Nailbomb, Painkiller or Warpig

[Dr. Acula]

I'm getting a new guitar delivered tomorrow which has a SD JB in the bridge.  I've had these before and was never really a fan, it sounded good, but pretty generic without something special in it.  So I was thinking of changing out the bridge at least for a nice Bareknuckle.  However, I'm undecided on what to go for. 

The guitar is an Ibanez RG470, HSH pups, currently JB/S7 (or possibly 8)/Irongear Rolling Mill.  It will be tuned in drop D and used for Avenged Sevenfold, Metallica and Muse stuff mostly.  Given that Muse only have 3 tracks that I play in drop D (Stockholm, New Born and Uprising) I want something pretty "metal".  I was thinking that straight out the Warpig would blitz metal, but it would probably not do well for the Muse-y stuff.  I would rather not use Nailbombs as I want those in my other RG which is left in E standard - I don't want them sounding identical after all.  This led me to the Painkiller - would this be a reasonable compromise between the aggressiveness of the Warpig and the versatility of the Nailbomb?  Also, would it work better with an Alnico or Ceramic magnet?  I'm using an ENGL Screamer combo, Fuzz Factory, TS7, MXR 10 band EQ and Logic for effects.

Thanks.

Ben

[Keven]

i think matt's bridge in his custom manson is actually a nailbomb.

[ericsabbath]

nailbomb will cover metal at least just as well as the other options
it's a very aggressive pickup with a smooth PAF feel in the mids
and it sounds AWESOME through ENGL-type amps (I've tried it through a couple ENGL head and combo clones)
it's not just versatile
it's mostly a metal pickup, but capable of doing other stuff

[ratspeak]

What specifically do you want to improve on from the JB? What didn't you like about it? What did you like about it?

Personally, I'm a ceramic magnet guy, and SD uses alnico in almost all of their pickups. Output and feel wise, the JB is a decent pickup, but I don't like the voicing. It's a bit too warm/crunchy on the attack, whereas I like hard-attack/punchy. If you were to elaborate in that way on the JB, it might be easier to say what pickup suits you specifically.

[Dr. Acula]

I've been playing this morning with your question in mind and it's the harshness/brittleness that can come through.  I have to dial back the presence quite a bit compared to my other guitars because it just becomes ice-picky when the tone pot is rolled up and a little muddy when the pot is down to get rid of the ice pick sound.  Don't get me wrong, its a reasonable pickup, but it just sounds a bit generic I guess.

I'd quite like a fatter, perhaps slightly more compressed tone, hence thinking about the ceramic magnets.  The only reason I don't want Nailbombs is because I don't really want two almost identical-spec RGs - basswood, maple/rosewood, nailbombs.  Something a little different would be awesome.

Thanks for the suggestions though - knew this would be the place to go.

[ratspeak]

If you find the JB icepicky, you're probably not going to want the Painkiller. Have you considered the Miracle Man? I have no experience with it; I hear it's supposedly less versatile than most BKPs, but it would most likely get you close to each of the groups you've listed. Wait for someone with more MM sense to chime in on that one.

Now I play a fairly wide range of music, though my calling will always be Djenty, Proggy Hardcorish stuff, and I have the Ceramic Warpig on the way (three months of waiting now  :( ), and that would be the other thing to consider if you want compression, fatness and a bit more variation from your NBs. I don't think any other ceramic models than the MM or C-Pig would fit your taste.

[ericsabbath]

the miracle man goes well with basswood RG's

you can ask Tim about the new MBK3 he makes for Manson

http://www.mansons.co.uk/shopping/categories/manson-custom-pickups/manson/mbk-3-bridge-single-pickup/

[Dr. Acula]

I've wondered about the MBK-3, and the MBK's in general.  As far as I can tell, the MBK-2 is basically a Nailbomb pair, and the 3 seems pretty similar to the Painkillers.  Might drop him an email in the morning and see what he suggests. 

The JB only seems ice-picky when the tone is turned up, but when down it's just muddy.  I would ideally like something bang in the middle, perhaps ceramic for the compression, but I don't really know that much when it comes to pups.

[ratspeak]

I just installed the ceramic bridge warpig in my Horizon (NPD thread, soundclips, guitar pics and more opinions when I get the neck pickup; I don't want to make a whole new thread until then so I thought I'd give you this info).

I was replacing a D-Sonic, and it's definitely not as glassy. The mids are a lot more organic than I expected out of a ceramic pickup, and I absolutely love it. The D-Sonic had flat/smooth mids which gave it a singy lead tone, whereas with grind and heat, the C-Pig screams and responds to my bends beautifully. If you look at it in a relative perspective, the C-Pig screams whereas the JB.... quacks.

It sounds good everywhere on the fretboard. It doesn't get too icepicky up in the 12+ register thanks to the 22k DCR, but it remains tight and powerful on the low end. The bass is definitely not overbearing. It's got a bit of extra tagged on, but not too much. I had no trouble dialing a prog tone.

And this thing... It's versatile! The cleans are actually good, especially coil-tapped. It's a great pickup for Death Metal, possibly the best, but it's sounded great no matter what amp settings and musical styles I've thrown at it so far. It's only overkill if you need it to be.  :lol:

[dheim]

warpigs have my vote, both ceramic and alnico...
ceramic is more precise and has some fuzziness in the highs, while the alnico version is smoother... both have got the most aggressive and dirty midrange that i've have ever heard, but are very versatile and clean up very well, unless your idea of cleans is a strat played through a solid state roland combo...
metallica's sound is something you can't reproduce with good pickups and a good amp (ok, this is an exaggeration , but i hate their sound...), but you can play muse as well as some reasonable death metal with the pigs...
anyway it's hard to choose. i've got a-pigs and c-bombs in two RGs and they're both great sounding guitars.

[Dr. Acula]

Thanks.  I think I'll go with the pigs - would a c-pig in the bridge and an a-pig in the neck be the most versatile sound?  Also, would a Sinner in the middle position be a reasonable match.

[ericsabbath]

did you e-mail Tim?

[Dr. Acula]

I actually forgot completely.  I'll do it later on.

[ratspeak]

I've never heard of a cermaic warpig in the neck position, so yes, that would be a good combination. Looking at the DCR, the sinner looks like a beast of a single coil and would no doubt hold it's own alongside the 'Pig. I've heard of people using Trilogy Suites in their C-Pig'd guitars so that might be something to look at. I know nothing about BK single coils, though.

As for what dheim said about Metallica; I'm not a fan either but the C-Pig will certainly get you there if that's where you want to go.

[dheim]

I've never heard of a cermaic warpig in the neck position, so yes, that would be a good combination.

you didn't because it doesn't exist! :)
neck warpig is ALWAYS alnico.

i'm a fan of articulate neck pickups, so the warpig is a bit too dark for may tastes, but it's an excellent unit. not as excellent as the bridge one, though! :p