Active Pickups Question!?

Question

Yeah so i have an ibanez xiphos. it is possibly the best guitar i've ever played and i've played a lot of guitars. well i can tell you its perfect. great low action, great feel, great sound but one thing id like to improve is the pickups! they are USA dimarzio d'activators. i want to swap em out for Dave Mustaine Signature Live Wire pickups (18 volt) or Seymour Duncan Blackouts (18 volt as well) Besides cutting into the guitar in back for room for the batteries and what not would it make any difference to the guitar? Today someone at sam ash told me it would mess up the sound and i'm better off just putting EMG's in it. See my plan was to come really early both days of gigantour in my city and get my back plate signed by Dave Mustaine. and then getting Dave mustaine pickups which kick *** all on their own. and it would be like a Mustaine signature Ibanez Xiphos. Probably wouldn't sell for as much as i would pay for all that but i'd probably never sell it. Help/ Tips please!

Answer 1

If there's not enough room you'll have to route out the cavity in the back of the guitar. The danger is that you'll route too much and ruin the guitar by breaking it - that's why the Sam Ash person told you to stick with the EMG's. I think it's settling for second-best... I think both Seymour Duncan products are far superior to EMG's. If you think you can make it work, I'd say go for it. Just don't route too deep. Measure careful, and go slowly.



It won't affect the tone per se, but it might lower the body's sustain a little bit. This will of course be offset by the larger gain you'll get from the active electronics, especially if it's going into a tube amp.



You'll love the sound - it'll kick serious a**! Again, just be really easy on the routing.





Saul

Answer 2

I don't know much about the 18 volt active electronic pick-ups, but I really like the effect that active electronics gives. It is unique in that it doesn't color or change the tone of the pick-up(s), but instead gives it a boost. This boost can only be achieved with the use of active electronics because it comes into play before the pick-ups. I had a 9 volt device built for me from schematics I found in The Guitar Handbook years ago. It had a potentiometer built into it which allowed my to create gain like a volume knob. I really liked it.

Answer 3

Is there room in the control cavity for 2 nine volt batteries?



If not, you'll have to have a pro route out 2 battery compartments in the back. Will it have a negative effect on your guitars tone? Not really. Loads of boutique bass guitars have 18v active electronics and they sound incredible.

Answer 4

I even have an Epiphone Les Paul which isn't possibly 'metallic' yet is okay. the only little bit of the equation you have ignored is what amp you're using - that probable makes as a lot distinction to the sound as the two the guitar or the pedals. i take advantage of the Epiphone Les Paul with the aid of a Vox multi-outcomes pedal right into a Bugera V55 amp. The Bugera is fifty 5 watts of organic valve (tube) potential, not a transistor in sight and the Vox multi-result pedal is likewise tube pushed pre-amp. in case you opt for convincing sounding distortion and overdrive you only ought to have valves, good state amps do exactly not decrease it even with what guitar and pedals you're using.

Answer 5

EMG 81-85 or seymour duncan dimebuckers which is what i have in my gib. les paul and i have the emgs in my jackson randy rhoads signature