So many questions and confusion about pickup voicing,combinations,tonewood, ect.Heres the place to ask,and to refer to about pickup related topics.

right on

what would be a good match for a evolution as far as a neck pickup goes? I want to get a lead tone similar to chuck on human, or a really spacey sound like trey azagoth on gateways to annihilation

If you want Trey's lead tone, you'll need a PAF Pro in the bridge. A shame it's not hot enough for anything else besides Morbid Angel or shredding/cleans unless you use a distortion boost of some sort. It's a very clean, clear and transparent sound. That's what gives him those air-like, captivating voicings for his solos(plus that's a Marshall JCM900 he plays, and he does a lot of weird mic'ing techniques). For an evo, try an evo neck pup?

An extremely versatile combo is a X2N in the bridge and a PAF Pro in the neck. That's a good passive pup for anything metal, but you can still tweak the volume and tone knobs to dull down the sound a bit, and you've got a perfect blues axe. I would also suggest a Tonezone(brown, modern techno-ish sort of sound, like Van Halen) in the bridge but maybe that's not what you're looking for(tonezone isn't extremely hot, and it's very warm, so it's best for bright guitars).

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I dont like PAF's in the bridge,thats where they can get muddy.An EVO neck would suit you fine.

What's the diff between an evo and an x2n ? sure sure, name all the artists you want, but I don't care. So yeah which one's better for what? Reason im asking is because ill be buying one soon for my 7 (basswood)

Evo is super sensitive. Has a very slightly scooped EQ, it's designed for lead players with a good technique. X2N is a little more balanced, has more mids, and is porbably better for metal rythm(and leads too). I'd get the X2N-7 just cause it's new and not a lotta people have it yet.

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if i were to replace the 2 humbuckers and 1 single coil in an RG with an X2N in the bridge, a Paf pro in the neck which pickup should i put in the middle so that it does not get drowned out by the x2n?

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The only reason you would want one in the middle is so you can coil split the 2 humbuckers to get 3 singlecoils at once, like a strat. Otherwise, you won't need a middle pickup, just take it out or leave it there(all the way down) for cosmetic purposes.

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Or put a hotrail in there.

+1. and those ain't bad little pups at all. not great, but not bad. and you could probably pull a coil split on that kinda setup, too.

I heard that EVO's make shit players sound worse. Is it true?

Dont be silly.

i have a 22fret mahogany body/maple top guitar, and i want new pickups in it. Right now, it has super 2's and i love them in the neck for their cleans and how they arent muddy with only 22 frets.

BUT i want more gain in the bridge, and with more gain i'd also like some brightness so that leads still sound decent... leads like Nile dont work for what i play... I'm pretty much thinking of the emg-81 sound, but i dont want anymore actives... any suggestions?

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I hear that the Dimarzio X2N is almost like a passive version of EMGs. Very hot pickup. The leads will sound very nice and chugs will be bright. Just listen to some Death to get an idea. Cant wait to get mine in 3-4months...

I've got a les paul. For the neck pickup, I like to do clean rhythm work, but at the same time I like to get nice rich, warm lead tones. Which is more suited for that, a Duncan '59 or a Jazz?

Jazz I would say,awesome lead tones,great for sweeping.My favorite duncan pickup.

Quick question: what's the bassiest pickup around?

(Explanation: My guitar is basically all maple and has these ultra trebly/high output ferrite pickups that requires me to turn bass/contour to max, treble to min and the tone knob on the guitar to full bass when playing live - the PA mixer then mods it to hell. A very bassy pickup would remedy this a little, I hope. I may downtune to B in time.)

Not the bassiest pickup around,but its up there.Duncan Invaders might be what your looking for,though I hear they can get muddy when you downtune to B.

Could someone help me, im new to guitar around year now and my guitar is a 2nd hand inbanez ex350, not in awesome shape, but im happy with it none the less.

basically i want new pickups, but im completely lost where to start, i think i have some average ones, which are in horrible condition, all the metal dots are rusted and have scratches, and my on higher notes my guitar has a tinny sound to it.

my guitar has 5 pickups i think?? im not sure, but it has 5 sections, 2 clumped together on each end and single one in the middle.

im looking for new ones, can someone recommend me some, i dont know if you buy them individually or as pack, i have no clue.
if it helps i mainly play death metal type music.
thanks.

You have two humbuckers(The 'clumped' ones),and one single coil in the middle.That totals 3 pickups.Check out EMG's.

Haha, no actually you have 3 pickups. 2 humbuckers(double coils), but counting the middle pickup it's a total of 5 coils.

