Pickup suggestions for an unusual guitar

[Kadmium]

Hi guys.

I'm hoping you could give me a recommendation for a pickup set for a guitar I'm having made. The body is a Warmoth Soloist, made of extra-light basswood (as in, lighter than regular basswood), routed for two humbuckers, and the neck and fingerboard are graphite (tonally similar to ebony, I'm led to understand). As you can probably tell, this is going to be my "neck and shoulder injury" live guitar :). I'm going to be playing metal, though not extremely heavy (on the level of Lacuna Coil, occasionally extending to Opeth). I'll be playing in E and Dropped D. I was originally thinking of going with Q-Tuners for the clarity or Lace Alumitones for the lightness, but it's hard to go past the quality of Bare Knuckles, and I daresay they'll make it easier to get a "normal" tone.

Bridge pickup
The bridge pickup will probably only be played with heavy distortion. I'm hoping for an Opeth-like warmth and articulation for big major/minor/suspended chords, but with a Nevermore-type aggression for palm-muted riffs. Some warmth for soloing (a la Opeth and Porcupine Tree) would also be great.

Neck pickup
The neck pickup will probably only be played clean. I'd like good articulation, similar to Cynic, although with enough warmth to also strum chords (after rolling down the tone knob, perhaps).

Thank you all in advance.

[Dr. Vic]

Hello and welcome !  8)

I think the Nailbomb bridge would acheive some good Opeth tone in the way you described it.
As for the neck...Cold sweat or Crawler maybe ?

Going for Ceramics would maybe not be necessary here.

[Antag]

If you're badly injured enough that you choose pickups & machineheads to save a few grams, just accept that you're not fully mobile, buy your hardware based in its sound/function & play sitting down (hey, it worked for Robert Fripp...) :)

To be honest, I don't really have a clue what to choose.  Never used a graphite neck/fb & have very little experience of basswood guitars.

But I guess Nailbomb bridge would do most of what you want.  It's so versatile & there are very few things it absolutely can't do.  Perhaps Cold Sweat (if it wouldn't be too bright), Crawler (probably not enough aggression for palm muting, I found it quite "rounded"), or Holy Diver (plenty of warmth & power for soloing, just not sure how it would sound with basswood/carbon) may be worth considering.

For the neck, Holy Diver was my first thought.  Actually it's my only thought.  IMHO it's streets ahead of Cold Sweat, VHII, Nailbomb & pretty much anything else when it comes to clean, whether picked or strummed.  Check out these clips:
Clean
Strummed+Lead
Neck+Bridge

[Zaned]

Nailbomb springed first to mind, and was suggested already  8)

However, I wouldn't recommend the Cold Sweat. There was a recent discussion about the using it in a superstrat with an Ebony fretboard, and Tim recommended agains it. As the neck material here would be similar(ish) in sound to ebony..I wouldn't choose the CS.

-Zaned

[Kadmium]

If you're badly injured enough that you choose pickups & machineheads to save a few grams, just accept that you're not fully mobile, buy your hardware based in its sound/function & play sitting down (hey, it worked for Robert Fripp...) :)

I should probably clarify; I'm not really horribly injured, it's just chronic muscle strain. I'm not really less mobile than usual, but supporting the weight of a heavy guitar tends to take its toll more than I'd like :). I wouldn't normally consider "lighter" pickups but the Alumitones are ridiculously light; a pair of Alumitones is literally about half a pound lighter than regular humbuckers.

Thanks for the link to the shootouts. The Holy Diver sounds pretty much like what I'm going for in the neck :).

[Zaned]

Mind you, I was talking about the bridge pickup, when I was referring to Cold Sweat ;)

[MDV]

Interesting

So basically we're talking a bridge thats the open and bright side of neutral and the neck thats the ear-splitting, nail-driving side of bright.

I'd put a warpig in the bridge

At least then, when you find it still way too bright you can raise the neckward poles to add low end.

No matter what you get, get double screw pole in the bridge. I dont think anything in the BK range is going to get you in the vicinity of opeth and lacuna coil if the neck, in its entirety, is sonically comparable to ebony, so youre going to need those neckward screws to put low end in there.

