thinking about changing the pickups out.

[Bluedinky]

as some of you have seen, i own a Jackson DKMGT and dont get me wrong i love the guitar to death but i just think i could get a better tone than what the EMG hz's are giving me.

i am mostly a metal player who uses low tuning so EMG 81/85 is an option for me but i wouldn't be opposed to a really good passive pickup as well.

i have been looking at a few dimarzio pickups in the passive department.

so i guess my question for all you guys is what would be a good pickup choice given the information i just provided you with?


or if any of you own a DKMGT and swapped out the pickups what did you go with?

[guitarbumb]

ive had many a differant pickup in my dkmgt both active and passive, im not really a fan of actives, My recommendation is either a Seymour Duncan distortion, and also a Seymour Duncan Screaming Demon wich i think sounds very surprising when tuned a whole step down.

[Bluedinky]

ive had many a differant pickup in my dkmgt both active and passive, im not really a fan of actives, My recommendation is either a Seymour Duncan distortion, and also a Seymour Duncan Screaming Demon wich i think sounds very surprising when tuned a whole step down.

i was looking into some dimarzio super distortions, or D activators.

whats your take on those?

[Foulacy]

I have guitars with both actives (EMGs) and passives in them. and to be honest, i could never decide which I liked better for metal. actives just have a different sound to them. i wouldn't necessarily call them better or worse for any style really. when I was deciding pickups for my last swap, i went to guitar center and played different guitars (that had pickups i wanted in them) over and over using the same amp with the same settings so i could compare different pickups. obviously not the perfect experiment but it helps.

[guitarbumb]

i was looking into some dimarzio super distortions, or D activators.

whats your take on those?

Havent really used them never been a dimarzio fan Duncans all the way for me

[tcwil8]

For my DXMG, I replaced the EMGHZs with the Duncan SD in the bridge and a Dimarzio PAF pro in the neck. It sounds a lot better but then again, almost anything is better than the HZs.

[Bluedinky]

For my DXMG, I replaced the EMGHZs with the Duncan SD in the bridge and a Dimarzio PAF pro in the neck. It sounds a lot better but then again, almost anything is better than the HZs.

This sir is a true story, i found a pickup on musicians friend i think might be what im looking for. ill post a link maybe one of you have experience with it.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/DiMarzio-DP207-D-Sonic-Pickup?sku=309370

[Newc]

Only guitar I've got with HZs also has the TurboCharger. I like them with that on about 3, especially tuned down 2 steps.

[Bluedinky]

Only guitar I've got with HZs also has the TurboCharger. I like them with that on about 3, especially tuned down 2 steps.

yeah with the push/pull pot in it right? i got the same ones... i just want to switch it up

[BayRocker]

Two weeks ago I bought DKMG that came with the EMG Hz's and the turbocharger. I found that combo kind of weak. I actually bought it knowing I was going to install new pickups as I've heard the Hz's are a bit weak. Just Monday night, I yanked those boys out and replaced em with Seymour Duncan Blackouts. A world of difference. I went with a single volume, single tone, and just left the turbocharger in there unconnected. This thing screams now. This also gave me a chance to completely re-setup this guitar as it came way out of whack. It was hard to believe it was a Jackson as the action was horrible. I see why the guy sold it, sounded weak and was difficult to play, his loss my gain...

[Bluedinky]

Two weeks ago I bought DKMG that came with the EMG Hz's and the turbocharger. I found that combo kind of weak. I actually bought it knowing I was going to install new pickups as I've heard the Hz's are a bit weak. Just Monday night, I yanked those boys out and replaced em with Seymour Duncan Blackouts. A world of difference. I went with a single volume, single tone, and just left the turbocharger in there unconnected. This thing screams now. This also gave me a chance to completely re-setup this guitar as it came way out of whack. It was hard to believe it was a Jackson as the action was horrible. I see why the guy sold it, sounded weak and was difficult to play, his loss my gain...

i have already had my guitar setup for low action and had the bridge setup for the tuning i use. just my pickups are HZ's and i either want REAL 81/85's or im going to do a dimarzio D sonic bridge and a air martin in the neck. i conclude that'll probably be the best passive setup for me.

[jdr94]

i'd say x2n/air norton. i've tried the d-activators, theyre ok.

[Bluedinky]

i'd say x2n/air norton. i've tried the d-activators, theyre ok.

the x2n has amazing reviews so i might just do that. i think im going to order them in blue to match my guitar

[Axewielder]

FYI (in case you don't already know), you'll have to put new pots in if you switch to passives.

[BayRocker]

Actually, EMG Hz's are passive...he'll need to change the pots to go active, like I did when I switched to Blackouts. The stock pots are 500k. The Blackouts use 25k pots and they are included in the kit. The shafts on the original pots are a little slimmer, so I had to bore out the holes ever so slightly to accomodate the wider shaft.

From what I've heard of the active EMG's, they kind of make all the guitars sound the same. I went with the Blackouts since they give you the high gain, but retain a lot of the guitars original tone properties.