Pickup recommendations for my RR1

[Force]

EMG 81/85 if you're into actives.

I 2nd this

[Nightbat]

I was deffinetly thinking about a Duncan distortion or a Duncan custom. I'm not an active guy but I need an 80's shredder tone

Fuck it, DiMarzio Super Distortion

A Bill Lawrence will get you that hair as well

[Trem]

I guess I should have mentioned... I like my tone VERY saturated with gain.

Fuck it, DiMarzio Super Distortion

A Bill Lawrence will get you that hair as well

+1

[theorifice]

You really can't do better than Dimarzio X2N's if you're looking for a high definition high output pickup. It's the best pickup I've ever used for high gain tones. Since it's output is so high, coil-tapping leads to really sparkly single coil sounds instead of those floppy impotent coil-tapped sounds you usually get with coil tapping.

I'd go X2N. You'll never look back.

[neptoess]

https://www.billlawrence.com

L-500XL > X2N

Try some dimarzios. D activators will take nicely to mountains of gain. Tone Zone will make an RR1 sound huge

[Hellbat]

Duncan Custom bridge. Keep the Jazz in the neck or go with DiMarzio PAF Pro if you want a bit more cut to the neck. The jazz in an RR-1 is capable of delivering amazing clean tones though, so unless you never play clean I would keep it there.

[neptoess]

Another thing might be to remove the tone pots from the circuit. I personally only run single 500K volume pots with no tone controls. Lets you hear alot more of what the pup is giving you

[themisfit138]

Get the Duncan Custom Custom. It is a great bridge pickup.

[nateb]

Spend a bit more money and go for a Bareknuckle. I have them in all my guitars. I also find that the pickups that come with jacksons are less then stellar and inconsistent. After trying out a Nailbomb two years ago, they basically are my goto passive pickup.

[rhoadsfan11]

Lots of great recommendations here. The thing I just can't wrap my head around is how different this set sounds compared to my two old RR1's . The difference really is incredible. "not in a good way"

[themisfit138]

Spend a bit more money and go for a Bareknuckle. I have them in all my guitars. I also find that the pickups that come with jacksons are less then stellar and inconsistent. After trying out a Nailbomb two years ago, they basically are my goto passive pickup.

Bare Knuckle are nice, also. I liked the Holy Diver a lot, it has a nice open sound.

[Iivari]

Another thing might be to remove the tone pots from the circuit. I personally only run single 500K volume pots with no tone controls. Lets you hear alot more of what the pup is giving you

I 2nd that. I never use tone pot, so I ripped it out. IMHO, it's completly useless in metal.

[neptoess]

No offense to bare knuckle fans, but paying over $100 for a pickup is ridiculous. The way I look at it, once you get as good as Dimarzio, EMG, Duncan, Bill Lawrence, Kent Armstrong, etc. You don't really get much better in the tone department. Bare Knuckles are hand-wound, and highly customizable. You pay for that. I think this guy should just check all his wiring, possibly replacing the pots with new 500K and removing the tone pot from the circuit. Then he just needs to see what he needs more/less of. I had a battle with my RG. Stock pups were muddy. Put L-500s in. Way too bright. Air Zone/Air Norton set is about the perfect balance. I still wish I would have gotten a TZ instead of an AZ, but the guitar still sounds great. Experimentation is the key to getting the tone out of your guitar that you want. Don't try too hard though. Pickups are a really small part of your overall sound. Making sure you've got a good guitar, amp, cable, cab, speakers, tubes, strap locks, etc. should all be before pickup swaps.

[wilkinsi]

True. And had I considered that years ago, I would have kept all my guitars stock.

[Hellbat]

I keep waiting for somebody to suggest one of these things....

http://www.seymourduncan.com/newproducts/zephyr-silver-pickups.php