Pups for Jackson SLSMG into a 6505

[BeëlzeM]

Hey guys, I'm new here.

I just bought this Jackson SLSMG, that's currently loaded with an EMG 81/85 set that I want to swap out. I have enough guitars with these and I really want to try out some BKP's for myself. Let's see if they live up to the hype :), but I'm sure they will. Everything I've heard so far sounded absolutely great.

I bought this guitar second-hand from the States (European myself), and it's currently into customs over here, so it'll be here very soon. So I decided I was going to look for some nice pups.

So I'm going to play this Jackson SLSMG into my Peavey 6505. As some of you might know the SLSMG is a guitar with a pretty thin and light body made of mahogany. I'm looking for a bridge pickup with an as raw and growly midrage and grunt as possible, a tight but not too heavy low-end and that's not all that smooth but also not harsh. In short, an aggressive pickup with a strong midrange. I've been recommended a ceramic Nailbomb, would that fit my needs?

Some more questions. How do BKP's sound in a lightweigh and thin body? Still full enough and chuncky sounding like a heavy mahogany guitar?

Also, I'd like the idea of having whatever pickup I'm going to order having in a Warpig housing, with the two rows of screw polepieces. Is that possible?

I'm going to replace these EMG's with a couple of BKP's, do I need the long or the short legs? I think long? Also, I want to direct-mount these new pickups if the routing of the guitar lets me and I can fill the screw holes of the pickuprings. Does anyone here have experience with direct-mounting BKP's on a guitar that initially came with pickuprings? Please tell me more.

Cheers!

[DimeZakk]

No I don't think the C-Bombs will work to well, they are going to be too bright...
You basicly described a Painkiller for your guitar!

[BeëlzeM]

Thanks for the reply! The Painkiller is pickup I haven't really looked into yet. But the description on the main site is pretty convincing. I like a strong upper-mid grunt and a pretty tight bass. I also like British voicing, as long as it stays aggressive and suitable for old school death metal. Since the Peavey 5150/6505 isn't known for their tight bass response it would be great for the pickup to be pretty tight in the low-end. That's why I thought Warpigs or maybe Nailbombs weren't the right choices for me. I usually play in either D or C standard. Painkiller the way to go for the bridge? What is a nice matching neck pickup?

Any more people that can help me with my other questions?

Cheers

[FELINEGUITARS]

The nailbomb will work well , but having fitted a ceramic warpig to a similar Jackson and liked trhe result , I think you wouldn't go far wrong with that either
The ceramic magnet in the CWP keeps the bass nice and tight.

[BeëlzeM]

So my Jackson SLSMG arrived yesterday after a couple of weeks of waiting. And I've been thinking about which BKP's I want to equip it with. I've been getting recommendations ranging from the C-Bomb to the Painkiller for the bridge. I can't really decide. I'm pretty much set on a CS neck though.

What I want it to sound like.
- As aggressive as possible
- Growly midrange and crunch
- Tight but not overly present bass
- No harsh highs

I think the Painkiller will suit my needs best?

[MDV]

No I don't think the C-Bombs will work to well, they are going to be too bright...
You basicly described a Painkiller for your guitar!

Que?

Painkillers are much brighter than C-Bombs

Anyway, I think an Aftermath would suit you. Its not on the product page, but it fits your requirements better than the c-bomb or PK imo

[BeëlzeM]

I've been looking around for the Aftermath, found this etc:
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=19791.0

So it's a custom pickup. It sounds really good and I'm definately interested in one. Would you describe it as best-of-both-worlds pickup from the Bomb and PK? How expensive is the Aftermath?

[MDV]

It is sort of in between the two, but with its own character. Its the tightest BK there is, its got a snarling mid with a dark-ish crunch, it shares its overall pretty level response with the c-bomb most closely (not an overabundance of any given range), it shares the quite open, uncompressed 'clean' gain with the PK, but lacks the icepick in the high mids and the boxiness that I personally found the PK to have - that same clean uncompressed sound is what I think lends itself to sounding very aggressive - transients and harmonics are present in abundance so it doesnt really rely on heavily clipping a pre to create aggression (though it is very hot). The C-Bomb is a little more tailed off in the high end (making it a better lead pickup, imo, but as you can see, I'm a metal rhythm guy primarily) and is smoother

- As aggressive as possible

PK or Aftermath fit this best. Also ran - c-pig, very aggressive,  but I dont feel its quite as inyourface, since its more compressed and saturated. Its heavier and hotter, though.

