Concerning the bridge pickup:
Frist of all, I agree with you that the Tone Zone seems to be lacking in the high end department. It just seems to lack a bit of the clarity that I want in a lead pickup. I always have to turn up the treble and presence on my amp to make up for it, but this leads to a harsher tone than I get with a good, clear pickup. I'm thinking of switching my USRG30 over to EMG-89s. I had EMG's in a Jackson PS-4 and that was the best tone I think I've ever had.
As far as you're thoughts that position 5 may not be the
bridge humbucker, check something first. When I bought my USRG used, someone had lost or stolen the plastic tip on the pickup selector. I went to the
local music store and picked up a pack of Fender tips, the kind that are made for strats. I found out that the Fender tips are actually larger than the Ibanez ones, and when pushed all the way onto the end of the pickup selector, they keep bumping into the heads of the screw used to mount the switch. This kept the switch from reliably hitting positions 1 or 5, basically cutting out both of my full humbucking positions. To make the matter even more aggravating, the position was just right to let the switch click physically into position without the electrical contacts being made. It --felt-- like it switched, but the sound didn't change. The moral of this long winded bit is this: Take the tip off of your switch and see if the bridge humbucker sounds like a bridge humbucker.
