Help with new pickups!

[IBertram]

Hey Guys,

So I am planning on upgrading my rig over the next little while and I am trying to figure out the best combination of pickups for what i'll be playing. So far my setup is;

ESP MH-400, maple neck thru with mahogany wings and rosewood fingerboard. EMG 81-85 set.

Tele style guitar, Basswood body, ash top, rosewood fingerboard. Right now it has two single coils, but I am considering converting to hum-buckers.

Both run into a POD HD PRO that goes direct into my DAW.

I'm hoping to replace the PU in both guitars. My ESP is mostly used for metal, and my tele is only used for Jazz(I study it in university). I'm up for just about any combination(s).

The styles of metal I play with my ESP with are mostly death metal, Tech DM, and some thrash. Revocation are a huge influence, and I love how clean and tight tone is. The tone of The Haarp Machine is also something I would go for.

I don't have a lot of experience with single coil pickups, or getting a good clean tone out of a solid body guitar, so any help regarding my Tele would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your help!

[Ian Price]

I can't really help out on the metal side of things as that's not really my bag.

For the single coils it would be useful if you could give us some sort of reference tones - there will be a BKP for you, just need to narrow it down a little.

[IBertram]

I can't really help out on the metal side of things as that's not really my bag.

For the single coils it would be useful if you could give us some sort of reference tones - there will be a BKP for you, just need to narrow it down a little.

It's hard for me to give a good example of what I want it to sound like, this is a new style for me to be investing my time and money into. This guitar is basically used for comping and improvising within a small jazz quartet(drum, bass and sax). Some good influences are everywhere from Joe Pass to Andreas Oberg. I don't know how much that helps

[CanadianMetalhead]

For the ESP you should look into the Aftermath if you want something similar to the EMG's in terms of mid range CRUNCH and tightness.

If you want something with the same tightness as the 81 but more low end ballz, smoother mids and warmer sound check out the Miracleman.

For less ballz, Mid-scooped, and articulate high end maybe the Coldsweat?

If you want something sort of like the Miracle man but organic, rich, a little less tight and a sharp (( but not too sharp )) high end check out the alnico nailbomb.

Personally I think it is a definitely the Aftermath after listening to both of the bands but w/e works.

(edit) : Forgot about the tele lol. Never looked into the single coils of Bkp seriously so i got no clue. If you went humbucker that would be a diff story :P

[IBertram]

For the ESP you should look into the Aftermath if you want something similar to the EMG's in terms of mid range CRUNCH and tightness.

I actually have aftermaths in an 8 string, and they are a bit too tight for what I use this guitar for. But your description of the A-Bomb sounded just like what i want! Or maybe a C-Bomb?

[OddFutureWolfGang]

I have a C-bomb that I play metalcore and shred solos with in drop C and I think that you'd be better suited with something like a Painkiller because while I love the C-bomb it's not all that tight but it sounds rather big and heavy for rhythms and warm/organic, to my surprise, on leads so if you're looking to do tech death type stuff I think a PK or a CS would do better.

[Mr. Air]

If you're going humbucker on the tele you should look into the Manhattan humbucker sized p90. It's aimed at jazzers, but it can do other things as well.