Optimal Pickups for Fuzzy Ethereal wall of sound metal riffage

[Smeghead]

Hello! I need a recommendation for a pickup set, specifically for stoner/doom/old-school death/grindcore/powerviolence/swedish death metal

I love fuzzy, gainy, ethereal walls of sound (think Electric Wizard, or Grave) and I need something that's a good middle-ground for high gain swedish/old-school death metal, and vintagey yet somewhat modern fuzzy stoner metal.

I need something that's gritty and grimey, and need it to stay pretty tight and not flub out when using a fuzz pedal or a Boss HM-2 or boutique equivalent.

I was thinking a Black Dog in the bridge, and a Mule in the neck, for that sorta vintage 70's Les Paul Custom type tone.

Oh! and one last thing! Please keep in mind that I want both pickups to either have 6 pole-pieces, or 12 pole-pieces. No hybrid configurations! I'm not a huge fan of the whole 6-pole-pickup-in-the-neck and 12-pole-pickup-in-the-bridge look/aesthetic. it's not my thing i guess.

Thanks!

[ericsabbath]

sounds like pig 90's or riff raffs
what's the guitar, amp and pedals?

I believe lot of those doom bands use the neck pup for rhythms

[Smeghead]

As of right now, i have some of my old gear on consignment at a local music shop, and my dream rig that will hopefully be obtainable in the near future is as follows: a Matamp GREEN GT120 clone from Hilbish Design and/or an amp from hovercraft (Falcon or Dwarvenaut), a 4x12 cab loaded with eminence wizards  an RGB Ravenaut guitar (1/4th inch thicker than a les paul custom!) an ISP Decimator, a throne torcher from abominable electronics, and a black arts toneworks black sheep. i would include some other pedals, but as of right now, less is more. and for future reference, i know the vast majority of doom bands use the neck pickup. but considering i play more than just doom metal, i need something good for the bridge pickup too.  and the ravenaut guitar is an sg shape with les paul custom stylings. i hope this helps! (sorry if it's a bit convoluted to read)

[Dave Sloven]

I have an SG Special Faded with an A-Pig set.  I think it can do most of the things you want to do with suitable tone knob and EQ tweaks. I have used mine for crust punk and Crowskin type doomage.  I have also gotten Entombed tones in C standard with a Boss HM-2 through the clean channel of my Peavey 6534+

Check out this video for doom abilities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUeRX-jzD84

I should add that these same pickups were extremely dark and not versatile at all in my Epiphone Explorer.  You need a brighter guitar like an SG. You can always dial out brightness but you can't add it in.

[Smeghead]

Thanks for the great suggestions everyone! I think now's a good time to list some songs with some of the tones I'm after

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2KOaNlVyZY (Lifelover : Depressive Black Metal)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gtUcFRGmWI (Dismember : Old-School Swedish Death Metal)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3q3ZQaISqE (Grave : The Swedish Death Metal band that DIDN'T sell out!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSHjrpogGhs (Beastwars : Stoner Metal from New Zealand)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL19beIJSE0 (Bolt Thrower : Old-School Death Metal from England)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4RDBiSpB68 (Boris : Kick-ass Multi-Genre 3-piece from Japan)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsDz5qphC3c (Bongripper : Stonerdoom from Chicago) (mind the awful 14 second long noise intro)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roQpKo_7i18 (DOWN : if you don't know who they are, PLEASE PLEASE LISTEN TO THEM!)

[Dave Sloven]

I think your best bet for hitting all of those tones is the A-Pig in the right guitar.

You could get the stoner type tones out of a low output pickup like the Riff Raff in a heavy guitar through a big amp, but you won't get Grave or Dismember that way.  HM-2s seem to like to be driven, hence I think the Warpig will suit.  A Miracle Man could also get you that tone, but it might be too tight sounding for the sludgier stuff.

The Warpig neck is quite hot.  If that doesn't suit you then you could opt for the Juggernaut neck, which will match the Warpig in terms of the aesthetic issue of rows of bolts etc.

[Smeghead]

Thank you guys very much! Alnico Warpigs it is!

[Dave Sloven]

Nice!  Let us know how you go with them.

Warpigs are quite versatile.  Apparently the Foo Fighters use them, and some people like them for jazz. They are hot pickups though, so cleans can be quite warm depending on your setup.

The one sound you are pretty much guaranteed to get out of them is the 'Masters of Reality' tone.

I'd recommend installing 500K or 550K pots and PIO caps if you don't already have them.