Replacing Miracle Man pick up in LP style guitar.

[botch]

Hi, I've had the Miracle Man pickup installed in my MIJ Tokai Love Rock (Les Paul - mahogany body, maple top etc) for some time now and want to swap it out. I love the tight bottom end and the overall tone but I'm not a fan of the highs at all, they're far too prominent. I'd also like something with a more prominent, thicker mid range, and most importantly, warmer sounding.

I play hardcore in drop C so whatever I choose should be able to handle that. I play through an OD808 boosted 5150II into an Orange 4x12.

I'm leaning towards an alnico Nailbomb but my concerns are that I'd miss the tight chug of the Miracle Man, what are your thoughts?

I guess it would be worth mentioning that I'm not really into the generic Metalcore kind of tone. For example, I rarely set the gain above 3.5 on my 5150II and crank the mids upto about 7.

These are good examples of the kind of tone I love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qHbS7xbw14&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_107722&src_vid=IewQXMJQjvA&feature=iv&v=2r3dWjbQmPw

As I said, I'm leaning towards the Alnico Nailbomb but any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[Mr. Air]

I think the alnico Nailbomb is tight enough for your needs. I got one in a LP clone and though I'm not a metal player I'm quite sure it will deliver what you want.

[Telerocker]

You might consider the ceramic Nailbomb too.

[darkbluemurder]

If it's only the highs that are annoying you, have you tried using the tone pot?

You could also try a lower value volume pot, say if you have a 500k, try a 250k. This may be enough.

If you do change the pickup, both Nailbomb variants should work.

Cheers Stephan

[botch]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Stephan, that's a good suggestion and one that I bet a lot of people over look but it's not just the highs, it’s the midrange. When I had the Warpig in this guitar, it had really great mids and a warmth about it that was awesome. Unfortunately, with the MM, this is not the case and the Warpig is too bassy and loose in this guitar.

[darkbluemurder]

OK - the midrange cannot be effected as much as the treble by choosing different pots and tone caps.

I never played a Warpig nor a C-Bomb but I have an A-Bomb so it is difficult to suggest which one would work better. Ceramics are said to be tighter which is a bonus for low tunings. I also read that the C-Bomb has more mids than the Miracle Man.

Cheers Stephan

[botch]

Yeah the C-Bomb is definitely an option as well, I'm just wondering if it'll sound too similar to the Miracle Man?

I'm in the process of trying to find as many clips and videos of both pickups to try and assess which would be best for me. If the C-Bomb has more mids than the Miracle Man and the highs and as prominent, then this could be the way to go, then again if it's no warmer sounding I'd have to think again.

[BigB]

From the tone charts, the CBomb seems to be slightly scooped, so possibly not what you're looking for.

wrt/ the ABomb, I'm not into metal, don't drop-tune (drop D at most for a couple songs), and I never played a MM so I really can't compare, but it is incredibly tight for an alnico pickup even under lot of gain (and this is in a rather dark sounding SG) and has a great low-mid growl - not too prominent but really throaty -, full-on "abrasive" hi-mids and quite clear highs. 

I listened to both clip you posted. I'm no expert in this kind of music and tones and I can't tell if you'll find the same "chug" as with the MM, but I really think I could get close to these tones using my SG / Abomb. FWIW, the official soundclips are rather accurate to the voicing of the pups (when you know them at least you recognize them), and I think the fuller midrange of the ABomb would be closer to your clips than the most scooped CBomb (but once again I'm not into metal nor either hardcore so I might miss the point).

My 2 cents...

[Telerocker]

What I read several times here is that the C-Bomb has a different voicing with more mids and less trebly upperregister then the MM, but other members that have these puppies perhaps will explain the difference better and more detailed then I can.

[botch]

BigB, thanks for taking the time to listen to the clips, it's defiitely reassuring you think I'll be able to get those kind of tones from the A-Bomb. The fuller midrange of the A-Bomb is very tempting.

Telerocker, if the C-Bomb does have more mids and less treble than the MM then I'm definitely 50-50 between the A-Bomb and the C-Bomb.

[darkbluemurder]

if the C-Bomb does have more mids and less treble than the MM then I'm definitely 50-50 between the A-Bomb and the C-Bomb.

Well then - time to ask Tim for a recommendation.

Cheers Stephan

[BigB]

BigB, thanks for taking the time to listen to the clips, it's defiitely reassuring you think I'll be able to get those kind of tones from the A-Bomb.

Well, make sure you've read the disclaimers before you take me on words :mrgreen:

[botch]

BigB, thanks for taking the time to listen to the clips, it's defiitely reassuring you think I'll be able to get those kind of tones from the A-Bomb.

Well, make sure you've read the disclaimers before you take me on words :mrgreen:

Hahaha yes, read and taken on board!

[botch]

if the C-Bomb does have more mids and less treble than the MM then I'm definitely 50-50 between the A-Bomb and the C-Bomb.

Well then - time to ask Tim for a recommendation.

Cheers Stephan

I emailed BKP today and I've been talking to a helpful guy called Ben, think I'm going to go for the A-Bomb.

It sounds like it will be able to handle drop C and the mids and organic tone sound great to me. Also, to get the ceramic might be a bit of a kop out as it won't sound as significantly different to the MM as the A-Bomb will. This of course is until I change my mind later on today...