Which two BKPs are for me?

[LFCAgger]

Hey guys, I've decided I'm going to buy a new set of pickups for my Ibanez - some kind of discontinued ART type model with stock pickups. The stocks, while okay, don't do it for me now I've been playing the thing for two years. The bridge is rather harsh and biting and I find the neck too muddy, unfocussed and "flabby".

With a budget of Ģ230, I'm liking the idea of a set of BKPs. . So could I please get a bit of advice on the BKPs for me?

The music I play includes, but is not limited to: Periphery, Dream Theater, Megadeth, Trivium, Joe Bonnamassa, Metallica, Machine Head, Children of Bodom, Lamb of God, Symphony X.

Although I'm not sure what the Ibanez is, I thought a description might help and influence choices:
25.5" scale
Mahogany body and neck
Set neck
Singlecut
Fixed bridge

I will be using them with a Blackstar HT20.

And again, budget is Ģ230

Thank you in advance!

James

[Kiichi]

Welcome to the forum!

You are certainly looking at a lot of ground to cover there...gonna be hard.
The three things that come to mind are Aftermath, Nailbomb and Miracle Man.
If you want to cover most of these bands sound though the AM goes out the window.
I can not say much about the MM, but it is said to for example be perfect for COB.

I would tend to recommend a Ceramic Nailbomb with a CS neck though. You are gonna need the ceramic for the added tightness. Then you got a bridge that will be versatile enough to cover the styles you need and also have a fitting character. It is usually the no1 recommendation for Dream Theater (along with the CS neck).
The CS neck gives you the warm fluid lead tone you will need for things like DT, Machine Head and CoB.

[LFCAgger]

Welcome to the forum!

You are certainly looking at a lot of ground to cover there...gonna be hard.
The three things that come to mind are Aftermath, Nailbomb and Miracle Man.
If you want to cover most of these bands sound though the AM goes out the window.
I can not say much about the MM, but it is said to for example be perfect for COB.

I would tend to recommend a Ceramic Nailbomb with a CS neck though. You are gonna need the ceramic for the added tightness. Then you got a bridge that will be versatile enough to cover the styles you need and also have a fitting character. It is usually the no1 recommendation for Dream Theater (along with the CS neck).
The CS neck gives you the warm fluid lead tone you will need for things like DT, Machine Head and CoB.

Well, first of all thank you for the welcome!

I realise it is a wide mix of genres, and I appreciate that makes it tough to get a pickup that covers them all. The most important ones to me there are Dream Theater, Machine Head and Periphery if that helps.

I did get a recommendation of the Aftermath elsewhere, and it's interesting your opinions should differ. I guess I'd more trust your advice, as this is the official BK forum.

I'd looked at the Nailbomb, and I was drawn to the Alnico's (at least to me) brighter top end, which I like for cleans such as in The Count Of Tuscany by DT. Would the ceramic be a better option, taking into account both cleans and distortion?

I do like the idea of the Cold Sweat in the neck. As you said, it has a fluid yet clear sound that I like a lot.

Thank you very much for your help!

[Kiichi]

Well, first of all thank you for the welcome!

I realise it is a wide mix of genres, and I appreciate that makes it tough to get a pickup that covers them all. The most important ones to me there are Dream Theater, Machine Head and Periphery if that helps.

I did get a recommendation of the Aftermath elsewhere, and it's interesting your opinions should differ. I guess I'd more trust your advice, as this is the official BK forum.

I'd looked at the Nailbomb, and I was drawn to the Alnico's (at least to me) brighter top end, which I like for cleans such as in The Count Of Tuscany by DT. Would the ceramic be a better option, taking into account both cleans and distortion?

I do like the idea of the Cold Sweat in the neck. As you said, it has a fluid yet clear sound that I like a lot.

Thank you very much for your help!

The AM is no doubt the perfect choice for Periphery, as Misha uses them himself.
Thing is they are surgically tight, middy and very, very dry. I feel far too dry for MH and DT.
For that you need a slightly darker, jucier tone I think.

