getting new pickups

I was wondering what the Humbuckers From Hell sound like. Are they for shredding? I was thinking about getting the Dimarzio Tone Zone in my bridge, and the Dimarzio Fred for my neck pickup. I use a jackson Rx10R. Would these humbuckers work for it?

Their website has an audio clip of the HFH. It seems decent to me.

The "Humbucker From Hell" (DP156) is meant to reproduce the sound of a 'single-coil', in the space of a humbucker. It sounds GREAT! Almost every guitar I have is humbucking "SINGLE" in the neck pos' (Fast-Track 1). The DP156 is designed to sort-of 'replace' that sound, so it's generally a NECK pickup (much louder than even a 'hot' standard single) it's like 210 or 220 milivolts??

"Tone Zone" (DP155, I think that's a Paul Gilbert pickup) It's packed w/narrow-band mids, if you're into midrange.

I ONLY use DiMarzio, and the X2N it "IT" for me, but that's a little hot-n-wAcKy for some cats.

I'm sure you'll get a lot of valid advice here. There's certainly no ONE BEST pickup, but there are a few pickups I would highly advise you to avoid.
I, myself, have done guitars professionally for MANY years, & the best "all-around" pickup that not one of my customers has ever complained about is the "Dual Sound" (DP101). It's HOT for dirty sounds(over 400mv), CLEAN when you want it, sweet frequency response for almost ANY guitar you're playing, 4-conductor wiring for 'tap/series-parallel, and comes in all the st00pid colors I love!

See what other members say about what they've used, some cats love their EMG's, Duncans, Bartolini, etc; but my recommendation (even to all my customers) is only Dimarzio.

I think a Jackson RX10 has a Floyd, so make sure the pickup you get is spaced for aperture (i.e. "Floyd" or "Trem" or "F" spaced).


~JSV

I think they were thinking of a little bit more than just reproducing a single-coil pickup when they made it. I don't know if it's because I've just been exposed to nothing but sh!tty single coil pickups or something like that, but I have yet to hear one that outputs like the HFH. For all it's cleanliness that thing can rock.

I have heard the humbuckers from hell at dimarzio.com I wasn't sure if thats what they really sound like because their sound samples are just parts from recored songs. I wasn't sure if maybe he used some pedals to get that sound.

I was also wondering if im gonna have to have a lot of work done to my guitar. My jackson has 1 volume knob and a 3 way switch. Would I have to get a tone knob put in their and how much would that cost?

I dunno about the knob cost, but tone knobs are good things. Get one. I don't see how you survive without it.

Yes, the sound sample was distorted by outside effects. That's not what you should listen for in those things. You should listen less to what's being played and more to note clarity, tonal balance, sustain, and all that good stuff.

For example- the HFH has a lot of treble. It also is very clear, you can pick out all the notes perfectly in spite of the fact that Mr. Gilbert is going at it like a madman on meth with distortion. That's saying something.

I'm still not sure as to what pickups I should get. I just want to make sure I get the right sound. I don't know to much about pickups but I have been spending the past month deciding on which ones to get. I'm worried about buying some humbuckers I wont like. I'm pretty sure i'm going with some type of dimarzio but some seymour duncans sound nice. I enjoy playing neo-classical, blues, and i'm starting to get into jazz. I don't really use pedals just mainly my peavey half stack. I was wondering if the seymour duncan full shred humbucker was anything good? or the dimarzio tone zone? The pickups I have now are duncan designed they came with the guitar. Sorry to keep posting about this i'm just worried about getting the wrong type of sound. Thanks for the help.

what do u intend those pickups for? if you're into blues and jazz, then why are u using super hot pickups for? personally, i dont prefer too much hot pickups since they're only useful on one thing- heavy metal stuff. they aint good for blues or jazz- too hot and you lose a lot of clarity. if you want a versatile pickup that can do jazz and blues and can also do a very good 70s heavy metal sound, invest on gibson classic 57 and 57 plus- the stock pickups on many SGs and many gibson lp like the 59 and 58 i believe and other archtops too i i believe. (i think angus young uses a classic 57 on his neck, but for his bridge i think he uses a customized classic 57 pickup for his bridge which is now called angus young signature humbucker for market reasons although it is just a modified classic 57 to my knowledge). But if you want to go to that heavy metaly stuff then i suggest u buy seymour duncan's full shred pickups- these are one of the best i've heard! humbuckers from hell and screamin demons would sound like kids going through puberty compared to these. If you really want it REALLY HEAVY- buy the seymour duncan livewire metal- they're active pickups and will give you that extra metal ooomph.

...personally, i dont prefer too much hot pickups since they're only useful on one thing- heavy metal stuff. they aint good for blues or jazz- too hot and you lose a lot of clarity....

