Changing Pickups. Advice? Options

[SpiritCrusher]

Hello, I have an Ibanez S520-WK with two QM6 humbucker pickups, and I was thinking about changing them.
However, I know almost nothing about pickups, and I don't know which two will fit together.
I'm looking for a powerful neoclassical sound with good sustain, but I don't know what two pickups to buy.
They have to be F-spaced btw to fit my axe.
Any recommendations?

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[jstcrsn]

Hello, I have an Ibanez S520-WK with two QM6 humbucker pickups, and I was thinking about changing them.
However, I know almost nothing about pickups, and I don't know which two will fit together.
I'm looking for a powerful neoclassical sound with good sustain, but I don't know what two pickups to buy.
They have to be F-spaced btw to fit my axe.
Any recommendations?

IMO most all upgraded pickups will be able to be EQ-ed ( in mix down )to sound good , that being said I would get the upgraded picks of your favorite players as that might be slightly easier to get the sound you are trying to achieve

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[SpiritCrusher]

IMO most all upgraded pickups will be able to be EQ-ed ( in mix down )to sound good , that being said I would get the upgraded picks of your favorite players as that might be slightly easier to get the sound you are trying to achieve

Well, I've read on some forums that the DiMarzio Evo's are a quite good choice, so I will be buying this one:
https://www.thomann.de/dk/dimarzio_evo_2_dp...ed+evo_183181_1
But I don't know what should be my second PU?

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[SpiritCrusher]

I decided to buy a Evo 2 Bridge and a Gravity Storm Neck PU.
Anyone got experience with these?

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[Mertay]

Buying sets would be safer, like an evo 2 for bridge and evo for neck. Evo's have a sharp attack with an overall open sound so for neoclassical they can be a very good choice (or any style involving shred). Though sure shreddable, other Vai PU's as far as I know has a fuller or bigger sound.

Mixing PU's requires experience and a some-what aged understanding of personal gear and habbits so its a risk. Say the bridge PU sound great but when switched to the neck tone might be lost cause of a sweeter top-end or lack of mid.s on heavy distortion.

Balance is key here, other factors of tone can be shaped by pedals, amp setting etc. ... Thats why buying a tested/proven set gets importance.

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[jstcrsn]

Buying sets would be safer, like an evo 2 for bridge and evo for neck. Evo's have a sharp attack with an overall open sound so for neoclassical they can be a very good choice (or any style involving shred). Though sure shreddable, other Vai PU's as far as I know has a fuller or bigger sound.

Mixing PU's requires experience and a some-what aged understanding of personal gear and habbits so its a risk. Say the bridge PU sound great but when switched to the neck tone might be lost cause of a sweeter top-end or lack of mid.s on heavy distortion.

Balance is key here, other factors of tone can be shaped by pedals, amp setting etc. ... Thats why buying a tested/proven set gets importance.

Wisdom here ^, unless someone you know has mixed those the two you want and has conclusions that give confidence in that choice

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[klasaine]

Xlnt advice above!
A 'matched' set is always safest.

Although those two will probably match pretty well.
The DC resistance and the mv output of the Gravity Storm neck is a bit less than the Evo 2 bridge so there may be a slight volume difference but it shouldn't be too much. The 'mismatch' in the treble and middle is similar to a lot of Gibson LP pkup sets - hotter/brighter bridge, smoother/darker neck.

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This post has been edited by klasaine: Feb 3 2017, 04:36 PM

[Todd Simpson]

Well said folks Mix and matching pups is a pinch riskier than just getting a paire/matched set. The difference may not bug ya, but it might. Be a shame to spend the money and not like the results. The FISHMAN FLUENCE pickups are the new "pup of the moment" and apparently they are quite good and flexible. They have a little switch on each one inside that you can set for different tone results. It's not something you can get to, so folks usually set it once. However, I've yet to try these personally. Just heard wads of folks raving about them and switching to them. For example Tosin Abasi liked them so much that he had 8 string versions of them put in his signature ibbby.

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