well i know that there are two different models of icemans. the cheap one that has a smaller body and the expencive one that daron uses that has a larger body.soad is one of my fav bands and i know that he uses the stock pick-ups that the iceman comes with. i have met daron once befor one of his shows and i asked him about his gear and equipment and he uses the stock pickups.he did uses mesa-boogie amps for a long time until marshall decide to try and keep up with the rectified sound and produced the mode 4 which i think is **** and thats the amp that he is endorsed by now.as for the emg pick ups i have an 81 in the bridge postion and the most underated emg the 60 in the neck in one of my guitars,and have a s.d dimebucker that i think blows the 81 out of the water for being a passive pickup and an 81 in the neck position that i wish i had never put there thank god that emgs can be replaced by other emg pickup by just unlatching them and can pop in another if the 85 is the pick up that has the gold symbol yeah its the **** thats what i plan on getting next