First post, first BK set, thoroughly confused. Help?

[MetalNoobee]

Hello!
I'm completely new to this forum, and this is my first  post.
I've been lurking here for a while, I've read a LOT of threads. But as a result I'm completely confused.

I have a guitar that I got from my older brother...he moved to a different country for his job and has barely any time  to play guitar anymore so he gave it to me. It's a custom guitar. 7 string. Northern hard ash body, 3 piece maple neck, maple fretboard, recessed TOM bridge (like on the Ibanez Apex 2). So it's a VERY bright guitar. He used to play nothing but thrash so it has EMG 81-7s in it. Worked for him but for me it sounds HARSH. OH MY GOD.

Looking to put some BKs in them. My playing is 99% big, open, complex chord voicings under a lot of gain (yeah, blame Mark Holcomb! :P LOL) so I need a pickup that can handle that EXCEPTIONALLY well. Priority ONE.

Also, I'd like it if the pickups weren't too hot.

So what do you think will work in my guitar? Someone once recommended me an Abraxas, but I don't hear any metal clips of it, and the BKP site doesn't say anything about it being voiced for high gain. Another person recommended me the Emerald (the one Nolly did high gain clips of) but isn't my already ridiculously bright, for me to put an EVEN brighter pickup in it?

Torn between:

-Nailbomb (Supposedly organic, versatile...but I've read that it's not the best BKP ever)
-Abraxas (Seems to be a good match for the body woods, although nothing is said about it being suitable for metal)
-Blackhawk (SUCKS that it isn't available in EMG size housings! I'd like to avoid this but if it is worth it then I'll cut up the guitar, as much as I'd hate to do it)
-Black Dog (Beefed up PAF vibe...sounds tempting)

Help, please. Thank you! It's a HUGE bitch to decide upon a pickup set...

:)

[Kiichi]

Hi and welcome!

That to me does indeed sound like a good job for the Black Dog. You definetly retain the opennes of a PAF, with a little more output. This one is also often recommended for extended range or scale guitars. Should give you a great roar.

Emerald would be great but very much too bright I recon.

Generally clarity and string separation even under gain is like a trademark of BKPs so you need not worry that much about this. There has been a clip of someone from ViC playing a guitar with a mule bridge at Musikmesse 2013 and that even blew my mind. It did freaking metal and not too little of it.

Basecally I would say BD, but if you told us more about what you want out of your tone I might suggest something different still.

[MetalNoobee]

Well, here is a FULL description of my dream tone:

1) LOTS of high gain chord clarity
2) Not too hot, I'm a HEAVY picker and I want it to REALLY show in the tone.
3) Fairly even response, meaning the pickup will let the guitar's wood do most of the talking. PAFs are supposedly good at that.
4) As far as amps go, I use various modelers, both hardware and software. 
5) The neck pickup should have good dynamic response, with a single coil like nasal-ness, if I pick hard it should scream, if I pick lightly, it should gently weep. If that makes sense. Think Andy Timmons' Cry For You. Again, PAFs are supposedly great for this.

Also, lolwtf @ math quiz I have to give everytime I want to post something...

 

[Telerocker]

+1 for the Black Dog and what Kiichi said about this puppie.

[Slartibartfarst42]

Black Dog sounds like a good shout to me. Plenty of open PAF tone with enough bite for Metal. Another option for something a bit hotter but with a real PAF vibe might be the Crawler. I'm less sure about the neck pickup but I'd guess the Abraxas neck might be nice.

[Kiichi]

I would probably not go with the crawler as it has a very full and juice sound which can become too much with too much gain. For my taste mid gain is still great, really roary and full of goodness, but everything over that becomes oversaturated (not really muddy like many stock Pus and such, but well oversaturated).

For the neck I donīt quite know how the BD neck fares, but I recall the VHII neck is often cited as to having a a bit of single coilness to it, though I donīt know about nasal. Also donīt know about Timmons.

