Humbucker help. (BKP virgin)

[BlackMetalVenom]

So, I am looking to replace an EMG set on my Ibanez prestige. I have the 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck.  Thing is, I 've had them for almost two years and my taste in tone has changed dramatically since then.  Yes, they're both actice and all that jazz, but I'm looking for a more organic, but well defined legato-esque distortion. I was thinking of an Emerald in the neck and Nailbomb in the bridge, but then again I'd rather get everybody's two cents on here before I go splurge my ass off on new pups.  :D
So my Ibanez is an RGT 3020. http://www.student.oulu.fi/~kemppaja/RGT3020%20016.jpg(That's not actually MY guitar by the way.)
The guitar's body consists of two mahogany sides and a neck-thru maple with a rosewood fretboard. and I like using DR and Elixir strings.
I like the tones of Muhammed Suicmez of Necrophagist (on Epitaph), Guthrie Govan, Marco Sfogli, Chris Broderick, Jari Mäenpää of Wintersun, and John Petrucci.
Just listing all that stuff to try and be as specific as possible.  :)
I like my tone right now, but the EMG's are just sounding frizzy to me and I want a neck pickup that sounds like an EMG-85 without as much output, but serious bass. Ditto for the bridge pickup.
I have my bass at 8.3; mids at 6.5; and treble at 4 on my amp. Sounds pretty good, but again, not quite there...
Again, I'm looking for a smooth legato type tone.
Thanks for any and all help guys!  :mrgreen:

P.S. I'm also unsure of which leg length to get, would a 1/4" or 1/2" be best for an Ibanez?  Again thanks everyone!

[ailean]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Ok I'm not much good at this, but Nailbombs are a great pickup and popular, Cold Sweats might be another one to check out.

If you want to keep your tone powerful the Warpig bridge is a monster, but it's organic and doesn't get mushy, and is versatile. (Plus it has a cool name, don't forget that).

I'm never any good at tone matching, so I might be off base, but those pups come to mind.

[BlackMetalVenom]

Hey man, thanks so much, I hadn't even considered the Warpig. You see, my EMGs are so powerful that they pickup up ANY sound within 6-7 inches of them! Even if I tap the whammy bar or on the body, neck, or even headstock on the guitar, it's still very audible through the amp.  HahaH, so I'm a bit hesitant about that Warpig and I know that Chris Broderick uses the Cold Sweat for his neck pup and Nailbomb fro bridge (or so I've heard.)  :)

[f.sardis]

Hey man, thanks so much, I hadn't even considered the Warpig. You see, my EMGs are so powerful that they pickup up ANY sound within 6-7 inches of them! Even if I tap the whammy bar or on the body, neck, or even headstock on the guitar, it's still very audible through the amp.  HahaH, so I'm a bit hesitant about that Warpig and I know that Chris Broderick uses the Cold Sweat for his neck pup and Nailbomb fro bridge (or so I've heard.)  :)

under high gain i can hear my watch ticking through the amp with my EMG and the watch is on my left hand on the neck  :D
i have not played passives in a long time and now my first set of PK is on the way. the only thing i remember about passives is that I had to improve my technique alot when i moved to EMG because they were so sensitive that even the slightest sloppyness was amplified. I wonder if i can go back to being a bit sloppier with the PK  :lol:

[BlackMetalVenom]

I know, right?  :lol:
I wouldn't mind having actives, just as long as I get a more legato-type tone.
lso didn't have any routing done and the EMG's just barely fit into the pup cavity.
Usually, I keep my gain at around 6-7 and even then they are extremely responsive.
I don't really like the sound of the pick attack as much as I used is why.  Thanks for the response man. :)

[f.sardis]

oh by the way if EMG fits in your guitar then then you got long leg.
if you like your mids, have a look at the Painkiller. it is loaded with mids and ridiculously tight in the bass.
Personally I highly recommend you go to the Players forum and inside the audio clip sticky go and listen to various clips by Antag.
The guy has done really good comparison clips between pickups. there is just too many to link them here so go have a look and see what you like.

[ailean]

Hey man, thanks so much, I hadn't even considered the Warpig. You see, my EMGs are so powerful that they pickup up ANY sound within 6-7 inches of them! Even if I tap the whammy bar or on the body, neck, or even headstock on the guitar, it's still very audible through the amp.  HahaH, so I'm a bit hesitant about that Warpig and I know that Chris Broderick uses the Cold Sweat for his neck pup and Nailbomb fro bridge (or so I've heard.)  :)

I'm not in a position to make a direct comparison to actives having never played any, however BK's are very responsive (if f.sardis thinks he can play sloppy with BK's he's gonna be disappointed :) ). Any pup under high gain is going to pick up other sounds, it's the price you pay for a pickup that can pick out all the harmonic detail in your playing and the Warpig is no exception. As said above, listen to some stuff on the players forum. Also it is probably worth a phone call to Tim at BK.

