[bdqwerty]

I have an Ibanez RG6003FM. Mahogany body, rosewood board, maple neck, flame maple top. I play mostly progressive rock, both classic and modern. The stock pickups (Ibanez Quantums, I think) aren't bad, but they have a certain brightness and brittleness to them. They work great for low tunings, but I would rather stay up in E. I've used the Air Zone before, and was thinking of doing that in the bridge, but I'd like to see other recommendations. I'm open to considering pickups from other companies, as well.

[Orkhan Julfa]

Try Norton for bridge and 36th paf for neck.

[KH Guitar Freak]

Try Norton for bridge and 36th paf for neck.

I like the Norton as well, but I'm not sure if the OP would like it. He may still find it too bright sounding

[bdqwerty]

what would be the general tone of the norton? i'm fine with a little brightness, but it needs to be balanced out.

[KH Guitar Freak]

what would be the general tone of the norton? i'm fine with a little brightness, but it needs to be balanced out.

Don't get me wrong, you still get midrange and low end with the Norton. Low end wouldn't be as much as an Air Zone

[bdqwerty]

That sounds good, then. The air zone had a little too much last time I used it in a guitar. So, looks like norton and probably 36th in the neck.

[KH Guitar Freak]

Off memory, the Norton has a bit more top end as well

[daenius]

What amp do you play through? If your amp is plenty high gain, you don't necessarily have to go mega high output and that opens you up for a ton of options!

For bridge pickup, depends on what you're looking for
Huge ballsy sound: D Sonic
Balanced clear sound: PAF Pro
Punchy and clear with a ton of harmonics: Evolution and Evo2
Thick, warm, chunky sound with great harmonics: Tone Zone
Jangly, Chimey sound with clarity and bite, great cleans: EJ Custom Bridge

Neck pickup
Good harmonics, clarity, and warmth: Evolution neck, Air Norton
Extreme clarity and chime, unbelievably pleasant cleans: EJ Custom Neck

Those are all the Dimarzios that I've owned and played and they were all incredible pickups, really can't go wrong with any of them!

[darkbluemurder]

Another option for the bridge would be AT-1. Not sure about the neck pickup though. I use a Bluesbucker with the AT-1, and that would be a good choice if you want to split the neck pickup and not lose too much output compared to humbucking mode.

Cheers Stephan

[bdqwerty]

Yeah, my amp is a Kustom KG210FX. I had to get rid of a lot of my gear recently and I'm trying to get back up to a decent build. I'll need to think about it a bit. The tone of the amp is generally pretty bright, and that may be the main problem, but it's easier and cheaper to replace the pickups vs. an entire amp.