Pickups for Ibanez 520QS

I have ourchased a 520QS on fleabay, and it has V7 and V8 pickups. I haven't recieved it yet, and plan to play it awhile to judge the pickups.
what I'd like is some opinions on replacements. I'm thinking that the SD JB would be good for the bridge, but for the neck ?
Maybe a Paf Pro? I want something that will be clear, but can handle high gain. Something that will clean up with guitar volume, but sCREAM when I want it to.
I know I could go EMG 81/60, or 81/85, or even 89/89 so as to keep the switching the same (5 way). But I like to be able to use guitar volume to clean up. I like a tone like Jerry Cantrell on "Dirt". I'm pretty sure he used a JB only in his #1 G&L....
Any suggestions would be appreciated, bridge or neck.
Thanks....
ax. :twisted:

Just went to SD website and listened to all. The RG770 I had years ago had the PATB 2 distortion trembucker. I cant believe I liked it....Then again, I didn't have the gain I have now with my Mark III Boogie!
I'm thinking more along the lines of the custom custom for the bridge, and a TB14? for the neck. I like the 59 and seth lover, but want a more aggressive neck tone, so the TB14 seems to be the right fit. Also, the JB , although rich , may be too muddy and mid-heavey.
Any thoughts?
ax. :twisted:

axwielding1 said:

Also, the JB, although rich, may be too muddy and mid-heavey. Any thoughts?
ax. :twisted:

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I had a Jeff Beck model for several years in my Ibanez Musician (neck through body with mahogany side parts), and it wasn't muddy at all there, but rather added a nice Les Paul like nasal tone to it. I combined it with a DiMarzio PAF back then which is the opposite of an aggressive neck pickup though.

i too love the JB. i cant really say anything bad about it. its just an awesome pickup

Arrived today, did a quick set up and inspection, and she plays like a dream.... I forgot how low you can set these up!!!! I set it up as low as I could, just to see, then raised it a bit. I like the neck straight, and she's perfect! NO, I mean NO fretwear at all, no dings or scratches at all. Not even pick swirls!.....Really glad I grabbed it, thanks for the help guys!
I like the JB, and will probably go either that or the custom custom for the bridge.
thanks.
ax. :twisted:
BTW. I cant believe the variety of tones from the 5 way.. Really "stratty" in the 2 and 4 position. These pups arent really that bad, but I'll still change them eventually.

I have to recommend Bill Lawrence pickups. They are some of the most versatile pickups I've ever heard. Bill and Becky are great people to deal with as well.

www.billlawrence.com

axwielding1 said:

I know I could go EMG 81/60, or 81/85, or even 89/89 so as to keep the switching the same (5 way). But I like to be able to use guitar volume to clean up.
ax. :twisted:

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I installed the EMG 81/85, changed the switch to a 3 positions, and added an extra hole, to have 2 volumes and 1 tone. It's a dream machine for me, it was a cool project, it ended up being one of my favorites guitars. I have a better guitar than Kirk Hammett :lol: (just kidding).

8)

now make sure the 85 is in the bridge, not the neck.
sounds WAAAAAAAAAY better.
81 is way too brittle for my taste

Something about Ibanez, they are the s**t for what they do. I own 3. FWIW, all have stock P'ups. With all the gain available with Boogie amps, I like lower output P'ups, better overall balance across the range.

Just went to SD website and listened to all. The RG770 I had years ago had the PATB 2 distortion trembucker. I cant believe I liked it....Then again, I didn't have the gain I have now with my Mark III Boogie!
I'm thinking more along the lines of the custom custom for the bridge, and a TB14? for the neck. I like the 59 and seth lover, but want a more aggressive neck tone, so the TB14 seems to be the right fit. Also, the JB , although rich , may be too muddy and mid-heavey.
Any thoughts?

Click to expand...

I just did the same thing. I must have spent 4 weeks trying to decide. I would load up those sound clips and listen to the JB and the Custom Custom one right after the other. I finally decided on the Custom Custom in the bridge and a Kinman in the middle position (I've already decided that Kinman's are the s**t when it comes to single coils).
Everytime I plug that guitar in to either my Mark III rig or Triaxis/Simul2:90 rig I am smiling from ear to ear.

Now to find that perfect neck pickup. I'm a thinkin' Pearly Gates.

chedgeco... 8)

vulture2600 said:

now make sure the 85 is in the bridge, not the neck.
sounds WAAAAAAAAAY better.
81 is way too brittle for my taste

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81 or 85 is not very good for Ibanez ,
you could still use Dimarzio Pickups.
Maybe BreedNeck+BlueVelvet+SuperDistrotion

I have a JB in the bridge of my RR1T. Sounds excellent and I've never found it to be muddy. I always felt that it had a really good balance of everything.

For the bridge:
duncan JB, distortion, or custom.
emg 85
neck
duncan distortion(neckmodel), 59, jazz, or any of the other PAF type pickups
emg 81 85 or 60

I'm planning on getting the very same guitar to add to my Ibanez collection and I'll put in either a set of Breeds or an Airzone in the bridge and a Pafpro in the neck. SWEEEEEEEET!!!!!

PAFpros are very fat sounding for medium out pups. Personally, I think the Tone Zone is where it's at! But! The Custom Custom is a very articulate pup when distorted and sounds great clean!

~F

Tom Anderson pickups sound amazing with Boogie amps. If you have never tried them, find someone with Anderson pickups and do some A/B comparisons with other pickups.

The stock pickups in my Ibanez RG7420 were terrible.

great choice on guitar. I have the Blue SZ520 and with my guitar techs help he got me to get the Dimarzio setup (or what he called a "les paul killer tone" A virtual PAF in the neck and the Air Zone in the bridge. This guitar is my favorite with a coil tap option that the guitar came with (he put in a push pull pot so i have 6 positions with that coilsplit instead of the original 3) and I can get very strat like tones to awesome blusey leads!

I have a agile baritone that has an 81/85 and i suffered with the 81 in the bridge until i read people were putting the 85 in there...now I just need to find a 60A But mesas seem to have so much more feeling with the passives then with the emgs.