Which pickup set for me?

[Toole]

Well, I've been playing for just over a year now and I think it's time to upgrade the old pickups. I'm using a twin humbucker Spector Arc 6 Pro (non trem) with twin Tesla VR-60 passive pickups. I've recently got increasingly into metal and bought myself a Krank Rev Jr. Amp (seemed like the best amp I could get for the money). The vintage 'buckers I'm on at the moment just aren't kicking out the right kind of tone for me. Now, I'm totally useless with gear and was wondering what you might recommend?

I'm playing rhythm guitar doing stoner/doom metal mostly, and I like to play all kinds of stuff otherwise, from queens of the stoneage to muse to 1349 to Rammstein.

Thanks for any help you guys might be able to offer!

[maverickf1jockey]

I'd recommend either the Nailbomb or the Warpig for the doomy stuff.

I'll keep my opinion of KRANK amplifiers to myself :roll: . (sorry, that was trolling :oops: ...)

[Toole]

I'd recommend either the Nailbomb or the Warpig for the doomy stuff.

I'll keep my opinion of KRANK amplifiers to myself :roll: . (sorry, that was trolling :oops: ...)

By all means tell me what your opinion of the amps is! I could probably take it back and trade it for a tiny terror or similar easily enough. Only had the thing for a couple of days :P

[maverickf1jockey]

I've got to tread very carefully here as I always recommend the Tiny Terror and I don't want to lobby you away from an amp that could be better as I have no experience with it.

Personally I'd say that KRANK amps are just a really expensive way of showing off that you've spent loads of money on an amp that sounds very similar to a transistor practice amp. Sorry, that's just the way it seems to me but maybe the people who use them all cut out the mids to buggery.
This sounds great as an aggressive rhythm sound on it's own but gets lost in the mix very easily and just makes you sound like you're playing through a Marshall MG DFX model amp.

That's just my opinion on them though so if you are happy then that's what's important.

[Toole]

Well, I bought the thing as a step up from a micro cube and (maybe foolishly) never really tried anything else out. A friend of mine had one of these and playing through it I fell in love with the tone. I might have to try out a tiny terror though, I'm just a bit concerned that the range of sounds for metal might not be complete (not bothered about how high gain it is, I have a couple of relatively decent gain pedals).

[ilÿti]

I think you will like the Alnico Warpig.

As for amps, if possible try out a few other tube amps in the same price range. I think you'll find one you'll like better. Look for Carvin, B-52, and Peavey.

[Toole]

I think you will like the Alnico Warpig.

As for amps, if possible try out a few other tube amps in the same price range. I think you'll find one you'll like better. Look for Carvin, B-52, and Peavey.

Looks like it's going to be the warpigs then! Thanks for all the amp advice as well guys, I'm utterly shite at knowing what's what!

Are there any particular models of amps (heads ideally, as I've got a pretty decent 2x12" cab) I could be looking at in the £200-£300 range? I'd be looking at stuff more for home playing and recording than anything else, so nothing that I have to have cranked to high heaven to sound good.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Welcome, Toole.

It's a funny thing about 'vintage' style pickups, they can really drive an amp hard if the input is sensitive enough. For example, in the plexi channel of my amp, I get sheds more gain from my VHII over my Riff Raff, though they are  technically both 'vintage' style pups.

However, for the type of stuff you are looking to do, you will want to have a lot of saturation, and maybe even use a compressor pedal as well.

I would say Miracle Man, Nailbomb, and Warpig will all do what you are looking for.

[ailean]

First, welcome to the forum.

Pups.. Not sure about the Nailbomb for Doomy stuff. I have 'bombs in my LP and while they are cracking pups, and very good for breakup and rock sounds, they are probably not my first choice for a dommy metal sound.

I recently bought a set of Warpigs for my wifes Ibanez. The bridge is ceramic and the neck Alnico V. These are really good metal pups, the ceramic bridge is wonderfully tight with a huge base response. These things should have 'made for metal' stamped on the bottom. However they are still a versatile pup set and quite capable of other styles. If I had to chose for you it would be a C-Pig set.

Amps... I have a Tiny Terror and I think it's a great amp, at least as good as anything in it's price range, but that's NOT to say it's the best for you, but certainly worth an appraisal if you can, I replaced the V1 tube in mine recently with a Mullard and it's given it some extra presence and bottom end. I also own a Peavey Valveking 112, but I'm not hugely impressed with it's gain channel, but it has a great clean channel that might take a pedal board well, but it's a 50 watt combo and at home I can't really turn it up much, nor can I fit an attenuator :(

The warpigs have mostly been played through my Rockerverb 50 and sound awsome, but I really can't say the RV is a practice amp (even though that's all I can do with it at the moment). There has been some debate about 'big' and 'little' amps on here, and while inclined to agree that a 'little' amp will never give you the tones of a 'big' amp, a good one will get you some great tones at room levels. I play my TT most days (I'm too soft and my wife gets the RV).

Hmm.. I've been rambling...  :roll:  Get a ceramic warpig set, and chack out a TT. :D

[Toole]

Well, off I am tomorrow to have a look at a tiny terror! The distortion I was using before I got the krank was a DOD FX86B (death metal distortion). I'm assuming the orange is going to need a bit of a push to get into metal territory? As for a compressor pedal, what about something like a boss CS-3?

[maverickf1jockey]

As to the TT the gain levels depend entirely upon your pickup choice and the tone you want.
With warpigs you might only need an EQ pedal to boost the output slightly and change the balance of the mids to your liking.
Personally I enjoy the lower-midrange grunt of the thing and boost it with a dimed Boss SD-1 for lead work and when I need more powerful pinch harmonics.

In terms of its natural, non bar-stewardised, sound it is somewhere between a modded Marshall in articulation and a MESA in terms of low-end thump. You may find it lacks compression and so will need to really dig in with your pick and boost for solos like me.