Advice for picking the right Pig

[Notkcots]

I have an Ibanez ART100 (Mahogany body, Rosewood neck) complete with really bland stock pickups and am going to swap out the neck pup with a Warpig (I'd like to do both, but I can only afford one BKP  :().  I play stoner/doom, and, as I'm sure everyone knows, Pigs are perfect for that sort of thing. 

From what I've read, I'm leaning towards Alcino magnets, since they're a little looser and warmer.  Am I right in thinking that?  Also, will they sound good in Mahogany (keeping in mind that I do want a dark tone)?

Also, should I go for potted or unpotted pickups?  I'm going to be using a veritable shite-ton of gain (I usually dime it on my Tiny Terror), so would unpotted pups be totally unmanageable?  Frankly, I wouldn't mind having some feedback to work with, but I don't want to go deaf from all the squealing, either. Thanks!

[MDV]

Youre right in thinking that the A-Pig is looser and warmer, and its better for doomy sounds.

You got no chance of getting an unpotted pig - it would likely just howl with microphony. In fact, its not likely, it WILL howl with microphony.

They will deliver a darker sound in mahogany.

They are the right pickup for your style and your questions indicate that they're the way to go.

The C-Pig is tighter and sharper with smoother mids and is well suited to those who need an utterly destructive sound but are playing faster, more technical and exacting material for which the A-Pig is too warm and loose, under significant detuning in particular. 

And welcome to the boards.

[Notkcots]

That was everything I needed to know.  Thanks for the response! This board is awesome.

[HairyChris]

I have Pig 7s in rosewood necked & chambered mahogany guitar. Neck pig may almost be too much, but if it's 'thick' that you want, then that's what you get!

[gwEm]

its all relative - the alnico version is looser and warmer, but its still tighter than most pickups out there.

unpotted pickups are more open sounding, but you'd scarely hear the difference in the gainy warpig, and as MDV says, it will feedback hugely

[Tricalibur]

I'd advise you against getting the Alnico in the neck first. Considering your guitar already is very dark sounding, replacing the stock, thin sounding (and possibly somewhat bright) pickups with the dark sounding pig will create a tone which has no balance. Trust me here, Ive got an Alnico V in the neck of my SG and a ceramic in the bridge. The switch never comes off the ceramic pig regardless of what I'm playing. It feeds back better and has just as much bass with twice the definition.

What kind of Doom tone are you looking for, band-wise?

[ratspeak]

@ gwEm: I think the massive bass and "bigness" that the A-pig produces is still a bit too much for technical stuff, and when you compare it to the C-Pig, as well as tighter units like the PK and CS, it's fairly loose as far as I can hear. I think it's a lot to do with the way A-Pig owners play, because it's probably ideal for the stuff people are using it for in clips.

The C-Pig actually sounds closer to what I define as a normal pickup, because it's tighter, brighter and more balanced than the A-Pig. It's more compressed of course, but I don't find it overbearing like the A-Pig. It seems less bulky, but more defined. Quite a different beast, but still a beast.

This is all based on clips I've heard, of course. I don't own an A-Pig, and I'm still waiting on my neckpig to go with my C-Pig which I haven't installed because of the lack of neckpig on my premises.

[Transcend]

Are the stock pickups the ibanez actives?

If so you will not be able to balance the stock bridge with the passive neck pickup

i tried this with my RGA that had the actives with a nailbomb bridge and you could barely hear the stock neck pickup.

[HTH AMPS]

I had an alnico Warpig in a Les Paul and it was doom heaven - its not loose or unfocused in the bass end, it quite tight and chunky.  As it sounds so huge, it doesn't work for faster styles as it has that big bloated doom tone.