Ok this is more for my fellow metalcore/heavier style players here i.e drop tuned chug type pals. But any input is greatly appreciated.
I haven't been 100 percent satisfied with the tone I'm getting from my Les Paul studio, (mahogany wood) tuned to drop b or c usually, never higher. For additional information my bridge tone pot has been disconnected as I dig a hotter signal.
Currently a BKP ceramic Nailbomb sits in the bridge pickup position and although they do great pickups something just isn't doing it for me. Its shrilly, over top-endy and ice-picky (excuse my technical terms). The low end is very loose and I think its more of a raw punk/hardcore/death metal type pickup as opposed to a tight/modern metalcore type one.
My live amp is a 6505+ but since my old band split I've mainly been using it more at home with a DSL5c.
There are all sorts of brands out there and I'm getting a bit lost for choice.
Other pickups in the BKP range are the Aftermath (what I had in there originally but for some reason decided to change it out) and the Juggernaut. Both are "thicker" sounding pickups according to BK and this is what they've advised.
I put a Seymour Duncan JB in a Strat a few months ago and I'm loving the tone from that but its more for pop punk and rock as opposed to metalcore. Its a very high-end type pickup which works nicely with for stuff like Green Day etc. So not sure if I should whack a JB in the guitar and hope it'll do low tunings well.
EMG 81 is another choice but the hassle of the batteries puts me off.
I looked at the Fishman Fluence Killswitch Engage signature pickups and they sound amazing from the demos, tight and chuggy! But they cost near enough £200 and there's still no guarantee they'll do the job in my guitar.
I may have to go down the route of putting a few pickups in and seeing what I like/don't like, I've already changed the pickup twice so far.
So any recommendations/advice would be welcomed, (or comments to stop "tone-chasing" and being a fussy git!)
Thanks in advance gentlemen.
Comments
Personally I'd avoid the JB for chuggy things - found mine way too flubby and swapped it for a Holydiver which kept the amazing lead tone but tightened up the low end for chugs - all mahogany V, so should sound fairly similar. If you're liking the JB in the Strat but still want tightness I'd really recommend the Holydiver. It's just a slab of mids, nice and thick sounding, not surgically tight but tight enough.
If you want a Holydiver but "more", then the recommendation on the BKP forum would seem to be the Painkiller.
That said BKP's recommendations do tend to be pretty spot on. I've played a Juggernaut and it sounds like it should be flubby - lots of low mids - but it then feels super tight. Quite weird and really fun, and not as "dry" as the Aftermath. Ragnarok seems like it's more aggressive and less low-middy and the new Silo looks pretty intriguing, but might not be as aggressive as you're after.
Sorry if I'm not necessarily helping with specifics but it might help direct your train of thought a bit!
Also the magnets play a part, I kinda prefer alnico but ceramic seems to be tighter.
Holydiver never came into the recommendations, but I have heard its like their version of a JB. Usually all my playing on this guitar is rhythm, so mostly powerchords, riffs and chugs. Don't really do lead and this is my go to metalcore guitar so its dedicated for that.
Painkiller doesn't get a lot of mentions esp in LP type guitars for some reason, hmm. Ragnarok came into the equation, and a lot have been ordering them for Les Pauls so maybe that's another option. Funnily enough BKP's first recommendation when I contacted them initially was an Aftermath.
TBH it sounds like you just want an Aftermath back. It's easy (and fun!) to overthink these things but if you know it does exactly what you want then it seems obvious to me.
I did this before I got the Holydivers - I knew they were exactly what I wanted, then I'd have a quiet week at work browsing forums, look at every alternative.... then end up back with the Holydivers, and they've done exactly what I wanted. Then I did exactly the same thing again before getting Black Dogs for my 7.
I read about the Aftermath being a one-trick pony but its very good at that trick! I found out recently one of my favourite bands guitarists uses this in his signature ESP Ltd, and we have a similar style of playing so if its enough for him it should be the same for me! He also has Juggs in another signature model.
I've seen the Silo come out but not seen enough of it for it to be an option. Impulse was another one but again, not seen enough of it.
more gain.
I had a prototype high out put alegree in my custom 24 that was insane.
I ended up taking it out for something more mellow cos it just kept making me play behemoth
I know it's an old design, and I have no idea what metalcore is, but if you want a high-output pickup with no shrill top-end and tight lows, it's still worth a try. Cheap second hand...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
The Gibson Tony Iommi signature humbucker was made for down-tuned, high gain.
The BKP WarPig is nice on an SG. Maybe less so on an LP.
Maybe the miracle man set would do the trick? I was thinking that, aftermath or alnico nailbomb set.
I'd still say the Aftermath or Juggernaut seem to be what you want.
Metalcore is the modern kind of metal drop tuned chuggy riffs usually with a mix of screamo and clean singing.
Here are some examples and the kinda tone I'm after:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2nK8Jq-IEI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWIcan_tlKs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z77EWZcZ37A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-5ABdVRkek
Very generic sounding but tight and chunky. Tunings range from drop c down to a.
As I'm using a smaller combo amp more maybe I need a bit more output? But still have that option if I use my 6505+ again it'll do a good job.
I haven't seen much of the Miracle Man set though I think its pretty high output.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S25gCqNeOyk
He's using a LP type guitar and that tight chunky low end sound is the one I'm after! Also in drop c.
Very tempted. Very tempted...
Its definitely lining up to be one of those two however the SD Pegasus is slightly cheaper, has a bit less output but still tight and clear.