[Telerocker]

Crawler's low end is too soft for metal I guess. For the neck I would even consider a Mule.

[ericsabbath]

mule!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-xQJOu9mN8

guitar complete specs here:
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/dealers-group-buys/234221-vik-musikmesse-saviour-6-a.html

[MetalNoobee]

Umm...interesting turn of events


Heard back from Tim.


He said Nailbombs would do well, if I want something not-as-hot, then Emeralds... :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?:


CONFUSION :(

[Roboten]

Warpigs. No seriously, I've found they handle complex chord voicings extremely well, and they are a perfect match for a bright guitar. They are pretty high gain, but you still have to dig in to get that extra bark that seems to be omnipresent in other high gain pickups. I think they work so well because you can turn the gain down on the amp and let the pickup do the heavy lifting instead of the amp, which makes them seem very dynamic.

[Slartibartfarst42]

If the guitar is naturally very bright, I can't see how the Emerald would work; not in the bridge at least, which is a very bright pickup. I tried it in a PRS SE Custom 24 which is mahogany body and maple neck and it was too bright in that! I also found the Nailbomb, even in alnico form, to be very tight and very aggressive sounding. That was in a maple neck-thru which I doubt is much darker than yours, if at all. I always got the impression the Nailbomb needed a slab of mahogany to keep it under control so I'd be wary of that too.

For something that's a bit hotter, I'd maybe look at a Holydiver. It's naturally warm, thick and smooth so works well in brighter guitars like yours. It's remarkably versatile and is very articulate. It's my favourite bridge pickup and it's what I now use in the bridge of my PRS. I play in a Rock covers band and I use it for over half of our set and last time out, I used it for the whole set. That's covering everything from Eric Clapton to Metallica! For lower output, I still think Black Dog is an option or maybe the Abraxas if you want a more PAF-sounding pup with a slightly softer tone.

[MetalNoobee]

The Holy Diver looks nice and tempting. How did I miss it?

Yes I do want a pup that has a more classic-ish voicing with a slightly modern touch.
A "mature" sound, if you will. Something that will not add or subtract too much from the natural tone of the guitar.
Is that asking for too much?

I have been assured by SEVERAL people that all BKPs have tremendous high gain chord clarity, and that it's kinda-sorta their specialty...so I suppose that concern of mine has been laid to rest. But I'd like your take on it, how's your Holy Diver on Haunted Shores chords?

[ericsabbath]

the diver is amazing
a very clear and full sounding pickup
but it does add a lot to the tone
it has a strong midrange heavy character
mids are quite dense, but not really aggressive
the black dog offers a somewhat similar voicing but with a little more articulation

for a pure, natural and really open sounding tone, the mules are hard to beat
the riff raffs are also extremely clear, but they have a quite bright top (but aren't treble heavy)

[MetalNoobee]

I see. Thanks man!

I'm sorry for all the questions, this is my first BKP purchase and I don't want to end up with something I won't be happy with, given that I'm dropping $350 on them. It's so confusing when you have so much to choose from! I'm sure you guys can relate...

Thank you guys for your patience!

[Kiichi]

Oh heck yes most of us can relate. You shoulda seen my first thread here^^

The main problem is that there usually are several PUs that will get you there, but in their own way. Would you like the Ferrari, the yacht or the private jet?
This is the issue really. Several ones can be a means to the same end. For example a modern metal sound, tight, agressive, fat can be achieved with the Aftermath, Warpig and Miracle man. All great modern metal tones. AM centermiddy, surgically tight, dry. WP uber fat, roary as heck, juicily organic. MM tight, lotta low end chunk, great high end cut.
All can do the same style but with different flavours.

Therefore the selection process can be quite tedious. Soulsearching helps, imagining the tone you want in your head, which is rather hard to do in the beginning.
Still most people get their first BKPs are blown away by what is even possible and then can go about selecting the next ones much easier as they now have unlocked some part of that tone imagining in their head.