Recommend me some pickups for a Strat and Les Paul please :)

[Rich T]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice on a few pickups - BKP have won the brand competition, from what I've heard and tried. Now I'm just looking for the exact ones. I need a humbucker for a Mexi Strat HSS for the bridge (leaving the single coils for now - currently has a JB in the bridge and stock single coils), and a bridge and neck humbucker for an Epi Les Paul Black Beauty (all stock and ignoring the middle hum atm too :p).

I play pretty much anything so versatility is key, although major influences come in the form of Satriani, Govan, Petrucci <insert shredder> etc, plenty of metal and prog, but then there're the lesser gainy fellows such as Hendrix, Gilmour, Clapton etc. Clarity is a priority too. The other issue is, that whilst I love all the shreddy tones, the band I'm in is more indie sounding (think Editors and such) so that's pretty important soundwise. A solution may be to have a les paul deal with the shreddy, and the strat as the band-axe or the other way around.

Overall sound I'm looking for is a smooth, defined, rich, articulate, round sound with great clarity that sounds great with or without gain.

Gearwise, the amplification everything goes through is a Blackstar One Head 200w, and a Mesa Recto 2x12 with a few pedals here and there.

So far the nailbomb, rebel yell and warpig have taken my fancy. Any suggestions/advice is more than appreciated. Apologies for the epic post.

Cheers

[Kiichi]

Welcome to the forum!
You think that post is big and confusing...should have seen my first one here^^

I think the idea of getting the strat for the more indie things and the les paul for the shred is good (if playability whise it would work for you), as indie sounds are really single coil heavy. That does not mean that they will be limited to that by any means though.

For the LP then I would think the classic Petrucci combo C-bomb bridge and Coldsweat neck.
You get a very versatile bridge sound, going from 90s metal to old school rock and all, just amazing for prog and metal, etc.
The CS neck gives you just the fluid leads you want, definetly the right choice here.

For the Strat I would think of a HB from the the Vintage or Vinage hot range for what you are looking for (exept if you dig the JB tone, in which case go for the holydiver, the much better JB as it is often described), though I canīt really tell which one.
If you ever think of replacing the SCs too, I think Irish Tours will work a charm.

[Telerocker]

Welcome here!

For the strat: the beefy Holy Diver/vintagehot IT's would make a great combo. I have the IT's in my MXG custom swampashstrat. The Diver will split great too. (I have the Crawler/IT's-combo). The IT's can do Frusciante too, if your roll the vol.knob a tad back.
(Just as a reference: In my Americans Series Fender ash-strat I have a VHII paired with Mothers Milk. This combo is a bit leaner then the Crawler/IT's. The MM's are a bit woodier and have a tad more sparkle. The VHII isn't too bright, even in an ashstrat. You can get wicked tones out of it when you dig in. Superb harmonics. It can really scream, but cleans up in a nearly a single-coilway. It will do the indie-stuff too.)

For the Les Paul: Nailbombs, maybe NB with a CS-neck.

Just my 2 cents.

[darkbluemurder]

Good suggestions made so far. I second the Holydiver option for the strat. For the Les Paul you cannot go wrong with the Cold Sweat neck. Nailbomb (either A or C) is fine. A Holydiver could be a nice option here, too but if this is going to be your shredding axe, C-Bomb would get my vote.

Cheers Stephan

[Telerocker]

In addition: if you favour an organic tone with depth look at the alnico NB, the ceramic would be great for extra tightness, output and cut in the topend.

[Rich T]

Hey, sorry to resurrect my old thread but I figured it was better than cluttering the boards with a new one :)

Decided to buy the pups for the Les Paul first for financial reasons, and just need a couple of things clarifying if possible:

Where do i choose Alnico/Ceramic versions?
What leg length do I want?
What's the difference between the Nailbomb and the Rebel Yell (the Rebel Yell caught my fancy recently :p)?

Trust me I'm not being lazy, I've had a look around (cutting my questions down =]) and would greatly appreciate the help.

Cheers, Rich

PS - It's not pickup related but, I was wondering what new hardwire you'd recommend to replace the existing on the les paul.

[darkbluemurder]

Where do i choose Alnico/Ceramic versions?

As far as I know only the Nailbomb and Warpig come in both Alnico and Ceramic versions. If you order through the webshop there is an option to select the magnet on the models where both options are offered.

What leg length do I want?

For a Les Paul the long legs are in the traditional style but the short legs would fit with no problem. Best to take out the current pickups and measure.

