Thinking of Buying a DiMarzio Evolution Bridge Pickup

[Phagan]

I currently have an Ibanez RG270DX and im sick to death of the PowerSound Pickups, I can hardly get a good lead Tone and pinch harmonics are weak as are powerchords. I run my Ibanez through a DS-1 into a Marshall AVT50 so i very much doubt its the amps or pedals vault and the guitar is really nice when it comes to action/frets/neck etc so the only problem i can see is the Pick Ups.

So ive decided that i want to try putting an Evo in my bridge and trying that, and was just wondering if it would be a good replacement, what type of diffrences will i notice from the power sound. and as im completely new to pickups i was wonderign if someone could explain what is meant if a pick up is passive, and also will it be hard to put the evo in my bridge, and any other information you can give me would be really appreciated.

[The_Grindfiend]

Well, the first thing you will notice will be drastically increased power. The EVOs are pretty hot. Next, clarity will be much better. The EVO has a lot of mids and presence, and are great at overdriving an amp for solos AND for heavy rhythm. String seperation and definition will be greatly improved. It should be a drop-in replacement.

If a pickup is passive, then it's a normal pickup that used 250k-1 megaohm pots, and produces a high impedance signal. Active pickups incorporate s small preamp inside the pickup, and produced a low impedance signal. They typically use around 25k pots. The typical active example is the EMG line of pickups. They require a battery. Some people swear by them, and others avoid them like the plague. I tend to fall into the latter category, but don't let that influence your decision. The main attraction of active pickups is the extremely high output, which is actually completely unnecessary, but the companies advertise them like output is all that matters. Active pups are generally much more of a pain than passives, as it takes just short of a minor miracle to get them to work with passive pickups on the same guitar. You pretty much have to go completely active, which severely cuts down on your options. A great product is the EMG Afterburner. I have one, and it converts the signal to low impedance and provides a boost of up to 20dB, and works with active or passive pickups. With passive pups, it gives you all the benefits of active pickups with very little hassle. You have to change the battery about once every year, but that's it.

[Phagan]

Thnx alot for clearing that up for me dude. Now i just gotta find an online store that Sels EVOs and ships outside of the US as i live in the UK and none of the local music stores sell EVO's, so if anyone knows some good stores that are cheap i would really appreciate it if you could reccomend some

[kennydoe]

Just start saving now for a neck pickup replacement...The Evo is going to far out-balance the PS AND it's going to sound so much better you're not goig to want to ever hear it again.

Just some advice.
~K

[Phagan]

well first im gonna buy the bridge EVO then i will buy the neck EVO, im just so sick of the power sound i cant w8 to save up for both and get em a the same time.

Is it not wise to have an EVO in the bridge and power sound for neck and single coil in the midle?

[The_Grindfiend]

If you're happy with the Powersound neck tone, and you don't mind sweating it out getting volumes to match on the amp, then I see no reason to change it. Some people like to keep pickup switching to a minimum. Some are even happy with just one pickup. I like to keep it simple myself. I use bridge for dirty and neck for clean.

[kennydoe]

Originally Posted by Phagan

well first im gonna buy the bridge EVO then i will buy the neck EVO, im just so sick of the power sound i cant w8 to save up for both and get em a the same time.

Is it not wise to have an EVO in the bridge and power sound for neck and single coil in the midle?

Not that it's not wise...just that it's a much weaker pickup. Try out a bunch of neck-position pickups before you put an Evo in - Evolution can be a little brash in the neck posiiton (in my opinion). I like the PAF-pro. Lotsa folks here prefer the Air Notron.

They're all the same price and Dimarzio is good about taking stuff back within 30 days if you're not happy - unconditional. Just don't trash the pickup.

~K

[hexa-db]

Originally Posted by Phagan

Thnx alot for clearing that up for me dude. Now i just gotta find an online store that Sels EVOs and ships outside of the US as i live in the UK and none of the local music stores sell EVO's, so if anyone knows some good stores that are cheap i would really appreciate it if you could reccomend some

Coda Music sell Dimarzios (pretty cheaply too)
http://www.coda-music.com/new/dimarzio.html

Machine have a Dimarzio logo on their pickups page but no list of prices:
http://www.machinehead.co.uk

I expect Nevada Music sell them too (but there's none on their site)
http://www.ibanezguitars.co.uk/

Good luck

[Murray]

thx for the links hexa, been looking for decent places to buy pickups in the uk for ages

[AndrewTodd]

They're all the same price and Dimarzio is good about taking stuff back within 30 days if you're not happy - unconditional. Just don't trash the pickup.

They only do this in the US - you can't swap it back unless it's faulty in the UK IIRC