Looking for a Heavy Metal (but versatile) pickup

[Sonolin]

Hello,

As the title says, I'm looking for a pickup for my Fender Stratocaster Blacktop. This guitar is an alder wood (like most strats) if that helps at all. The current pickups are too "vintage-y" for my tastes. They're great for blues & classic rock, but I'm a metal player by heart.

I was seriously looking at the Duncan JB, but recently found a soundclip for the Bare Knuckle painkiller and absolutely FELL IN LOVE with the distortion! Unfortunately, after more poking around on youtube, I found that the clean tone really sucks - it sounds way too compressed/fake for my tastes. I know I'm probably just being picky, and it is expected of a ceramic pickup, but what I'd really like is a pickup with similar distortion & output, but that cleans up a lot nicer. Maybe a Painkiller in Alnico form ???

Here's what I want from my pickups... If Bare Knuckle can match these, then you definitely have a happy customer  :D:

* HOT Distortion, but at the same time it has to be clear and responds well to dynamics.
* A clean tone that does not sound saturated or compressed. I'm not looking for the best cleans in the world, but I do like to play blues occasionally. Ideally, I'd like to coil split them.
* A good crunchy classic rock sound. This is very secondary, as I don't play a lot of hard rock.
* A good cutting lead tone (usually on the neck), that is much clearer than the rhythm. This is for cleans & fast note runs (so everything doesn't run together into a mess of notes).

OK - I admit, that's a lot, but that's really my ideal combination. I like the distortion on the JB, and really like the attitude of it, but what I really want is a hotter pickup, while still retaining the cleans. I'd be fine with losing some of that "JB Bite" that I love, if I could find something with a little more output.

I play a lot of stuff, here's a list if that helps:

* Mostly '80s metal, thrash metal stuff - Megadeth, Metallica, Exodus, Anthrax. Also stuff like Judas Priest & Iron Maiden.
* I also play a lot of "heavier" metal - stuff like Slayer, Death, and Cannibal Corpse. This is why I want a little more output (the JB does thrash fine, just not this style). I don't care for Cannibal Corpse's tone, that one's just there for stylistic reference - but I really LOVE Death's tone, that's really my ideal distortion tone.
* When I don't feel like metal, I (try) to play Stevie Ray vaughan-style stuff, and I also love David Gilmour's leads. I also play a lot of Led Zeppelin & Black Sabbath.



Ideally, I'd have 2 guitars - 1 metal guitar, & 1 hard rock/blues guitar. But, I just can't afford it the wifey doesn't want me to buy another guitar.  :lol:

Sorry for the wall of text, and I very much appreciate any help. I've heard many good things about Bare Knuckle pickups, but I'm thinking they might be too focused on the Metal stuff for this guitar. Next guitar, I DEFINITELY will be putting those painkillers in - those distortion clips were brutal!


EDIT: Also, I realize this is the Bare Knuckle forums, but I must say - if this can't be found in Bare Knuckles, feel free to recommend other pickups. I just haven't found anything better than the JB so far - the Dimarzio D-Activators come VERY close, but the sound is a little sterile IMO.

[darrenw5094]

My money is on the Holydiver. Versatile, 80's rock, tight bass, balanced. Some might suggest the Miracle Man or Nailbomb. But the Holydiver is what the JB wishes it was. Leads are fluid from the HD too.

[DoomBuggi]

What amp are you using, and what is your tuning preference?

Based on your description, I would suggest Holy Diver, or Alnico Nailbomb for the bridge.  For the neck, Coldsweat, Nailbomb, or Holy Diver. 

 I use the Painkiller in my Les Paul, different wood, but it is killer in that.  I know what you mean about cleans, but I disagree to a certain extent with the Painkiller.  I am able to get good cleans out of it, though normally I use both pickups simultaneously or just the neck for the cleans.  I use the Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro.  I love this pickup, but I'm still trying new things to see if there is something better. 

Of course I play metal-ish music (I guess  :euuuh:) If it helps, I'm having a Custom Warmoth super strat being built right now.  Its alder body with a maple neck.   I'm going to put a Holydiver in it.  It only has one pickup route, so I'm using this with a push pull pot so I can split the bridge for leads.  Probably will use a boost or overdrive when I do this because I don't use much gain for rhythm guitar.  I like a clean tight distortion, so over the years I have used less gain on the pre amp and more on the power amp. 

