"Power Metal" Tone- Which p'up???

[qwertyofasdf]

So Ive fallen in love with alot of the bands ive heard in this genre... power metal, and i really like their tone.. im talking maiden, kamelot, demons and wizards, blind guardian, edguy, evergrey, falconer, hammerfall and the such, Ive got an alder bodied guitar and a Mahogany bodied guitar, which would do this tone better and which BKP would you suggest? I need high clarity, and a hotter pickup to help with legato/tapping??? Idk if a hotter pickup makes that easier?  I need alot of clarity for the quick triplets and galloping rhythms etc... and a really smooth iron maiden-esque neck tone, think the beginning of rainmaker.

     And just wondering does having the pickup lower increase clarity or reduce harmonics or anything? Any advantages to having it higher up?

           Thanks alot guys....

[Henk]

Hey,

Hotter pickups are just pushed into overdrive easier and the same pickup hot wound will sound darker. I prefer to do the pushing myself and have a set of AIV mules which have exeptional clarity. I can reccomend these highly for powermetal, im not sure if they will sound like the bands you mentioned though.

If you want an alnico V pickup in the bridge i would suggest to find some RiffRaff and Rebel Yell clips, youll probably find excellent power metal sounds there.

The mules have a very outspoken midrange, very clear and well sustained, so for me they are excellent for tapping, you might however want a bit hotter pickup and more highs which you could find in the rebels. The riffraffs are the closest to the maiden sound IMO, alot of highs and more then enough attack.

Ive posted a clip here with some Mule powercords you might want to listen to.

http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10397

[wintersun]

If you want a smooth rainmaker intro you might like the mule neck, but trust me it wont have enough output and power, and you will notice it mostley when you shred. I hade a mule neck, and I wanted the same tone you want now, and believe me, unlikely as it may sound, a slightly modified Cold Sweat neck did the trick! It's smooth, warm, and powerfull, and gives you the output you need when you shred. I will post some samples in a few days!

I'm not saying that mule is bad.. It's a great pickup, but you might want something stronger. Mule is also not quite for shred like solos, which is common in this heavy power metal world.

Here's the mule doing some shred (sorry for sloppiness hehehe)...
http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9196&highlight=mule

I noticed when doing those kind of things with the mule that I had to kinda hit the notes a little bit harder, to get the power I need, Then I realized that it's all about the output, and that the output is more then crucial for solos like this.

[Henk]

I'm not saying that mule is bad.. It's a great pickup, but you might want something stronger. Mule is also not quite for shred like solos, which is common in this heavy power metal world.

Nice shred sample, however like i also said you need something to push the amp when shredding with mules, like a booster or distortion pedal. I personally like the influence you have tonally that way, boosting the signal with a pedal has the same effect then having a high output pickup. Allthough it might not be a perfect solution, ill take the tradeoff with the versatile pickup and the booster anytime.

Shredding on the neck mule is obviously different then shredding on a bridge mule.......

[TwilightOdyssey]

Cold Sweat bridge pup and a Cold Sweat or Abraxas neck will do what you are looking for!

[Crazy_Joe]

I'd go for Painkillers myself, Jon Schaffer uses them and he plays in Iced Earth and Demons and Wizards etc. nice and articulate and have plenty of mids for Maiden and stuff like that.

[qwertyofasdf]

He used to use stock gibsons... correct? Which would be what 500t bridge? Cuz i love the iced earth/demons and wizards tone... that along with some maiden songs is my ideal tone...

[carlaz]

Why not also the Holy Divers for this kind of thing?

[ericsabbath]

I'd go for Painkillers myself, Jon Schaffer uses them and he plays in Iced Earth and Demons and Wizards etc. nice and articulate and have plenty of mids for Maiden and stuff like that.

i think he's using a les paul with black/purple rebel yells

but i'd go with painkillers too

[ericsabbath]

He used to use stock gibsons... correct? Which would be what 500t bridge? Cuz i love the iced earth/demons and wizards tone... that along with some maiden songs is my ideal tone...

the painkiller sounds very close to the 500t, but without the muddiness on mids and the annoying noise
has just a bit less output and a lot more clarity

[Crazy_Joe]

Oh My bad, well Painkillers are still really good for power metal

[gwEm]

i've been following this thread slightly.

must agree with twilight odyssey actually: cold sweat.

why not listen to some twilight odyssey clips in the players area?

[TwilightOdyssey]

i've been following this thread slightly.

must agree with twilight odyssey actually: cold sweat.

why not listen to some twilight odyssey clips in the players area?

Or, even better, here: www.myspace.com/twilightodyssey

[gwEm]

i've been following this thread slightly.

must agree with twilight odyssey actually: cold sweat.

why not listen to some twilight odyssey clips in the players area?

Or, even better, here: www.myspace.com/twilightodyssey

and dont forget his amazing range of merchandise and cigarette cards ;)

Sorry, the only thing I can say is Maiden aren't power metal :P

even the most die hard of maiden fans must admit they come damn close at times though

[wintersun]

even the most die hard of maiden fans must admit they come damn close at times though

Thats becose power metal is not well defined. Maiden are not power, and if you ever say that HAMMERFALL is power metal, you can also put MANOWAR in the same pot, which is not true (gods made heavy metal, heavy metal this, heavy metal that, blah blah blah...).

Iron Maiden is THE heavy metal, dough slightly more melodic. Hammerfall is also melodic Heavy metal, but with many power metal influences. So is Manowar, and Helloween.