Best BK pickups (playing from classic rock to alternative metal)

[Nitwit]

*Snip*

As Slash uses Alnico II pickups and the more modern tones suggest at least AV and possibly ceramic; in many ways the alnico IV of the Abraxas may be the best compromise as it's vintage enough for Slash but hot enough for the modern tones.

I'm rather new to BKPs myself, I don't have a warm sounding Mahogany Guitar, but I do have a Basswood one with the Abraxas in bridge. And I gotta agree with what Slartibartfarst42 says here about the Abraxas. I'm a huge Slash fan, and play everything from early Guns 'n Roses to his (imo better) latest solo project. And the Abraxas catches the sound dead on with abit of on guitar/amplifier dial turning. My thus far favorite riff to play on my Abraxas is the Nightrain intro riff, it's straight out of the record.
In my opinion the Abraxas handles gain well, but not too much, I usually keep mine at 4 or 5 and it gets a very good string distinction and very good singing tone, which is great for Slash stuff.

I was asking pretty much the same question as you are asking back when I wanted to get my first BKP set. Altough, with abit more Bluesy sound to it.
Altough, I classified Slash more as Hard Rock. And Lynyrd Skynyrd as an example for Classic Rock. Might just be me, again I also consider The Beatles to be Classic Rock.

I really can't tell you how it plays for stuff like Black Stone Cherry or Alter Bridge, as I don't play much of that stuff.
However, judging from what I've heard of those bands, I think the Abraxas will do ok. Something abit hotter will be best for that stuff. But it all comes down to what you play the most. The Abraxas will hit the Slash tone dead on, anything hotter will still sound good, but I doubt it'll be as great as the Abraxas to get the awesome Slash sound.
Altough, I can say I find it extremely, and I can't put enough emphasis on that, good for for solos, it's clear and the string distinction is superb on mid gain. It chokes abit of you crank the gain though.

Now that that's said. Here's some random inexperienced rambling.
I too might be getting myself a Les Paul Classic soon, that or the new standard (Got a thread about it on the Guitars, Amps & Effects forum, to try and get some opinions on the guitars before I try and buy, occasional faults, neck feel, build quality feel and that kinda stuff)
And I've done quite abit of research to find a pickup to go well with that which I want abit hotter than what my current Abraxas can provide. And considering we both have similar music taste.
I've quite set my eye on the Nailbomb, which sounds great imo. Mr. Air posted a soundclip to show it's versatility here: https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=27953.0
That clip alone pretty much sold me. Search around abit for some soundclips, most of the clips are very metal oriented though. At 4:20 (coincidence, I think not) You'll find the Nightrain riff, I think it sounds great. With the gain dialed down just another notch, I think the Nailbomb will do a decent imitation of the slash tone, but with a tad more crunch to it

As for your Neck Pickup. Well, my only BKP neck is a Singlecoil, that won't help ya much. But the Abraxas does good things clean in the bridge position atleast, albeit abit bright and twangy for my taste atleast on my basswood, but in the neck I see no reason why it wouldn't shine.

[wfe06]

as expected, about 10 plus pups have been mentioned...and all are great!How about your amp/cab/gear?

Wow, there are still way too many choices! Perhaps a look at my gear will narrow it down?
- '05 Gibson Les Paul Classic
- Randall RM50 (with the Blackface and Ultra XL modules)
- Krank Revolution combo
- Mark Tremonti power wah
- MXR Carbon Copy

[wfe06]

By the way, I tried getting some help from the Bare Knuckle staff, and Tim himself recommended a set of Nailbombs. Most of my playing leans towards high-gain... so I'm thinking maybe the ceramic bridge would be fine? What do you guys think?

[ericsabbath]

I'd take a warmer pickup for the neck, since the neck nailbomb is pretty high output and a bit trebly
a cold sweat or vhII should be fine and still hot enough for metal leads
even a mule might work well if you don't mind the output mismatch

for the bridge, both nailbomb versions should work, ceramic leaning towards alter bridge, alnico being a bit more versatile for mellower stuff if use the volume and tone pots
but I'll bet the c-bomb cleans up well too, since the cold sweat and miracle man do that without issue

[Slartibartfarst42]

Don't underestimate how aggressive and tight the A-Bomb can be. I found the alnico Nailbomb far more aggressive than the ceramic Miracle Man and I can't imagine the C-Bomb will be toned down in any way. It's all personal preference I guess but I found the Holydiver far more versatile than the Nailbomb but I think the Nailbomb will work better in a dark Les Paul. You might want to look at a Rebel Yell too as that's based on the Nailbomb.

