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Author Topic: Need Recommendations For A Brutal Pickup In A Les Paul Custom  (Read 4618 times)

btte100

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I did try searching around but didn't really see anything recent that answered my question. I'm looking for a super aggressive brutal sounding pickup to use in my LP Custom. I was initially thinking Aftermath but I read somewhere in here that they're not well suited for darker guitars. I'm sort of leaning towards the Painkiller or maybe the Juggernaut. I'm also curious about how the Ragnarok might perform. Any assistance is appreciated.

jakenvnez

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Re: Need Recommendations For A Brutal Pickup In A Les Paul Custom
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2021, 08:04:11 AM »
I signed up for the forum to ask this same exact question, but for a double-bound Agile AL haha. Great minds think alike so thank you for beating me to the punch!  :cheesy:

Dave Sloven

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Re: Need Recommendations For A Brutal Pickup In A Les Paul Custom
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2021, 12:25:14 PM »
Ceramic Black Hawk or a Painkiller
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RobAbrams84

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Re: Need Recommendations For A Brutal Pickup In A Les Paul Custom
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2021, 03:08:37 PM »
The Juggernaut was surprisingly not very brutal to me when I tried it in a friend's guitar.  I didn't like it very much frankly, but didn't have much time with it and didn't tweak it, I admit.

one

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Re: Need Recommendations For A Brutal Pickup In A Les Paul Custom
« Reply #4 on: April 16, 2021, 06:48:17 AM »
I use the Juggernaut for everything, such a versatile pup... I play in my extreme death/black band with it. Anyways, probably would go for the ragnarok or painkiller for much raw rage.

ericsabbath

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Re: Need Recommendations For A Brutal Pickup In A Les Paul Custom
« Reply #5 on: April 16, 2021, 01:58:00 PM »
The c-pig sounded far more brutal in my 73 les paul custom than the aftermath

Aftermath - middy, really tight, very edgy but not hairy

C-bomb - balanced frequency voicing, nice balance between compression and rawness, loud and aggressive

C-pig - huge but still not flubby, more aggression and compression but still a strong top end response, and definitely my choice for death metal soundalikes

Cold Sweat - great match to my guitar, pretty hot and cutting, but not really "brutal"

Others I had in other les pauls:
Miracle Man - amazing and unique, punchy, singing, but more refined and less aggressive than the aftermath/c-pig/c-bomb

Painkiller - had little experience with this one, I remember it worked somewhere between the holy diver and aftermath, but sounds hairier and even more aggressive than the aftermath
« Last Edit: April 16, 2021, 01:59:44 PM by ericsabbath »
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btte100

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Re: Need Recommendations For A Brutal Pickup In A Les Paul Custom
« Reply #6 on: April 16, 2021, 09:41:19 PM »
Thanks for all of the suggestions. Stupid question. When you guys mention C-Bomb/C-Pig are you talking about Nailbomb and Warpig pickups with ceramic magnets?

one

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Re: Need Recommendations For A Brutal Pickup In A Les Paul Custom
« Reply #7 on: April 17, 2021, 07:31:37 AM »
yes

I agree with the C-pig but I had the C-bomb and sold it after hating it so much, ice picky pup, too shrill, terrible tone for solos. Unlike the C-pig, godly tone maybe too bassy sometimes.

Dave Sloven

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Re: Need Recommendations For A Brutal Pickup In A Les Paul Custom
« Reply #8 on: April 17, 2021, 02:20:55 PM »
Thanks for all of the suggestions. Stupid question. When you guys mention C-Bomb/C-Pig are you talking about Nailbomb and Warpig pickups with ceramic magnets?

Yes.  This C/A designation is used on this forum to differentiate the ceramic and alnico versions of BK bridge pickups that can be ordered with either an AlNiCo V or Ceramic VIII magnet.

Black Hawk: A-Hawk / C-Hawk
Nailbomb: A-Bomb / C-Bomb
War Pig: A-Pig / C-Pig

All of the other pickups in the range do not have a choice of magnet, they are only one version.  All neck humbuckers are alnico magnets (various types, all in the contemporary range are A5) except for the Painkiller neck pickup, which is ceramic.

All humbuckers in the Vintage and Vintage Hot categories have some kind of alnico magnet, as do all P-90s.  All Strat and Tele single coils are alnico (various types) except for the Cobra set and Cobra-T, which are ceramic.

In the contemporary humbucker range the following bridge pickups are exclusively alnico: Crawler, Rebel Yell, Impulse, Holy Diver, Silo.

In the contemporary humbucker range the following bridge pickups are exclusively ceramic: Miracle Man, Cold Sweat, Aftermath, Painkiller, Ragnarok.

The Juggernaut bridge is a weird one.  The main magnet is alnico V but it has two smaller flanking magnets that are both ceramic.


« Last Edit: April 18, 2021, 01:46:30 AM by Dave Sloven »
BLACK HAWKS
IMPULSES
COBRA-T
WAR PIGS
STOCKHOLM
COLD SWEATS
MIRACLE MAN
TRUE GRIT

https://slovendoom.bandcamp.com/releases

btte100

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Re: Need Recommendations For A Brutal Pickup In A Les Paul Custom
« Reply #9 on: April 17, 2021, 03:49:05 PM »
Thanks for all of the suggestions. Stupid question. When you guys mention C-Bomb/C-Pig are you talking about Nailbomb and Warpig pickups with ceramic magnets?

