Pickup Advice?

[fraserwatt]

Hey, I play through a Ibanez 321MH and a Peavey Valve King 112, and I'd like to upgrade my pickups with some Bare Knuckle Pickups.
I play alot of Power Metal and Shred but also I'm starting to play jazz fusion and folk. Because of this, I'd like two very different pickups.

I'd like quite a heavy tone, mainly for rhythm, kinda like newer Dream Theater, Hammerfall, Firewind kinda stuff.

For the neck pickup, i'd prefer something alike to a Al Di Meola/Blackmore's Night kinda tone but can also handle shreddy lead work like Luca Turilli from Rhapsody, I guess kinda like the Dimarzio Air Norton.

Sorry if ive been a bit vauge or too specific

Cheers,
Fraser

[Raysus]

I would say something like a Nailbomb bridge pickup and a Cold Sweat neck would be very good.

The nailbomb is very round, tight and articulated.  I find it very good for metal and incredibly versatile.

The cold sweat is really articulated and would certainely cover a lot of ground too.

[il˙ti]

No, you can be as specific as you like, it's important to get the right sound.

Cold Sweat neck would be a good choice, as would Abraxas or Crawler if you're into a slightly more classic/warmer sound.

For bridge I'm thinking Nailbomb, Diver or Miracle Man, depending on how you like your mids.

[fraserwatt]

Cold Sweat neck would be a good choice, as would Abraxas or Crawler if you're into a slightly more classic/warmer sound.

For bridge I'm thinking Nailbomb, Diver or Miracle Man, depending on how you like your mids.

What sort of properties would each have? I havn't really upgraded pickups before, so im not sure what sort of thing to look out for, and I dont want to just go on the sales description :lol:

[il˙ti]

Alright, my experience is rather limited but this is what I've gathered from posts and clips on this forum.

The Nailbomb has the emphasis on the higher mids so it cuts through well, aswell as having enough chuck to add warmth to a bright guitar.

The Holy Diver has its focus towards the lower mids, and gives more chunk aswell as smooth and singy highs.

The Miracle Man is very tight and slightly scooped sounding for a more "screaming" sound.

All of them will sound tight on a tight amp, but I've heard people having problems getting the alnico pickups to sound tight enough on loose amps. I don't know how the valve king is when it comes to that, but it's definitely something you should consider.
Petrucci's rythm tone comes from using a ceramic pickup (Steve's Special, D-Sonic) into Mesa amps which tend to be quite loose. If the amp is tight enough a Holy Diver will get the chunky tone and sound more full (IMO) than the Miracle Man.

[MDV]

I think:

Bridge: Holy Diver

Neck: Cold sweat

Edit: I also think you should upgrade your amp. I find VKs to be very un-sensitive to a guitars tone, and generally (IMO) cr@ppy soundlng. In-the-same-direction-but-better = 5150/6505