I was happy to see that i could intonate the x-bridge correctly... Too bad i needed 4 springs for the bridge, as it is pretty stiff now, hope it becomes a little looser. Anyway, as I have not had to pay taxes yet, i can buy new pickups for the axe with the cash. I've always been a fan of active EMG pickups, like the 81. But I want to install some passive Dimarzio's on it, with the same compact but biting sound the emg81 has in the bridge, and a full toned warm hum for the neck...

Now i know it's impossible to test all pickups, and they sound different on every axe, so I need your opinion and help on the following:

I was thinking about putting a Tone Zone 7 in the bridge, and a Air Norton 7 in the neck... What is the difference output-wise, and will i be satisfied with the tone compared to the EMG's i currently have in my ESP.

If it helps, the pickups currently in the axe (v7 and v are too low, output wise.

I have a 2027 and quite like the evolution7 someone retrofitted in the bridge. Very crisp and clear with gain, really lets you hit chords with a well distorted sound and leaves a lot of clarity. So maybe look into that one. Also, the lowB sounds well good with it . The paf7 I have in the neck is a tad bit yuck though, quite charaterless (for me anyway). Hope this helps, especially as I don't think I have ever heard the stocks...

The 7string EMG's will require rerouting on the body to fit (bit arse really) so I'd advise against that unless you really want them...

i don't know if it's even possible, to connect 2 active hb's AND a piezo bridge to 1 9v battery. But i wasn't thinking about putting EMG's in it.

Too bad you can't tell me what the difference is with v7 and v8's...

Raffel,

How about some pics of that thing?!? I've never seen one in person and have only seen lame pics from Ibanez Japan's website. How's the finish look?

Thanks,

Randy

I had a Tone Zone-7 in the bridge of my 2027, and i wasn't so happy with it. It's a popular choice here, but between that and a Mesa Boogie, there was just no high end clarity. It was a good rhtyhm tone distorted, and tolerable for leads, but clean it was worthless- no clarity. I mean, if you love the sound of a les paul, maybe this was your thing, but if i wanted a les paul, i'd have got one.

Sometime this week, i'll be getting it back with an Evo-7 in the bridge and the paf-7 (pretty good pickup) swapped for the Air Norton-7 in my 7620. More comments to follow, but i have a feeling this will be closer to my tastes...

-Drew

well the air norton is definetly coming in, i'm not sure about the bridge pickup, maybe evolution... I need a pickup that compares to the characteristics of the emg81

I'm sorry but I don't have a digital cam, so I can't take pics... Maybe I can borrow one somewhere.
About the finish, it looks very cool, but it seems a bit thin. You can feel the wood's surface through it.

the best feel when caressing the guitar is on the jem7bsb imo

BK for me Sam! :P