Instrumental/Shred pickups? *Long post warning*

[oilpit]

I play a lot of blues, a lot of classic rock and some 80's hard rock/metal.  For all that, I have my Les Paul and it does the job just perfectly.  However shred/instrumental music is my not so guilty pleasure, Timmons, Vai, Gilbert, Satriani, Petrucci, that kinda thing.

I've always wanted a guitar better suited for that style of music so my Christmas present to myself was a Pro-Mod charvel that I put together from a bunch of ebay deals.  The one thing that I did not get was pickups.  I have used a decent number of Dimarzios and Duncans over the years, as well as a whole mess of booteek PAFs for my Les Paul.  So for this guitar I decided I want something along those lines, just not PAFs  :D

If you don't already know, this Charvel has an alder body, a 22 fret maple neck and a floyd.  I play through a Mesa Lonestar, a Mesa Electra Dyne and a 1974 Super Lead.

Essentially what I want out of this guitar is a great lead tone that can cover all the artists I mentioned prior, I won't be playing much (any) rhythm with this particular guitar.  I tend to like a super fat, thick, compressed bridge pickup (think half c--ked wah) with lots of harmonics and output.  This is not to say that I don't want decent treble response, however I tend to prefer running a relatively dark sounding guitar into a brighter amp (as opposed to the other way around) that way I can get all the compression, harmonics and sustain I need from the guitar, and the amp adds clarity and detail.  I like super tight bass, LOTS of midrange and as I mentioned, harmonically rich treble detail. From the neck I like a clearer, more articulate tone, both to help balance both of the pickups when switching and so that when I play fast shred licks and arpeggios, every note can be heard.

A few bridge pickups I have liked in the past:
Dimarzio Tone Zone: As fat as they come!  This has been my go to pickup in years past, however it sounds a bit artificial, almost like I was playing through a cheap distortion pedal all the time.  Other than this rather strange quality, I really like this pickup.

Duncan JB:  An oldie but a goodie, LOVE the harmonics of this pickup, I found it to be lacking in the low mids, and the bass was not quite as tight as I would like.  It has a great lead tone, but somewhat thinner than I need.

Dimarzio Norton:  Generally good tone, but lacks some output and suffers from the same odd characteristics of the Tone Zone

Dimarzio Evo2: I don't love this pickup, sounds super nasally.  the mids are more "upper" mids, boredering on treble, where I prefer "lower" mids.  Liked the tight bass and harmonics though.

A few neck pickups I have liked in the past:
Dimarzio Evo: I love the mix of clarity and fattness this pickup has, however it's not quite smooth enough for me.  There is a very distinct "grind" on the high end that turned me off.

Duncan Jazz: Really like the clarity, however at times it can be a little too bright.  A slightly middier version of the Jazz would be just about perfect IMO

Dimarzio PAF Pro:  A little on the muddy side, but other than that it's one of my favorites.  Very smooth, clear enough for sweeps and fat enough for sustained notes.  However as the gain creeps up into "metal" levels some definition can be lost, which I do not like.

That's about it, sorry for the crazy long post but I really want to get it right the first time with this guitar.
Thanks for taking the time to read my post and I hope you can recommend me the perfect pup set for me!

[ratspeak]

I think you're describing a Ceramic Warpig for the bridge (there's an option in the BKP online shop for a ceramic magnet). The C-Pig is going to give you a very fat, thick, dark, grindy, compressed but tight tone. It's heavy on the low-mids and lows. I always boost mine because I find it a bit "too" thick, even in a maple neck-thru 25.5 scale guitar. You might also look at the Aftermath, which is not as thick or fat, but ridiculously tight. It's strong across the entire midrange, but with a bit of emphasis on low-mids. In the neck I first thought Painkiller, which is very articulate and clear (almost singlecoily), but I'm sure you'd like a Cold-Sweat or Nailbomb as well.

[Doadman]

The C-Pig certainly qualifies as fat, tight and bassy so i don't think you'd go too far wrong with that. The Alnico Warpig may also be a possibility. It's not quite as tight as a C-Pig but slightly more mids with all that bass makes it nice and fat and it has a sweeter, more organic lead tone. A Nailbomb may also be a possibility. Like the Warpig it comes both Alnico and Ceramic so you have that choice of super tight or slightly sweeter but they're both very tight sounding pickups. The Aftermath is the last one I'd suggest. It's very tight but still has a warm and reasonably fat tone.

