Observations

[GuitarIv]

Cheers guys,

reporting from my rehearsal room with results from a little experiment.
I took the Holydiver out of my Strat (Poplar Body, Maple Neck and Fretboard) and put it into my Jackson Fusion (Mahogany Body, Maple Neck and Rosewood Fretboard) and I'm totally overwhelmed by the result. Everything I felt was lacking in my Strat is there in the Jackson. The Diver balances the guitar out perfectly, leaving a fat but not overbearing low end (tight at all times!), a good portion of mids and present but not piercing highs. I'm blown away. The perfect pickup for the guitar.

Now this leaves me with a problem: shall I leave the Holydiver where it is? Get a new pickup for the Strat? I was initially planning to order an Aftermath and a Coldsweat for the Jackson but as said the HD fits the bill perfectly. I always felt it was lacking low end and had too much mids in the Strat so I'm thinking to replace it with a Miracle Man, however that would very probably overpower the Slowhands in the guitar. Also I read that the Aftermath is very similar voicing-wise to the HD and I could still get it for the Jackson for the Death Metal sound.
I'm really unsure, so I hope you guys can give me your opinions.

Also if you have the time could you check out the following song (just the distorted guitars, not the whole thing :P):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBPBEpVJYso

And tell me what pickup can get close to this distorted sound?

Thanks in advance and cheers :)

[Sarkasis]

If you've found a guitar/pickup combination that works, it sounds like you should just stick with it. So leave the HD in the Jackson and now you can focus on the Strat.

While I'm not qualified to say, from listening to the song I'm going to guess that others will recommend an alnico Nailbomb.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Yes, if it's perfect, then you by all means should keep it where it is.

[darkbluemurder]

I agree - the HD should stay in the Jackson if it overwhelmed you. The one in my ash strat will go nowhere.

As regards your strat I would look to the Miracle Man or C-Bomb, maybe even C-Pig. I only played the MiM out of those. It has more bass and highs than the HD (had them in the same guitar - an alder bodied strat with a rosewood board).

Cheers Stephan 

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Then again, I remember a little while ago you had some trouble with the height and whatnot, so if your heart of hearts wants it to stay in the Strat, I'd mess with the height and polepieces a bit more. Might have just found the sweet spot quickly in the Jackson!

[EffigyForgotten]

Id mix it up and use another brand, maybe a Duncan Distortion?

[darrenw5094]

Obviously get a new pickup for the Strat. Maybe a VHII or Abraxas.

[GuitarIv]

Thanks for all the advice guys. The Duncan Invaders I had in the Jackson before sounded good as well, I guess it's a rather balanced instrument. The Strat is giving me headaches now for ages already. Might try a Nailbomb. Or the Miracle Man. Still unsure.

[EffigyForgotten]

Thanks for all the advice guys. The Duncan Invaders I had in the Jackson before sounded good as well, I guess it's a rather balanced instrument. The Strat is giving me headaches now for ages already. Might try a Nailbomb. Or the Miracle Man. Still unsure.

Actually Invaders are surprisingly balanced pickups.

[GuitarIv]

I like the Invaders, although they are a little bit too muddy and undefined for my taste. I guess a C-Pig could be the better equivalent :P

[EffigyForgotten]

I like the Invaders, although they are a little bit too muddy and undefined for my taste. I guess a C-Pig could be the better equivalent :P

I would't say better, even though on paper the C-Pig seems as hot as the Invader in reality its probably more close to the saturation of the JB or MAYBE the Distortion (when talking duncans of course...) From my experience BKP's all tend to have a "clearer" sound but never have as much mids as a JB or 81 which are ultimately better for recording than any BKP.

[GuitarIv]

From my experience BKP's all tend to have a "clearer" sound but never have as much mids as a JB or 81 which are ultimately better for recording than any BKP.

Care to explain that further? :P

[EffigyForgotten]

From my experience BKP's all tend to have a "clearer" sound but never have as much mids as a JB or 81 which are ultimately better for recording than any BKP.

Care to explain that further? :P

I really don't know what it is, other than it seeming like there's more audible mids and a more "raw" sound that just cuts through the mix better than most BKP's tend to. Playing by yourself you would think say the Holy Diver sounds better than a JB but when it comes to playing live or recording the JB will sound better. Most guys on the forum I regularly post on (ultimatemetal.com) tend to think bare knuckles suck because most of them aren't bedroom players and spend 90% of the time playing guitar either in a band or recording demos/albums/EP's etc. I have direct experience with this too, I recorded the same thing (not even on a real mic, just on my Iphone) with my Holy Diver equipped guitar and my JB/Jazz equipped guitar and the differences for me where, the JB has more presence, mids and higher saturation but not by much, and when playing really fast the lowest string doesn't sound as clear as the Holy Diver which is smoother, tighter, and fuller which turns out to sound less audible in a mix, the duncans also have a certain sound that to me makes them better overall than the Holy Diver set but are harder to make sound good, their noisier and less balanced, also comparing the Holy Diver neck and Jazz neck, the jazz sounds clearer under high gain is way better for fast stuff but through my amps clean channel it can get a little "buzzy", probably because its a noisier pickup but still has a better voicing then the HD neck, clearer with more sparkle on the highs.

[dingleberry]

I think some peoples experience may vary.  I`ve had great experiences recording with duncans, found it a bit easier in terms of playing metal rhythms since they were a bit more compressed.  Tonewise live and in studio I prefer my BKP equipped guitars.

Ultimately everything depends on preference and application.

[ericsabbath]

Most guys on the forum I regularly post on (ultimatemetal.com) tend to think bare knuckles suck because most of them aren't bedroom players and spend 90% of the time playing guitar either in a band or recording demos/albums/EP's etc.

more like "BECAUSE THEY THINK THEY ARE TOO SMART TO TRY ANYTHING ELSE THAN WHATEVER THEIR IDOLS HAVE BEEN USING FOR OVER 30 YEARS"  :lol: