Best pickups for "post-metal"?

[ericsabbath]

I still think you shouldn't mess with the riff raff

the rockdriver isn't as clear as the celestion higher level line by far
you don't need necessarily v30's
classic 80's and g12h's sound pretty clear, for example
greenbacks a little smoother

if you want a tighter low end from the guitar, best experience I had was with a 1980 maxon 6 band equalizer (same as the ibanez version)
an old mxr would do
I used it as a mid booster and cutting a bit of the lower bass (in front of the amp, right after the wah)
if you don't go wild on the boosted frequencies, it will retain all the clarity and keep your low end controlled
tried the slightly scooped setting like Adam Jones too, and sounds pretty good too, quite crunchy and open
lots of possible settings with different results and won't grind your midrange like a tube screamer would do

tubes can make quite noticeable difference, even if you have good ones already
some sound more aggressive and dry, others are round but gainy and compressed, others are soft but clear

I like the compression of rft's in the preamp
shuguangs sound great, but are too gainy and sometimes noisy
JJ's are supposedly higher gain, but tend to sound clean and darkish
electro-harmonix and sovtek are quite well balanced but lack character

in the power, the svetlana winged C was the clearest EL34 I tried
the shuguangs sound a bit darker and are quite compressed (in a good way, if that's what you want)

I really don't think you should swap that pickup, at least until you improve all the other variables
my first though was nailbomb too, considering the bands you mentioned, but not for your guitar
anyway, the riff raff is still much clearer on distorted chords, although they have somewhat similar voicings (cutting edge, flat paf-like mids, punchy bass)
the nailbomb is a lot more aggressive and low mid heavy

[Richie]

I really don't think you should swap that pickup, at least until you improve all the other variables

I hope that word was used for lack of a better one!

As it stands, I'm quite happy with the sound from the speakers, though they were a stand-in purchase for a set of early 70s G12H blackbacks that are currently sat on a shelf in my bedroom 'cause my brother decided to play bass through them and buggered them. Never got round to getting them fixed (I know I really should). I don't know where you get that the Rockdrivers aren't very clear though 'cause that's the quality I find to be best in them, and I much prefer the headroom they give than speakers with lower power handling. Eventually I'll get the blackbacks fixed and A/B them (or more likely just through all 4 speakers in a 4x12) but really I feel I was lucky to get hold of the Rockdrivers when I did.

In terms of tubes, I've tried all sorts in the preamp and just settled back into using the originals that the amp came with because nothing else was nearly as complex and pleasant to my ear. The amp came with JJs in the power section, personally I found them to add an unpleasant harshness. All upper mids. The Groove Tubes have proven a good all rounder in every amp I've used them in but I'll admit I've never tried Svetlanas or Shuguangs so perhaps I'll look into those.

I've tried EQ pedals in the past but steered away from them, having been through a few and come up against serious noise issues with all of them.

Again, it isn't an issue of clarity as such, I'd just like something that can throw down harder and put more low end out there. General consensus seems to be leaning toward Nailbombs at the moment, and I have to say I'm intrigued by the idea.

Have you considered trying a humbucker-sized P90 in the neck? If you're after a classic single-coil tone you're always going to struggle with a split humbucker because the coils are so small. I think you'd find the Mississippi Queen to be an excellent choice for all of the sounds you've described.

Would a P90 not be a bit too fat for the type of tones I'm after? I'm talking really spangly Fender-type cleans. I've got a P90 in another guitar and that struggles somewhat to get that glassy character, y'know? Might be worth thinking about though...

I feel like I've started quite a discussion here, it's given me a lot to think about before jumping into a purchase! I'm grateful for that too - most other forums I've been on you'll get like one or two people posting just with the same simply answer that they read somewhere else. Much prefer to chew the fat with people who know what they're talking about before making decision.  :)

[Philly Q]

Would the Rebel Yell not be a tad too bright in the SG?

Certainly not any brighter than a Riff Raff.  

I don't think it's got any more weight in the bass than a Riff Raff, though, but the extra power might help give the "meatier" sound Nolly suggested.  The most noticeable feature of the Rebel Yell is that upper mids thing it has going on - not sure if that's quite what Richie is after?

[Richie]

Well, a fair few people had recommended the Nailbomb and an Alnico bridge model just popped up on ebay quite cheap so I thought "sod it" pulled the trigger. Worst comes to worst, I'll just put the RiffRaff back in and put the Nailbomb back on ebay. I'll post again once I've got it and let everyone know what I think.  :)

It's an uncovered black one with aged coils, by the way. Should look pretty classy!

[ericsabbath]

I really don't think you should swap that pickup, at least until you improve all the other variables

I hope that word was used for lack of a better one!

