Help choose pickups for 2 guitars!

[focusbob]

Hi Forum,

I'd like to buy my first set of BKPs to install in one of two guitars: 1) schechter a7 avenger, mahogany body, bolt on neck, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, 2) ibanez rgd prestige, basswood body, bolt on neck, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, floyd bridge. My target tone is the protest the hero volition album, for example: http://youtu.be/0wu1HuMhEk8

I mostly play rhythm and I mostly play metal. There are a couple of BKPs I have my eye on and some that I'm not too keen about based on listening to modern metal clips on the BKP website, and based on suggestions from BKP and axepalace staff, but I'm open to any and all suggestions. Please let me know if your recommendation depends on which of the above two guitars the pickups will be going in (that is, please feel free to give two suggestions, one per guitar), and explanations are most welcome. Thanks in advance!

[Yellowjacket]

Hmmm, I can't help but wonder if the Holy Diver would work well in the Ibanez?  Curious what others thing about this but the tone you referenced is pretty vintage / mid focused when it comes to metal.  None of this super drop tuned stuff.  Fantastic band, btw.

Is the Schecter a scooped sounding guitar when unplugged?  Does it have a lot of low end?  Does it sound muddy?  I'd be inclined to think Rebel Yell, Nailbomb, or Painkiller, depending on your preferences. 

[focusbob]

Thanks for your comments: the schechter is a tough nut to crack. I've had an SD custom and an SD custom 8 (alnico 8 magnet) in the bridge as well as the stock duncan designed pickup and (obviously) I haven't been thrilled with any of them. The custom (ceramic magnet) sounded shrill; it was heavy like a sledgehammer/ice pick but lacked balls if that makes sense. The custom 8 sounds great except for the lowest string (which I have tuned to A, so drop A as opposed to B standard). The lowest string sounds like a bass string, with a rounded tone. I guess you could say muddy; it also seems like it dominates the rest of the strings too much. I'm using a 68 gauge string to maintain proper tension which I think is the primary culprit (i.e., if I had a 60 gauge string and were tuned to B I think the problem would resolve, but alas, I play in drop a :)  I don't recall having this problem with the custom ceramic even though I was using the same strings. The stock pickup I can't really remember, though I know it sounded more like the custom 8 than the custom ceramic.

Look forward to further suggestions!

[Yellowjacket]

Aftermath bridge perhaps?    The schecter sounds like a huge buttpain and yes, the super thick strings tend to get really round and phat sounding so that is likely the culprit.  Maybe email BKP?  BKP in general will be clearer, tighter, and more articulate sounding. 

[Kiichi]

I am also wondering if for the Scheckter the Cold Sweat or Miracle Man would make sense. Especially the MM lives from that low mid punch plus the highend, with the midrange there, but not the focus point. Might keep it from getting muddy and deliver a lot of balls to the wall. The Coldsweat moves along similar lines, but is lighter and a bit more old school.

I do not know however exactly how they would handle these tunings. I recond it should be ok, I mean for a 7 string it technically is like drop D. The should deffo sound less shrill and ceramicy than SD pickups, plus much more defined and open.

Additionally I would throw the Rebel Yell in the ring. Tight, punchy, and with such tunings and a proper amp it should deliver all the balls one should need. As a member of the League of Ordenary Gentleman myself I would say this might actually be the best pickup here, given the right amp. The Protest sound is suprisingly middy and the RY has a rocking upper mid spike that will get you up front. High end made up of harmonic overtones and a punchy bottom. With a modern metal sounding amp it can absolutly nail that style (Red Seas Fire demonstrate that too). Also loves 7 strings because of the awesome definition.


So maybe MM or CS, but most certainly RY. Got it in my Protest signed Ibanez S and daaaaamn in a modern amp (not my Tiny Terror) it can nail that sound...well if you can play like them too, which I can´t even begin to. ;)

[Dave Sloven]

I'm thinking Cold Sweat too.

[Yellowjacket]

Rebel Yell is a super tight, alive, and awesome pickup.  My concern with the schecter is that the mahogany body / maple neck will scoop all the mids right into nonexistence so you'll just have top and bottom.  Rebel Yell solves that, with tonnes of mids!! 

[ericsabbath]

My first bkp (7 years ago, wow) was a holy diver
It replaced a custom 8 in my les Paul copy
There was a considerable drop in output (only noticeable without a booster), but a huge improvement in clarity and tone

For that PTB tone, I'd say that's a painkiller job, but a properly boosted holy diver or black dog might work just fine

[darkbluemurder]

My first bkp (7 years ago, wow) was a holy diver

That's cool - my first BKPs 5 years ago were a Holydiver bridge and a Cold Sweat neck. Still have and love them.

To OP: for such low tunings the Black Dog should work very well.

Cheers Stephan

[ericsabbath]

My first bkp (7 years ago, wow) was a holy diver

That's cool - my first BKPs 5 years ago were a Holydiver bridge and a Cold Sweat neck. Still have and love them.

To OP: for such low tunings the Black Dog should work very well.

Cheers Stephan

Mine was also paired with the Cs neck   
I moved to Low outputs years later but that was my favorite contemporary combo

[focusbob]

Thanks everyone for your opinions! One follow-up response:

When I play the schechter unplugged it sounds pretty bright and punchy (and again, the ceramic custom sounded very bright; the custom 8 only sounds bad on the low a string, the rest sound reasonably bright and clear). Perhaps it is closer to an ibanez s than a les paul...

And some more info on "official" suggestions:

I've solicited suggestions from Nick at axepalace and from Tim and others at BKP, I didn't want to post their suggestions right away as not to bias responses but here's what they suggested:

Nick: Schecter A7 — Painkiller set or Blackhawk set

RGD7 — Holydiver set or Nailbomb (ceramic) set

BKP: Holy diver or Painkiller (w/cold sweat neck)


When I first started listening to clips on BKPs website, I was leaning holy diver. Then painkiller, and have gone back and forth since; never really considered some of the more popular metal options like aftermath or juggernaut, wasn't crazy about their clips. However, I never even considered the rebel yell or black dog (and I'm sure there are others I haven't considered still). I feel pretty confidant that I need something with an inverse u eq (mid bump), but there are quite a few that fit the bill...

Thanks again.

[ericsabbath]

the painkiller used to be the #1 choice for those modern prog styles, a few years ago
people seemed to forget about when misha mansoor switched to the aftermath (then blackhawk, then juggernaut)

I suggested painkiller, holy diver or black dog cause those have the most dense midrange texture of all models
but the aftermath or rebel yell wouldn't be bad choices at all
the nailbomb has too much bass and low mids for such low tuning, in my opinion, and it has a different voicing, more like early machine head or HIM

[Yellowjacket]

Holy Diver set in the Ibanez and Painkiller in the Schecter sounds like a legit recommendation. 

AANNDDD, Nailbombs are awesome pickups.