should i change the tonezone for an emg?

[Fragle]

well, a few weeks ago i bought a dimarzio tonezone/air norton combo for my dean vendetta 4 - the stock pickups were crap.
now, the guitar is fine, plays like a dream, super light weight, perfectly balanced, definitely a great bang for the buck. however, i'm not sure if i like the tone zone in the bridge, esp. when using my 5150 (which is my main amp). i like the smooth highs and midrange beef, but the lows are somewhat "broken up" sounding, not nearly as i tight as i want them to be - my jackson king v (emg81 loaded) has a much tighter sound, although the treble is more piercing.
the thing is, i love the air norton in the neck, super smooth john petrucci style leads, awesome for shred and clean tones even with the 5150. moreover, i bought those pickups new, and it did cost me quite an amount of money (200 euro for both, did the install myself so that didn't cost me any more fortunately)...therefore i'd hate the idea of either keeping the TZ around unused or putting it @ the 'bay and loosing money in the process, not to mention the $$ another pickup would cost me.

any suggestions? maybe i just didn't tweak enough....it's just that the emg seems to be a perfect match with the 5150 sonically....with the jackson it's really plug and play, all knobs at noon and i'm shredding away.

btw, the guitar's neck through, mahogany body, rosewood fretboard, string through body.

just post your thoughts about this....thanks

[jgcable]

Re: should i change the tonezone for an emg?

The EMG will certainly tighten up your sound. It will tighten up even more if you run the 81 on 18v.

EMG's and a 5150 are a great combo.
I have found that on passive pickups, the 5150 responds better to slightly lower output pickups like the JB, the Screamin Demon and the PAF Pro.

[sully]

Re: should i change the tonezone for an emg?

if you are open to the idea, put a duncan custom in there, it's like a tone zone, but has better bass response. just sayin.

[shredmonster]

Re: should i change the tonezone for an emg?

I say go with the Duncan Custom 5. You will get a lot more dynamics. The EMGs are sterile.
Plus you can turn the custom down a hair and it gets more focused, reduces some of the gain and gets even more dynamics when soloing.

[MountainDog]

Re: should i change the tonezone for an emg?

I have an Ibanez USRG30 that came with a tone zone in the bridge. I wasn't happy with the sound and ended up putting in a Dimarzio DP159 Evolution pickup which sounded great.

Dimarzio describes the Evo as "Low notes are very tight, and the highs have a lot of presence. Designed for Steve's Ibanez Jems, but it can add a lot of punch and definition to Les Pauls and similar set-neck guitars - even the lowest bass notes really jump out of the amp, and feedback occurs easily with a wide range of harmonic overtones".

So if you want to stay in the Dimarzio family vs. trying a Duncan or EMG, you might think about the Evo pickup.

[Fragle]

Re: should i change the tonezone for an emg?

the reason why i went for the tonezone in the first place is that often my ears percieve bright tones as harsh. with both my emg loaded jackson as well as with my dimarzio steve's special loaded charvel i'll really have to keep the highs in check (regardless of the amp i'm playing) or it'll bite my head off.
with the tone zone i find myself upping the treble quite a bit, especially in a band situation, in comparison to the other guitars. hell, back when i used my jackson into a marshall dsl i had the presence at zero and the treble around 10:30 [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] so the smooth highs of the tonezone do come in kinda handy.
maybe the bass is a little too pronounced, though.

i wonder if the emg85 in the bridge would suit me?

[Fragle]

Re: should i change the tonezone for an emg?

nevermind. it's just my 5150 sounding crappy at low volumes LOL. just came home from band practice....swapped the tubescreamer for an sd1 (huge improvement), cranked the mids (even more of an improvement), and all the muddy lows disappeared.
the emg loaded jackson still sounds tighter, though....but also thinner.

well, anyway, thanks!

[quiksilver]

Re: should i change the tonezone for an emg?

RE: your piercing highs issue with the EMG 81, try an 85 in the bridge. You will love it.

[Fragle]

Re: should i change the tonezone for an emg?

actually, as soon as i have some money to burn i might swap out the dimarzio steve's special my model 3 is loaded with for an emg 85.
right now i'm saving up for more important purchases....framus cobra or 2ch recto [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]