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The Pickup Place / Re: PICKUP SET for IBANEZ RGAR42MFMT

« on: November 18, 2019, 04:54:23 PM »

 I read the reviews darth. But they say thst all 3 bridge pickups are great without comparing them. The eq of the satchur8 makes me feel that it is the darkest of the three. I need tight and bright. Going by EQ i would think the FRED. I had a Mo Joe i loved in a maple steinberger but that axe was maple neck thru w maple wings. Super bright wood. This one is mahogany w flame maple top n maple board n neck. Direct mount to the mahogany body. Dimarzio Mike is waiting for my answer. I got a $20 discount on this set as i over paid for another set.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Pickup suggestions please!

« on: October 22, 2019, 07:28:56 PM »

I tried many sets in my mahogany axes and ended up w D Activators.  Balanced eq Loud and not over compressed. Very open sounding. They excel at metal.  Mark Holcomb of Periphery used them before getting his own sig duncans.  I have those too but in my opinion the D Activators eat them for breakfast.

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The Pickup Place / Re: PICKUP SET for IBANEZ RGAR42MFMT

« on: October 22, 2019, 07:20:26 PM »

So Darth i believe has tried both the combos of choice 2 and 3.   I once tried a duncan alt 8 and it sounded  metallic and klanky.  Had a weird pick attack.  Hope the satchur8 doesnt have that. What is the tonal difference in the sets Darth? I kind of dont like the idea of virtual vintage cause i like spiky mids and highs. But looks on paper the satchur8 is missing some highs.  Is the satchur8 good with crunch and harmonics?

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The Pickup Place / Re: PICKUP SET for IBANEZ RGAR42MFMT

« on: September 21, 2019, 01:00:52 AM »

I purchased the TITAN set and hated it.  The bridge was hard to get pinch harmonics out of and sounded really dull.  The neck I did not use too much, but remember it being good, the bridge was terrible.
I might try the Titan neck though,  I think Freddy is 305 output but cant remember what the output was on the Titan neck, however it is a ceramic if im not mistaken.

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The Pickup Place / Re: So I've installed a Humbucker from Hell in the neck to pair with a Fred bridge

« on: September 20, 2019, 11:14:25 PM »

I was just asking in another thread if the FRED Bridge / HFH neck would work in my new IBANEZ RGAR42MFMT,  Its Mahogany body, with a thick flame maple top and maple bolt on neck.
I play METAL, but have 2 guitars with D Activators. One as a Carvin HH2 Holdsworth, and the other is a Steinberger GL, mahogany body, bolt on Moses Graphite neck.  D Activators are bright so they balance well in those guitars, but for this one, its got that Maple Neck and Thick Maple top,  I thought Medium output with good mids would do. 
Was thinking this combo, I think im gonna go for it,
FRED Bridge / HFH Neck.   The guitar will be used from everything from Satch to Slayer.

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The Pickup Place / Re: PICKUP SET for IBANEZ RGAR42MFMT

« on: September 20, 2019, 10:49:00 PM »

Yeah, i remember FREDDY being awsome at metal.  Upper mid spike but medium output so very clear and crunchy.  Im def gonna go FRED for the bridge.  But FRED Neck would be too much output.
Thats why i thought HFH., but i have no experience with it. The Mo Joe is hotter but it has Virtual Vintage technology, which basically dulls the pickup.  The HFH and FRED both have dual resonance technology, which means more harmonics and scream. 

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The Pickup Place / PICKUP SET for IBANEZ RGAR42MFMT

« on: September 20, 2019, 03:57:00 PM »

This axe has a mahogany body with a thick flame maple top. Maple neck.
I have an alder guitar and a mahogany both with sets of D Activators, so this guitar I still want it to be bright, but maybe with more medium output pickups for better control.
I am thinking of the following sets. Let me know your opinions, I am usually using D Activators/X2Ns/Super3 etc, so I am looking to expand my Dimarzio choices when recording.  Sometimes, Medium output buckers can give you a killer sound when applied to Death Metal/Thrash etc. You can get a clear cutting tone, and get the gain from the Pedal/Amp.

