Just an observation on V8 pickups

[john1880]

I recently equipped a couple of my RGs with seymour duncan pickups. A Duncan distortion and a Custom. I noticed that the stock V8(which a lot of people don't like) is noticably louder. I dont have a problem with the V pickups but I just wanted a different flavor. Anyway, I thought it was strange that the Vs were louder than SDs. They aren't bad at all...IMHO.

John

[RSVampire]

yeah, stock pickups have come a long way. Vintage guitars have great pickups (well... great because they sound classic and vintage) and now pickups are starting to be made/designed by big pickup companies like Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan. IMO the 90's saw a lot of corner cutting and a lack of focus on pickups in most guitars. So these days I believe changing pickups are really for, in your terms, "a new flavor" vs "these things suck balls"

[Jaden]

I disagree, put simply the Vx pups are rubbish, its not how load they are that matters, its the tone and the way they control the output and reduce the "muddy" effect that the Vx pups are bad for.
I have replaced all my stock pups - not all were Vx models but they were all awful compared to the Dimarzios I replaced them with. I simply couldnt play one of my guitars until I had replaced the pups, it was that bad.
unless an axe comes dimarzio equipped - they go on the bay !

[nickcoumbe]

The v range have too much output, and not enough flavour. You could forgive one of those things in a pick up, but not both. I used to think that it was my playing or my amp sound that was bad, until I built a custom and used a paf pro and 2 hs3 for the singles. I immediately realised that it was the pickups (and my playing ). I found that you relly have to tweak all your cotrol settings, especially the guitar to get anything useful. Position 4 was the only pickup combination that I really liked. This is more because I like the S1 I suspect.

[Roadstar]

Originally Posted by john1880

I recently equipped a couple of my RGs with seymour duncan pickups. A Duncan distortion and a Custom. I noticed that the stock V8(which a lot of people don't like) is noticably louder. I dont have a problem with the V pickups but I just wanted a different flavor. Anyway, I thought it was strange that the Vs were louder than SDs. They aren't bad at all...IMHO.

John

really?
the DD is a much hotter pup than the V8,it has a massive ceramic magnet and real hot windings?

[ibanez2005]

V7/V8 are great IMO, i'd never change mine, great sound, great harmonics and they clean up well when you roll the volume down. Down to personal preference though.

[john1880]

hey roadstar. yeah, i know the DD is a very hot pickup and it sounds awesome, but the V8 is just louder...for whatever reason. i guess it depends on what type of music you play, but the V8 works fine for rock, like greenday, foo fighters, stuff like that. for me anyway.

[UsrName]

I recently got an RGA121 with the V7/V8 combo. I swapped out the V8 for a Duncan Distortion and also noticed a volume drop, especially compared to the neck pup. I also think it has a lot to do with the eq of the pickup itself. The DD definitely has more highs and less lows than the original, so it may not seem as thick on the low end, IMO. I'm currently looking to replace it with something with less highs and more mids/lows. I'm probably going to try a DMZ Super3 or Breed as I've heard great things about them and seem to be what I'm looking for.

[rastachild]

i think the v8 is a great pickup. not my favorite by any means, but definitely as good as quite a few dimarzio's i've heard. i noticed it was louder than the fred that i put in there instead, but the fred is a medium output pickup anyway (seems to be on the lower end of the 'medium' scale as well) and it seems the v8 is also medium, but maybe a tad bit hotter. i've got a rga121 and several rt450s, each that have the v8/v7 combo. the rga is maple/mahogony and the rt450s are alder. the v8 sounds good in both, probably a little better (i.e., more articulate) in the rga. in the rt450, it sounds better than the fred. but it may not sound as good in basswood.

anyway, tone is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder, and to be honest, that old adage about tone being in the fingers is right on the money. i've heard amazing tone from stock v series pickups...in the hands of a capable player. but for ordinary mortals like me, i'll still rely on duncans to help me with my deficiencies

[Rab]

I tell you to my surprise when i bought my 2005 Ibanez Prestige 1570 that was equiped with a v8, v7 combo, it sounded realy good.
Back in the early nineties i used to change pickup on most of my medium quality and some high end guitar with Dimarsios or Seymour. But now it seems the stock pickups coming out of Ibanez guitars improved a lot.

My Prestige now have 2 evos on it and to tell you the truth im thinking of installing back the Vs cause now it sounds to thin with those evos.

The V pickups came a long way regarding output and mudiness. Ive been playing for 17 years and i can tell you those Vs now are great pickups unless you are looking for a specific sounding pickup, other than that keep them where they belong.

You can hear my solo album Rise at www.rabihsaad.com

Regards

[john1880]

I have one older RG550 with the older V series, the V1/V2. I think those sound good too.
I used to change out the stock pickups pretty quickly too, mainly because the stock pickups used to feedback like crazy. I have this collection of Duncans and dimarzios that I will probably keep forever.
I also have one RG570 that no matter what pickup I try just lacks something. I'll be selling that one I guess. Sometimes nothing can help the tone of a guitar, and basswood is very inconsistent I've found. I have some basswood guitars that weigh 2-3pounds more than others...and sound a lot different with the same pickups.

[Ironjose]

those V8 and V7 pups have great output...
JJ

[rastachild]

Originally Posted by john1880

I have one older RG550 with the older V series, the V1/V2. I think those sound good too.
I used to change out the stock pickups pretty quickly too, mainly because the stock pickups used to feedback like crazy. I have this collection of Duncans and dimarzios that I will probably keep forever.
I also have one RG570 that no matter what pickup I try just lacks something. I'll be selling that one I guess. Sometimes nothing can help the tone of a guitar, and basswood is very inconsistent I've found. I have some basswood guitars that weigh 2-3pounds more than others...and sound a lot different with the same pickups.

yeah, not all wood is created equal. especially basswood, from what i've heard. supposedly, there are good cuts and bad cuts of it, depending on what part of the tree was used. i'm sure the lower end basswood guitars definitely get the bad cuts and the higher end ones get the more toneful basswood. my js1000 & axis (both basswood) sound fantastic, so there must be some truth to it.