Pickup advice for custom shop rr1t

[Skizzwizz]

Hi folks!

I know this could be a useless thread in many people's minds, but I need to ask some gearhead questions lol:

I am planning on getting a Jackson RR 1T made for me in 22 fret, Eerie Dess Swirl, with a Tone Pros bridge...I had a RR1t and like a dummy got rid of it (I know, I know!)...long story short, I wanted more than what the SDs offered, and had liked the sounds coming from the DiMarzio 36 Anniversary PAF pups In a mahog Iceman...I know the RR is alder, and when I contacted DiMarzio online, they recommended the Air Norton in the neck and the Andy Timmons in the bridge to level off the brightness of the alder....anyone with opinions? I play rock, thrash and blues as well...out of a Vox VT 15...thanx in advance!

[Nagash02]

Rule number one : keep all your RR's ^^

The Air Norton is one of these standard pickups like the EMG 81 or the Duncan JB... of course they all sound cool, but everyone uses them so you'll probably end up sounding like everybody else... on the other hand, they are much more versatile than "made for metal" pickups or so. The guys from DiMarzio know probably a lot more than I do, I'd say the combination they suggested is quite promising in terms of versatility but not very original, that's all

As always, the best wat to find out would be to try the pickups, so if you come across a guitar that features one of them, go ahead and play it... you'll get close to what it will sound like it your RR. If other people tell you it's a nice combination I'd give it a try ^^. But since we're talking custom shop here, you'll throw out a lot of cash anyway so changing the pickups is not really a big deal anymore, is it ?

[Skizzwizz]

Thank you sooo much! The same thoughts here on the recommendations by DiMarzio: maybe too standard....it is a heckuva lotta cash (grad school graduation and 40th b-day present early combined lol) so I wondered if any of you wonderful folks had opinions, and here came a great one! Respect!

[etepbbb]

I have a X2N in my RR Pro, and it rules, give it a shot. The only difference would be the bridge.

As for custom shop RR1T, I'd buy a USA model and switch the bridge and pups, it'll be half the cost and you won't have to wait forever to get it. I'm not sure if Eerie Dress is still available, but you can alway find a clean used one if you look hard enough. Just my 2 cents though.

[Skizzwizz]

Those 2 cents is JUST what I'm considering, actually....THANK YOU!!!!

[Hellbat]

I agree, other than the tone pros bridge and pickups it sounds like a production Rhoads. Just get a stock EDS RR1T and change out the pickups. If you feel like a different bridge try of of the drop in Graphtech resomax bridges or something.

As far as pickups go I'm a Duncan guy. I love the jazz in the neck for cleans myself, but if I was a neck switcher for leads I would look at a Full Shred. As for the bridge I would recommend a Custom or if you want a lot of different sound options, you could go with a P-Rails hot ( SH-PR2 ) and some kind of coil tapping setup.

[Grim]

NEither of those will be hot enough for thrash. Try a Crunch Lab, D-Sonic or Tone Zone.

[guitarsjb]

X2N here too. Love 'em in my RR's

[Grim]

X2N here too. Love 'em in my RR's

The X2N is a classic pickup. I can reccomend it...

[toejam]

DiMarzio X2N or Duncan Parallel Axis Distortion (PATB-2). I've got the PATB-2 in my RR1T, paired up with a Jazz, and love it.

[Mazrim]

The best bridge pick up Ive ever heard in an Alder body, for metal, is BKP Painkiller.

[Skizzwizz]

You all are great!!!! Thank you again!
I've been liking the Bareknuckle pups for quite some time now....I wanted a custom shop because I haven't been able to find an Eerie Dess used that someone would be willing to ship to Japan...which I can understand. The price is a bit high, but if they could do everything I want in my axe first, I figure so much the better.

[Hellbat]

NEither of those will be hot enough for thrash. Try a Crunch Lab, D-Sonic or Tone Zone.

The P-rails hot is a different beast that the first one. I would say the output is a little higher than halfway between a custom and a blackout. That stricly in hum bucker mode. Naturally it looses a chunk of output when you split to the p90 or rail.

[Hellbat]

You all are great!!!! Thank you again!
I've been liking the Bareknuckle pups for quite some time now....I wanted a custom shop because I haven't been able to find an Eerie Dess used that someone would be willing to ship to Japan...which I can understand. The price is a bit high, but if they could do everything I want in my axe first, I figure so much the better.

If you are in Japan you should look at the Jackson Stars models. I don't know if their custom shop is still active or not, but the do pop up used in the usual places from time to time. I think people that own both will likely say there isn't a giant difference between their higher end models and a USA Select.

[Nagash02]

He said he wouldn't be playing heavy stuff exclusively, so maybe the X2N would be a bit too extreme, don't you think ? I'd rather recommend a Tone Zone (quite high output) in the bridge and some Air in the neck... or just a combination of Steve Vai pickups (even though I don't like Steve Vai, he has a very cool and versatile sound)