[dave_mc]

I would email tim for some second opinions. I play a lot of that type of music, and I'd be concerned that the warpig (whether ceramic or alnico) would be way too hot. I don't have much experience with the various BKPs- I imagine the cold sweat in the neck would work, but there may be better options. I've only tried the bridge miracle man, and while it would work (especially for vai), I imagine something with alnico V would work better for all the other tones.

[Telerocker]

I would count Nailbombs in.

[Doadman]

I imagine something with alnico V would work better for all the other tones.

I would count Nailbombs in.

I'd agree with both of these points. The tightness you refer to would certainly suggest ceramics but everything else makes me think Alnico. When I first saw your post and you mentioned "LOTS of midrange" I thought of the Holy Diver as that has a huge midrange push and a fat tone. In many ways it's perfect for you with a great clean tone and sweet leads. The Alnico Nailbomb isn't quite as sweet on the leads but I don't think it's that far off and the bass is somewhat tighter. On a lot of the clips I've heard, and I think I've listened to them all, it's as tight as many ceramics I've listened to. I think the A-Bomb may offer you the best balance between sweet leads and tight bass but if you decided that wasn't for you, I'd certainly look at the Aftermath. I'd be very interested to hear what Tim suggests.

[Alex]

I think the Holy Diver is still the best choice given its great lead tone and midrange bump. I've used the JB, then the Tone Zone, then again the JB and now the Holy Diver in the same guitar -- my baritone -- and the Holy Diver is the best out of the lot, although I must admit the Tone Zone was the most brutal of those three.

[Nolly]

Holy Diver bridge is pretty much a no brainer here. Smooth top end, very fat midrange and surprisingly lean low end that stays tight and defined. Great harmonic detail too.

One of the most articulate neck pickups in the range is the Mule, which offers up a very open and airy tone both clean and under gain. There's no room to hide with an output that low though.
The Cold Sweat neck is an oft recommended one, and with good reason too. It's a modern and fluid tone that retains a lot of definition. Under gain it puts you straight into that 'tubular' Petrucci tone ballpark, and clean it is very deep and clear.

[oilpit]

Under gain it puts you straight into that 'tubular' Petrucci tone ballpark, and clean it is very deep and clear.

Well...you just sold me on that one!

Ok, I think I will email Tim this evening and see what the man himself thinks, then I will decide on a bridge pickup after I have taken everything into consideration. 
So far it's

C-Pig - 2
Nailbombs - 2
Holy Diver - 2

It's all tied up!
This is gonna be a really tough descision!

[Doadman]

This is gonna be a really tough descision!

You have my sympathy because I know exactly what you mean. I got it down to virtually the same three pickups (I preferred the A-Pig to the C-Pig) and had the devils own job choosing between them. Personally, I thought the HD leads were best and the A-Pig's rhythms were the best so my pick is the A-Bomb simply because it appears to offer the best compromise between the other two. I've not spoken to Tim yet about it but it's close enough that if he told me I was wrong and one of the other two would be better, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it  :)

I had a Cold Sweat neck in my last guitar and can confirm that it's a fantastic pickup. The only reason I hadn't suggested it for the neck was because I thought it might be a bit bright in your guitar but I'm sure Nolly knows best. Anyway, let us know what Tim says and I'm sure you'll be happy whatever you get.

[oilpit]

I agree with Nolly that the Holydiver bridge and Mule neck(or Cold Sweat neck if you want a fatter, more modern tone) would be ideal in your Charvel.

Kindest Regards,

Tim

From the man himself, I think I'll take his advice and get a Holy Diver/Cold Sweat combo...

[Doadman]

You were never going to go wrong with any of them and I'm sure you'll absolutely love them. I hope to see some pictures when they're installed.

[Nolly]

I agree with Nolly that the Holydiver bridge and Mule neck(or Cold Sweat neck if you want a fatter, more modern tone) would be ideal in your Charvel.

Kindest Regards,

Tim

From the man himself, I think I'll take his advice and get a Holy Diver2Cold Sweat combo...

Good call, look forward to hearing your thoughts once you get them in!

[darkbluemurder]

HD bridge and CS neck is the combination I have in my PRS Custom. Best combination that I have ever had in this guitar. I have got another HD bridge coming for my one pickup Charvel type guitar.