You might be able to get away with using a Painkiller if you use a smaller valued potentiometer instead of the recommended 550k. 

[ericsabbath]

I was seriously looking at the Duncan JB
Maybe a Painkiller in Alnico form ???
clear and responds well to dynamics
clean tone that does not sound saturated or compressed
good crunchy classic rock sound
good cutting lead tone that is much clearer than the rhythm

I like the distortion on the JB, and really like the attitude of it, but what I really want is a hotter pickup, while still retaining the cleans. I'd be fine with losing some of that "JB Bite" that I love, if I could find something with a little more output.

the holy diver fits almost everything perfectly, except that it's no hotter than a JB
it's thicker and punchier, with a tighter bass respose and bigger low mids, but not as saturated
if you want something hotter, than you might take a look at the nailbomb, which is a more cutting and aggressive pup, but not uber midrangy like the painkiller, holy diver or JB
I'd still pick the holy diver and use a proper booster when more aggression is required

[Sonolin]

Thanks for the fast replies guys. I think the problem is these cr@ppy youtube vids I can't hear sh*t in them, nobody records decent comparisons unless its a popular pickup like the more popular duncans or dimarzios (where I've heard some really high quality comparisons).

I like the thought of the holy diver, but after some sifting through the crud on youtube, I didn't hear 1 decent bluesy/rocky tone. The metal tones I heard were all thin...

I really wish bare knuckle had sound clips on their website, but I can't find any...

And I did find a really high quality vid of the painkiller, which had some really nice cleans in it. (I don't know what the other guy I watched was playing through, but it sounded like sh*t.) However, his distortions sounded really artificial. LOL... I just don't know I guess..

[Sonolin]

I was seriously looking at the Duncan JB
Maybe a Painkiller in Alnico form ???
clear and responds well to dynamics
clean tone that does not sound saturated or compressed
good crunchy classic rock sound
good cutting lead tone that is much clearer than the rhythm

I like the distortion on the JB, and really like the attitude of it, but what I really want is a hotter pickup, while still retaining the cleans. I'd be fine with losing some of that "JB Bite" that I love, if I could find something with a little more output.

the holy diver fits almost everything perfectly, except that it's no hotter than a JB
it's thicker and punchier, with a tighter bass respose and bigger low mids, but not as saturated
if you want something hotter, than you might take a look at the nailbomb, which is a more cutting and aggressive pup, but not uber midrangy like the painkiller, holy diver or JB
I'd still pick the holy diver and use a proper booster when more aggression is required

Thicker & punchier definitely sounds like what I want. I'm ok with the output level of the JB, I guess I'm just looking for something a little more "modern" voiced, but at the same time with some bluesy/crunchy tones as well.

Does anybody have any (good) sound clips of the holy diver, nail bomb, or painkiller ? I'm mostly curious about the holy diver at this point, I have a feeling the nail bomb might be too high output for what I'm looking for (a more versatile pickup).

Thanks everybody for your input!

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzk3VygT0y8 - this sounds really good, but I like more output in my metal... can't find any really good high output demos of the holydiver

Thanks guys, sorry if I'm coming across picky/whatever, I just want to make sure I get my PERFECT pickup if I'm shelling out as much money as these bareknuckles cost. But if they are good enough, I definitely won't regret it :D

[Sonolin]

I just found the sound clips on bare knuckles website (DOH! I don't know how I didn't see them before!). WOW, this holydiver is almost EXACTLY what I'm looking for !!!

Thanks for the help guys, I think I found my pickup :DDD

[itamar101]

+1 for the holy diver. Incredible pickup for that sorta music and extremely versatile. I hope you enjoy it.

[BigB]

I have a feeling the nail bomb might be too high output for what I'm looking for (a more versatile pickup).

The ABomb bridge is not OTTP wrt/ output and it does clean up nicely with the volume tone. It's my main pup on my main guitar (a SG FWIW) and I'm NOT playing anything metal - mostly grunge / alternative / punk rock / old school hard rock/blues rock etc. It very obviously won't do SRV tough xD

Oh, and that was not to suggest the ABomb is what you need - just that it's not a metal-only pup. 

I just want to make sure I get my PERFECT pickup

I'm afraid there's no such thing as "the perfect" gear, specially when it has to be kind of a one-size-fits-all solution, but from common knowledge here and my own experience, most BKPs tend to be much more versatile than one would expect (cf FourthFeline jazz soundclips with an APig neck in the players section).