Mainly death metal? Well you can try:

For the Bridge: Dimarzio X2N, Tonezone, Seymour Duncan Invader, EMG-81.
For the neck : PAF Pro, EMG 85, EMG 89, Duncan Jazz, Dimarzio Evolution,
Middle pickup: unless you do coil splitting to use 3 of the coils to get the strat sound, you don't need one, especially not for death mettal, so take it out.

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A question on this note: if I had a H - S - H guitar with a 5-five way switch, what kind of adjustements / procedure would I have to follow in order to remove the single coil and not fuck anything up (ie. avoid excessive buzzing, not make wierd electric shocks go around the guitar etc etc)?

Just rip it out, its as easy as that. You wont fuck anything up. If youre not planning on using the single coil, just lower down till its flush with the body and leave it there. I had a guitar like that before, I hated the center single coil cause it would interfere with my picking.

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I lowered it down as low as it gets but it doesn't go down low enough. I put a piece of duct tape over part of it so I don't accidently hit the little metal pieces and get stuck.
If I rip it out and remove all the wiring and gizmos, there won't be a problem with nothing being assigned to Switch position 3, right?

thanks guys, ive read the first 20 pages of the EMG pickups thread and decided im gonna get some 81/85s and get rid of my middle pickup. only problem now is the price, they arent cheap here in australia, for the 81 and 85 its around $520AU....thats around $350 US....ive searched ebay but found nothing, anybody in aus, now where to get em cheaper?

that sounds like a tough question, man. i hope someone knows. there's something wrong with decent gear being so expensive in a country that spawned the likes of Psycroptic. good luck, though.

No shoudnt be a problem, everything else is already hooked up independently, youll just have a blank when flickin the selector to the center.

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well i actually found the ZW set for $150US on eaby. cant wait!

Alright heres my dilemma: I'm looking at getting a 7 string. But, when I do I'm gonna want to switch out the pickups right away. So my question is whats a good versatile passive pickup combination for a 7 string? (COIL TAPPING IS A MUST!)

What are humbucker covers for? I'm assuming they're not just for aesthetics.

ie, these

The holes are for the adjustable polepieces. Other than that they are purely aesthetic.

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For you guys with a middle pickup you don't know what to do with, StewMac sells "megaswitches" that provide some interesting switching options for a variety of pickup configurations

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electro...gaswitches.html

I have the "E" model with a super distortion in the bridge, super 2 in the neck and fast track2 in the middle. I thought the switch may be a problem if I had a really powerful pickup like the x2n that would overpower every thing so I chose humbuckers that have equal outputs and different tonal qualities. I get some nice sounds out of it.

yo, i plan to get an ibanez rg1570mrb soon, and its going to be set up with 9s and tuned to e. this is because i will be using it to learn and practice ''shred''.

i dont think the pickups that come with this guitar are very good so as soon as i get it, im going to swap them. so, i came here because i need help choosing which pickups to get, i was thinking of emgs, but i dont think theyre great for shred, well theyre ok, but im sure theres better. they seem a bit too hot for me.

so what neck pickup would be suitable for clean and fluid sweeps (i use my neck pup for sweeps) and for fast runs?

and what bridge pickup would be suitable for heavy and tight distortion whilst still being suitable for shred like runs and licks?

i hope you can help me out

cheers
user01

im looking into a new guitar, but my decision will be based in the pickups, so dont flame this post.
Ones the fernandez ravelle elite, and the ravelle deluxe, the difference being the deluxe has JB/jazz, and the elite has JB/fernandez sustainer. From what i've read... the sustainer is a fairly muddy pickup... and when its on with distortion it just sounds like feedback. But i've gotten mixed reviews... some hate it, some love it.
I need this guitar to sound different than my GP (x2n/super2) and my BCR(81/85)... but i want the bridge to have decently high gain (jb is good for that right?) and the neck to be able to dish out a clear sound while clean and distorted... so which neck pickup/guitar works for this?

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Who is selling them for $520??Fuck.How about $355
EMG ZAKK WYLDE SET(81 AND 85)

PAFpro neck-great for 'fluid' sweeps,and a X2N-bridge - tight,high output
EVO set,better for picking runs(neck),and a great bridge pickup.Work great with Ibanez's.Popular choice,too.

cheers man
thanks alot for the help :P

im probably going to get with the pafpro/x2n and maybe have the evo set in my other guitar, im starting to grow a bit tired of emgs, too hot for shred imo. or maybe its just with my setup...

I'm in need of some new pickups and I was wondering what would go well with my guitar (an Ibanez SA160)and that would have a great sound/sustain and be versatile as well (ranging from jazz to death to metalcore). Anyone that can help me?

