Which pick-ups for my Les Paul Custom

[cajgeers]

Hi guys,

Thanks to your help last year, I now have Alnico Warpigs in my SG and Nailbombs in my Les Paul Studio. For my latest purchase, a Les Paul Custom, I am looking for a more vintage sound, but still with enough punch, drive and power to play the music I love; down-tuned, slow and ultra-heavy doom, ranging from traditional doom metal to sludge.

This type of music screams Warpigs, but I already have those in my SG, and I think they will make my bass-heavy, mahogany Les Paul Custom sound too much low-end, too muddy. Aside from that, I would like a more vintage sound - think Electric Wizard, for example.

I am thinking a pair of matched Black Dogs, but would love to read your opinion on this.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.


PS I forgot to mention that I use thick strings as well...

[Madsakre]

Maybe miracle men. they have a humongous hollow low end.

[ericsabbath]

what's your amp and other distortion/fuzz sources?

[cajgeers]

Good question!

I play an Orange Thunderverb 200 over an Orange cabinet.

Sometimes I also use an ElectroHarmonix Metal Muff and Memory Man.

[DoomBuggi]

Black Dogs would rule.  Especially since your Amp has more than enough gain already.  I had a set of Black Dogs, and I cried when I sold them.  At the moment, I am doing really fast tracking stuff that requires the bass response to be accelerated.  I could do that with the Black Dog in D standard or higher, but when I went below that tuning, it was a bit too loose in the bass response. 

 But if you are doing doom, I would say that tightness would not be the goal, and the Black Dogs are totally bad ass.  One of the best pickups I have every played on.  When I get a Les Paul Standard, you can bet your bottom end I'm going to through a pair of those in it. 

[ericsabbath]

yeah, black dogs for a softer response and heavier midrange, riff raff if you want to retain more brightness and more vintage open mids

[gwEm]

one of those vintage choices would give you versatility too, if you ever want to experiment with another style

[Alex]

I would heartily recommend a set of Black Dogs for that! They sound perfect for what you are looking for.
And yes, they have a softer response, but not overly softer! Softer compared to ceramic pickups and very bright ones, but they still have enough edge to venture into metal territory.

[ericsabbath]

the bridge dog is a lot softer than the few other alnico bridge BKP models I experienced in the same guitar (riff raff, holy diver, nailbomb), also much softer than the neck cold sweat in the bridge position (which is almost an underwound black dog, technically) and, although not much, still a bit softer than the warpig and the alnico miracle man in the bridge
not saying they can't do metal
most BKP models sound tighter than other brands pickups cause they don't mush out under gain

[DoomBuggi]

Straight up,

 If I was going to do doom or sludge, Black Dogs, or some type of hellacious P-90 set up. 
 
  You've got a high gain amp, and you want a vintage sound.

[ericsabbath]

I've noticed some doom bands use the neck pickup or both pickups together to get that fuzzier sound, so maybe a brighter set could be better for some stuff

[DoomBuggi]

I've noticed some doom bands use the neck pickup or both pickups together to get that fuzzier sound, so maybe a brighter set could be better for some stuff

I've been using the PK in my Les Paul, and noticed that it gets a nice doom tone with both the pickups selected simultaneously.

[cajgeers]

Hello everyone,

And thank you for your friendly input! It seems a pair of Black Dogs wasn't totally off, so I'll be ordering them later today.

Maybe I'll post a clip of how they sound as well.

Take care!

[Mr. Air]

Hello everyone,

And thank you for your friendly input! It seems a pair of Black Dogs wasn't totally off, so I'll be ordering them later today.

Maybe I'll post a clip of how they sound as well.

Take care!

Please do. Clips are always a nice thing  :D