band without the gaiety.
 
So true, unfortunately they didn't have someone reigning in the ridiculous aspect. The songs might not be the greatest but the guitar tone is so good on the Headhunter album.
 
Dave Simpson":1183fh30 said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not narrowing it down to just using Dimarzio's, but with their exchange policy it might be a good idea to try them.

The stock neck pickup doesn't sound bad, but the bridge pickup is a little under powered and the low end is flubby. My main concern is trying a pickup with a mid bump in a mahogany guitar. Don't want it to end up too nasally sounding. I have a Steve Special and Air Norton in my RG570 and they sound pretty good. Would the Steve Special work in a mahogany body guitar? It's pretty mid scooped, don't know if that would be a good thing or a bad thing with this guitar.
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The Steve's Special doesn't scoop out ALL of the mids. Some mids are quite present which allows the pickup to cut through. I had some Steve's Specials in a Carvin CS4 and it brought out some of the upper end mids and some of the more cutting lower frequencies. It's a special pickup (no pun intended) because it has a ton of clarity, almost to the point of sterility, but not sterile at all because it still has some nice warmth to keep it from getting harsh. It's a really underrated pickup and scares a lot of people off because of it's described "mid scoop," but it's really not scooped the way people think.
 
duncan ahb1 blackouts. good for hard rock and give you some versatility.
 
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