What's the best BKP for a PRS SE Torero??

[CaptMurica]

Hey guys! It's my first post on here so I'm still getting used to it...

With that aside, I've been having a hard time deciding which bridge pickup to get for a PRS SE Torero. I've been torn between the Nailbomb with the Ceramic magnet and the Aftermath. I love the Nailbomb because of it's aggressive low mids and versatility, but I also love the Aftermath for its tightness, cutting mids, and "modern" voicing.  Which pickup would be better suited for the Torero OR is there another BKP that would outdo (for a lack of a better word  :oops: ) both the Nailbomb and Aftermath?  I'm open to all suggestions!

Thanks,
Ryan  :)

[Mr. Air]

Hi Ryan and welcome to the forum. What kind of music do you play and what amp/amps do you play through? Stating this will make suggestions easier.

[Telerocker]

Hi Ryan and welcome to the forum. What kind of music do you play and what amp/amps do you play through? Stating this will make suggestions easier.

More info would be helpful. Sounds like you want something brutal for trash, death etc.

[EffigyForgotten]

First of all, there is no "best" only what you feel suits you the most.

Second of all, from your username I'm going to guess you're a fan of Metallica, so I would go for the Miracle Man set.

[fhn_lopes]

I like the warpig and the MM for havier stuff, but of course, dependes on your gear and what you are going to play.

I say warpig bc it's made for darker sounding guitars, like an SG or other "all mahogany" guitars (bc your maple top is a veneer).

my 0.02$

[EffigyForgotten]

The Warpig being the darkest BKP is definitely NOT made for darker sounding guitars. The Torero isn't exactly a dark guitar either, compared to my Paul Allender when it had EMG's it was brighter and tighter sounding, it is a maple neck through, with a ebony fingerboard and Floyd Rose, all which would make the guitar brighter than normal. AND don't forget my guitar is still not as dark as Gibson Les Paul.

Sorry just had to clarify.

[ericsabbath]

c-bomb

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t8dVF4lOrs

 :D

[CaptMurica]

I play lots of different genres. I like playing music from Lincoln Brewster to Zeppelin to Alice in Chains to Alter Bridge to Trivium to Periphery to The Aristocrats and anywhere in between. Currently I play a Peavey Valveking combo. It's going into a Mesa Recto 212 cabinet, loaded with Celestion V30's. I need versatility to cover most of the genres I enjoy playing, which was why my gut was wanting me to go for the Nailbomb. But at the same time, I really like that modern voicing of the Aftermath (and the neck AM's clean tones are some of the best cleans I've heard... to me anyways). I do appreciate your suggestions, guys!

[CaptMurica]

First of all, there is no "best" only what you feel suits you the most.

Second of all, from your username I'm going to guess you're a fan of Metallica, so I would go for the Miracle Man set.

Actually my last name IS Merica (It's a blessing and a curse for me >_>) Though I did grow up on Metallica, I never gave the Miracle Man a chance. I'll check it out.

[EffigyForgotten]

I know you didn't want to hear this but you would be MUCH happier with a better amp than a new set of pickups, you might even find the BKP's don't have enough gain with the Valveking.

For the styles you mentioned though, you should probably go with the most versatile set possible, which IMO is the Holy Diver set. I would say Nailbomb set but the Holy Diver neck has better cleans.

[Telerocker]

I would look at the C-Bombo and the Miracle Man, the latter being a bit more smooth and less agressive, but huge sounding.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I have to comment on this one as my Jackson is also a maple neck-thru so tonally it should be quite similar to yours. I've not tried a C-Bomb in it but I did try an A-Bomb and in the Jackson it was incredibly tight and VERY aggressive sounding. It always sounded a bit like a crackling live wire; very edgy. It worked a bit better in my PRS but in the Jackson it just didn't seem a good match unless you're after a specifically tight and very aggressive sound. My eldest son like modern Metal with lots of gain and when I was playing it even he came through to tell me that the guitar sounded awful. The pickup was sent back and based on that experience, I think there are better matches for the styles you play.

As Effigy suggested, the Holydiver is the most versatile option you could look at. I had one of those in my Jackson and it worked really well. Use it with a half decent overdrive and loads of possibilities open up. It's quite tight and articulate with an edge of aggression but the inherent thick smoothness of the tone prevents it from becoming excessive. It's my favourite BKP overall and now resides in my PRS where it's also incredible.

The Miracle Man would also be a great option and suits maple neck-thru guitars particularly well. That's what I currently have in my Jackson. It's tighter and more aggressive than the Holydiver with a bigger bottom end thanks to the low mids. For Metal music of almost any kind this is a great pup. The price you pay for this is that the cleans aren't as good as the Holydiver and the lead tone isn't quite as sweet. You pay your money, you take your choice but both work very well in that type of guitar.

For the neck, I'd look at either the Cold Sweat or Emerald. The Emerald is more versatile and has better cleans with a sublime lead tone while the Cold Sweat is a shredders dream and is a bit tighter.

I'd look at getting open poled pickups as in my experience it can be tough for pickups to cut through in a maple neck-thru so the guitars sometimes sound a bit dead. That's what happened to the JB that came in my Jackson stock. I've tried both covered and open BKP in my Jackson and the open poled ones were a lot crisper.

[CaptMurica]

I'm starting to lean more toward the neck Cold Sweat now that I'm hearing it. I like the lead tones out of it. I do plan to get a new amp head in the near future, hopefully a Blackstar HT Club 50 with it being more versatile than the Peavey I have. I appreciate the help guys.

[CaptMurica]

I just thought of this... How would getting the C-Bomb covered do? Because I really like the Black Battle Worn cover and watching Nolly's video of the comparison of Covered vs Uncovered humbuckers gave me this thought. I know a ceramic magnet is a good bit bright and with Nolly stating the covered pickups will sound "more full and warm", maybe with the C-bomb covered it will take off a bit of the brightness and not make the guitar too bright overall? Just throwing stuff out there.

[Slartibartfarst42]

A cover won't make that much difference. I found that the cover rounded things off a little bit compared to the crisper response of open poled but but the difference in warmth and the reduction of brightness was marginal at best. Whatever you do with a Nailbomb, in a maple neck-thru it is going to be absolutely brutal. Even the alnico version was the tightest and must aggressively brutal pickup I've ever tried by a considerable margin.