the opinion of what to get is quite divided. i wish there was a way to try them out in person instead of going the trail and error route. youtube clips and other sound samples isen't the best way to decide.
but there is a clip of a guy playing a les paul with a calibrated nailbomb set. and i thought the neck pickup was smoking but i don't know how it will react to my massive explorer which lacks the maple top. but anyway i'am thinking of getting the nailbomb in the neck so now i need a bridge pickup.
warpig --> too much power
painkiller --> some say awesome others say it won't do all of the things i want
miracle man --> most versatile for my wishes others say it will be too dark sounding
cold sweat --> according to the description of the bare knuckle site this pickup is more a hard rock pickup.
---> i should say that i don't like dimbags tone. i got his picture as an avater because i like the music and the way he plays. my favorite thrash metal tone is disciples of the watch but not the version of the orignal album but the re-recording on First Strike Still Deadly.
and i forgot to mention lamb of god as band during my first post.
dime tone = solid state nad few mids
that's up yo your amp and settings
the cold sweat generally fits thrash and some crossover stuff better cause it's not as bassy as the miracle man and has more balanced mids
the miracle man is more like machine head or something
the painkiller will do a pretty good job, so will the cold sweat and miracle man
and saying that a pickup is "hard rock" shouldn't be anything bad, consdering 80's hard rock bands used exactly the same pickups as the thrash bands, which are mostly the same pickups the metal bands use today (duncan jb, distortion, custom, bill lawrences, dimarzio super distortion...) :lol:
the cold sweat is at least 90% as hot as a miracle man or painkiller and definitely the one that would balance better with the explorer usual tone and retain a bit more articulation, since it's not overloaded with mids or bass
it's just perfect for the practice what you preach thing :D
I think a miracle man will be too modern, cause it's too growly and focused, which is great, but doesn't sound like what the things you mentioned, unless you want recent Slayer and Testament EMG voiced tones
my second choice would be the painkiller, which is voiced more like the stock 500t pickup
all the 3 have something in common with the 500t ceramic character (I had all of them and a 500t), but they all will be a huge improvement
comparing directly to the 500t I'd say:
miracle man: more growly on the low mids, more bass, tighter low end, way less center/upper mids, more piercing highs (but not shrill), easier harmonics, gets strangely bigger and more open the louder you set your amp, sounds darker on the lower strings, way brighter on the higher strings (like picking the strongest frequency and enhancing it a lot), similar output
painkiller: similar overall voicing, but absotelutely no mud through gain, way tighter bass, cleaner, not as grainy, more middy, better leads, stiffer response, a bit louder but not as "pushing hot"
cold sweat: similar low end to the painkiller (tighter than the 500t), but a bit warmer, less mids (but more than the miracle man), present and articulated midrange crunch (very grainy, a bit like the 500t thing, but without the harshness/mud), pretty nice non-shrill or spikey highs, bit less output than the others
they are all somewhat related
aggressive and very punchy, but with their own personal qualities
for your guitar and most of the bands you mentioned, I'd pick the cold sweat
