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Author Topic: Pickups advice for my new guitar  (Read 3210 times)

Shadowvault

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Pickups advice for my new guitar
« on: May 17, 2013, 09:14:24 AM »
Hello guys,
my father is building a sevenstring electric guitar for me and the woods are maple on top and walnut for the rest of the body.Which pickups match better these woods?The blackhawk or the aftermath(covered) set?I usually play prog stuff and my influences are bands like :porcupine tree,opeth,nevermore,tool,karnivool,oceansize,periphery,necrophagist,guthrie govan and it goes one... :P
So i would like to have some really glassy tones to punchy prog riffs
Thanks in advance

Kiichi

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Re: Pickups advice for my new guitar
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2013, 10:35:10 AM »
Hi and welcome!

For the bands you mentioned I must say that a ceramic nailbomb bridge comes to mind. It has the tighness and agression for it and certainly fits porcupine tree and opeth very nicely in my mind. Dunno about the neck, maybe CS.
The Blackhawk would also be an option that should do this job.
I am not that sure about the AM though, as it is really surgically tight, middy and dry as the desert, which I would not want for PT and Opeth for example. Though the neck model does deliver nice early Petrucci lead sounds.
BKPs in use: 10th set / RY set / Holy Diver b, Emerald n / Crawler bridge, Slowhand mid MQ neck/ Manhattan n
On the sidelines: Stockholm b / Suppermassive n, Mule n, AM set, IT mid

ericsabbath

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Re: Pickups advice for my new guitar
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2013, 10:48:01 AM »
alnico nailbomb
Riff Raff, Mules, Black Dog, VHII's, Cold Sweat

Slartibartfarst42

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Re: Pickups advice for my new guitar
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2013, 11:29:39 AM »
Black Hawk is what leapt to my mind.
BKP owned:

Bridge - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; A-Bomb; Holydiver; Miracle Man; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

Neck - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; Holydiver; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

Shadowvault

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Re: Pickups advice for my new guitar
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2013, 11:55:17 AM »
Thank you very much for the replies.About the AM set i like the neck pickup a lot and thats why it became an option.

Kiichi

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Re: Pickups advice for my new guitar
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2013, 12:27:47 PM »
The neck is rather different from the bridge though, although they work together nicely. The bridge is ceramic and is symmetrically wound, which produces a lot of midrange, mostly centermids. The bottom end is there, but very tightly controlled. Its not the crushing, but the punching type. Hits very hard. Generally the character is very, very dry. This PU really is a surgical tool and requires handling fitting that.

The neck on the other hand is Alnico V, which gives is a rather different character. It is still very defined and focused in its sound, but there is a nice organic warmth in there too. It is fluid and rather clean in its sound. Really always reminds me of early Petrucci tones. Cleans also work nicely for such a metal PU, but they always retain that defined, focused character. Its no robot killing machine, but it is one smooth cyborg.

Hope that makes sense and sheds some more light on that.
You could always combine something like the nailbomb bridge with a AM neck, should work nicely imho. With the blackhawk too sonically, but I dunno about the optical missmatch.
BKPs in use: 10th set / RY set / Holy Diver b, Emerald n / Crawler bridge, Slowhand mid MQ neck/ Manhattan n
On the sidelines: Stockholm b / Suppermassive n, Mule n, AM set, IT mid