I've had my RG7-CTVV for well over a year now, and had never really complained about the tone of the New7 pickups. I always thought they had decent output, were nicely balanced, and reasonably clear (at least compared to
Ibanez pickups). *
After playing a friend's 2027 with a PAF7 and
Tone Zone 7, I was in heaven. :love: I immediately ordered new pickups, then pretty much forgot about installing them. I've finally gotten around to installing the new pickups and restringing the guitar...
ABSOLUTE NIGHT & DAY...
Though the Dimarzios don't have much higher output, they are much warmer and more rounded than the New7's. The clarity of individual notes is amazing! (I don't know why I'm so surprised since I have 11 other guitars with Dimarzios, but I guess I just didn't realize what I was missing). I can see this becoming my main guitar without much effort.
As a side note, the guitar also looks a little meaner now. The New7's had black pole pieces, but the Dimarzios with the chrome pole pieces add a nice touch. Looks like a 3120 on steroids.
Anyway, the moral of the story is, if you're one of the other dozen or so people out there with an RG7-CTVV, changing the pickups will probably improve your tone at least 100%. If you have a 2027, changing pickups will probably improve your tone 200%. (And if you have a CST, I have no idea...)
