Agile 828 ash, rosewood, for modern metal: Painkiller? Cold Sweat? Other?

[MerlinTKD]

So I'm now the happy owner of an Agile Septor 828 Ash RN, with passive Cepheus Alpha/Beta pickups! I'm still learning the guitar (the intrinsic tone capabilities, more than anything) and while so far I'm pleased with the Cepheus' sounds, replacing them with BKP's is on the table for the future.

Currently I have a basswood 25.5 7-string in drop-G with PK's that I am in love with, and I realize that I'm mainly just acclimated/habituated to that tone, but as a thought experiment, I'm wondering what Bare Knuckles would work best in my new 8?

As I said, I'm not unhappy with the Cepheus, but I do notice they don't have the 'oomph' of the Painkillers. How would PK's sound in an ash bodied 8-string? I've head a lot about Cold Sweats in 8's, is that a 'better' option? I've also heard noise about going with a more moderate pickup... the Black Dog seems to be a more moderated Painkiller (tonally), or is there something better that I've not thought of?

For reference, I enjoy the tones of Periphery, Tesseract, and other 'djenty' bands (or is that a dirty word now? ;)), Meshuggah is a bit too brutal for me; Deftones "Diamond Eyes" is one of my favorite albums, but Stef's tone is actually TOO gainy for me; I'm looking for clarity and bite, but want the F# to *sound* like a low note, not thin and twangy. I use a Fender Mustang (for recording), the Metal 2000 patch, gain at 2, with the PK7 guitar; I like the ability to be versatile to a reasonable degree. For the neck, while I like the PK in my 7, I think an Alnico picup in that position would be better in the 828: something warm, clear, but not glassy clean, fluid but not to dark distorted.

Impossible? Perhaps! I challenge the experts for recommendations!! :D

[ericsabbath]

miracle man can get pretty deftonish, but the cold sweat does it really well too, and for such low tuning, that would be my choice

[MerlinTKD]

Thanks! I was leaning that way (obvious from my title I suppose ;)), but I do also wonder what the Painkiller would sound like  - would it be too bright in that guitar? Also, what about the neck, would you recommend the Cold Sweat there as well?

Are there any clips of BKP's in an ash 8-string? I haven't found any yet....

[Alex]

As I'm using the MM in a baritone, it does have a lot of high end and bass and with the extended scale it could be too much. I also have a Black Dog and it can get very brutal with the right amount of gain dialed in.

I'd recommend the Black Dog over the MM.

[MerlinTKD]

Thanks! I'm definitely leaning Cold Sweat... but I keep coming back to how much I love the tone of the Painkiller - color me undecided! Actually, my only concern with the PK is that it also might be too bright for the ash bodied 28"; am I overthinking it? If it would be too bright, is the Black Dog tonally similar but less output (and therefore less 'intense')?

Edit:
As I look back over the pickups' pages and look at the tonal graphs... I guess the CS is actually pretty bright, moreso that the PK? I' wondering more and more if the PK (or BD?) isn't the way to go... I'm just worried about it being harsh is that guitar...