I've seen this kind-of thing posted here before?? If you're actually LOSING CLARITY with a "DiMarzio Dual-Sound", then there's a problem with your GEAR not your pickup. An extra 125mV's or so, isn't going to make this big "JUMP" from clarity to dirt. "?"
A LOT of jazz & blues players use high output pickups like the "Dual-Sound"(DP101).

The Duncan "Full-Shred" IS a good pickup. Comparing something like that to the "Humbucker From Hell" however, is like comparing pineapples to asparagus. These two pickups are not intended for the same applications. Remember; the HFH(DP156) is designed to replicate a "single-coil" tone & response.
(I only recommend DiMarzio to my clients/customers though, so the same rule will apply for me on a message board) ;)

DiMarzio is a great company. If you decide to get one, contact them RIGHT AWAY to get the details & ask about their 'return' policy.
(I THINK this is how it goes): If you install it with no damage to the pickup, minimal clipping of the wiring, and aren't pleased with the performance, in MOST cases they'll offer you to ship back for exchange of a different model. If the store where you're purchasing tells you they NEVER do this, insist on them CALLING DiMarzio while you're there to ask them, or contact a DiMarzio rep' yourself. When DiMarzio (themselves) tell you they DO offer this, you can return to the store which offered bogus information about DiMarzio & suggest that [they] suck a fart out of your arZsSs.


~JSV

Also one option could be DiMarzio Evolution neck (DP158).
I simply love it and it's hard to imagine a pickup getting
any better than that. It's so smooth when used as a humbucker and so bright without being harsh when used splitted.
The bridge version (DP159) might not be what you're looking
for as great as it is for it's own purpose. It's just really
a WAY hotter than the neck version. It's the one you can
use for screaming leads and hammering rhythms.

I've seen this kind-of thing posted here before?? If you're actually LOSING CLARITY with a "DiMarzio Dual-Sound", then there's a problem with your GEAR not your pickup. An extra 125mV's or so, isn't going to make this big "JUMP" from clarity to dirt. "?"
A LOT of jazz & blues players use high output pickups like the "Dual-Sound"(DP101).

------------------------------------------------------------

I didn't mean to say you are losing clarity with the Dual- Sound specifically. I haven't even tried the Dual Sound yet (but one of these days i will). I just meant hot pickups in general in the heavy metal range. I know a lot of jazz and blues players use high output pickups but I think- not the same output as heavy metal ones because they can get too dirty and you lose a lot of your mids I think when you distort. For jazz solos- maybe it could work- I don't know enough about the dual- sound but my guess is you cant play chords with it. Very high output pickups maybe great in lead work (depends in what your style is, some folks want warm sound) but when it comes to both rhythm and lead, high output pickups simply doesnt give you the best of both worlds I think. All I did was offer a medium output pickup that can sound great doing solos and rhythm stuff.


------------------------------------------------------------
The Duncan "Full-Shred" IS a good pickup. Comparing something like that to the "Humbucker From Hell" however, is like comparing pineapples to asparagus. These two pickups are not intended for the same applications. Remember; the HFH(DP156) is designed to replicate a "single-coil" tone & response.
------------------------------------------------------------

Fair enough. (I have tried both pickups and the HFH (DP156) is in deed designed to replicate a single- coil.)

so what about the tone zone and the fred? nobody has told me if these were any good for the style I like to play. I am mainly intrested in neo classical. i was also wondering if the seymour duncan jb in the bridge and the seymour duncan jazz in the neck would sound any good . I have heard that those two are a good combination.

I have a Ibanez Iceman with a Fred in the neck and an Evolution in the bridge. I set that guitar up to ROCK and it has exactly the sound I wanted. Kind of like a cross between a Steve Vai and Joe Satriani sound. Neo-classical (ie. Malmsteen) would sound great with these pickups if you can keep all the overtones and harmonics under control (your going to have lots). I know you specifically asked about the Tone Zone, but since the Evolution is sort of like a Tone Zone taken up another notch, you should get a similar result.

These pickups would probably be okay for heavy blues but they wouldn't be my first or second choice. I would definitely not recommend these pickups or the Tone Zone for Jazz.

To cover all three of the types of music you want to play, it would be hard to beat DiMarzio PAF-Pros in both the neck and the bridge. Although I love the way my Iceman sounds, I'll pick up one of my other guitars to play Jazz or Blues.

U lookin for heavy distortion sounds like metallica? I would go for EMG's they are nice pickups, especially if u have a double humbuckers. I have a b.c. rich worlock with some EMG rigged n and it sounds great. U can hook up your guitar for around 200 or so. A very good investment. will sound like a guitar that cost thousands of dollars