- Growly midrange and crunch

C-Bomb or aftermath - pk is a brighter crunch, rather than th0e thick, darker barking crunch. C-Pig as a contender for this too. Also excludes another possibility - miracle man, too smooth.

- Tight but not overly present bass

All fit this, none are terribly bassy, all are tight, the aftermath most so, though. Plus its double screw pole as standard, so you can tune the low end better than the other two with the heights of the screws. C-pig loses out here, as its got tight bass, but its very present indeed.

- No harsh highs

C-Bomb fits this best, followed by aftermath, followed by PK. (MM or C-Pig would be good by this measure as well)

Hence, adding up how I think each pickup fits each of your requirements, I think the aftermath is the best for you.

This thread rather reminds of something I said to Tim just after I received the pickup - its the best 81-killer I've heard; it lends itself perfectly to the tightness, aggression and precision that the 81 is usually chosen for, but it does it with way more class and fuller, livelier organic sound

Its normal price as far as I know.  

[BeëlzeM]

Massive thanks for the lenghty reply and help so far!

The Aftermath seems to be right up my alley as the perfect pickup for my style and tone. Every way you describe it is what I'm looking for in a bridgepickup.

About the pickup housing. I would definately prefer the Warpig-style housing with the double pole piece screws. Is the Aftermath housing the same as the Warpig housing? I was going to ask for both the neck and the bridge pickups to be put in a black Warpig housing when ordering if this is possible.

[MDV]

The WP and the aftermath are the only two pickups that have the double allen bolt look as standard (the pig I believe to give it its unholy $%&#load of bass and low mids, and aftermath to bring a bright winds low end up to balanced levels).

Any neck pickup that has double screw pole is either a warpig or a specially made double screw pole custom. I've had varying degrees of success with making standard pickups double screw pole (in the bridge) and in the end decided that the stock models are better, and dont get my pickups to be DSP if they arent designed to be (any more).

So if you want both to look like warpigs, then aftermath/warpig is the combo.

Aftermath/holydiver combo in my Legra Aurora - custom 'Urban Camo' covers.

[BeëlzeM]

Awesome, awesome looking guitar you have there. And I just love some direct mounted Bare Knuckles.

I don't really care for DSP on the neck pickup, as long as it looks the same as the bridge pickup (same allen screws, but just one row). Kinda like how your pickups match.

I have my mind set on the Aftermath and Cold Sweat set.

Cheers!

[MDV]

Quite welcome,

Thanks

And

Hope you enjoy them (but remember tim gives a week or two (I forget which) to change the pickup if you dont like it, so whatever you choose you have a safety net and a useful reference point ('my aftermath/cold sweat wasnt for me in _this_ way, what will work?); much easier for us amateur advisers to diagnose)

[BeëlzeM]

I was about to order an Aftermath/Cold Sweat set from Tim. But too bad I don't have a creditcard and they can't accept PayPal unfortunately, so he directed me to a BKP dealer in the Netherlands. I hope they can order exactly what I want there. Kind of a bummer though, also because it will be more expensive that way. But I'm very excited nonetheless!

[Davey]

i need one of those!!!!

[Alex]

So my Jackson SLSMG arrived yesterday after a couple of weeks of waiting. And I've been thinking about which BKP's I want to equip it with. I've been getting recommendations ranging from the C-Bomb to the Painkiller for the bridge. I can't really decide. I'm pretty much set on a CS neck though.

What I want it to sound like.
- As aggressive as possible
- Growly midrange and crunch
- Tight but not overly present bass
- No harsh highs

I think the Painkiller will suit my needs best?

Miracle Man!
I'd call it quite growly and aggressive.