The Seymour Duncan JB (bridge) and '59 (neck). I have the seven-string versions on my Schecter C-7 and when I shift about my pickup selector I get five distinct and toneful sounds for about any music I could want to play on it.

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+1 to the JB/'59.

Alright, I think I'm going to get a seven-string Jackson Christian Olde Webbers model ... it has an EMG 707 in the bridge as stock.

How hard would it be to put a passive pickup like a JB or Evo in there?

Not too difficult,as you just need to take out all of the components and replace them with passive compatable ones.Your local store should be able to do it for you.

Not too difficult,as you just need to take out all of the components and replace them with passive compatable ones.Your local store should be able to do it for you.Though,707's have a wider route than most 7 string pickups,right?You might need to put a ring around it or something.

Alright ... decided NOT to get the Jackson. I'm getting an Ibanez Prestige 7-string with a basswood body w/ bolt on maple neck. The guitar has stock pickups though, which I'm sure I'll want to replace.

I've decided that even though I'm using a preamp that will give me more gain than I'll ever need, I like the sound of a high gain pickup ( like EMG's ) with the gain turned down to 4 than a lower gain pickup ( like a JB ) with the gain cranked to 7 ... to me it just sounds a bit more liquid-y. I need something versatile however, I'm going to be playing practically everything you can think of on the Ibanez ... I was thinking about an X2N in the bridge and a coil-tap capable Dimarzio pickup designed for the neck, in the neck. Then both pup's would have coil-tapping capabilities, which means I could cover blues and jazz territory.


X2N-7 in basswood ... yea or nay?

Yay,or an Evo.

EDIT:Evo little less gain,might be more versatile.

Would you need versatility if you have a low output neck pickup? I guess it depends on what your versatility style is but just in general...

Im going for x2n in basswood (good quality). Im still bewildered by how much heavier my Warlock is than my 1527, because they are both of basswood. And you would expect more wood = more resonance, but no! Warlock = penis resonance!, and the wood volume is about the same...

Hah, there are probably fucking foreign objects in the wood, knowing B.C. Rich.

Steve Vai uses evo's.

Steve Vai = gay.

therefore:

Evo's = gay.


Thanks to Dislexic for editing this post before.

Well,

Steve Vai= gay
Evo's= great
You= gay
Me>you

yehKthnx??

Im thinking of putting new pickups in my ibanez but nobody has ever heard of them before. has anyone here heard of Swineshead and Bill Lawrence pickups.
Was wondering if it would be a good idea to put out money for these or if i should just spend a little extra for EMg's

http://www.musicbizness.com/bill-la...ckup-p-298.html

http://www.swinesheadpickups.co.uk/xbucker.shtml

Thanks

I've seen that Swineshead website I think once. I don't know anything about their reputation, though.

The Bill Lawrence is tried and true, however. You can't go wrong with it.

would it be a good idea to just put in 2 bill lawrences or put an XL-500 in the bridge and something else in the neck. I know dimebag used the Xl-500 in the bridge but don't know if their neck pickups are good or if i should go with something else

Thanks

hey man, theres no need for your pickups to all be from the same company. It all depends on what sound you want from your guitar. A good thing to consider before getting a new neck pickup is asking yourself what you want to get out of it, and whether or not you need to replace it to get what you want.

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Destroyer Of Senses, what kind of wood is your guitar made out of?

mahogany

Go for it.

alright thanks for evverybodys help im going for the bill lawrence XL-500 in the bridge and an Xbucker n the neck

anyone who is able to suggest me a pu? i tried almost everything but im not statisfied yet. i play a jackson with x2n atm through an engl savage 120 with double eq. i really like the x2ns lead sounds (high e b and g) but the bass strings ( e and a ... d not that much) get way 2 much boost/gain from my x2n. this makes my rythm sound muddy. it sounds typically overgained.

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Does anybody know how the Seymour Duncan SHR-1 Hot Rail single coil pickups sound in the neck position?

I would imagine they sound pretty sweet, But anybody know this? I've been thinking about taking out my stock neck pickup to get something a lil more sweeter sounding but sitll with the single coil sound.

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Very good,close to the open-ness of a bucker.High output,not so similar to other single coils.

i foundout sumtin funny..wel didnt found out, but i dno how to say it in english the proper way lol.

i use a seymour distortion (bridge) and a dimarzio fred (neck) pickup.
when i switch them on together, i get a kinda wah wahish sound.. though id let everyone know.. yes im bored

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hey
i was thinking about putting new pickups im my Epiphone SG this weekend
i was gunna go with the stand ard gibson 57 ones or something
im wondering what a good combonation is
I also heard that you gotta replace a battery in EMG pickups too
but the guy that told me that is a bit of a jackass so iill ask you guys

yes you do have to change the batteries with EMG pick-ups when they run out

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yo i'm changing the pickups in my guitar soon, don't want emgs. i play mainly folk/death/black metal, so something heavy but nothing gay. i'm playing an ibanez RGT42DXFM, and thinking about DiMarzio x2n (bridge) and PAF Pro (Neck), is this what i'm looking for

yes.-

Need help with pickup suggestions for a guitar.

