New guitar ain't here yet and already looking at wich BKP to put in!xD

[Cingen]

Hey all!

Next week my Ibanez S5470 should be arriving here and I'm already looking at wich BKPs to put in it:p

First a bit of background on the guitar: It's a mahogany bodied superstrat, maple/walnut neck and a rosewood fretboard.

The music i play is mostly power metal (Kamelot, Sonata Arctica, Hammerfall, Iced Earth... ) and also some alternative rock (3 doors down, poets of the fall).

The main use of this guitar will be the metal aspect of my playing though, and I'll also be tuning it to Eb standard (every bit of info helps xD).

I'm looking for a high output humbucker, with alot of mids and quite tight bass. Not too dark sounding cause that just doesn't match the kind of power metal tone i love so much :)

A few bands with tones I like and would like to approach with this guitar (Just as a rough guideline, i don't want to copy anyone's tone, i want to create my own) are Kamelot and Sonata Arctica, they're my biggest influences :)

I was thinking about getting a calibrated Painkiller set with a Trilogy Suite in the middle single coil position, do you guys this would be a good choice for the sound I'm after?

And how do you think this will sound for Poets of the fall / 3 doors down style rock? It really isn't a concern for this guitar but if the metal pickups i get happen to give me the tone for this type of music too, who am i to complain? :D

Thanks in advance for all your opinions;)

[dheim]

i'm not a great power metal fan, to put it kindly... :) but your choice seems one of the best possible. i've got the exact same set in an ibanez S470 that should sound very similar to yours, and it sounds great. you could also consider a slightly more versatile setting with nailbombs in place of painkillers... a bit thicker on bass but quite bright too, less precise on rhythms, less percussive but more expressive and melodic for leads. they're great sets... i'd buy another S to try both!
if you plan to play a bit of rock on your guitar nailbombs are a better choice, though.

[Cingen]

i'm not a great power metal fan, to put it kindly... :) but your choice seems one of the best possible. i've got the exact same set in an ibanez S470 that should sound very similar to yours, and it sounds great. you could also consider a slightly more versatile setting with nailbombs in place of painkillers... a bit thicker on bass but quite bright too, less precise on rhythms, less percussive but more expressive and melodic for leads. they're great sets... i'd buy another S to try both!
if you plan to play a bit of rock on your guitar nailbombs are a better choice, though.

Thanks for the reply:D Any other opinions?

[DimeZakk]

Yes Dheim is right, the Painkillers would be a little too Metal/tight for your purposes...

A Nailbomb set or the good ol' Nailbomb/Cold Sweat Neck combo will be perfect for you!