EMG replacement pickup: Aftermath or Painkiller?

[Nephilim]

I know that a set of Bare Knuckle are obviously going to sound different than EMGs. But I'm just curious as to which one keeps that EMG vibe, as well as improving it with it's own characteristics. Or you can just vote which one you prefer for metal :)

[ericsabbath]

miracle man.

the others sound nothing like emgs, imo
they're quite hairy and 'passive' sounding
the miracle man is more controlled and has somewhat similar pinch harmonic and lead tones to the emg 81, specially on fast shredding
some people compare the PK and AM to emgs cause they're  tighter and middier, but the texture is completely different

[Telerocker]

+1 for the Miracle Man.

[Nephilim]

So would you recommend this to replace the EMG with? I play an all Mahogany guitar (guess which one, lol), yup, a Les Paul. And I play drop tunings.

[Nephilim]

Actually I've got another couple questions, as well as the last one. Which one would you replace a Seymour Duncan Blackout with? I hear this one has more of an aggressive mid-range. And also, what do you guys think about having a BKP pickup, with the SD Blackouts Modular Pre-Amp to make it Active? Do you think that would make the Ultimate Active Pickup? A BKP Active, lol.

[Alex]

The Miracle Man is closest to the EMG characteristics, but you'd probably get a nice high gain sound from the other two pickups.

I would recommend listening to the samples of the three pickups on the main website and going with the one your ears like the most.

The modular preamp sounds like a bad idea to me. First, you're already using a high output pickup - I would have thought that preamp is more for lower output passives to start. Second, what would it do that a booster/overdrive pedal can't do? Probably nothing.

[mongey]

the blackout preamp becomes the bulk of the tone. think they said it gives 80% of blackout tone and only 20% of the original pick up  tone is recognisable. big waste of BKP's of you ask me

I think its more for cosmetic use. people who want blackout actives but want the look of passives

[Nephilim]

OMG, I'm sooo confuzzled now, lol. I'm very torn between the Miracle Man and the Aftermath at the moment. I like certain qualities from both. But if it came down to it, which would be a better upgrade form the EMGs if my only problem with EMGs was that they were too sterile and 1 dimensional? The only reason I ask is because I could get the Miracle Man, and could relise that it was the activeness of the pickup that made me like the EMG originally. How would the Miracle Man sound in B tuning btw? And also my other guitarist uses EMGs, so if you played both guitars, side by side on stage, what would the audience hear from each guitar player? Sorry for the questions, I'm just really set on a BKP for my guitar, and I really want to get it right, haha.

[mongey]

your never gonna know for sure .

at the end of the day they are just pick ups .good ones but  your hands, style, amp, amp settings and pedals have just as much impact on your sound

every PU purchase is a bit blind . just choose what you liek the sound of more and do it

[Roobubba]

The MM works great in drop A tuning in my hands. So does the aftermath muahaha. Sorry I'm not helping.

I reckon many passive pickups can be made to sound how most EMG users sound. Play with too much preamp gain and scoop the mids out completely and you'll sound like every other 'methallzz' guitarist who uses EMGs these days: dull and lifeless live. Especially in the band mix, you *need* mids so the guitar doesn't just sound like an annoying tinny mess that doesn't cut well. Dropping the preamp gain a touch and boosting up the mids gives the guitar a LOT more body and grind on stage in the band context. In my experience, both the Miracle Man and Aftermath respond superbly well to this scenario: they stay tight and focussed, with awesome mid-range grind, and note definition throughout the whole range. Honestly, I think you'd be happy with either of them.

Wooo rant over :)

[wolfenstein]

OMG, I'm sooo confuzzled now, lol. I'm very torn between the Miracle Man and the Aftermath at the moment. I like certain qualities from both. But if it came down to it, which would be a better upgrade form the EMGs if my only problem with EMGs was that they were too sterile and 1 dimensional? The only reason I ask is because I could get the Miracle Man, and could relise that it was the activeness of the pickup that made me like the EMG originally. How would the Miracle Man sound in B tuning btw? And also my other guitarist uses EMGs, so if you played both guitars, side by side on stage, what would the audience hear from each guitar player? Sorry for the questions, I'm just really set on a BKP for my guitar, and I really want to get it right, haha.

I have both pickups and I would say after hours of playing I like MM better for heavy thrash death grind core stuff specialy for palm mute rifing...AM is chunky and sounds better in guitar tuned to C or lower to get some low mid "meat" but still sounds bit sterille (for me kinda EMG) or chirurgical if you want but no doubt is excellent for Meshuggah stuff..

[Nephilim]

I've finally decided on the Miracle Man. It just sounds that much nicer to me. I also wondered, what will my guitar sound like next to my bandmate who plays EMGs? We both play Les Pauls, and soon to both play Peavey 5150/6505's. I use a TS-9 as a boost, btw.

[wolfenstein]

I've finally decided on the Miracle Man. It just sounds that much nicer to me. I also wondered, what will my guitar sound like next to my bandmate who plays EMGs? We both play Les Pauls, and soon to both play Peavey 5150/6505's. I use a TS-9 as a boost, btw.

Good decision...For mahagony guitar+5150 you could also take on mind Painkiller...

[Alex]

In direct comparison the MM will seem like it has more low end chunk and less output than the EMG. While it has more low end chunk it is cleaner, which gives the impression of less output, but really you just feed it more gain and enjoy the clarity and better harmonics.  8)

[ericsabbath]

LP + MM + TS9 + 5150 + v30 = recipe for the perfect modern metal tone

you'll feel like you plugged your guitar into Andy Sneap's ass while he pukes mass destruction death rays from his mouth, like Godzilla (or maybe the other way around, with death farts and nuclear shite)
:lol: