Miracle Man bridge + Painkiller neck on Basswood and Mahogany body DOUBTS

[KevinMarchesini]

I read the description of these pickups and I have some doubts. I looking for the scooped mid emg-like sound for the bridge. Is the MM too different voiced from the emg 81?. And looking for a Dimarzio Liquifire-like type of sound for the neck but with more output and crisp and thought the Painkiller bridge could do it. Am I right? And this pickups would been installed hypothetically on an Ibanez rg 550 with Basswood body, maple neck and fretboard and on a ltd ec 1000 vb with Mahogany body, neck and a ebony fretboard. I think the best combination would be the ltd and I would like to know if these pickups would sound too bright (or harsh) on the Ibanez. Also I would like to compare the output of the MM with a Dimarzio D activator and the painkiller neck with the Dimarzio Liquifire.

[ericsabbath]

the miracle man is a bit more scooped in the upper mids, and more low mid/bass heavy than the emg 81
low strings sound quite deep and punchy, and higher strings sound quite trebly, but clear and not harsh
on fast shredding it sounds a lot like an emg when it comes to clarity
the notes really jump and the pinch harmonics sound LOUD
it's a high output pickup, but it won't saturate like most high output dimarzios or seymours
it's cleaner than a duncan custom, duncan distortion and a lot cleaner than a dimarzio x2n for sure

never played the d activator, so I can't compare them
the neck aftermath might be somewhat similar to the liquifire, but I'm guessing by clips and specs only, not experience

[KevinMarchesini]

Thanks :D. Anyone want to add something? Would like to see other opinions.

[llJasonll]

The Painkiller neck will definitely do what you want it to.  I love that neck pickup for the reasons that you mentioned!

[darkbluemurder]

Eric nailed the description of the Miracle Man bridge. If you want a brighter tone than that, the Cold Sweat bridge would be a good alternative, but it would also be thicker than the EMG.

CS bridge and PK neck has been mentioned more than once as being an excellent shredder set up.

Cheers Stephan

[KevinMarchesini]

Thanks. But still wanna know about the output. I played the D activator and liked the output but in my country BKP's are not available so I can't test them. What concerns me is the output of the MM and PK.

[darkbluemurder]

Never played a D-Activator. The only direct comparison between DiMarzio and BKP bridge pickups I had was a Holydiver vs. a Breed in my alder strat w/ maple neck and rosewood board. The Breed has definitely more output. I now have the Miracle Man in that guitar, and I would say it has about the same output as the Breed, so I guess the Miracle Man could have a bit lower output than the D-Activator.

Hope that helps.

Cheers Stephan

[KevinMarchesini]

Thanks :D. I think the MM it's like a Dimarzio Steve's Special. Someone could say if I am right, please.

[Alex]

Those DiMarzios have silly levels of output, way too much. The Miracle Man is hot, but not as ridiculous hot as the DM. Somebody needs to tell Larry that amps nowadays are no longer the way they were in the 1960s with no gain on tap.