[MetalFinatic14]

So i'm looking to replace my crappy stock v7/v8 pickups in my Ibanez rg. I was wondering if anyone had any personal insight into each of these pickups. I'm looking for sylosis style riffing and rhythm playing. Need the low end heavy and distorted while still retaining articulation. Will the X2N provide enough power for the brootal? lol. Or would the X be better because it has a higher bass/lower treble. Thanks

(basswood body) - Running the rg through a blackstar ht-5rh and 4x12 cabinet.

[jazzfromhell]

Probably either of those will be sort of decent but to me they are way too hot. I think its hard to get the really tight, controlled chug when there's too much output. A slightly lower-output pickup like the standard D-Activator or the Titan would do the job better imo. Josh is using EMGs most of the time as far as I can tell and they aren't really that super, over-the-top output monster that some people think. Its always easier to get more gain and distortion out of a lower-output pickup than the other way around.

[MetalFinatic14]

The original pickups I were looking at were

Seymour Duncan : alternative 8, nazgul, Pegasus, and JB
Dimarzio : Crunch Lab, Evo, Evo2

I know tone comes first but I prefer the look and customization of dimarzio's. I also heard they sound better in basswood than SD's.

Any experience or opinion on any of these pickups?

[D20]

I recently put a DA in my JP100D. I have up until now only used EMGs and i really like the DA. It does have some spikey treble, but it is very clear and articulate and not overcompressed. Here is an example of a track i just recorded with the DA in the JP100D.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1046513/Old%20Andy%20Mixrack%201.mp3

I think you would be happy with a DA. It is a great pickup!