Replacement pickups for Ibanez RG1570

[fatalpeck]

Hi guys, I'm looking for advice on replacement pickups for my Ibanez RG1570 to replace the muddiness of the stock pickups. I'm looking for a bridge pickup to increase note clarity, tightness for chugging but also something that isn't shrill when playing leads up the neck. I had a Crunch Lab in an old guitar which did that job very well so something along those lines. In the neck I'm looking for something very smooth but wont have a huge drop off in output from the bridge. I'm in standard tuning also. I'm currently using a Blackstar HT-5 with a Maxon OD-808 overdrive, if that helps. Here's the specs for the guitar too:

Body: Basswood
Bridge: Edge Pro
Neck Type: 5pc Wizard Maple/Walnut neck
Frets: Jumbo
Scale: 648mm/25.5"
Width at Nut: 43mm
Width at Last Fret: 58mm
Thickness at 1st: 18mm
Thickness at 12th: 20mm
Radius: 430mmR

Cheers!

[darrenw5094]

Holydiver set

[pcarrion]

I have an Ibanez RGT220 with a Miracle Man bridge and Painkiller neck. I'm really surprised with the Miracle man. it's much closer to the Holydiver than you would think. It's leaner in the mids but still full sounding. And surprisingly smooth but more aggresive than the holydiver when needed. My ibanez it's not exactly resonant acoustically, so the higher output of the Miracle Man it's more than welcome. The Holydiver is more versatile but from hard rock upwards the miracle man would work perfectly and better than the holydiver the more aggresive the style.

If you want something smooth in the neck, it's not precisely the painkiller what you are looking for. A good match would be a cold sweat.

[fatalpeck]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Holydiver set

Ah cool, dunno if I've ever checked these ones out thoroughly before. They sound pretty decent, any particular reason you suggest these over any other BKP?

I have an Ibanez RGT220 with a Miracle Man bridge and Painkiller neck. I'm really surprised with the Miracle man. it's much closer to the Holydiver than you would think. It's leaner in the mids but still full sounding. And surprisingly smooth but more aggresive than the holydiver when needed. My ibanez it's not exactly resonant acoustically, so the higher output of the Miracle Man it's more than welcome. The Holydiver is more versatile but from hard rock upwards the miracle man would work perfectly and better than the holydiver the more aggresive the style.

If you want something smooth in the neck, it's not precisely the painkiller what you are looking for. A good match would be a cold sweat.

Yeah someone had suggested that I look into the Miracle Man/Cold Sweat combo before, the name of the MM is almost enough to make me buy it alone haha. I'm looking for Petrucci-style percussive chugs, would the MM beat the HD in this aspect?

[fatalpeck]

I spoke to Ben and he said the Juggernaut set would probably be the best shout for me, the clips of them do sound pretty awesome. Would a Juggernaut/Cold Sweat combo work? Seems like I could get everything I want from that pair.

[Dave Sloven]

I've been wondering how the Holy Diver neck might pair with the Miracle Man bridge.  Has anyone tried this combo?

[Toe-Knee]

Personally I would say the Aftermath is a better fit. I had it in my RGD and it was excellent for DT. It's also a lot closer tonally to the crunchlab than the rest of the range.

The amp (JCM2000) was not optimal for DT music but here is a clip.

https://soundcloud.com/boyes/root-of-all-evil-am-test-for-jonny

[fatalpeck]

Personally I would say the Aftermath is a better fit. I had it in my RGD and it was excellent for DT. It's also a lot closer tonally to the crunchlab than the rest of the range.

The amp (JCM2000) was not optimal for DT music but here is a clip.

https://soundcloud.com/boyes/root-of-all-evil-am-test-for-jonny

That does sound pretty sweet, you should have got one of the sick pinches in there too Would the Aftermath sound the same in a basswood guitar like the RG1570 though? The RGDs were all mahogany right?

So right now my 3 options are:
Miracle Man/Cold Sweat

Juggernaut/Cold Sweat

Holy Diver set

Thoughts?

[Toe-Knee]

Personally I would say the Aftermath is a better fit. I had it in my RGD and it was excellent for DT. It's also a lot closer tonally to the crunchlab than the rest of the range.

