Mirage Upgrade

[Arcturus]

hi,

i want to replace the emg 81s that are currently in my guitar.
It is an esp m-II, alder body, bolt on maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, FR bridge with 2 emg 81s built in, basically what kirk hammett uses
It is a very lightweight construction, that cuts through anything, i mainly use it for heavy distorted riffing and shredding, but also clean parts in between,

I own it for quite some time by now and i like its sound, but when i play it cold without being plugged into an amp, there is so much more sound going on. There is nothing wrong about the emgs, but they tend to kind of ignore that woody type of sound, that is going on in the lower mids, and i want to capture exactly that. Also they tend to compress the sound, which comes in handy when playing on full distortion, but cleans and slightly distorted sounds get all flat and lose that sparkle.

When it comes to dialing in the amp, im blasting the mids on at least 7, and treble somewhere around 6, where some of my other guitars tend to get all muddy, this ones reaching its sweet spot.
I thought i should mention that, as that shows how cutting that combination of wood and pickups is. Thats the adjustment for my distorted sound i use on my engl, so thats a very shrill matter.

To sum it up, i want to change the emgs with something, that accentuates the woody, slightly warm lower mids of the body, and boosts the high mids in a way that emphasizes the deep woody structure of sound the guitar has without amplification.
Chords should come out roaring and broad and leadlines fluid and bright.

I forgot to mention, that i want to replace both of my humbuckers, so my idea would be to have some ripping pickup in the bridge for rhythm and a nice fluid one in the neck for playing lead lines.

thank you in advance for all kinds of answers

[Telerocker]

Holy Divers will provide the beef you need and give you a creamy solotone. Maybe Juggernauts will do too.

[Arcturus]

the description on the holydiver says, its specifically made for lightweight guitars, /doh,
guess ive should have read that one through first, thanks for your recommendation

ive done some further research on that one and all of a sudden there was some two year old thread about almost the same topic, but the guy had the neck through version of my guitar, so im not quite sure if that makes a fundamental difference as the bolt on is more trebly

it was that one https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=26453.0

and now im a bit confused, is the alnico nailbomb a hotter version of the holydiver, since its made with the same sort of magnet, or is ceramic overall better? The painkiller would drop out, because it says somewhere, that they are very focused on treble and that would be just treble overkill.

i found nothing on the juggernauts being built into that guitar, so i can not refer on experiences other people have made with that combination.

The holydiver seems to be the one, but Im a bit afraid, that they would cut off some of the highs.

[Arthurus]

I've had both the Holydiver and the Juggernaut in my MM Silhouette with a Floyd Rose. For what you describe, you should go for the Juggernaut. More beefy but still as creamy as the Holydiver.

[Slartibartfarst42]

You want a Miracle Man. It was originally seen as a passive version of an EMG to give that Zakk Wylde tone but it's so much better than any EMG I've ever played. Thick, warm, smooth and organic. What makes it even better for you is that although the EQ chart suggests it has no mids, the reality is that it has plenty low mids so you get a really huge sound. I love the Holydiver but what you're asking about has Miracle Man written all over it.

[JPHaze]

You want a Miracle Man. It was originally seen as a passive version of an EMG to give that Zakk Wylde tone but it's so much better than any EMG I've ever played. Thick, warm, smooth and organic. What makes it even better for you is that although the EQ chart suggests it has no mids, the reality is that it has plenty low mids so you get a really huge sound. I love the Holydiver but what you're asking about has Miracle Man written all over it.

  I'd trust Slarti...He helped me pick out the pups I wanted. Cant wait to get my miracle man! :lol:

[Telerocker]

Out of all recommended pickups you can't wrong really. It's merely a matter of taste and what would be the best fit for your guitar. I bet the Miracle Man will be satisfying. So will be the alnico Nailbomb, which has more output and agressive uppermids compared to the Diver. And you have to like the topendsizzle.

[Arcturus]

Mh okay, that narrows my search to at least 3 possibilities

I think Ill go with the Divers, and from that on either MM for more clarity or alnico Nailbombs for more uppermid aggressiveness

thank you everyone, youve helped me a lot

[Arcturus]

I ordered a calibrated Holydiver set, and they have finally arrived. Thats what they look like built in.





The Images are kind of blurry, as Ive shot them with my phone, I hope you get the impression of what they look like.

They have black covers and black allen screw polepieces.

I like the way they sound, powerful roaring and very distinct. Exactly what I wanted.

To give you an impression of what I mean by that, there is a short recording I did after some tweaking with the pickup height. I used my old Zoom floorboard to emulate the sound of my Engl and played some holydiver-esque riff on the bridge pickup.
No extensive testing or anything, but something I did to give you a basic impression.

https://soundcloud.com/user421683306/hdbridgedist1