80s Duncan JB type sound, in mahogany?

[FriskyWombat]

Hey guys, newbie here. I'm looking to replace the stock C22s in my Carvin ST300. They're not too bad, but they're a bit dull and nasal-sounding in a way that I can't fix by messing with the controls on my amp (Blackstar HT-20). Basically, I want a classic 80s metal type sound, of which the best representation is probably Megadeth's Rust in Peace guitar sound. Of course, this type of tone was traditionally achieved with alder bodied, bolt on neck type guitars. The BKP that I see most often recommended for this is a Holy Diver, bar none.

My guitar, however, is a mahogany neck-thru mahogany body, with maple fretboard, TOM bridge and maple top. Does the Holydiver still apply? If not, what does?

And yes, I did make an account just to ask this question :P

[Telerocker]

I think so, lots of maple in your guitar.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Yeah, I'd go for it.

[Philly Q]

Not arguing with the HD suggestion (I've never tried it), but I have often read that the Cold Sweat works very well in neck-thrus.  Just thought it was worth a mention.

[Zaned]

Hi,

I'd hesitate with the Holy Diver in this case. I've never owned a neck-through, but what I've heard is that it makes the neck wood dominate the tone. And transfers the bottom end more too.

Generally, mahogany lives in the mids. Maple is also very midrange oriented, although a lot snappier. How does your guitar sound acoustically? My estimate would be on the smoother side :)

Anyway, I wouldn't go for HD in that guitar, when going for Rust in piece tone. I think it would be too fat and the highs wouldn't have the correct flavour. I'd probably go ceramic, maybe Cold Sweat?

-Zaned

[darkbluemurder]

Holydiver is often referred to as the 80s hair metal pickup but for Megadeth I find the Cold Sweat more appropriate because it has more bite.

Cheers Stephan

[FriskyWombat]

OK thanks guys, I'll consider the Cold Sweat. In a mahogany neck-thru, would it be versatile enough for lots of other rock styles as well, or is it more of a one thing pickup? I have no interest in modern metal, so I don't need "super- tight" bass, as I will probably never play anything heavier than early Megadeth.

As for the neck position, I want to go with a Bareknuckle for that as well. But I don't like the idea of a cermaic neck pickup. Should I still use the Holydiver? I'm looking for a fat and fluid type sound for lead with lots of character and low-gain rhythm, doesn't need to be tight or aggressive cause that's not what I'm using it for.

[ericsabbath]

the diver works great, specially for marty friedman stuff
if you have the proper amp and pedals, I don't see any obstacle from the guitar
not sure how your blackstar works for that, though
I'd grab a bigger jcm 2000 or jvm
if you're aiming dave's tones over marty's, you'll be safer with a painkiller
the rebel yell should be an option too

[Zaned]

For $%&#s sake, I had already forgotten what the actual topic said when I began posting. The JB part..

Anyway, the rhythm tone on the RIP album isn't really..fat. Listening to it more carefully, you can make the HD work. It's more of a 'sound gotten from the amp' to my ears. But getting that bite can be hard with the slightly smoother nature of the diver, if the amp is dark (I have no experience with that Blackstar). It won't be muddy though, and it's an awesome lead pickup. I know, I use it in a superstrat :) The rhythm tone made me think ceramic, with that bite and tightness.

The neck Cold Sweat is Alnico V, btw. But for lead playing and low gain rhythm in 80’s style, as you said it, I’d go with a medium hot to hot alnico. Rebel Yell isn’t a bad idea. It’s leanish on the low end, quite bright and has aggressive upper mids that will punch through. More aggressive there than the Holy Diver, brighter too.

-Zaned

[AnnunakiMassacr]

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the Miracle Man, as I hear it's like the Holy Diver's, ceramic, big brother.

[FriskyWombat]

I should probably mention the other stuff I play: Along with Megadeth, I play Soundgarden, GNR, Tool, Alice in Chains, early Sabbath, Zeppelin, RATM, Rush, and more. I also like cleaner stuff like Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, REM and the Beatles so a nice clean/low-gain tone would be GREAT. For the neck, there's the cleans and low-gain rhythms like I mentioned, and for a lead tone somewhere between Friedman and Gary Moore.

The RIP suggestion is more of a guideline than a tone that I want to absolutely nail dead-on. I mentioned the 80s Duncan JB sound because that's a sound that can not be achieved with just anything.

My main concern about the Cold Sweat is the ceramic magnet and the brittleness often associated with those, and that's definitely not what I want. I've had a pretty bad experience with Dimarzio D-Activators in my Ibanez, finding them very cold and soulless for anything but metal.

Comments?

[itamar101]

The Cold Sweat is very bright but from what I've heard it isn't brittle.
Regardless, I would not go for the Cold Sweat. In my opinion, the Holy Diver would be absolutely spot on and it would even work excellently for many of the other band listed, such as Tool, Rush, RATM and even some soundgarden and the lead tones are actually very close to being in the middle of Gary Moore and Marty Friedmans tones. Thick and juicy but with just enough bite and aggression.

[FriskyWombat]

Thanks, itamar and others! I've decided I should probably stick with the Holydiver for the bridge. Is there another neck pickup I should consider or just stick with the diver? Remember it's a mahogany guitar...

I'm intrigued by the VHII neck and bridge as well, descriptions and sound clips sound pretty good, but there is a shortage of info on this pickup. Can anyone chime in?

[ericsabbath]

nailbomb is an option too
works for tool, ratm, alice, modern iommi
will do soundgarden, zeppelin and guns properly with some knob rolling

the vhII is somewhat similar, but in a vintage form
less compressed, less low mid heavy, but quite punchy and edgy like the nailbomb
very tight sounding pickup with lots of articulation and a nice openness, close to a PAF, but more focused

both are completely different from the holy diver, though