Enter the Nailbomb. While the alnico would probably work too, the ceramic is the better option imho. Keep in mind both Petrucci and Flynn & Demmel use ceramic bridge PUs. For the technical and fast stuff of DT and Machine Head they give you an edge in the bass tracking and when you get as technical as Periphery the Cbomb very clearly has itīs head up.
You loose a bit of organic qulitys in the mids, as they are smoother, but keep in mind that is for example very much what Petrucci does and that ceramic BKPs usually still sound more alive and organic then alnicos from the usual brands, so do not fear that.
Generally they just suite these styles better.

Speaking of the clean parts in The Count of Tuscany (absolutly brilliant stuff btw), I would rather use the neck for that anyway, as I never really like bridge PUs for cleans. The CS neck is said to give nice and warm cleans, very usuable for that. I certainly never use my Crunchlab bridge for that and rather the Liquifire neck.

[ericsabbath]

I'd pick the miracle man over anything for at least half the bands you mentioned
ceramic nailbomb as a second option

[LFCAgger]

Well, first of all thank you for the welcome!

I realise it is a wide mix of genres, and I appreciate that makes it tough to get a pickup that covers them all. The most important ones to me there are Dream Theater, Machine Head and Periphery if that helps.

I did get a recommendation of the Aftermath elsewhere, and it's interesting your opinions should differ. I guess I'd more trust your advice, as this is the official BK forum.

I'd looked at the Nailbomb, and I was drawn to the Alnico's (at least to me) brighter top end, which I like for cleans such as in The Count Of Tuscany by DT. Would the ceramic be a better option, taking into account both cleans and distortion?

I do like the idea of the Cold Sweat in the neck. As you said, it has a fluid yet clear sound that I like a lot.

Thank you very much for your help!

The AM is no doubt the perfect choice for Periphery, as Misha uses them himself.
Thing is they are surgically tight, middy and very, very dry. I feel far too dry for MH and DT.
For that you need a slightly darker, jucier tone I think.

Enter the Nailbomb. While the alnico would probably work too, the ceramic is the better option imho. Keep in mind both Petrucci and Flynn & Demmel use ceramic bridge PUs. For the technical and fast stuff of DT and Machine Head they give you an edge in the bass tracking and when you get as technical as Periphery the Cbomb very clearly has itīs head up.
You loose a bit of organic qulitys in the mids, as they are smoother, but keep in mind that is for example very much what Petrucci does and that ceramic BKPs usually still sound more alive and organic then alnicos from the usual brands, so do not fear that.
Generally they just suite these styles better.

Speaking of the clean parts in The Count of Tuscany (absolutly brilliant stuff btw), I would rather use the neck for that anyway, as I never really like bridge PUs for cleans. The CS neck is said to give nice and warm cleans, very usuable for that. I certainly never use my Crunchlab bridge for that and rather the Liquifire neck.

Yeah, the AM, while excellent for that sort of tone, might be too specialised for all of the music I play, so I guess that's it out of the equation.

When you put it like that, I can see why you would recommend the ceramic Nailbomb. If it sounds livelier and more organic, while still retaining a tight, agressive tone, I'm happy.

Yeah, it's good fun to play! I've been using the middle position (ie. both humbuckers) for those cleans, to give me the top end and warmth I need, but it's far from ideal and still too biting in the highs and flabby in the lows. I'm pretty much decided on the Cold Sweat for the neck, thank you.

I'd pick the miracle man over anything for at least half the bands you mentioned
ceramic nailbomb as a second option

Do you mean MM in the bridge?

[Slartibartfarst42]

I would disagree only slightly. The Miracle Man would be an obvious choice for a lot of the bands mentioned so I'm happy to go with that and I also think a Nailbomb would be good but I'd go with the alnico version instead. Why? Because the A-Bomb is one of the tightest pickups I've ever used and was certainly a match in tightness to any ceramic pickup I've tried from any other manufacturer. IT has enough tightness and aggression to easily cover the styles you want there but the alnico magnet will give it a sweeter lead tone and that bit more versatility.