Which pickups for esp ltd mh400nt?

[SeH3r]

Hi, Bareknucklers;-)

After I equipped one of my guitars with some BKP's (CS/Mule), I nearly stopped playing my main guitar (ESP LTD MH400NT), because these BKP's are just incredible. Now I've saved some money for another nice set of BKP's for the LTD, but I could need some help choosing what would suit me best.

Here the guitar's specs:

• set-thru construction
• 25.5” scale
• mahogany body w/quilted maple top
• 3-piece maple neck
• rosewood fingerboard
• tune-o-matic bridge w/string-thru-body
• pups to be replaced: EMG 81(bridge)/85(neck)

My amp is an ENGL Powerball and the music I play is influenced by bands such as August Burns Red, Killswitch Engage, This Or The Apocalypse, Protest The Hero, Lamb Of God, etc.

What I want is a tone that cuts through the mix without being unpleasantly aggressive or to over-the-top sounding. The highs should be creamy rather than screamy, the mids very articulate and the bottom tight and punchy. I use tunings from standard to drop C, so the pups should be able to handle that as well.

My thoughts circulate around Miracle Man, Nailbomb or Aftermath as bridge pup. Either as a calibrated set or maybe paired with a Cold Sweat in the neck position. But the longer I think about it, the more I get confused.

So please help me with some input and advice.
Thanks in advance.

[Telerocker]

Miracle Man.

[BigB]

Is it a going-thru neck or a set neck ? In the first case, this would IMHO rule out the NB (at least the alnico version), which would be overly bright and aggressive (it's already quite bright and aggressive in my rather dark sounding SG :lol:).

[SeH3r]

Thanks for the replies!

A set-thru neck is a mix of going-thru, set-in and bolt-on.
Here's a good description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set-through_neck

[ericsabbath]

assuming you already have a cold sweat in another guitar, I think the alnico nailbomb will deliver a wider tonal range over the miracle man (which is like a modern metal cold sweat)

the nailbomb works pretty well in mahogany superstrats, and sounds great through ENGL amps
highs are aggressive, but creamy as you should like
the miracle man highs can be quite piercing in the higher strings

[Alex]

I'd suggest the Miracle Man, it works very good with mahogany guitars and brings a lot of definition and clarity to the table, which usually suits those kind of guitars.

[SeH3r]

So Miracle Man (definition/clarity) vs Nailbomb (wider tonal range)?
Which of the two is better for pinch harmonics?
What about the Aftermath? Is it too much?

[BigB]

So Miracle Man (definition/clarity) vs Nailbomb (wider tonal range)?
Which of the two is better for pinch harmonics?

I can't compare since I never played a MM, but the ABomb is definitly not lacking in the "definition and clarity" department, and makes pinched harmonics easy as pie.

[SeH3r]

Thanks for the input, guys!
Unfortunately I still don't know, what to choose.
Can anyone give me some information on the differences between the three pups (NB, MM, AM) I'm considering?

[Nolly]

Think of the Miracle Man as a "Cold Sweat+": more output, more "chug" and an overall darker sound. It's also noticeably more compressed, which will work in your favour for the Killswitch and ABR tones. Pinch harmonics are a real party trick of the Miracle Man - really easy to execute and the squeals themselves sound very rich in a way few other pickups deliver.

The Nailbomb is what I think of when I hear the Protest the Hero tone - organic and fairly uncompressed. They'll also get real nasty if you want them to. A great all-around pickup that would probably cover the majority of your bases.

Aftermath is easily the angriest sounding of the lot. Very aggressive, tight and punchy sounding. Significantly hotter than the Nailbomb with a much more focussed midrange character.

I've done a direct comparison between the Nailbomb and Aftermath in the same guitar which you can hear here:

http://soundcloud.com/nolly/nailbomb-vs-aftermath