Ibanez RGT320q

[squidz66]

Hey Dudes!
 Does anyone here have one of these?
Any with BK's in em?

 I've been trawling the forum and website looking for the right pickups, and seem to be going around in circles..
 ..They all sound good.

It's a maple neck through, rosewood fretboard, mahogany body, LoPro trem.

Would any of you fine fellows suggest some humbuckers to achieve a
 ..Nuno/Extreme/Michael Romeo/ Symphony x type, tight (not so low and grindy) bridge?

 ....and a neck that would complement?

 Cheers DUDES!

[Guitarteach]

I have a pair of Rebel Yells in an RGT42FM - very similar construction - 24fret, thru neck, etc. It was BKPs recommendation

I have another ibanez with a holy diver in and to be honest it just does not have the nice bright, clear edge and open sound of the Rebel Yells which just seem a lot more dynamic.

I certainly find the RYs the stand out pickup for me in my Ibanez thru neck which originally sounded bassy and it now certainly suits the styles you describe.
The bridge switched in parallel also gives a really nice P90esqe tone with a real vintage edge to it which I really enjoy

[Slartibartfarst42]

I've had an Ibanez RGT42 and a Jackson SL3 Soloist; both maple neck-thru designs so I can pass on my experience:

Cold Sweat - Works well if you like a sharply defined sound. Not particularly compressed and with loads of punch

A-Bomb - Really didn't work at all and sent it back. Too many high mids in a construction that tends to have high mids anyway. VERY aggressive and VERY tight. I'd be wary of the Rebel Yell for the same reason unless that's the sound you want.

Holydiver - Worked really well and is very versatile. Still my favourite BKP for Metal.

Miracle Man - Awesome Metal pickup that is absolutely perfect in a maple neck-thru guitar. If I ever bought another maple neck-thru guitar I would look no further than this. It is the number 1 recommendation for maple neck-thru guitars by some margin for a very good reason.

[squidz66]

Thanks for the replies dudes,

Funnily enough the two up top of my list were the Rebel Yells and the Miracle Man....
 I also asked and got a reply from Tim who suggested the Cold Sweat bridge, and the VHII neck.

 Too many choices, not enough guitars......

Thanks again.

[JimmyMoorby]

I think either the alnico/ceramic nailbomb or vhii bridge would suit you.  The nailbomb is more aggressive though and has more bottom end whereas the vhii is brighter.  The vhii would do nuno better but maybe the nailbomb would do syphony x better...... I think youd like both theyre my favourite bridge pickups by far any way but for my playing styles i prefer the nailbomb. 

Both would work in a mahogony super strat too and a vhii set would save you bit of cash.......in fact to be safe id go vhii.

[Telerocker]

The Miracle Man is a good choice, being a sort of beefed up version from the Cold Sweat. Performs well in mahogany neck-thru guitars.

[Slartibartfarst42]

In terms of things like the VHII and A-Bomb, remember this is not a mahogany neck-thru guitar, it's a maple neck-thru and it's the wood in the neck that will therefore dominate. The mahogany wings will have very little impact on the tone so it certainly won't be short on high mids and the trem will help to bring out more highs. The Cold Sweat looks bright but it works in maple neck-thru designs because it's scooped. The Miracle Man works for exactly the same reason. The CS is more open and has more top end while the MM has huge low mids to go with the bottom end as well as screaming highs. The scoop you see on the EQ chart is the lack of those high mids that this guitar will be producing naturally anyway. Putting an A-Bomb in will just give you a mass of high mids, as will be the case with any pup boasting lots of high mids. Great if that's what you want but it will be very tight, aggressive and abrasive. These pups are great in normal mahogany guitars like a Les Paul but yours isn't a normal mahogany guitar; tonally, it's a maple guitar. Nothing suits maple neck-thru like a Miracle Man.