The guitar is an Ash Body with a maple neck and fingerboard.
It has a humbucker in the bridge and a single coil in the neck.

I like Evolutions but will it work in this guitar? Also what Single coil can i put in there to match the Evo?

it should work. as for the single coil i would get the malmsteen signature pick up

I was thinking that too.

The guitar is a Strat Plus by the way. I'm converting it to a Shred/heavy-metal Machine by having it refretted with jumbo frets. and replacing the bridge and neck pickups.

Its going to sound amazing, its allready an amazing sounding guitar but i can tell with these mods it will be great.

If you want it to have more of a scaloped feel, which I have come to understand is good for shredding, try using extra jumbo frets, Dunlop 6150 fretwire I think.

Hey i m looking for a neck pickup for my peavey v type (alder body, maple thru neck), I m searching for a pickup that will give me a nice clear defined tone for distorted solos that won't mud up and it has to have real good cleans.

I ve been looking at the dimarzio paf pro, seymour duncan jazz and the sd 59. Which one do u guys reckon is better? many thanks

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They are all good choices I think, but since I prefer DiMarzio over Duncan, I'd say the PAF Pro.

What do you guys think about the Duncan LiveWire Metals? I checked out the website and it says that have really high output. It also says its an 18-volt. That means it requires two 9v batteries one pickup right?

I don't know if anyone here can answer this question really, except the guy that plays for Absence. But does anybody know how good the neck pickups sound on the Caparison horus guitars? The slanted neck minihumbucker pickup?

I'm highly considering getting this guitar, and since i'm nowhere near the supplier of these guitars i can't check the shit out myself.

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I would go for the sd 59




I personally didn't like them the sound like emg's only more "sterile" If you like that go for it. But if you just want a lot of output get an dimarzio X2N. I have one, it will rip your face off. 510 mv output and it has clarity

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The X2Ns are passive pickups right?
I've never tried out active pickups before. Does anybody think that they're worth it? Or are passives the way to go?

If I were you I would go to a local guitar shop and try out a guitar with emg's and a guitar with powerful passives. Active ones are more sterile, passive one compliment the bodywood more and are more "dynamic". Me personally think passives are the way to go. Both type of pickups are good it's just what you think sounds better to you

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That's a great idea, and if I could, I would go check em out right now. But what's fucked up is there aren't any local guitar stores where I live.

I'm thinking about ordering a guitar and I want really good pickups for it.

If you order a guitar and you can't preview it your best chance would be a active pickup 'cause they have their own sound kinda. The type of wood doesn't effect the sound in a way it would be with a passive. And if you worry about battery change, don't. You can play over a year with a battery

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What do you think are the best active pickups out there?
My first choices were the EMG 81 and 85 for the bridge and neck respectively.

And how exactly are batteries located in the guitar? Are they within the pickup and you'd have to open it to replace it? Or are they just placed randomly in the body of the guitar?

emg 81, 85 is an excellent choice.

and the batteries are where there's room in your guitar body. sometimes a cavity is routed for it. sometimes they lie by the input jack. you can put it anywhere

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The other night before band practice my guitar fell over (in its case). When i started playing my axe wouldn't stop feeding back even when you lightly touch the strings and when you touch the screw that adjusts the pickup height it stops feeding back any ideas? (Seymour Duncan Dimebucker)

hey i need some opinions i have this guitar http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...itar?sku=516643

and i think it would sound a whole lot better with new pickups.

suggestions?

should i just emg it cuz the wood isnt that great? or go with passives?

i play dillinger/necrophagist/btbam/behemoth

sorry i posted this in the emg thread too but that thread may be biased so....

the link you had didnt really work... musicians friend seems to be referring links to their homepage. but all the bands you listed use emgs

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I can't believe someone posted in this thread.

I dunno if people still check this thread but ive got a question...

I'm kinda having second thoughts about getting active EMG and I want to go with other passive humbuckers.

Bridge
Seymour Duncan Dimebuckers? How are they in comparison to EMGs?
Dimarzio X2Ns? Seems like a really popular choice
Bill Lawrence L-500 XLs?

