Pickups for Ibanez FRIX6

[jesperbc]

So I just put in an order for an Ibanez FRIX6FEAH-CSF. I'm super excited.



It comes with an EMG 81/60 set. I had an EMG 81/81 (yes, 81/81) set in my MH1000 before swapping them for a A-bomb/VHII set, so I'm not expecting anything great from the 81/60 set.

I'm buying the FRIX6 to complement my MH1000 tonally.

The ESP LTD MH1000 is a mahogany body, 3-piece maple set-neck-through, rosewood fretboard with A-bomb/VHII pickups.

The Ibanez FRIX6FEAH is a mahogany body, ash top, maple/bubinga/maple bolt-on neck, ebony fretboard. I'm thinking about putting a Holydiver/Emerald set in this guitar. What do you guys think? Will they work with the wood combination and the bolt-on neck?

I play stoner metal in drop C, but want a modern'ish, versatile tone with great cleans and an aggressive high-gain tone with plenty of mids.

The Emerald is a good deal hotter than the VHII. 9.6KΩ vs. 7.9KΩ. Will this be a big deal?

Considering that that Holydiver and VHII are both especially suitable for bolt-on guitars, would you recommend moving the VHII over into the FRIX6 and putting the Emerald in the MH1000?

This is my first direct mount guitar. Should I be aware of anything in particular when ordering pickups? Legs?

Recommendations are welcome!

[Telerocker]

The DC-resistance doesn't say all about output. The used magnetwire is also part of the power.  The VHII has 42 AWG, the Emerald has AWG43. I can tell you that VHII is nearly as hot as the Crawler and the Holy Diver. The VHII does sound different than those two though.

[Dave Sloven]

I would wait until you have the guitar in hand and can report back to us what you do and don't like about the EMG set in that guitar.  Then we will have a better idea of its characteristics in order to give you a better recommendation.  The EMG 81 is a well-known pickup so if you want more of this or less of that then people here will be able to give you some idea of which pickups in the range might be able to do that.  At the moment you are just guessing, and that's all we can do too.

You will need to discuss the mounting issues directly with BKP.  I would probably wait until you can see the exact dimensions of the legs/feet for yourself.

[jesperbc]

I would wait until you have the guitar in hand and can report back to us what you do and don't like about the EMG set in that guitar.  Then we will have a better idea of its characteristics in order to give you a better recommendation.  The EMG 81 is a well-known pickup so if you want more of this or less of that then people here will be able to give you some idea of which pickups in the range might be able to do that.  At the moment you are just guessing, and that's all we can do too.

You will need to discuss the mounting issues directly with BKP.  I would probably wait until you can see the exact dimensions of the legs/feet for yourself.

I'm definitely not doing anything before I try the pickups in the guitar. Heck, I might end up loving them, but I doubt it. Like I wrote, I had an 81 set in my MH1000 previously. Didn't like them much.

What I want from the new pickups, is something that sounds comparatively to the Nailbomb/VHII set, without being exactly the same. A  different brush without changing the color of the paint, if you know what I mean...?

I'm constantly thrown off on DC resistance, but I'm getting there. The Blackhawks really did a number on me with their low DC resistance but massive output. I want something that matches the Nailbomb/VHII set output wise, with a slight alteration in tone.

Also, would the VHII work better in the FRIX6 with its bolt-on neck, than in the set-neck-through MH1000?