[JimmyMoorby]

In terms of things like the VHII and A-Bomb, remember this is not a mahogany neck-thru guitar, it's a maple neck-thru and it's the wood in the neck that will therefore dominate. The mahogany wings will have very little impact on the tone so it certainly won't be short on high mids and the trem will help to bring out more highs. The Cold Sweat looks bright but it works in maple neck-thru designs because it's scooped. The Miracle Man works for exactly the same reason. The CS is more open and has more top end while the MM has huge low mids to go with the bottom end as well as screaming highs. The scoop you see on the EQ chart is the lack of those high mids that this guitar will be producing naturally anyway. Putting an A-Bomb in will just give you a mass of high mids, as will be the case with any pup boasting lots of high mids. Great if that's what you want but it will be very tight, aggressive and abrasive. These pups are great in normal mahogany guitars like a Les Paul but yours isn't a normal mahogany guitar; tonally, it's a maple guitar. Nothing suits maple neck-thru like a Miracle Man.

Works well in my maple neck thru :/  In fairness specs are specs and nothing more its down to personal preference particularly for a nuno type vibe cant go far wrong with a vhii's.......he does owe just a little to van halen.
I do extreme covers from the pornograffiti album in my band and no one complains its too angry sounding. There are hair metalclips of the nailbomb on the site which dont sound out of place at all......

 I prefer both the nailbomb and the vhii to the miracle man and both are lower output so it shouldnt be a shock theyre more versatile.  I agree with the description of the nailbomb on the website as well as the soundclips and the vhii can also do more aggressive styles of music.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I totally agree it's ultimately personal choice. One man's meat is another man's poison I suppose and if an A-Bomb works for you, that's fantastic but these pickups are expensive so sometimes it may be prudent to play the percentages a bit even if you don't rely on them completely. I'm not for a second suggesting a Miracle Man is the most versatile pickup in the range because it isn't. I'm not sure there's much that's ceramic that can be and I agree the A-Bomb can be versatile, though significantly, the hair Metal clip on the website was recorded on a Les Paul, so lots of mahogany to cope with all of the upper mids in the pickup. I really liked the clips on the website so you can imagine my disappointment when I tried one in my maple neck-thru guitar. I would certainly consider an A-Bomb in the future but only if it was going into something like a Les Paul where I have the mahogany to tame the upper mids.  Thinking of the tonal qualities of the wood is always a good place to start so for Strats, because they're naturally quite bright, we often recommend pickups like the Holydiver and Crawler or maybe even a Miracle Man. If the individual ultimately prefers something like an Emerald or Riff Raff, that's their choice and that's cool but most people would prefer the ones usually recommended. That is the only logic I'm using here. Maple neck-thru guitars have plenty mids, especially upper mids so the starting point for me would be to make sure I don't go OTT with upper mids in a pickup. The Cold Sweat, Miracle Man and even the Holydiver will work because the upper mids are subdued a bit. If you want lower output, I might suggest a Black Dog for the same reason. In maple neck-thru designs, the Miracle Man is simply a VERY safe bet but for his styles, the Holydiver and Cold Sweat might be better. Tim seems to have suggested the Cold Sweat and if that's what the man says, that's what I'd go with. He's not completely infallible, but he's far more often right than wrong  :D

[Dave Sloven]

I totally agree it's ultimately personal choice. One man's meat is another man's poison I suppose and if an A-Bomb works for you, that's fantastic but these pickups are expensive so sometimes it may be prudent to play the percentages a bit even if you don't rely on them completely.

I agree with this, especially as I have an A-Bomb sitting in a drawer that was swapped out for a Cold Sweat due to the lack of versatility of the A-Bomb arising from the middiness of the guitar itself, rather than any fault of the pickup or the guitar in themselves.  Let's not kid ourselves, these pickups cost a lot of money and no-one wants to have them sitting a drawer or be stuck with selling them on ebay.

If Tim is suggesting the Cold Sweat bridge pickup I would tend to go with his advice, based on my own experience.  I dare say that he has recommended the VHII neck based on two things: (1) your stated preferences in terms of style; (2) he thinks that it is 'safe' with your guitar's wood/construction.  The Cold Sweat neck is a great pickup and if you like the clips on the site that would also be an option, as it would satisfy criteria (2) and of course (1) is entirely your taste.  That said, he would also be thinking of how certain pickups sound different in different guitars, but from my experience the Cold Sweat set in my SG sounds a lot like the clips.

