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Author Topic: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?  (Read 2351 times)

MikeAlustrium

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Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« on: October 26, 2011, 05:41:55 AM »
Hey guys!

I play progressive death metal and im looking to upgrade my main live guitar. It is a Jackson ke2 Kelly  (aldar body and maple neck with a brass big block for the foly) and I have pretty much come down to a few pickups as choices.

Obviously im going Bare Knuckle because im here,

Tim Recommended I go for the Aftermaths
my Research leads me to go Nailbomb

my concern is that the aftermaths will be too bright for an already bright wooded guitar. But at the same time the aftermaths are getting so much attention right now that their has to be a good reason behind it. The thing that's stopping me is that there is no demos up of an aftermath in my configuration so idk I turn to you the interent to help!

please lemme know your thoughts!

Nephilim

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2011, 10:31:34 AM »
I would have gone with Warpigs for Death metal, tbh. Ceramic Nailbomb would be a good choice to - it has a lot of that grid in the mids which I like ;). The reason why I think Tim might not have recommended Warpigs actually, is because on Neck-Thru guitars, you get more bass transfer (quoting Tim here, although I don't personally think you'd notice). But that goes to say, I know people who play em in Les Pauls. The question is, with the Aftermath, it's very Dry and Responsive, so yo may not like it. I find people who don't have much control over their playing technique, end up making the Aftermath give off some squishy sounds (couldn't think of another word) when Palm Muting. I find the C-Bomb less dry, which I really like :)

MikeAlustrium

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2011, 04:16:06 PM »
yeah I can completely understand that. I know that in a live environment I really lay in to my palm muting so I can see that being a problem. Its just such a big expense that I'm making a decision based on opinions because I cant get my hands on one personally. I am really leaning towards the ceramic nailbomb and the coldsweat in the neck. I would just love to hear some samples of either before I pull the trigger on anything

Nephilim

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2011, 05:37:27 PM »
I think the C-Bomb/Cold Sweat combo is great. i originally bought the C-Bomb because on the clips, I found the Modern metal one to actually sound very much like Scar Symmetry. Plus I also wanted a Prog metal sounding guitar (Dream Theater like) and that combo is very John Petrucci. It ended up being a very versatile combo. I kept getting confused as to which one I should go for out of the Alnico/Ceramic debate, and ended up with the Ceramic since it was the clip that really shone with me. Its actually a great pickup for Death Metal. You won't go wrong :) Plus remember you have a 14 day exchange policy :)

MikeAlustrium

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #4 on: October 26, 2011, 06:19:56 PM »
thanks for the advice! and yes I'm hoping to get exactly what your talking about with the nailbomb but as I said before I am not very familiar with aldar as all of my other guitars are mohagany with maple tops. And as far as the return policy is it 14 days from purchase? because ill be getting it shipped to the usa and by the time it gets here and is installed I feel like it will be past the date.  Reguardless I think I will like the sound, im just nervous about the pup in aldar

Nephilim

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #5 on: October 26, 2011, 06:38:32 PM »
The Nailbomb's actually a surprising pickup, especially when you look at the EQ. But then you gotta look at EMGs too. People play them in dense, dark sounding Les Pauls (Zakk Wylde, etc.) And then you get other metal players playing them in Alder/Maple neckthru guitars. The thing with Bare Knuckle is, a lot of people think the P/us with high highs in the EQ, will sound very ear splitting, if you get what I mean? It's just a lot of people assume the pickup's EQ is basically like an amps EQ. If you turn up the treble on an amp to full, it will become very sharp, whereas on a pickup, it doesn't actually mean it's going to be sharp. I find Bare Knuckle pickups to be very nice sounding in the highs. My personal opinion is, regarding BKP, less high means the sound has a more roundness to it; and vice versa. It's actually really hard to get across what I'm tryin to say. Hopefully someone else can explain it if they see this thread. But don;t worry, you'll be perfectly fine, and it will sound great.

Another piece of advice though. Get BKPs 550k pots, and make sure you get the Jensen Capacitors. You really need a good one if you have a tone pot. Cheap ones can suck away your tone, and then even more when you turn down your Tone Knob

Nephilim

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #6 on: October 26, 2011, 06:44:30 PM »
Have you also thought about Miracle Mans? Theyre like the organic version of EMGs. They're like the ultimate, palm mute, chugging pickups. I bring this up because I'm actually selling a Brand new set. I already have a set, and didn;t end up fitting these ones since I'm looking for something else, lol. Bit stupid of me getting them tho haha

MikeAlustrium

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #7 on: October 26, 2011, 09:35:47 PM »
thanks for your input above^^ also yes I have checked out the Miracle Man. that was Nolly's suggestion to me but I ended up like the Nailbombs overall pronounced mid frequences over the mms. Also just got the record im not trying to get a djenty tone at all. Im looking for a tight bass sound with mids that really shape our the notes so they dont get lost in the mix

sixgunsovertombstone

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #8 on: October 26, 2011, 09:41:29 PM »
I think the ceramic nailbomb will work out fine in alder. I have one in a super bright all maple neck through super strat and only then does it sound too sharp but only through certain amps, and most of the time it can be dealt with through eq.

Its very "metal" ha, for lack of a better descriptor, and its super tight and aggressive while being very full and thick.

I've never tried the aftermath, but I think both pickups are excellent choices.
BKPs: Nailbombs, Ceramic Nailbomb, Holy Diver, Rebel Yells, Blackhawks, Aftermaths

MikeAlustrium

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #9 on: October 26, 2011, 09:44:19 PM »
thats reassuring for me to hear! haha and yes I feel like the aftermaths would be better suited in a mohagany body but Ill probably end u rolling some of the high end off on my amp if need be

MikeAlustrium

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2011, 05:01:22 PM »
shameless bump :p

ericsabbath

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2011, 07:11:53 PM »
the aftermath is not an overbright pup
it's actually very middy
its scratchy/djenty response may give a wrong impression
the eq voicing is pretty much the same as the holy diver, for example, but the response is completely different

but I think the c-bomb would be a better fit, with bigger bass response and a bit less picking attack
« Last Edit: October 31, 2011, 02:44:45 AM by Eric Hellstyle »
Riff Raff, Mules, Black Dog, VHII's, Cold Sweat

MikeAlustrium

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #12 on: October 27, 2011, 09:19:56 PM »
I do want a good amount of mid in my sound...Ive heard that the nailbomb has a tendency to get lost in the mix which i m really trying to avoid. I am really leaning towards the cbomb but I feel like the aftermath would overall be a little more articulate. I just dont know if its going to work well in my wood config because aldar and maple neck through kind of lacks a tight bass sound to them. tim reccomended I go with the aftermath though so idk hahah im so indecisive

MikeAlustrium

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #13 on: October 28, 2011, 11:13:24 PM »
I'm looking into the Miracle Man more and more and I'm pretty interested. What experiences have you guys had with it?

Nephilim

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Re: Pickups for an aldar bodied Jackson ke2..aftermath?...nailbomb?
« Reply #14 on: October 29, 2011, 12:13:22 AM »
I'm looking into the Miracle Man more and more and I'm pretty interested. What experiences have you guys had with it?

Well buy mine :)