NB bridge with EM neck

[lovevolve]

Hi!

I'm looking to buy my first set of Bare Knuckles and have spent the past week reading and listening to clips to try to figure out what would suit me.
Now I think that I finally have settled on the Nailbomb (not sure which version yet) for the bridge and Emerald (or perhaps the Cold Sweat) for the neck.

My guitar is a Chapman ML-2, a single cut with a mahogany body and a maple top. The neck is made of maple with an ebony fretboard.

This guitar is going to be used for heavier rock (Tool, A Perfect Circle) and metal (anything from sludgier stuff like Cult of Luna to the occasional foray into more syncopated territory).
I know that there is a big span between the kinds of metal I want to play, and I don't expect the pups to really hit the spot on any of these genres, and am willing to settle for something in between. The imperative word here is "heavy", and from what I gather the NB seems to be a good all rounder.

What do you guys think?
Will these pups:
1. Sound good in my guitar.
2. Work out for the genres that I have listed.

Thankful for any and all help.

[ericsabbath]

sounds like a good match for your guitar and needs

I'd go alnico, although I like the ceramic nailbomb better
the holy diver is my favorite tool pup, though

[lovevolve]

sounds like a good match for your guitar and needs

I'd go alnico, although I like the ceramic nailbomb better
the holy diver is my favorite tool pup, though

Thanks for the reply Eric.
Yeah, the Holy Diver was the runner up amongst my choices. To my ears it seems to be somewhat of a cousin to the Nailbombs. Chimey cleans and great high gain but not as tight as the C-Bomb which - in my opinion - has a fantastic "bee swarm" bite when driven, but sounds flat clean.
The A-Bomb seems to be lodged in the middle of these pups.

I read that Nick/Zimbloth from the Axe Palace liked pairing the C-Bomb with the Emerald neck. Although I know these would move me away from the Tool sound, I'm still considering the C-Bomb for its high gain character.
Ah, choices!

[ericsabbath]

the diver has a more dense midrange character, while the alnico nailbomb has more of a paf-type hollow mids
it's like the holy diver evolved from the black dog and the nailbomb evolved from the VHII

the c-bomb has some similarity with the a-bomb and miracle man, but leaning towards a grainier and darker tone
I don't think it sounds anything like tool, but it's a great sounding pup in near standard tunings
it has a fair amount compression for a BKP, but still pretty clear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t8dVF4lOrs

what amps and pedals are you using?

the c-bomb sounded absolutely killer in my lp custom straight into an stock '84 marshall JCM 800 2203 at bedroom volume
the holy diver is more boost-dependent than the nailbombs (which is actually good for me)

[lovevolve]

Thanks, some really great info there. I appreciate it. The A-bomb and Emerald combo seems to be what I'm after.

Oh, I don't play with any fancy equipment these days. I have a Fender Mustang IV v2 which perfectly suits my needs, and a Boss GT100 (surely a blasphemous setup around these parts) which almost is overkill with all the potential of the Mustang.
I used to have a 100w Peavey head, a 4x12 cab and a rather massive collection of pedals, but sold them all off when I realized I hadn't used any of it for a couple of years.
I also decided to just have one guitar, which I managed to do for a while, but now there's three of them and a bass. 

Out of curiosity I checked out the Juggernaut, which I had dismissed as just too djenty. Lo and behold, it really sounds nice and versatile. It is of course a modern sounding pickup but I really enjoyed the sound of it. Especially with some overdrive the pups sounded surprisingly sweet.
Someone described it as a tighter Diver and although to my ears it sounds a bit wooly when palm muting, I'm intrigued by it.

After hearing the Juggernauts I now am contemplating not changing pups on the Chapman, but instead putting the money towards a Ibanez RG8 and trying out the eight stringed life.
I'm thinking if I enjoy it I'd upgrade the pups to Juggernatus. And if I don't I could just sell the RG8 and use the money and go back to the original plan - getting pups for the Chapman.

[Yellowjacket]

Out of curiosity I checked out the Juggernaut, which I had dismissed as just too djenty. Lo and behold, it really sounds nice and versatile. It is of course a modern sounding pickup but I really enjoyed the sound of it. Especially with some overdrive the pups sounded surprisingly sweet.
Someone described it as a tighter Diver and although to my ears it sounds a bit wooly when palm muting, I'm intrigued by it.

Hmm.  This is totally correct about the Juggernauts.  They have that nice, chirpy pick attack that all BKP have.  They're really full and musical, and they turn aggressive when played hard.  The feel is spot on and they feel great to play.  I would say the distortion sound 'purrs' or it has that 'torn speaker' sort of a high end.  They are not wooly in the way Seymour Duncans are wooly.  It does many tones well, albeit with a modern voice. 
I have a Juggernaut set in a Super Strat.

I have an A-Bomb & a Rebel Yell neck in the LP.  The guitar has lots of pissed off rock mojo and it can get gnarly and heavier when played through a more modern amp.  The voice and feel of the A-Bomb is really raunchy and full, and it has the 'punk rock' mid focused grinding crunch.  It also has a great high end.  I'm not a huge fan of the cleans on the A-Bomb and I think it doesn't do quite so well at leads as a Rebel Yell does.  Great rhythm pickup with the capability of some good, over the top solo tones. 

[lovevolve]

There's still not that much info about the Juggernauts around, so thanks for filling in some blanks Yellowjacket.
I think these will be my first set of BKP's, and I'll postpone the A-Bomb/Emerald combo for a future project, seeing as the Juggs modern voiced versatility will bring something to the mix which my other guitars don't do.

Good stuff here. Thanks for making a newcomer feel welcomed.