Absolutely do not put a cold sweat in it. They're bright in SGs.

[ericsabbath]

Absolutely do not put a cold sweat in it. They're bright in SGs.

I sense a disturbance in the Force

didn't try the bridge version in my SG, but I seriously doubt that
a bit bright, maybe, but not BRIGHT
the holy diver got way darker in the SG than it did in two les paul (a bright sounding one and a dark sounding one)
the cold sweat neck sounded a bit darker in the SG too
Chris Broderick was using the cold sweat in a skinny maple topped Ibanez
a SG will hardly be nearly as bright

you're underestimating its powah! 

[MDV]

Hmmmm, it was a somewhat brigther than usual SG, and while in general comparisons with the CS I'm willing to defer to your greater experience, I heard more than enough to judge it 'bright' and I still think that it shouldnt go in a guitar thats got a neck thats sonically comparable to ebony. Doubly so with a light basswood body.

[Philly Q]

I don't want to get too involved, but I have to agree with Darth Hellstyle.... Cold Sweats are perfect for SGs (or similar).  A lot of medium/high output pickups can sound a bit flubby in an SG, but the CS bridge completely defeats that tendency.  The CS neck sounds quite warm and dark in an SG, but I like that kind of tone. 

Whether they'd suit this basswood/composite guitar is another question, I have no idea!

[ericsabbath]

Cold Sweats are perfect for SGs (or similar).  A lot of medium/high output pickups can sound a bit flubby in an SG, but the CS bridge completely defeats that tendency.

I'll definitely try it someday
the lack of pickup rings and the SG construction changes a lot how the pickup is positioned to the strings, so they sound less bright and in-your-face
I bet that a cold sweat bridge should end this destructive conflict, bringing balance to the Force and order to the galaxy  :D

ps: I've had/played several '61 style SGs (with small pickguard and pickup rings) too, and they all sounded somewhat dark compared to les pauls

[dheim]

my SG61 with cold sweats is KILLAHHH (;)), but the bridge pickup is indeed A BIT on the bright side of the force...
MAYBE in that guitar the warpig should give you the warmth that graphite would kill otherwise...
if you like opeth and lacuna coil why a graphite neck, for god's sake???
paul masvidal of cynic uses a bridge MM in his steinberger, that should be in similar materials, if i'm not wrong... but the tones you described are completely different.
in the neck i'd say holy diver, no doubt.

[Kadmium]

if you like opeth and lacuna coil why a graphite neck, for god's sake???

That's a good question. There are a couple of reasons:

• Stability: They're unaffected by heat and moisture. You can leave a graphite-necked guitar in your car all day in summer and not only will it not warp, but it won't even go out of tune
• Feel: They feel to me like an unfinished maple neck, but without the reliability problems.
• No dead spots: The resonant frequency of carbon graphite is much higher than wood, so you won't encounter dead spots.
• Easy to get: It's easier to get hold of a headless graphite neck than a headless wooden one :).

Opinion seems to be leaning towards a Holy Diver in the neck, with either a Nailbomb or Warpig in the bridge. Perhaps I should ask Tim to weigh in on this one?

[Dr. Vic]

My main guitar is a Parker Fly Mojo and Tim said that the brightness of the CS would be too much for the thin body + glass carbon fiber fretboard and stainless steel frets (at least for my heavy metal and rock stuff).

I'd put a warpig in the bridge

MDV says so because he has a dislike on the NB, :lol:

I am joking. Of course you also have to take this one into account maybe as well as the HD too, but I think the NB is alright for Opeth tones. 

Anyway I'm pretty sure the CS won't bring you where you want in your guitar, I think...

As for the neck, still on debate too : the HD if you go for the WP or the HD in the Bridge. And maybe the Crawler if you go for the NB on the Bridge....

[Bradock PI]

If your having trouble with an injury there are compaies that make specialist supports for people I am guessing you could get a hip belt with may allow you to ease the pressure. You could either wear it with a load free strap so it looks normal. Or let go and have the amazing self supporting guitar - look no hands!!!