[wfe06]

Don't underestimate how aggressive and tight the A-Bomb can be. I found the alnico Nailbomb far more aggressive than the ceramic Miracle Man and I can't imagine the C-Bomb will be toned down in any way. It's all personal preference I guess but I found the Holydiver far more versatile than the Nailbomb but I think the Nailbomb will work better in a dark Les Paul. You might want to look at a Rebel Yell too as that's based on the Nailbomb.

The thing is, I'm no longer sure how much output I need exactly. I like my tone punchy and warm mostly, and my playing leans more towards high-gain playing as I mentioned earlier.
My guitar is an LP Classic so it has a carved maple cap, which doesn't make it THAT dark... I found it to be pretty bright for a Les Paul, but that might be because it has the stock pickups (500T/496R). What do you think?

[wfe06]

I'd take a warmer pickup for the neck, since the neck nailbomb is pretty high output and a bit trebly
a cold sweat or vhII should be fine and still hot enough for metal leads
even a mule might work well if you don't mind the output mismatch

for the bridge, both nailbomb versions should work, ceramic leaning towards alter bridge, alnico being a bit more versatile for mellower stuff if use the volume and tone pots
but I'll bet the c-bomb cleans up well too, since the cold sweat and miracle man do that without issue

Great, but how does the Cold Sweat bridge pickup compared to the Nailbombs bridge pickups (in terms of output/saturation)? I've been kinda torn between the two. I'd really hate an annoyingly saturated tone like that of the Blackhawks, but at the same time, I still prefer hot pickups. By the way, I almost NEVER use the bridge pickup on my clean channel (I would probably only use it once every blue moon in the middle position with the neck pickup). So it really only matters that it sounds punchy and warm oh high-gain, and that it cleans up acceptably using the volume knob on my guitar.
I leave all the clean stuff to the neck pickup to take care of the job.

[ericsabbath]

the neck nailbomb is pretty shar, bright, focused and scooped, so I suppose it's a heavily underwound version of the bridge nailbomb, considering the voicing and dc as well
sounds like a heavily (clean) boosted neck riff raff or something, but more scooped


the cold sweat is a little hot for a neck pickup, but nothing over the top
it has a very slight midscoop, like most PAF descendant pickups, but it feels middier and more balanced than most low outputs, which might give the alse impression of a middy shredder dimarzio-like pickup, but the closest it would get would be a PAF pro or something, not some sort of nasal liquifire or air norton that metal guys seem to love
the neck nailbomb is a little more articulate due to its hotter output and stronger picking attack, but the cold sweat is a really clear sounding neck pickup as well
it sounds pretty tight and consistent under heavy gain, but retains some warmth on the top
compared to a neck riff raff, for example, it's hotter, middier and a little less bright, so it feels more modern sounding
compared to the neck mule, it has a stronger picking attack and pushes the amp a little harder, so you get more sustain for leads and power chords, but might require some volume pot tweaking to clean up on gain channels

[wfe06]

Alright, I've decided that the bridge pickup should either be a Cold Sweat or a Holy Diver.
As for the neck pickup, it's probably going to be a Nailbomb... unless there would no difference in volume when I switch between the bridge pickup and the less hot Emerald neck.

Feedback?

[Slartibartfarst42]

They're both really good pickups but also very different. The Cold Sweat is tight and bright with a kind of PAF thing going on with it despite its power. In a Les Paul you really do need to think of the song 'Cold Sweat' and you're not far off the mark. It will certainly cut through mahogany really well. It's a hard pickup to explain because elements of it seem quite traditional in terms of its PAF characteristics yet it is also great for modern Rock and Metal music. It's not the most versatile pickup I've ever played but it's a lot more versatile than you might expect.

The Holydiver is a much thicker sounding pickup. It has a very 80's Metal feel to it but it is extremely versatile. Roll off the knobs a bit and you can get some great Classic Rock tones and even some very passable Blues tones but wind things up and shove an overdrive in front of your amp and you can get a Metal players dream. It's very articulate, warm and smooth. There is distinct aggression to the pickup but its delivery is never coarse in any way. Think Doug Aldrich, Dio etc. and you won't be far off the mark. The Holydiver is certainly the most versatile pickup I've ever played.

As for the neck; I think with either the Cold Sweat or Holydiver bridge, the Emerald neck would be really good. It will give a huge palette of sounds with an awesome lead tone and would certainly be my choice over the Nailbomb neck. Having said that, the Cold Sweat neck is also incredibly good. If you get the Cold Sweat bridge, just get a calibrated set and if you go for the Holydiver bridge, get the Emerald neck.

