Pickups for my Ibanez Beater, any advice?

[GuitarIv]

Hey guys,

so it's been quite a while since I've visited the forum, been quite busy, but finally I'm back in need for some more advice :P

Ever since my Holydiver and the Slowhands I ordered arrived, I'm absolutely hooked when it comes to BKPs. Soldered them in my Strat and I must say the look on my face I had when plugging the guitar in was not from this planet. That clarity, that note definition, that soul, that everything. Needless to say the JB I had in the Bridge is now lying around in a drawer. ^^

So it will still take a while till I can afford my next set of Knuckles, but I'm still unsure which ones to get next, there are some options.

The guitar in question is a cheap Ibanez RG 350 MZ, it's my Beater but still I love it. At the moment I have a set of Seymour Duncan Invaders installed, however since I have my Strat with the Holydiver as a comparison I'm absolutely not satisfied with the Invaders anymore. I love the punch they deliver, the pinch harmonics and the grunt, but they are just too muddy and lifeless. I don't know if it's because of the ceramic magnets utilizied in them, but I need a pickup that's clear and articulate, sounds more organic but still has enough balls and fast note tracking for metal (I play Death, Melodeath, Thrash and occasionally Hard Rock with the Ibanez). Now I would go for the Holydiver again, but since I already have one in the Strat I'd like to try out another one.

Now first of all I'm worried if I go for a Ceramic Pickup that it will sound to lifeless and cold, like the Invaders do. I'm anyway more a fan of Alnico 5 Magnets. However then again I'm too afraid an A5 won't track tripplets fast enough (think of ...and justice for all riffs by Metallica).

The guitar has a Basswood Body, a Maple Neck and Maple Fretboard. Right now the highs get lost, the mids are punchy and nice and there's too much bass aka muddiness.

Now the Pickups I'd been thinking of are:

Blackhawks. Love the look of the pickups and since they promise absolute clarity I'm very tempted, also the highs should be there. Still not sure if Alnico or Ceramic though.

Rebell Yell + VHII. Heard only good things about that combination, but then again the RY might be too bright?

Nailbombs. Talked to Nolly and he said he loves them in RGs. Still not sure if those will sound too aggressive, and then again, Ceramic or A5?

Painkillers. Although those are ceramic, I quite liked what I heard in clips so far.

Right now I'm most tempted to get Blackhawks with an A5 Bridge. But then again I'm here for advice, so fire away and thanks in advance!

Cheers

[GuitarIv]

Bump?

[Mr. Air]

What about the Miracle Man. I haven't played it, but if I remember correct it's often mentioned as a good thrash pickup and I think a few people had good result pairing it with an Ibby.

[Toe-Knee]

I've had excellent results with the miracle man in Ibanez rgs etc.

Its got just the right amount of everything for thrash metal.

Don't worry about it being sterile & lifeless as this is something that the miracle man definitely isn't.

It's very thick and has a good dynamic range and an excellent snarl and it will do the triplet tracking that you ask with ease. Take it from a fellow metallica fan!

[Toe-Knee]

Regarding the other pickups that you mentioned I don't really have much experience with them other than the Nailbomb. Which I have found to be absolutely useless in anything other than Alder.

Its a bit of a weird one as I love it when other people play it but it just didn't work for me at all in the 5 or 6 guitars I tried it in until I put it in my strat.

[richard]

If you've got a JB doing nothing why not try that ? They are notoriously picky about which guitars they sound good in. I've got one in an SG and it sounds great even though according to popular opinion it shouldn't.

[GuitarIv]

The Miracle Man... well never really thought about it, but it might be worth a try...
And Richard, I was going to solder the JB into the RG anyway, will see how it sounds. Might as well sit there until I have cash for new Pus :)

Thanks for the suggestions so far

[Telerocker]

Miracle Man or ceramic Nailbomb.

[JonnyScaramanga]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the alnico Warpig. I've only used a set once, quite a long time ago, but I remember it being an excellent sound. If you don't like ceramics but you do want something really powerful like the Invader, it could be a good option. It will be extremely fat and powerful, but still with a good clean tone.

I guess for "clear and articulate" there are other BKs which spring to mind first, but Warpigs are good in double-cut/ bolt-on guitars, and no BK is going to be muddy.

[gwEm]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the alnico Warpig. I've only used a set once, quite a long time ago, but I remember it being an excellent sound. If you don't like ceramics but you do want something really powerful like the Invader, it could be a good option. It will be extremely fat and powerful, but still with a good clean tone.

I guess for "clear and articulate" there are other BKs which spring to mind first, but Warpigs are good in double-cut/ bolt-on guitars, and no BK is going to be muddy.

Yeah, I was about to chip in with a Warpig suggestion, for the reasons above

[BigB]

If you've got a JB doing nothing why not try that ? They are notoriously picky about which guitars they sound good in. I've got one in an SG and it sounds great even though according to popular opinion it shouldn't.

Had one in (JB) my SG (beat up '80 SG and it was already in when I bought it), didn't sound bad at all in this guitar but definitly not on par with BKPs when it comes to clarity, definition etc.  First replaced it with a RiffRaff, really great pickup, delivers the classic SG tone like nothing else IMHO but was not quite what I wanted for this guitar, swapped the RR for ABomb and that's it. The JB was a bit easier for lead work (a bit warmer and more compressed I'd say) but didn't really cut thru when playing with the band and didn't cleaned up as nicely.

[GuitarIv]

So guys, I messaged Bareknuckle about the pickup choice, and Ben got back to me. He suggested the Aftermath, but I don't want that "Djent" Sound. Another option he mentioned would be the ceramic Warpig. Then again wouldn't that one still have too much bass considering that I already have too much lows with the Invaders?

[GuitarIv]

He suggested the ceramic Nailbomb too. Nolly from Periphery also told me that he likes them in RGs. I'm still unsure...

[GuitarIv]

http://vimeo.com/39759313

Okay, after watching this clip Ben sent me, I think I'm sold on Ceramic Nailbombs. Really amazing tone...