[MDV]

I wonder if i can go back to being a bit sloppier with the PK  :lol:

HA!

Right.

Good luck with that.

Youre gonna get the ultra-sensitive pickup re-education all over again with the EMG - BK switch. The clarity of the high end in BKs is merciless to bad technique, and EMGs are much more forgiving than PKs.

For the OP, EMG 85 without as much output and with serious bass sounds like a holy diver to me.

Good job you said epitaph, not onset - epitaph is within reach of the HD, from what I can tell (never played one, just heard lots of clips and relative comparisons to BKs I do know). It should cover petrucci as well. As to the others, I'd say cold sweat or nailbomb bridge.

Theres no need to go for a pig, none of those sounds are all that heavy/thick/aggressive/compressed/saturated. You should be fine with anything in the 'modern' section of the range output wise.

[f.sardis]

Excellent! Sounds like a challenge. My PK set arrived today!

[gwEm]

if you want the active tone, you do need actives though. i just fitted EMGs to a certain guitar of mine, and it sounds nothing like any of my BKPs ;) having both options gives a nice variation, especially (of course) for metal

[BlackMetalVenom]

Ah, thanks so much everyone!  :D
Well I've narrowed my neck to a HolyDiver for sure. Now, my only concern with it is that with my 85 in the neck, I can hear my finger hitting the wood through amp when I tap. It's nearly as loud as when I tap the note, and it's even worse when I go into 6-8 finger tapping.
So, will a HD do this to me as well?
And as for the Nailbomb or ColdSweat, which has more mids and lows?   :)
The EMG 81 in my bridge gives me a horrible tone, sounds "swanky" and nasaly to me. HahaH.
And what would having a covered humbucker do to the tone of the pups?
I've read on here that it merely warms it out a bit, or will there be a noticeable change?
Again, thanks so much guys!!
Really appreciate all your feedback.  :)

[f.sardis]

I installed my set and connected them directly to the output for a test run while i wait for my pots to arrive.
No, they are not as merciless as the EMG. I love the tone of those babies and I wonder now what will happen to it as soon as I start putting pots and caps in the signal.

Now regarding pickup covers, I would say go without them. They are just there for looks and yes they will mute your highs a bit. I was considering covers too but I ended up getting the plain ones.
About your finger tapping, the HD will do the same if you give it the same gain level. I never had such a problem with my 85 in the neck or any other EMG in the neck but I am not so much of a lead player.
Cold Sweat is apparently on the bright side of the scale while the Nailbomb is on the lower mids side.

[CJ]

covers really are for looks for the most part. go with whatever you think will look better. you won't notice any difference between covered/uncovered unless MAYBE you A/B them one after another. as far as unwanted noises from the pickups, the only times you'll get unwanted noises is through your flaws in playing. you should never stay away from a pickup because its too responsive, it'll just train you to work on your technique.

[MrBump]

I have a Nailbomb in the bridge of my Charvel, and I find it to have great smooth mids.  Smooth all over, really, particularly with gain on the up...

[ericsabbath]

Ah, thanks so much everyone!  :D
Well I've narrowed my neck to a HolyDiver for sure. Now, my only concern with it is that with my 85 in the neck, I can hear my finger hitting the wood through amp when I tap. It's nearly as loud as when I tap the note, and it's even worse when I go into 6-8 finger tapping.
So, will a HD do this to me as well?
And as for the Nailbomb or ColdSweat, which has more mids and lows?   :)
The EMG 81 in my bridge gives me a horrible tone, sounds "swanky" and nasaly to me. HahaH.
And what would having a covered humbucker do to the tone of the pups?
I've read on here that it merely warms it out a bit, or will there be a noticeable change?
Again, thanks so much guys!!
Really appreciate all your feedback.  :)

are you going to put the holy diver bridge version in the neck position?
cause the neck version is low output and has a different voicing
the miracle man neck has a similar voicing and output to the holy diver bridge, but it's darker, smoother and a bit fatter

I think both the nailbomb, cold sweat or even a holy diver will be great for the bridge
the cold sweat is sharper, brighter, tighter and more crunchy, while the nailbomb and diver are fat, middy and smooth
I'd probably pick a nailbomb calibrated set
I have a holy diver bridge/cold sweat neck combo and it sounds absolutely awesome for almost everything

but if you want raw crunchy rhythm, get a cold sweat or painkiller instead