81 Pickups in an Ibanez RG Series Guitar?

Question:Hello all fellow musicians, I have a question about an Ibanez RG series guitar and installing EMG 85/81 pickups. I don't have the model number on me, however the pickups are V series I believe, and they are H-S-H (humbucker, single-coil, humbucker).
What I would like to know is, what would be a good set-up to do Between The Buried and Me/Protest the Hero type stuff? The Metal/Prog-Metal scene I suppose.

I was thinking about doing the EMG 85 in the bridge and the 81 in the neck. But I was wondering what to do about the single coil? If I should even do anything at all?

Any suggestions? Also, would strings gauged .10 be thick enough? I think I have .09 now, and I definately thing they are right on the edge of being to thin...any help is appreciated!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Hello all fellow musicians, I have a question about an Ibanez RG series guitar and installing EMG 85/81 pickups. I don't have the model number on me, however the pickups are V series I believe, and they are H-S-H (humbucker, single-coil, humbucker).
What I would like to know is, what would be a good set-up to do Between The Buried and Me/Protest the Hero type stuff? The Metal/Prog-Metal scene I suppose.

I was thinking about doing the EMG 85 in the bridge and the 81 in the neck. But I was wondering what to do about the single coil? If I should even do anything at all?

Any suggestions? Also, would strings gauged .10 be thick enough? I think I have .09 now, and I definately thing they are right on the edge of being to thin...any help is appreciated!

EMG makes an active single coil, I do believe, but you could leave it out with no ill effect, if you prefer the hard stuff.

9's are too thin, in my opinion, 10's and 11's are where it's at, especially if you're downtuning. The biggest sonic difference to my ears is between 9's and 10's, but there's also a little bit more chunk going up to 11's as well. The higher the gauge, the harder to bend, FYI, but the better they stay in tune. If you change gauges get your guitar setup and intonated, if you don't know how to do it yourself. Most music stores can do this for a fee. You want to make sure your truss rod isn't bent, either.... Proper setup and intonation will make sure you don't have string buzz and will stay in tune across the neck.

As far as pickups... I personally don't like EMGs. I think they make a guitar sound like every other guitar with EMGs (ie, they replace the tone of a guitar instead of enhancing it). If you like the sound it's no big deal, but if you want your own tone I'd choose different pickups.

Both DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan make very decent pickups - I've heard it generalized that DiMarzio's are a little edgier and Seymour Duncans are a little smoother sounding. It depends on what you want. Personally, I've preferred the Seymour Duncan's I've played with. I bet you'd get a great sound out of matching Pearly Gates in the neck with Duncan Distortions or Duncan Customs in the bridge. Dimebuckers and Invaders both might be a little too distorted and bassy for you - i've heard you basically can't get a clean response from the Invaders, for instance, even on a clean channel. Pickups with less bass will give you a tighter, drier, and more defined tone, while pickups with more bass will be warmer, more distorted, and more inclined towards fuzz and fart.

Link below for a master list of the differences between Seymour Duncan's pickups. Check out the Livewires and Active Blackouts as well - Seymour Duncan's answer to EMGs. I've heard very good things about them, including better shielding, less noise, and more enhancing the tone of the guitar rather than replacing it.

I don't have much experience with DiMarzios, but I've heard guitars with evolutions that sounded pretty good. For more information, try going to www.harmonycentral.com and look up the customer reviews.

You can also explore the option of putting a preamp in your guitar. If you like the basic tone of the guitar but want it a little hotter, this is a good way to go. A couple different companies stock onboard preamps, but EMG is the only one I can think of off the top of my head. There are plans out there for making your own, as well.

Saul

Yeah, those pickups are more than fine for hardcore/metal situations. If you don't use the single coil at all, you might as well take it out or just leave it disconnected, it's probably not worth having if that's the type of music you want to play. I personally use a single passive humbucker in the bridge position (DiMarzio X2N) and it's very hot.

In terms of string gauge, I like 10's. I have tried larger gauges but despite sounding slightly bassier, they mostly hindered my ability to play fast.