[Sonolin]

I have a feeling the nail bomb might be too high output for what I'm looking for (a more versatile pickup).

The ABomb bridge is not OTTP wrt/ output and it does clean up nicely with the volume tone. It's my main pup on my main guitar (a SG FWIW) and I'm NOT playing anything metal - mostly grunge / alternative / punk rock / old school hard rock/blues rock etc. It very obviously won't do SRV tough xD

Oh, and that was not to suggest the ABomb is what you need - just that it's not a metal-only pup. 

I just want to make sure I get my PERFECT pickup

I'm afraid there's no such thing as "the perfect" gear, specially when it has to be kind of a one-size-fits-all solution, but from common knowledge here and my own experience, most BKPs tend to be much more versatile than one would expect (cf FourthFeline jazz soundclips with an APig neck in the players section).

I know there's no such thing as "perfect gear", but I'm pretty damn close right now. Now I just need a pickup.

What you said about the Nailbomb is interesting... how does it compare to the holydiver? Which would do more dirty bluesy type stuff better? What would do heavy metal type stuff better? (From what it sounds like, you don't really do either of these styles... but I'll be definitely looking more into the nailbomb.)

I realize no metal pickup will be able to do SRV stuff well, but from what I've heard of the holydiver so far it seems like it might handle it ok. Of course, I'm not going to get his signature tone, but that's not what I'm looking for - when I play blues, its more of just a dirty bluesy feel. I don't really try to "emulate" guitarists, but I do have a specific range of tones I go for. I think the holydiver compliments that well from what I've seen, I'm pretty excited :D

Once I can afford it, I'll be creating a SSS fender for my blues stuff, I just want this guitar to be able to "handle" it without sounding like cr@p.

[Sonolin]

OK, after some more comparisons (I found a dude who did 2 HIGH quality vids of both holydiver & nailbomb on youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/firejack018 if anybody else is looking for this too!), I can definitely say holydiver is my perfect pickup  :D. Or at least close to it. Nailbomb is very good, but I didn't like the cleans on it - seemed really "dry" and not as open/full of character as the holydiver's cleans. And I just love the holydiver's lead tones - its just so full of tone, its amazing!

I'm very happy with the find, thanks everybody for helping me out. I'm now considering putting something other than a holydiver in the neck, but it seems to pair well with the bridge and I don't think I'd need anything else in the neck anywho. The HD seems to do blues very well from what I heard on that guys' vids, very impressed.

Anyway, thanks again, I will be ordering once funds allow.

[ericsabbath]

OK, after some more comparisons (I found a dude who did 2 HIGH quality vids of both holydiver & nailbomb on youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/firejack018 if anybody else is looking for this too!), I can definitely say holydiver is my perfect pickup  :D. Or at least close to it. Nailbomb is very good, but I didn't like the cleans on it - seemed really "dry" and not as open/full of character as the holydiver's cleans. And I just love the holydiver's lead tones - its just so full of tone, its amazing!

that's the guy I was going to recommend you to listen
he has lots of nice videos and soundclips and he's a great player and writer
and also a forum member  :D

I wouldn't say the nailbomb cleans are dry, but they are more scooped and more paf-like, but with a lot of output and edge
the holy diver extra upper mids make the cleans more alive, though

[Slartibartfarst42]

+ 1 million on the Holydiver. I've tried a Holydiver in a PRS CU24 and a Strat as well as had one long term in a Jackson Soloist and it was awesome in every single one. It's EXACTLY what you want and is the most versatile pickup I've ever used by a considerable margin. I use it for everything from pop and Blues to Metal. While its natural home is 80s Metal, it does a whole lot either side.

The A-Bomb is a lot more aggressive and the distortion is more edgy and hairy while the Holydiver is quite smooth. You'll love the Holydiver for sure.

[Sonolin]

Ah, cool! And yea he's a wonderful player, cool guitars too :D

Yea I guess that makes sense. Its kinda hard for me to explain tone, I just go for the simplest word that first springs to mind :P... those cleans definitely have a lot more output/aggressiveness. When I go for clean I like them to be a little more friendlier.

I just plugged in my guitar to my new Peavey 6505 combo and WOW that amp is awesome :D ... cleans aren't that great, but I can probably fix that a little bit with some pedals. I think the holydivers are my next upgrade, that should put the output over the top!

[Slartibartfarst42]

The Holydiver loves an overdrive pedal too  :D