This is the later mahogany bodied version.

I'd changed the stock Dragon II's to the HFS/VB at some point and they just refuse to play well at all with my Mesa rig. Whereas my Strat clone with a lil 59 in it sounds gorgeous (though some more mids and sparkle wouldn't upset me) through the rig.

So, I'm trying to find pickups for it but there's just so much out there I don't know where to start. I'd love to keep it under $100/pickup. I play anything from indie rock to death metal (the lil 59 actually holds its own in that arena), but I'm looking for something with some good harmonic texture, something probably alnico based, and some chime wouldn't hurt either (especially in the neck).

Any thoughts?

I really like the Duncan Custom Custom for the bridge.mod SH-11
For the neck I really dig the Duncan Antiquity or Alnico ll pro.
I'd love to give the new Slash neck pickup a try. Alnico ll magnets with a little more resistance than the Alnico pro ll.
I'm a big SD fan. but Dimarzio has plenty of good offerings.  Lots of sound clips out there to listen to.

I'm probably looking at Duncans really. The only thing about the custom custom was it sounds like the bass may not be as tight as I'd like

FWIW, the Duncan JB/Jazz combo in my mahogany-body Ibanez S540 does the job well enough for many styles. They're not bad, and are probably the best-sounding of the various DiMarzio, EMG, and Duncan pups I've tried in it. I'm still looking for the magic combo, but that was an ok starting point. The Custom Custom sounds like something I'd like, as a juiced-up PAF.

Wonder how the Invader would sound on lighter rock.



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I know you said Alnico, but I would try a regular Duncan Custom. I have one in my Les Paul and love it. It has a present, but tight, bottom end, a really nice grind in the mids that blooms beautifully when holding chords, and a sparkly top end. The drawback is that the top end can get away from you if you goose the presence and treble on the amp too much, but moderation easily tames it. And if the top end is too much, you can always order an Alnico 8 from Addiction-fx for a few bucks and slip it in place of the Ceramic 8 in there. An A8 has many of the characteristics of the C8, but with a more tame top end. Either way, the Custom is a great sounding pickup.

Also, a Duncan Jazz in the neck is the near perfect match for the Custom.