[wfe06]

They're both really good pickups but also very different. The Cold Sweat is tight and bright with a kind of PAF thing going on with it despite its power. In a Les Paul you really do need to think of the song 'Cold Sweat' and you're not far off the mark. It will certainly cut through mahogany really well. It's a hard pickup to explain because elements of it seem quite traditional in terms of its PAF characteristics yet it is also great for modern Rock and Metal music. It's not the most versatile pickup I've ever played but it's a lot more versatile than you might expect.

The Holydiver is a much thicker sounding pickup. It has a very 80's Metal feel to it but it is extremely versatile. Roll off the knobs a bit and you can get some great Classic Rock tones and even some very passable Blues tones but wind things up and shove an overdrive in front of your amp and you can get a Metal players dream. It's very articulate, warm and smooth. There is distinct aggression to the pickup but its delivery is never coarse in any way. Think Doug Aldrich, Dio etc. and you won't be far off the mark. The Holydiver is certainly the most versatile pickup I've ever played.

As for the neck; I think with either the Cold Sweat or Holydiver bridge, the Emerald neck would be really good. It will give a huge palette of sounds with an awesome lead tone and would certainly be my choice over the Nailbomb neck. Having said that, the Cold Sweat neck is also incredibly good. If you get the Cold Sweat bridge, just get a calibrated set and if you go for the Holydiver bridge, get the Emerald neck.

Hmm... thanks for the detailed explanation! Aren't Les Pauls already too thick sounding and fat to put Holy Divers in them? Even though my Classic is pretty bright for a Les Paul.
I guess my decision goes to the pickup that has more punch (provided it's not way too much punch) and is a bit tighter... which one of the two would that be?

[dingleberry]

Holydiver + LP = punch

[itamar101]

They're both really good pickups but also very different. The Cold Sweat is tight and bright with a kind of PAF thing going on with it despite its power. In a Les Paul you really do need to think of the song 'Cold Sweat' and you're not far off the mark. It will certainly cut through mahogany really well. It's a hard pickup to explain because elements of it seem quite traditional in terms of its PAF characteristics yet it is also great for modern Rock and Metal music. It's not the most versatile pickup I've ever played but it's a lot more versatile than you might expect.

The Holydiver is a much thicker sounding pickup. It has a very 80's Metal feel to it but it is extremely versatile. Roll off the knobs a bit and you can get some great Classic Rock tones and even some very passable Blues tones but wind things up and shove an overdrive in front of your amp and you can get a Metal players dream. It's very articulate, warm and smooth. There is distinct aggression to the pickup but its delivery is never coarse in any way. Think Doug Aldrich, Dio etc. and you won't be far off the mark. The Holydiver is certainly the most versatile pickup I've ever played.

As for the neck; I think with either the Cold Sweat or Holydiver bridge, the Emerald neck would be really good. It will give a huge palette of sounds with an awesome lead tone and would certainly be my choice over the Nailbomb neck. Having said that, the Cold Sweat neck is also incredibly good. If you get the Cold Sweat bridge, just get a calibrated set and if you go for the Holydiver bridge, get the Emerald neck.

Hmm... thanks for the detailed explanation! Aren't Les Pauls already too thick sounding and fat to put Holy Divers in them? Even though my Classic is pretty bright for a Les Paul.
I guess my decision goes to the pickup that has more punch (provided it's not way too much punch) and is a bit tighter... which one of the two would that be?

Holy Divers work well in any guitar. They are very balanced. It will not be too fat sounding.

The Holy Diver has more punch, the Cold Sweat is slightly tighter and they're about the same output.

[lamp]

By the way, I tried getting some help from the Bare Knuckle staff, and Tim himself recommended a set of Nailbombs. Most of my playing leans towards high-gain... so I'm thinking maybe the ceramic bridge would be fine? What do you guys think?

Rule number 1 - listen to Tim.  He has never been wrong in my experience...the man know his pickups.  I have trusted him many times and never regretted it. 

[Toe-Knee]

I always found the cold sweat to be too polite sounding in the midrange for heavier stuff unless its getting boosted by an OD or such.

The nailbomb is certainly more aggressive voicing wise and I find the high end can sometimes be a little harsh but I also found this with the cold sweat as well.

However both pickups can be dialled in on the amp to avoid these factors other than the polite midrange of the CS I could never get that to have enough bite but my main BKP is a miracle man so that probably has something to do with it.

Regarding the nailbomb neck theres a really good demo on youtube where the guy has it in a les paul with a camera attached to the headstock... Ill try dig it up for you