As it stands, I'm quite happy with the sound from the speakers, though they were a stand-in purchase for a set of early 70s G12H blackbacks that are currently sat on a shelf in my bedroom 'cause my brother decided to play bass through them and buggered them. Never got round to getting them fixed (I know I really should). I don't know where you get that the Rockdrivers aren't very clear though 'cause that's the quality I find to be best in them, and I much prefer the headroom they give than speakers with lower power handling. Eventually I'll get the blackbacks fixed and A/B them (or more likely just through all 4 speakers in a 4x12) but really I feel I was lucky to get hold of the Rockdrivers when I did.

In terms of tubes, I've tried all sorts in the preamp and just settled back into using the originals that the amp came with because nothing else was nearly as complex and pleasant to my ear. The amp came with JJs in the power section, personally I found them to add an unpleasant harshness. All upper mids. The Groove Tubes have proven a good all rounder in every amp I've used them in but I'll admit I've never tried Svetlanas or Shuguangs so perhaps I'll look into those.

I've tried EQ pedals in the past but steered away from them, having been through a few and come up against serious noise issues with all of them.

Again, it isn't an issue of clarity as such, I'd just like something that can throw down harder and put more low end out there. General consensus seems to be leaning toward Nailbombs at the moment, and I have to say I'm intrigued by the idea.

Have you considered trying a humbucker-sized P90 in the neck? If you're after a classic single-coil tone you're always going to struggle with a split humbucker because the coils are so small. I think you'd find the Mississippi Queen to be an excellent choice for all of the sounds you've described.

Would a P90 not be a bit too fat for the type of tones I'm after? I'm talking really spangly Fender-type cleans. I've got a P90 in another guitar and that struggles somewhat to get that glassy character, y'know? Might be worth thinking about though...

I feel like I've started quite a discussion here, it's given me a lot to think about before jumping into a purchase! I'm grateful for that too - most other forums I've been on you'll get like one or two people posting just with the same simply answer that they read somewhere else. Much prefer to chew the fat with people who know what they're talking about before making decision.  :)

by improving, I meant towards your objectives
a pair of celestion black shadows and a proper eq would do that easily (just an example)
punchier low mids, clearer mids from the speakers, tighter low end from the eq
yeah, boosting with equalizers can make things pretty noisy
the more frequencies you push, more noisy it gets, so I had to go easy on settings
I use a hush pedal, so it wasn't a big deal
with the riff raff (in a 70's les paul custom) I just boosted the mids a bit and cut some bass out
the noise was barely audible, unless I went overkill on settings

but, yes the nailbomb will deliver the extra oomph, without losing all the toneprint of the riff raff, but might compromise clarity (compared to the riff raff), for such low tuning and guitar combination
might be worth the experience even if you don't like it (didn't work for me in the les paul custom exactly cause I need the chords clarity under gain and greater dynamics)

[ericsabbath]

Well, a fair few people had recommended the Nailbomb and an Alnico bridge model just popped up on ebay quite cheap so I thought "sod it" pulled the trigger. Worst comes to worst, I'll just put the RiffRaff back in and put the Nailbomb back on ebay. I'll post again once I've got it and let everyone know what I think.  :)

It's an uncovered black one with aged coils, by the way. Should look pretty classy!

nice!  :D
never lose an oportunity with BKPs
you'll always end up buying more guitars for them

[Richie]

Well, a fair few people had recommended the Nailbomb and an Alnico bridge model just popped up on ebay quite cheap so I thought "sod it" pulled the trigger. Worst comes to worst, I'll just put the RiffRaff back in and put the Nailbomb back on ebay. I'll post again once I've got it and let everyone know what I think.  :)

It's an uncovered black one with aged coils, by the way. Should look pretty classy!

nice!  :D
never lose an oportunity with BKPs
you'll always end up buying more guitars for them

Haha, cheers, tru dat. I'm actually planning on putting some money down soon on '78 Les Paul Custom my ex has. The last time it was out of its case was when I cleaned and set it up for her in Christmas 2009, so I figure if she's not using then I'll be damned if I don't go for it. It's got some early 80s Dimarzios in it I think, definitely not the originals, but either way they're outta there when that thing's mine.  8)

[Nolly]

Sounds like a good situation then, I'll be interested to hear how the Nailbomb works for you.
As far as the P90 neck goes, yes it's going to be a bit girthier than your average Fender-y single coil sound. Personally I find that tone more usable than a split humbucker though, which tend to be somewhat anaemic to my ears.

[Richie]

Disappointing news - the seller decided to wait until the next day to let me know that the pickup is in fact 52mm spaced, not 50mm. While I'm assured it wouldn't make a massive difference I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this sort of thing and as such cancelled and got a refund. Nailbombs are gonna have to wait I think.  :(

At least now though I'm set on what I'm after and I think I would've done better to get them in a calibrated set anyways, so as and when funds permit, that's what's happening. Cheers to everyone for their input.  :)

[ericsabbath]

isn't your stock bridge around 51mm?
the stock 490t is 52mm
a 50mm bkp is actually 49.2mm, I think

[Richie]

I was under the impression that the wider spacing was for trem bridges etc? The RiffRaff I have is 50mm anyways and that's spaced perfectly for my bridge so I'd rather keep things that way if I can.