Neck
Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59s?
Dimarzio PAF/ PAF Classic
Dimarzio Humbucker From Hell

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Bridge
Dimebuckers-Alot of people say that they arent that great, but if heard one in person and it doesnt sound bad at all. Keep in mind though that Dime most likely never used this pickup, he stuck with his Bill Lawrences. Compared to EMGs? Id say the EMGs are hotter and sound tighter and not as trebly as a Dimebucker.
X2N- My favorite one. Its my choice bridge pickup now and forever unless something else amazing comes along. Is it really a popular choice? I dont know many other people who use it except Chuck and some guys on this forum. Anyway, its output is about as hot or hotter than an EMG. It has more dynamics than an EMG since its passive. Overall, I really like this pickup in my guitar.
L-500-XL-I never had any experience with them, but I think I heard they are pretty high output and sound very good.

Neck
I never used any of the ones you mentioned. I am planning on getting a PAF Pro installed in the neck position of my guitar in the future though. Ive heard though that many people say its good for cleaner stuff, sweeping and warm sounds without losing clarity when distortion is added.

PAF/X2N.

"insert name here", I'm planning on getting that combo soon too. I love my X2N and I'm sure I'll like the PAF Pro as well. Since you mentioned that combo of pickups, I assume you have those 2 installed on your guitar. Did you wire them in parallel or coil tap? How does it sound?

They are coil tapped. There isnt a bad sounding combo between them. PAF's are by far my favorite neck pickups, they are just perfect. However, im way more flexible with bridge pickups, Evo2's, X2N, EMG 81's, I all like. The latter, I wish to try out with a PAF.

The PAF/X2N combo sounds pretty good coming from you guys.
I'm definitely going with the DiMarzio PAF, not sure which one though, but
I don't know if I should go with the X2n or the Bill Lawrence XL-500s.

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Hey, I've got a question about stock pickups.

I'm thinking about buying a new guitar, probably an Ibanez RG 1527 or an SZ520FM. They both have got stock pickups, and there lies my question; are these pickups pure shit or are they actually playable? I won't have any cash to replace the pickups, sadly, cos I owe other people a lot of money. So...help? Please?

the v8 is an alright pickup it can the basic sounds you would want but if ur not happy just wait till u get enough money to spend on decent pickups.
ive never played any of the sz guitars so icant help u with that one.

Hey does anybody know the price for a Dimarzio Tone Zone and P.A.F Pro?

the last time i was thinking about ordering a PAF Pro from Sam Ash they told me it would cost 60.00 USD. I'm guessing the tone zone should be around that much too, if not maybe a few dollars more.

Thanks but does somebody know the prize in '' the real world''. Cos I've heard that sam ash is very cheap (I've seen the prizes). And also, what would an X2N cost?

Well...once again I ordered the X2N from Sam Ash and it cost me 75.00 USD. If you wanna know the prices for certain pickups in the "real world" i suggest checking out ebay and see what it sells for used. Im not sure but maybe the dimarzio site has the prices


EDIT: Dimarzio pickup prices DAMN!!! I didnt realize how much my X2N goes for list. $109.00 shit! I guess im lucky i live near a Sam Ash and got it for only $75.00

Yeah but I still think that 109 dollars isn't that much compared to the prises I've seen. I calculated it and it said 800 swedish kronor. The pickups I've checked out cost about 1200 swedish kronor, I guess that is about....164 dollars. Pretty amazing isn't it?

Damn that sucks. Try buying off of ebay or something. You could probably find it for much cheaper. Or order from samash.com, their prices are lower than list prices.

Actually, I don't know what the Dimarzio pickups cost here. I was talking about some SD pickups. I going to the music store tomorrow, so I'll probably order som pickups then.

That's the normal price that they go for pretty much everywhere. The "list" price is always a marketing scheme where they make you think you're getting a great deal, when you're actually buying it at the normal price :P Musiciansfriend has it even cheaper.

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Has anybody used a dimarzio Tone Zone at the neck of their guitar? I've using the TZ + Air Norton right now, but I've been tempted to put an X2N at the bridge and move my TZ up to the neck spot and ditch the Air Norton. The AN is a good pickup, but after a few years I've grown a bit tired of it. I know Michael Romeo has been using the X2N+TZ combo for a while, and I play Symphony X stuff a lot.. but I'm not using Caparison guitars, just an RG570.

I'm probably going to just get an X2N and try it. I've seen a video of the X2N + TZ combo on youtube, but the sound quality was terrible, so it's hard to tell. I know my setup won't sound exactly like MJR (although my PODxt is just like his Vetta), so I'm hoping to get another example or two of those pickups working together.

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