I would definitely avoid the A-Bomb unless you are looking for something with very aggressive mids, if there is any chance that your guitar in itself is middier than average.  The one pickup option that has not been mentioned here is the C-Bomb, which is like some kind of mutant cross between a Cold Sweat and an A-Bomb.  This might be the pickup you are looking for - maybe discuss it with Tim in terms of why he recommended the CS over the C-Bomb - if you like the sound of the A-Bomb clips.  It seems to be a bit 'hairy' like the A-Bomb but the scoop provided by the ceramic magnet makes it a safer option.

[squidz66]

So many options and I'd bet they'd all sound good in their own way.
Given this will be my first foray into BKP's I think I'll give Tim's recommendations a shot.....

Cold Sweat bridge "tight, bright, plenty of power, and sits well in a neck thru"
And the VHII neck "excellent for Petrucci neck tones"

I suppose the best part about replacing pickups is that its not a complete hassle to do it again!

Will be interesting to get them and compare with my other RGT320 with an X2N and Tone Zone (man, I love Symphony x)

Thanks for your help dudes, although I fear It'll only end up costing me as I Gurn over Bare Knuckling all the guitars  :D

Cheers!

[JimmyMoorby]

I totally agree it's ultimately personal choice. One man's meat is another man's poison I suppose and if an A-Bomb works for you, that's fantastic but these pickups are expensive so sometimes it may be prudent to play the percentages a bit even if you don't rely on them completely. I'm not for a second suggesting a Miracle Man is the most versatile pickup in the range because it isn't. I'm not sure there's much that's ceramic that can be and I agree the A-Bomb can be versatile, though significantly, the hair Metal clip on the website was recorded on a Les Paul, so lots of mahogany to cope with all of the upper mids in the pickup. I really liked the clips on the website so you can imagine my disappointment when I tried one in my maple neck-thru guitar. I would certainly consider an A-Bomb in the future but only if it was going into something like a Les Paul where I have the mahogany to tame the upper mids.  Thinking of the tonal qualities of the wood is always a good place to start so for Strats, because they're naturally quite bright, we often recommend pickups like the Holydiver and Crawler or maybe even a Miracle Man. If the individual ultimately prefers something like an Emerald or Riff Raff, that's their choice and that's cool but most people would prefer the ones usually recommended. That is the only logic I'm using here. Maple neck-thru guitars have plenty mids, especially upper mids so the starting point for me would be to make sure I don't go OTT with upper mids in a pickup. The Cold Sweat, Miracle Man and even the Holydiver will work because the upper mids are subdued a bit. If you want lower output, I might suggest a Black Dog for the same reason. In maple neck-thru designs, the Miracle Man is simply a VERY safe bet but for his styles, the Holydiver and Cold Sweat might be better. Tim seems to have suggested the Cold Sweat and if that's what the man says, that's what I'd go with. He's not completely infallible, but he's far more often right than wrong  :D

The nailbomb sounds great in every super strat ive played and heard with various would combos and hopefully it will in good my george lynch one too which frankly has always been a bit of a bitch which is annoying seeing as it is supposed to be a top of the range esp.  I must admit I havent been tempted to a put a nailbomb in my actual strat though butthen again in terms of bkp's there would only be the crawler or sinner that would interested me as a strat bridge pickup. Di marzio make great pickups for strats just ask eric johnson, yngwie and andy timmons.

[fps_dean]

There's many options here.

I do think the Alnico Nailbomb may have a bit too many mids in the guitar though -- although it might still work for you depending on your tastes.  The ceramics tone is smoothed out a bit so that should be a step in the right direction for the sounds you want.

I think I would probably go with the Cold Sweat set if it was me.   I think it's a pretty clear pickup and well suited for advanced prog metal like DT and Symphony X, and should be able to pull of Extreme too I would imagine.  I do think the Cold Sweat cleans would probably be the best for Romeo's cleans as well.  I have no experience with this pickup personally, but I've heard some people get a really smooth tone that's very much what you're after.

I agree that Mircale Mans would be a bit louder but the mids of the guitar would probably also compliment it nicely if you want something louder and heavier.

[squidz66]

This is what I mean!

 Only a few days after ordering the CS bridge and VHII neck...
...I got straight back on the site and ordered a MM set.

Have not received either yet, but cannot wait.

 Thanks to everyone and thanks to BKP!

[fps_dean]

Hah well you can be pretty safe to get the right pickups now.... if one doesn't work, the other will!