What's the difference between the Nailbomb and the Rebel Yell (the Rebel Yell caught my fancy recently :p)?

Nailbomb has more output and less high midrange.

PS - It's not pickup related but, I was wondering what new hardwire you'd recommend to replace the existing on the les paul.

Do you mean "wire" or "hardware"? What exactly are you looking to replace?

Cheers Stephan

[Telerocker]

The Rebel Yell is all about mids, uppermids and highs. You can get wicked tones from this one and it cleans up great. It will do metal, but I see it more as an ultimate hardrockpickup.

(See my earlier comment: In addition: if you favour an organic tone with depth look at the alnico NB, the ceramic would be great for extra tightness, output and cut in the topend.)

[Rich T]

Hi again! Rather than making a new thread and reference this, I may as well reply so there's plenty of information above.

Loving the NB in my Les Paul btw excellent choice. Will be Cold Sweating soon, but I'm not doing the shred thing as much these days.

Instead it a new set of pups for the mexi strat. It's HSS and currently has a JB which sounds alright but I'd like a bit more clarity and to change the stock single coils out too.

Above I've been recommended the Holy Diver (a better JB?) with 2 Irish Tours (Beefy), and also to take note of the vintage/hot HBs (VHII takes my fancy) and the Mother's Milks.

Buying pickups is lovely and frustrating as I can't really feasibly try them all out, but as always the customer service and forums are a great help and didn't let me down with the NB.

Sooo, what to purchase. I obviously want a HSS set, but I'm stuck between the permutations of Holy Diver and VHII with Irish Tours and Mother's Milks.

Help please :) - What're the main differences (if that's at all answerable) and in your opinion what'd suit my sound?

Here's a link to my band's youtube channel and also soundcloud where our current EP is available for a free listen ;)

Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/TWINPLANETSOFFICIAL
Soundcloud - http://soundcloud.com/twinplanetsmusic/sets/twin-planets-ep-1/

All advice is appreciated cheers, Rich

*Edit* - The rig has changed too. The Blackstar's become a backup amp. Nowadays it's a Fender Twin with a few pedals through the front. Again aiming for clarity but with beef.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Rebel Yell all the way! I go easily from Metallica type gain to slightly OD'd stuff like Free and Clapton. Beautiful tone all the way! The volume knob is your friend with the RY's

[Telerocker]

First, sounds very nice Rich.

I recommend the Holy Diver/Irish Tour-combo before and I stick to that. They will beef up your strat without making it muddy. If you roll the guitarvolume a bit down the IT's land in MM-terrority. I can get close to Frusciante with IT's. I would be a versatile set.
But, if you like a bit more vintage, say PAF-ish tone that can deliver contemporary tones too, you might wanna have a look at the Abraxas. It's beefy but a bit less tight on the bass then the HD and with enough chime in the topend. After listening your music I was just thinking about the Abraxas. The Crawler would pump the output a bit up, with more roundend, but not dull, topend. The HD will fit your bill too, don't worry.
I won't recommend a Rebel Yell for a strat, I think it might to bright for an alder bolt-on guitar.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Oh, well I was talking about RY for the LP, not strat lol.

[Telerocker]

Oh, well I was talking about RY for the LP, not strat lol.

Right, but if I understand him right he's thrown a NB in the LP. Now he asked some advice for his strat.

[Rich T]

^ Correct :) - I actually toyed with the RY for a bit, but NB won after deliberation, anyhoo;

As always a great help thankyou. A quick listen to several clips of HD/Abraxas/Crawler along with your consistent advice has just confirmed the HD + ITs for me. The Crawler does sound a bit too open for me and I like the idea of having a teeny bit more output so the Abraxas probably wouldn't be the best choice for me.

Glad you liked the link I posted, hopefully the next EP/Album we do with have some juicey bareknuckles in ;) . The EP's on itunes and bandcamp, or even better drop me a message and I'll happily post a free CD out if it interests you. We've also done a cover of Echo and The Bunnymen (I know the guitarist) which has drawn attention:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLNqnumYaxI

I'll stop the shameful promoting lol. Greatly appreciate the help and will be whipping my credit card out in the morning! I'll let you know how the new pups turn out too :)

Cheers, Rich

[Telerocker]

You won't regret this combo. You could wire it that you have HD and middle together (full) and HD splitted with the middle-IT. I have this wiring in my strat (via pushpull) and it makes the guitar even more versatile.