1:  FRED Bridge / HFH neck
2: Mo Joe  /  PAF Joe Neck
3: Satchur8  /  PAF Pro Neck.

I used to have a FRED in an alder V for metal and it killed.  Great clarity and harmonics, as well as having that upper mid clarity that one needs in high gain METAL applications.
I also had a Mo Joe in the bridge of a Maple Steinberger Neck Thru with Maple wings.  That was much like the fred but in some ways seemed less wild. I though since it was hotter it would be better for metal.
The Satchur8 is an unknown for me.  I looked for reviews but i guess not many people are playing them.
I already have too many guitars outfitted with High Output pups, so this one i want to be different.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Pickups for a custom Steinberger GL Mahogany Body, Graphite Neck.

« on: July 29, 2019, 01:29:36 PM »

The pickups worked out great.  The harmonics are killer and the rhythms hit you in the chest.  I can say that once i tried a set of Titans, and these blow them out of the water.  I want to try this set in another guitar, now that I know i love the tone.  They are also well balanced when switching from neck to bridge.  Volume is even providing the pickup height is set right.  Killer set.  You were correct they are not too dark, they are well balanced so that I can get my tone shaping from the Amp.
thanks.  I will post some examples of them in action soon.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Pickups for a custom Steinberger GL Mahogany Body, Graphite Neck.

« on: February 20, 2019, 09:12:17 AM »

I purchased the set of D Activators, ordered them with black bobbins and black hex pole pieces.  Should look killer, the body has been sprayed metallic grey.  I will do some test recordings as soon as they are in. I spoke to a Dimarzio rep and he said if it turns out to be not bright enough for me, i could always return the Bridge pickup and trade it for a Dominion Neck,
In case it turns out too dark, he suggested,
D Actvator Neck in the Bridge,
Dominion Neck in the neck.
but first of course I will try the set as it is intended,
will report back.
Looking forward to seeing what these pickups can do.   

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The Pickup Place / Re: Pickups for a custom Steinberger GL Mahogany Body, Graphite Neck.

« on: November 16, 2018, 08:12:14 PM »

Yes, I have been listening to a lot of clip of the Deactivators.  I am very impressed so far. 
There is also this strange thing some are doing.  If the body is Mahogany, they use the Dactivator Neck pickup in the bridge, and the liquifire in the neck.  They say this combo is better to brighten up the mahogany body. 
I am not sure as the twin brother of this guitar has Holcombs, Alpha/Omega, they are both mid scooped with a lot of high end and almost no bass.  They sound great.  Not sure if the Deactivator bridge will be too dark. 
Most of the sound demos i listened to were with Alder bodies. 
what do you think?
Is the Deactivator bridge bright enough with a mahogany body?

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The Pickup Place / Pickups for a custom Steinberger GL Mahogany Body, Graphite Neck.

« on: October 26, 2018, 05:31:58 PM »

Greetings all,
I have used many Dimarzio's in the past but have just joined the forum.  I am hoping to hear from some DiMarzio experts to help me make the second GL have it's own character.
I have built two killer Steinberger GL style bodies made from Mahogany. The necks are both Moses Graphite with no face dots. look sweet. I got the first one together, put a set of Seymour Duncan Holcombs from the custom shop wound by MJ. they were from the first hand wound run of 200 sets. Now I am trying to figure out what to put in his EVIL Twin Brother. I dont want two of the exact same guitar tone, so was thinking a different pickup brand altogether. Like the original GL they have 2 Hum configuration. I am looking at the following, trying to keep in mind it's Mahogany body with a Graphite neck.

I play many different styles of metal. Death Metal / Black Metal / Progressive Metal / 80s Metal

Dimarzio:
Super3b / Super2n
D Activator set               "I heard this set is very evenly balanced, like a good set of EMG"
Dominion Set                 
Steve Morse Bridge / PAF Pro neck  "I heard the the pinch harmonics from SM Bridge are killer"
Fred / PAF joe            " i already know from experience that the harmonics and brightness of Fred kills"

Anyone with any experience can chime in. I already tried the Dimarzio Titan set and did not like them at all, not the sound nor the feel. They seemed bland / dull. lacked character. They did not have very much compression so were harder to get pinch harmonics out of. and did not sustain very well.