Pickup help requested =)

[Mortymoes]

This is my first post on this forum, so heya  :D
Any advice from the true connoisseurs will be taken lovingly by yours truly.
I have recently aqcuired a custom hardtail six-string super strat, bolt on. (Mahogany body and neck + ebony fingerboard). This thing misses 2 humbuckers though...

I play through the Engl Powerball II, v30 cab, with an od808 in front. (Unique indeed? Hehe)

I am fond of going to sorta low (to B) alternative tunings once in a while, so both pickups need to be friendly towards that. But nothing should be sacrificed in the normal tuning department ;)

For the bridge: I am looking for the meanest pickup of the bunch. I was eye-balling the warpig, but this thing simply wont work in my slightly dark-voiced guitar + amp. So I am kinda looking for the equivalent of putting a c-Warpig in a brighter sounding guitar? I play everything hi-gain from In Flames, Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage to Dream Theater, Mastodon and Marty Friedman. I also have a relationship with Devin Townsend/Strapping Young Lad's hi gain sound. But I never EVER play crunch or cleans on the bridge pickup, so that makes the decision easier, hehe. Also, a djenty sound is not what I am looking for.

tl;dr: This one needs an immense wall of sound but still capabilities within progressive metal, and it needs to fit my guitar's wood, so it wont turn into a boomy mess  :x

For the neck: I am looking for a very smooth and shreddy Scar Symmetry/Petrucci/Friedman lead sound on this pickup, but I also love to do ambient clean stuff with plenty of effects. (Devin Townsend again ;)). In Petrucci's words this clean sound is like: "Chimey one the top end, and piano-like on the low end.) Alnico V is preferred, but I am listening to any advice.

I know that a lot of these descriptions are related to the amp and the player, but the main mission of this is to ensure, that my guitar at least is a well-balanced instrument and doesn't contribute with any trouble soundwise.

With love and thanks
    Marty
   

[Transcend]

I think a Miracle Man set will do you just fine.

Also the MQ in the neck works incredibly well for lush cleans and those friedman kinda lead tones

[Mortymoes]

Thanks for the reply :D
Yeah, the MM sounds great for the bridge, so that is set in stone now. But I doubt how it will do in the neck position.
The neck one needs to do sorta what a Liquifire does - But just in my guitar. I dunno ;P

[Telerocker]

Miracle Man/Cold Sweat-set. The CS on the neck does fluid leads very well.

[watsonb2]

Miracle Man/Cold Sweat-set. The CS on the neck does fluid leads very well.

Maybe it was just me then, but the Cold Sweat I had installed in my last guitar sounded a bit thin for my tastes...though I'm not running a tube amp right now, so that might have been part of the problem.

I'm not sure if Nolly was using the Neck Pickup for the cover of Scar Sym's "The Illusionist," but if he was, the VHII sounded absolutely stunning for nailing that sort of sound, so you may want to consider trying it...

[Telerocker]

On this forum the CS is reckoned as one of the best neckpickups for modern, fluid tones. You're right about the amp contributing a lot to the sound. My neck-IT sounds whimpy on my Blues Junior in direct comparison to my Orange Rockerverb.

[kevinr]

CS neck not thin!!

[ericsabbath]

definitely miracle man for the bridge