Chuck

fukkin sweet. gonna mod the sheeyit out of it

i noticed your conversation about the retrofit Hipshot bridge for the Ibanez RG7421. im getting an RG7321 and i was planning on just swapping the saddles out for Hipshot ones and still using the stock baseplate. do you think that would work as well?

Oh, I didn't know that's possible. Might be a sweet idea to do the same thing to my next Ibanez. Thanks for the info.

If the price is right! Hhaha. I'll let you know.

All depends on my cash situations. I've had little to no wiggle room lately to buy gear cause of hours at work and such and my car acting like a butt. I'll think about it though!

I want a NTF to go with my VLF xD
We can never win

In my VLF I have a Tone Zone/PAF Pro and it also sounds extremely good. The DAs should sound pretty massive I would imagine

They're placed perfectly. At first I was going to swap them but even my JP didnt sound nearly as good as they do in it. Crisp and clear without being too over the top

I use my 321 live now. It is absolutely fantastic

Nevah! I shall collect them all

I am going to have to backpedal a bit, but now that I am thinking about it, I think they don't share a preamp. 2 pickups, 2 preamps, one housing. lol i'm 99% sure on that.

It is pretty much exactly the 85 sound in dual coil mode. IIRC, The only reason it was given a different name instead of just applying "TW" to it like with the 81TW, Is that rather than being an 85 with a split option, it is more like an 85, and an SA under one housing, sharing a preamp.
If you want super versatility, The 89/89R is a pretty good bet, as well.

Yeah, man. Had one in a Schecter Solo-6 Hellraiser that came stock. What do you need to know about it?

No problem, man. I have owned many pickups; active, and passive both in the last 5 years. So if you have any other ones you are intersted in, I will gladly share my opinion if need be.

I really did not dig the 85x That i had in my Ibanez MBM1... It felt like they just lowered the output of the pickup to prevent clipping as opposed to increasing the headroom by other methods. Just took all the grind, and oomph out of the tone. I never used the 60x, but if it is like the 85x, I would steer clear if you want to do neck pup leads. The 85x/81x had better cleans, but could not hang with the originals under gain.


18 volt mod will help you get even more open grind, clear articulation, and better cleans.
It is cheap, easy as hell to do(diagrams all over the internet), and if you are like me and end up prefering certain aspects of the 9v tone, it is easy to undo.

Oh, and if punchy is your goal. The 85 won't disappoint.

Hey, man.
I recommend the 85b/60n combo, they have served me well. And I will explain why.
I am a firm believer in the 85 being a great all around bridge pickup. It is less compressed in feel than the 81, cuts through better due to the greater midrange response, the low end is beefy without losing definition, and the smoother top end really keeps everything nice and articulate.

60: Leads are fairly smooth, gets you that more fluid tone that many here like to an extent. Cleans are hard to beat in the EMG line close to the 81, but a bit less artificial sounding.

You should definitely try out Gravity picks. I got some and they blow the V pick out of the water. Granted....the V pick I have is insane but these Gravity picks have lasted about 3 weeks of constant abuse.

the d activators are a mix of being really fat but also very clear. Its a very good combo of highs and lows so its not muddy or harsh at all. I definitely wanna try them out in another tone wood to see how it relates with something other than a poplar top.