I was @ Swee Lee last week, came across the RGR08LTD (finally here!) which is a splendid player. The active Duncan you see there is the Blackout model; very drive-inclined but not much pleasurable, clean. The fact that it's the solitary pickup there means your tone is limited to its default voicing. The O8LTD also has no tone control, in lieu of this, the guitar features a kill switch which is a love/ hate (hate for me) affair. If your amp isn't grounded, the kill switch activates hum when the pickup is not engaged...
That aside, how useful can a 1-pickup guitar be for you? Well, Alan Holdsworth shuts everyone up when he plays his single humbucking guitar which implies, if it works for you, then it works regardless of whatever everyone else has to say. The 08LTD would serve the distortion mongers out there with no qualms; the Duncan Blackout has great clarity to boot, much more appealing than the average EMG (my take, of course. If you prefer EMG then good for you...); maybe that's the reason Mick Thompson has a pair in his signature model, replacing the EMGs in the prevoious incarnation of the Ibanez MTM1.
However, I've only one dislike here; the fretboard markers are very unappealing, to say the least...
Product availability: Swee Lee Co
List: $909
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