ok, I have got no clue which pickups to get!

ok, so, I have got this really inexpensive guitar, and since I can't afford a new guitar at this time, I was looking at getting a new pickup as an inexpenisve way to get better sound temporarily until I can get a better guitar. I really would like an inexpensive one, I'd prefer to stay below $50 but I can stretch that a little if I really need to. I really want a humbucker that can actually buck the hum... the stock pickup on my $140 ibanez GRX40 doesn't do that for me too well... my guitar is set up s/s/h and I want to replace the humbucker(which is in the bridge position) as that is the pickup that I use most of the time. I'm usually playing with a moderate to high gain level, and I would prefer it to be able to play both solos and rhythm. I don't really care what the pickup sounds like clean because when I am playing clean I'm usually using my single coils. I play from really heavy metal to stuff like red hot chili peppers. please help me out, I'm not biased to any pickup brand so I don't really care what you recommend to me, I don't have a lot of money (girlfriends can be quite expensive when you don't have a job, so very very little of my money actually goes towards guitar gear) so I would like one as inexpensive as possible but really want the most bang for my buck, so, please help a fellow player out

some things I forgot to mention were that my guitar was made of alder (i don't really know if this has anything to do with choice in pickups or not)

I play with heavy gauge strings (GHS boomers, 10-52) again, I don't really know if that'll make a difference on pickup choice

and I can't get anything used from e-bay because I'm under 18, and have no credit card, and parents are out of town for like another month(long story) so they can't get it for me either

ok, I think that's all

I've had trouble with choosing pickups. A good example is the hot rail in my telecaster - I tried models from dimarzio & Duncan (and some shady 'no brand' jobs too), and it took me ages to find 'the one'. I consequently bought and sold more than I care to think about...

What might make it easier is to play ibanez guitars further up the range with better electronics (but similar construction), and if you find one with a bridge HB that you like, go buy one for your Ibanez?

I prefer the voicing of dimarzio pickups personally, but like guitars it's each to his own. I finally settled on the dimarzio rail as a mate had one in his strat and I liked it - simple...

hey, thanks for your reply, it helped alot, cause afterwards I headed over to seymourduncan.com to check out the pickups you had recommended, (I checked out the seymour duncans, but they were all $90+) and I listened to the sound files for those three (the distortion, the custom, and the JB) as well as all the other humbuckers on there that had sound files, and after listening to them all back to back (listening to the same riff over and over) I decided I like the SH-6 distortion the best. didn't sound like the cheesy nu-metal type stuff, very clear, yet still with a powerful punch. and it has lots of mids which is what I like. now the only problem is getting the $70 for it... I'm trying to sell some stuff I have lying around on craigslist, we'll see if I get any offers, hopefully I will... if not then I might not be able to get it for several weeks

You never can realy trust sound clips like those, because there's just too many variables. I have the JB in a Mahogany body maple/rosewood neck guitar and it sounds great. I'm actually thinking about putting one in my PRS, as it's bridge pup just isn't cutting it for me anymore. You can usually pick one up for around $70.

JB at Music123

If you're looking for a hot replacement for your PRS, check out the Tremonti PRS pickups (not the SE ones, obviously). They're, in my personal opinion, the best pickups that PRS makes. Also "Bare Knuckles" pickups have some pretty nice stuff. They're kind of expensive since they're a UK brand. They haven't caught on in the States yet but it shouldn't take long.

http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/buyonline.html

I'm not looking for a "hot" replacement, just something with a little more clarity and punch (eventhoug the JB seems to be a little hotter). The Dragon II is a nice pickup, but it can get a little muddy at times, and is fairly dark sounding.

Yeah, I know what you mean. The Dragon pickups are pretty nice... I like the clarity of the Tremonti Treble. The Tremonti Bass is pretty muddy, it seems all the time though. I just didn't know if you considered them as an option.

didn't know if you considered them as an option

For costing twice as much as a JB...... not really, because they're not that much better (if at all).

The Dragon I's are better than the Dragon II's, but still not quite what I'm looking for. Besides, I could care less whether they're PRS pup's or not. I am going to go to the shop to get a feel for some different pup's before I make any changes though.

I love the Dragon II neck pup though. If it were any fatter, it would need to come with hydrolic lift just to get the guitar around my neck.

Not sure why, but I am starting to swear by Bare Knuckle Pickups...wanna get a set of mules to put in my Gibson Les paul when I go back home (which is where my Gibson is) and a Warpig or a NailBomb to put in the bridge of my Cort s2550...I just really love Bare Knuckles...for some reason I like them more than Seymours and Dimarzio, but since they are still kinda boutique, they are kinda costly!...amazing pups tho

I'd love to try out one of those Warpig's in my Schecter, and put the JB in my PRS. The Warpig would look great in the Blackjack, not so sure about the PRS though.

Just got a new Ibanez Jem with DiMarzio Breed pickups. I highly recommend them to anyone, best pickups I have ever heard! They may cost a little most but they are worth considering for the sake of 10 or 20 dollars.

For the sort of playing your doing i'de recommend Dimarzio Evo's. you can really get all tones you want with volume/tone adjustment. i use the Evo mk 1 as i believe they sustain better then the mk2? (correct me if i'm wrong) happy playing!!!!