Alternative to Alnico Nailbomb

[drawnacrol]

Hey! I have an Alnico Nailbomb Bridge in my Schecter C-1 Custom(Mahagony Body, Maple top, maple neck, ebony board). I like it for leads and power chord/chugging riffs but it comes out a little thin in this guitar for the style of metal I'm playing.

I'm looking for something thicker like the metalcore EMG sound but still retaining the tightness/smoothness of the Nailbomb. I'd also like a smoother high end and more modern voicing. The Nailbomb kills for rock and 80s metal but I'm looking for tones like Children of Bodom, Necrophagist, Protest the Hero, Wintersun.

Metalcore:
http://soundcloud.com/drawnacrol/bareknuckle-nailbomb-fas-6160

MAB rock riff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxTls-lmhrI

Tight bass response with chunky palm mutes
Smooth/rounded high end for soloing
More modern voicing with a fatter sound to each note
Still retaining the overall tightness/low noise of the Nailbomb

I'm thinking the Holy Diver but how would the bass response compare.

[Telerocker]

I read here on the forum the NB has more bass then the HD. The HD has a prominent midrange and smoother, rounder topend.

[Alex]

Hm I felt the HD has more bass than the NB actually.
In any case, have you messed with the pickup height? I like the NB most when it is not too high.

[darkbluemurder]

I actually had them in the same guitar, and the Holydiver definitely did not have more bass than the A-Bomb. If you want an Alnico pickup with more bottom than the A-Bomb, the only BKP that comes to my mind would be a Miracle Man neck as a bridge pickup. Haven't tried this though.

Cheers Stephan

[Telerocker]

I actually had them in the same guitar, and the Holydiver definitely did not have more bass than the A-Bomb. If you want an Alnico pickup with more bottom than the A-Bomb, the only BKP that comes to my mind would be a Miracle Man neck as a bridge pickup. Haven't tried this though.

Cheers Stephan

That was my thought too.

[schantist]

I'm gonna throw in the Blackhawk with alnico bridge option...

[Mr. Air]

Could a C-Pig work???

[GuitarIv]

I actually had them in the same guitar, and the Holydiver definitely did not have more bass than the A-Bomb. If you want an Alnico pickup with more bottom than the A-Bomb, the only BKP that comes to my mind would be a Miracle Man neck as a bridge pickup. Haven't tried this though.

Cheers Stephan

What is this thing with the MM Neck in the bridge actually? I read it several times here on the forum, but has anyone tried it yet?

[JimmyMoorby]

I actually had them in the same guitar, and the Holydiver definitely did not have more bass than the A-Bomb. If you want an Alnico pickup with more bottom than the A-Bomb, the only BKP that comes to my mind would be a Miracle Man neck as a bridge pickup. Haven't tried this though.

Cheers Stephan

What is this thing with the MM Neck in the bridge actually? I read it several times here on the forum, but has anyone tried it yet?

Sounds interesting !

[FELINEGUITARS]

The Miracle Man bridge and neck pickups are pretty similar in their windings, but the bridge has a ceramic and the neck is alnico 5.

There is no reason not to use the neck version at the bridge - it will be a less midrange bloated Warpig territory  on paper as both have AWG45 wire on them - although the double screw coil does give some extra low end welly to the Warpig

[drawnacrol]

Cheers for all the replies lads!

I read here on the forum the NB has more bass then the HD. The HD has a prominent midrange and smoother, rounder topend.

If the HD is tighter then I don't mind less bass since thats the first thing I dial back on an amp anyway. The fatter mid range and smoother top end is definitely what I'm looking for.

I'm gonna throw in the Blackhawk with alnico bridge option...

Blackhawk would be a good choice but asthetically it wouldn't pair up with the covered cold sweat neck pickup.

Hm I felt the HD has more bass than the NB actually.
In any case, have you messed with the pickup height? I like the NB most when it is not too high.

Yeah I mess with the height but its a bit hard to find the sweet post when your using an Axe-Fx since there are so many signal input parameters.

I actually had them in the same guitar, and the Holydiver definitely did not have more bass than the A-Bomb. If you want an Alnico pickup with more bottom than the A-Bomb, the only BKP that comes to my mind would be a Miracle Man neck as a bridge pickup. Haven't tried this though.

Cheers Stephan

Damn things get a lot more complicated when you start mixing and matching:L Using a dimarzio D-activator neck in the bridge is quite common so I'd love to try some BK necks in the bridge.

[ericsabbath]

the diver has a bit less bass but it's not tighter than a nailbomb
center and upper mids are bumpy in comparison, but still softer

the neck miracle man is definitely worth a try if you want an even bigger sound

but the regular ceramic miracle man is still the perfect pickup for your style, in my opinion

[drawnacrol]

http://soundcloud.com/drawnacrol/bareknuckle-nailbomb-test

With some further in-depth tweaking on my Axe-fx I think I've got the tone I was looking for. It reminds me of the Holy Diver in my other guitar now but tighter and crunchier.