Replacing Axis pick ups - HELP

[holden caulfiel]

Has anyone replaced their stock Axis pick ups? I want something cruchier and I'm not sure what to get. I want a big sound that is well balanced (like the stock pu) but with more saturation to push my 5150 II harder. I'm really digging Tremonti's sound with Alter Bridge and would like that type of crunch. My biggest concern is that the pu slots are routed for Dimarzio and the height is set for the balance of those pu's. I thought about the Tremonti Treble, but it's not F-spaced, and if I want to put in a Duncan, I would have to alter the mounting brackets. I've considered the following Dimarzios: Super Distortion or X2N. Duncans I've considered: Ducan Distortion - bridge; `59 - neck.

 

[PurpleSport]

Interesting....I have a '92 PRS Custom 24 w/trem that's most definitely F-spaced - I swapped the HFS bridge with a mid-80s Duncan JB (LP spaced only back then, before they made trembuckers), and the poles didn't line up. I know it's basically an LP-styled hardtail (just ask Gibson, the litigious bazzturds), but are you sure the Tremonti bridge is Gibby spaced? I played one a couple weeks ago and it didn't feel a whole lot different from my Custom, save for the thicker neck.

That said, even if is was spaced correctly, you'd have to modify the pickup ears to put 'em in the Axis. Even then, due the construction differences between the two guitars (body/neck woods, neck joints, scale lengths, trem vs. hardtail, hardware), there's no guarantee the sound would be similar, and you'd be carving up what I understand are kinda expensive pickups.

My suggestion? Get a Bill Lawrence L-500XL. Massive crunch and output, clear and balanced tone, harmonically sensitive, blades instead of polepieces, pre-rounded ears that look like they'd fit in an Axis, handmade in a small shop by folks who are well-respected in the industry, and who really care about their customers. And at $50 a pop, significantly less cost (read: less expensive, but NOT cheap). Might take a few weeks to get one because they're often backordered, but worth the wait!

 

[beej]

I'll second the 500XL! That thing absolutely screams and also sounds tremendous when you back off the volume.

 

[PurpleSport]

I actually have the slightly less hot L-500L in my mahogany-bodied Ibanez 540S-LTD myself...amazing sounding combo there. All the classic sounds you'd ever want, great split coil sounds, and EXTREMELY balanced across the tone spectrum. Gets an astoundingly close Satriani-like lead tone, too (of course, might all be in my head because Satch autographed it! )...

Too bad I'm spoiled by the EBMMs these days....it was my standby for quite a while, but I totally grew out of the thin/wide Wizard neck thing. Never thought I'd like a thicker neck like those on my AL, Axis, and Luke, but Dudley's guiding hand changed all that. Maybe one day I'll find a trashed AL and hop it up with a 500XL - but those are rarer than Blue Dawns, it seems!