Best Bkp for playin metal in a basswood guitar???

[Donatello]

For your style of music, I think I would go for Warpigs.

[infernalreaper]

so what sounds better in basswood? overall?  Warpig or the Nailbomb?

[Venemous]

so what sounds better in basswood? overall?  Warpig or the Nailbomb?

Well, from what I collect, basswood seems to be a very neutral tone wood. That means that you can get away with very high output pickups without sounding like a muddy mess! I have a c-pig in my basswood guitar and it kills!  :P The nailbomb is excellent too, but for heavier metal, the pig is where it's at in basswood! It takes full command of that neutral tone range and turns it into a heavy, brutal, squealing monster of a guitar  :D

[Axe Palace]

so what sounds better in basswood? overall?  Warpig or the Nailbomb?

The ceramic Warpig is definitely the ultimate death metal pickup, however I disagree VEHEMENTLY with the notion of basswood being neutral and friendly to all pickups. In my experience nothing could be further from reality.  I find basswood extremely picky and can eat up and chew out most pickups. I think basswood lacks character, which is why it's not one of my favorite tone woods, but it's definitely not neutral IMO.

I've tried almost every pickup from every brand in the 40-50 Ibanez I've had over the years, and only very few pickups did the job. Seymour Duncans that sound great in alder, mahogany, walnut, etc often sound terrible and woofy in basswood, for example. A few DiMarzios are voiced well for basswood but as I'm sure most of us agree here, DiMarzios have a treble characteristic that shall we say - leaves a lot to be desired.

The high-output Bare Knuckles my customers and I have achieved the best results with in basswood are the Cold Sweat, Miracle Man, and Nailbomb. While the ceramic Warpig definitely is the most brutal and deathy pickup, I'm not so sure its a great match for basswood since basswood has very loose lows and the Warpig's low end is massive. I think a pickup with a bit tighter low-end like the Miracle Man would be a better option IMO.

Again, just my experiences, I'm not saying anyone else is wrong. Just trying to help :)

[gingataff]

so what sounds better in basswood? overall?  Warpig or the Nailbomb?

The high-output Bare Knuckles my customers and I have achieved the best results with in basswood are the Cold Sweat, Miracle Man, and Nailbomb. While the ceramic Warpig definitely is the most brutal and deathy pickup, I'm not so sure its a great match for basswood since basswood has very loose lows and the Warpig's low end is massive. I think a pickup with a bit tighter low-end like the Miracle Man would be a better option IMO.

Again, just my experiences, I'm not saying anyone else is wrong. Just trying to help :)

You mentioned that you mostly deal with 7 (and 8 ) string players and I'm sure that has a big impact on your comments, but would you still say a Cold Sweat works well in a standard tuned 6 string? I get the impression (falsely I hope) that it would be a bit harsh. I'm seriously considering one at the moment for one of the 3 basswood guitars I'm planning to BKP.

[Axe Palace]

so what sounds better in basswood? overall?  Warpig or the Nailbomb?

The high-output Bare Knuckles my customers and I have achieved the best results with in basswood are the Cold Sweat, Miracle Man, and Nailbomb. While the ceramic Warpig definitely is the most brutal and deathy pickup, I'm not so sure its a great match for basswood since basswood has very loose lows and the Warpig's low end is massive. I think a pickup with a bit tighter low-end like the Miracle Man would be a better option IMO.

Again, just my experiences, I'm not saying anyone else is wrong. Just trying to help :)

You mentioned that you mostly deal with 7 (and 8 ) string players and I'm sure that has a big impact on your comments, but would you still say a Cold Sweat works well in a standard tuned 6 string? I get the impression (falsely I hope) that it would be a bit harsh. I'm seriously considering one at the moment for one of the 3 basswood guitars I'm planning to BKP.

Oh I do TONS of 6-string stuff too man. I think the Cold Sweat sounds great with standard tuning too, I've installed them for customers in Ibanez RGs before and it works like a charm. Sure it's a bright pickup but not harsh. However, if you wanted something a little thicker that's when I recommend the Miracle Man since that too is voiced superbly well for basswood.

If you never intend on tuning super low, the Nailbomb or Holydiver would be excellent choices too.

[Elliot]

I agree with Vic - I don't think that basswood is tonally neutral - to my ears it has a very pronounced mid and lower mid range that can take out the benefits of many higher gain pickups.  You want something with some brightness in it to get over the mid range - as 80s shredders do with their DiMarzios.  Not being a metal fan, I couldn't help but I reckon a nailbomb.

[infernalreaper]

ok guys im a lil confused...so miracle man also works fine in basswood??...anyways i play in D standard tuning most of the times & occasionally tune  to drop c...so do u guys think that the warpig will suit this tuning well??

[Roobubba]

ok guys im a lil confused...so miracle man also works fine in basswood??...anyways i play in D standard tuning most of the times & occasionally tune  to drop c...so do u guys think that the warpig will suit this tuning well??

The miracle man definitely works wonders in basswood. I have an MM in an ibanez RG470/TBL and it's brutal. Very very articulate, even tuned down to A-E-A-D-F#-B (although this is achieved so much better in my multiscale baritone loaded with a black dog, but this won't help you...).

I can definitely recommend the miracle man for normal or downtuned metal in a basswood ibanez.

Roo

[Axe Palace]

ok guys im a lil confused...so miracle man also works fine in basswood??...anyways i play in D standard tuning most of the times & occasionally tune  to drop c...so do u guys think that the warpig will suit this tuning well??

I would go with the Miracle man in there too.

[dheim]

The high-output Bare Knuckles my customers and I have achieved the best results with in basswood are the Cold Sweat, Miracle Man, and Nailbomb. While the ceramic Warpig definitely is the most brutal and deathy pickup, I'm not so sure its a great match for basswood since basswood has very loose lows and the Warpig's low end is massive. I think a pickup with a bit tighter low-end like the Miracle Man would be a better option IMO.

again, vic... stop make me GASing for those damn miracle men (and a new guitar to put them in, of course...)! :)
anyway i've got a set of AV WP in an RG and they don't sound loose at all! but it could be me... the loosest thing in a pickup-guitar-amp combination is always my right hand, and usually i don't play surgical riffs either...

[ailean]

ok guys im a lil confused...so miracle man also works fine in basswood??...anyways i play in D standard tuning most of the times & occasionally tune  to drop c...so do u guys think that the warpig will suit this tuning well??

I feel bad for adding more confusion, but Nailbombs can have a ceramic bridge.