The amp (JCM2000) was not optimal for DT music but here is a clip.

https://soundcloud.com/boyes/root-of-all-evil-am-test-for-jonny

That does sound pretty sweet, you should have got one of the sick pinches in there too Would the Aftermath sound the same in a basswood guitar like the RG1570 though? The RGDs were all mahogany right?

So right now my 3 options are:
Miracle Man/Cold Sweat

Juggernaut/Cold Sweat

Holy Diver set

Thoughts?

Nah the RGD was basswood body. Maple neck with a rosewood fretboard.  They are 26.5" scale though.

[m t soule]

You might find these useful

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EOIQuanO12I

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd6odOQkCtQ

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IEBGySN6IVE

Through a blackstar ht studio20 and a boss ds -1x

[Slartibartfarst42]

I think it will depend on how much versatility you want in your pickups. The Aftermath will be better at more aggressive styles and be tighter if that's what you're after but will have limited versatility. Conversely, the Holydiver has a far sweeter tone and is a lot more versatile but doesn't have the aggression of the Aftermath. If you move to the Miracle Man, you stay with something that is surprisingly close to the Holydiver tonally but is tighter and a little more scooped, though this isn't as scooped as the EQ chart suggests. To get this however, you do sacrifice some of the Holydiver's versatility. I've never really warmed to the Juggernaut set myself so it's difficult to comment. I really like what it's trying to do and it sounded perfect for me when it was first announced but I've just never heard a clip that's impressed me so I eventually went with a pickup elsewhere that tries to do the same job but does it more effectively.

For the neck, an Emerald is an ideal choice to pair with the Holydiver and is hot enough to work well with the Miracle Man too. I've had a Cold Sweat neck and I did like it but the Emerald and Holydiver neck options were both better in my view.

[fatalpeck]

Nah the RGD was basswood body. Maple neck with a rosewood fretboard.  They are 26.5" scale though.

Ah right, for some reason I though they were all basswood. Thanks for the suggestion, I'm thinking the Aftermath might be a little too aggressive though.

You might find these useful

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EOIQuanO12I
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd6odOQkCtQ
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IEBGySN6IVE

Through a blackstar ht studio20 and a boss ds -1x

Wow thanks man, these clips were very helpful indeed! I definitely preferred the Miracle Man in the bridge, and the Cold Sweat was awesome too!

I think it will depend on how much versatility you want in your pickups. The Aftermath will be better at more aggressive styles and be tighter if that's what you're after but will have limited versatility. Conversely, the Holydiver has a far sweeter tone and is a lot more versatile but doesn't have the aggression of the Aftermath. If you move to the Miracle Man, you stay with something that is surprisingly close to the Holydiver tonally but is tighter and a little more scooped, though this isn't as scooped as the EQ chart suggests. To get this however, you do sacrifice some of the Holydiver's versatility. I've never really warmed to the Juggernaut set myself so it's difficult to comment. I really like what it's trying to do and it sounded perfect for me when it was first announced but I've just never heard a clip that's impressed me so I eventually went with a pickup elsewhere that tries to do the same job but does it more effectively.

For the neck, an Emerald is an ideal choice to pair with the Holydiver and is hot enough to work well with the Miracle Man too. I've had a Cold Sweat neck and I did like it but the Emerald and Holydiver neck options were both better in my view.

I'm really not massively bothered about the guitar having loads of versatility, with the volume knob I can take the harshness out of pretty much any pickup. I made my decision the other day and since I've been paid today I forked out for a Miracle Man bridge, Apache middle and Cold Sweat neck. Hopefully they'll arrive soon and I can get a couple clips up to show off how they sound!

Thanks for all your help guys!

[Dave Sloven]

That's an interesting choice of middle pickup.  What made you go for the Apache?

[fatalpeck]

That's an interesting choice of middle pickup.  What made you go for the Apache?

It's weird and it could just be in my head, but if I only replaced the humbuckers I honestly don't think I would have ever used the singlecoil again. So I picked out a new singlecoil to almost force myself to use it. My hope is that I will naturally play more blues, and any improvement in my blues playing will carry over to my typical metalz playing.