Yes.  This C/A designation is used on this forum to differentiate the ceramic and alnico versions of BK bridge pickups that can be ordered with either an AlNiCo V or Ceramic VIII magnet.

Black Hawk: A-Hawk / C-Hawk
Nailbomb: A-Bomb / C-Bomb
War Pig: A-Pig / C-Pig

All of the other pickups in the range do not have a choice of magnet, they are only one version.  All neck humbuckers are alnico magnets (various types, all in the contemporary range are A5) except for the Painkiller neck pickup, which is ceramic.

All humbuckers in the Vintage and Vintage Hot categories have some kind of alnico magnet, as do all P-90s.  All Strat and Tele single coils are alnico (various types) except for the Cobra set and Cobra-T, which are ceramic.

In the contemporary humbucker range the following bridge pickups are exclusively alnico: Crawler, Rebel Yell, Impulse, Holy Diver, Silo.

In the contemporary humbucker range the following bridge pickups are exclusively alnico: Miracle Man, Cold Sweat, Aftermath, Painkiller, Ragnarok.

The Juggernaut bridge is a weird one.  The main magnet is alnico V but it has two smaller flanking magnets that are both ceramic.

Hey thanks for all of the great information. My knowledge of high output pickups is rather limited so this is very useful. A few years ago I did a swap in an AVRI 52 Tele with the Flat 50s set. The choice seemed rather intuitive. I installed them along with an Emerson pre-wired kit and the results were awesome. I did the same thing to an Eric Johnson Strat, not that there was anything wrong with the pickups in that guitar. I just like to modify stuff. Again it turned out great.

However when it comes to metal, I have always played guitars with active EMGs or Blackouts. I had an old ESP M1 with a single EMG in the bridge that I wound up swapping for a SD Black Winter. It was then that I realized passive pickups are more to my liking. After nearly 30 years I have finally gotten myself a Gibson. I really love how the guitar plays and feels but the stock pickups leave something to be desired which is why I am seeking advice. I probably should have mentioned this earlier but I have the guitar set up with 11s in Drop C and I like a pretty scooped sound with tight bass.

I work at a shop that has a pretty big selection of BKP in stock but we don't seem to have anything that meets your recommendations and matches the design aesthetic of this guitar.  So far I'm leaning towards ordering a set of Painkillers with battle worn gold radiator covers and gold bolts for the black LPC. I also have a Silverburst on order that should be showing up in the next month or two and I was thinking about going with the Black Hawk set with nickle radiators for that.

darrenw5094

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Re: Need Recommendations For A Brutal Pickup In A Les Paul Custom
« Reply #10 on: April 17, 2021, 05:59:40 PM »
If you like scooped then the Painkiller is not a good idea. It's got a ton of mids. The scooped pup is a Cold Sweat.
BKP: Abraxas - Les Paul
Holy Diver - Charvel
Mule - Les Paul
Rebel Yell - Les Paul
VHII - PRS CU22
Emerald - Les Paul
Warpig - Caparison Horus

Dave Sloven

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Re: Need Recommendations For A Brutal Pickup In A Les Paul Custom
« Reply #11 on: April 18, 2021, 02:00:12 AM »
If you like scooped then the Painkiller is not a good idea. It's got a ton of mids. The scooped pup is a Cold Sweat.

I agree 100%

The Painkiller is ceramic and tight but has very strong mids and not scooped at all.

Even the ceramic Black Hawk is not scooped.

If you are looking for bridge pickups with a scooped mid range the options are the Cold Sweat and the Miracle Man.  For more metal tones I would strongly recommend the Miracle Man, which works well in Les Pauls.

The Impulse also has less mids than either of the Black Hawks and in the right guitar can sound pretty brutal.  I was surprised how well it held up compared to the alnico Black Hawk in that regard in the same guitar, a Schecter C-1 Blackjack ATX, which is mahogany body, mahogany set neck.  The Impulse is clearer and had more punch in that guitar, especially after I installed a Gotoh 510FB bridge, which has massive sustain but more rolled off in teh highs and warmer in the mids due to the brass saddles.  The Impulse restored some of the bite that was lost when I changed the bridge, and doesn't feel less powerful.  The Impulse set is really nice in that guitar actually, and it has since been tuned down from C standard to Ab standard.  Open Ab power chords on the neck pickup sound like Sunn O)))

Radiator covers look fantastic on blade pickups, especially in nickel, raw nickel, brushed nickel, or aged gold.  I don't like TV covers on anything except HSP90s and I don't think radiators look that good on pickups with individual pole pieces.  On the blade pickups they look a bit like the old Peavey toaster pickups.

Cover choice, bobbin colour etc is worth considering in terms of resale value if you change your mind about pickups later.  There has been a set of white Black Hawks on ebay here in Australia for ages, despite the fact that Black Hawks (and BKPs generally) are really hard to source here at the moment, and most choices need to be ordered from the UK. They have gold battleworn covers.  I would have bought them myself before now if they were uncovered.  Just something to think about.  You might be better off with regular gold covers if you need gold,  Gold definitely has its haters but solid cover with gold screws is definitely easier to sell.

Oh also I made a copy and paste error in that quote of my post. I have corrected it now in my post.  Sorry for any confusion.  MM, CS, AM, PK, Rag are all ceramic




 
BLACK HAWKS
IMPULSES
COBRA-T
WAR PIGS
STOCKHOLM
COLD SWEATS
MIRACLE MAN
TRUE GRIT

https://slovendoom.bandcamp.com/releases