Pick up idea's for HSS Strat

[Dr.Pain]

I'm starting this thread to get some idea's on some pick up's for my new strat.  I'm not really liking the humbucker that much.  It's Mexican so I believe the pick up's are ceramic and no tone control on the humbucker.  I was thinking about a DiMarzio super distortion as I like Iron Maiden and they use them in Strats but I thought why not try something BKP.  I've emailed the guys and Ben said the closest in specs to a super d would be an aftermath and that's a pick up I'm really interested in.  But that was for my 7 string.  An aftermath in a Strat has me interested.  I also like the tone of Irish tour singles.

I play metal and have guitars with active pick ups and a Les Paul with Gibson 57's in it.  I want this Strat to have nice warm single coil tones and a humbucker that's going to work well out of phase with the middle pick up.  Something nice, clean and warm sound but then when it's just the humbucker and I crank on the gain, I want something to cover Iron Maiden and even mid 80's thrash (think Metallica's Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets).  I don't want a guitar for death metal as I have that already.

This isn't going to be a cheap thing for me to do and maybe what I want is too much from tone but I love the feel of this guitar and I want to make a real cracker.  There's nothing really I want to achieve with the singles but just have something nice to play with.  It's more the humbucker.  Want something hot but not too hot.

I look forward hearing to peoples idea's and opinions.   :)

[darkbluemurder]

A while ago someone here on the forum demoed the Alnico Nailbomb and I commented that he really nailed the Iron Maiden tone so I would go with a Nailbomb - Irish Tour set.

Cheers Stephan

[Telerocker]

A while ago someone here on the forum demoed the Alnico Nailbomb and I commented that he really nailed the Iron Maiden tone so I would go with a Nailbomb - Irish Tour set.

Cheers Stephan

If you're talking alnico NB I support your recommendation.

[Dr.Pain]

Cool.  I thought making a post about it here would get some better results than buried in my thread about the guitar.  I actually really like the band Nailbomb, Point Blank was a killer CD.  If the alnico nailbomb gets maiden type tones and does, of course, Nailbomb then I'd be happy as.  Although it's not my intention to be wanting to push this Strat much past this.  Like I mentioned before my EMG's and Blackouts do that in other guitars.  I find passives work better when I'm dropping the gain back.  Might even be a good choice to belt out some old Sepultura too.

 :)

[darkbluemurder]

A while ago someone here on the forum demoed the Alnico Nailbomb and I commented that he really nailed the Iron Maiden tone so I would go with a Nailbomb - Irish Tour set.

Cheers Stephan

If you're talking alnico NB I support your recommendation.

I am.

Cheers Stephan

[Telerocker]

A while ago someone here on the forum demoed the Alnico Nailbomb and I commented that he really nailed the Iron Maiden tone so I would go with a Nailbomb - Irish Tour set.

Cheers Stephan

If you're talking alnico NB I support your recommendation.

I am.

Cheers Stephan

Cheers. Yeah. I thought so. The C-Bomb might be a bit bright in a strat.

[nickcoumbe]

If you like Irish Tours try them with a Holy Diver. I have that combo in a walnut bodied guitar and they balance reasonably well.

I have sultans and VHII in an Alder strat that work very well too.

[Dr.Pain]

I'm really liking the tone from alnico nailbombs.  I found this clip and I like the tone.  My Strat will sound a little different being alder and maple.  I have an ESP Ltd which is a copy of the Schecter and it would sound great.  But I think my Strat will sound pretty good.  Yeah it's killing the Strat tone somewhat but I'm not liking the humbucker in it at all!  As noisy as a single coil and it's tone doesn't float my boat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDrq49nrYFY

[Slartibartfarst42]

Happy to be proved wrong but I wouldn't have said A-Bomb in a Strat for Maiden and I've followed Maiden since 1980 and owned an A-Bomb. When I tried it, the A-Bomb was far too edgy and aggressive for Maiden's tone. Not a billion miles away from Adrian's tone but certainly not the others. The Super Distortion doesn't seem to have a natural BKP equivilant but I believe the Aftermath is probably the closest and that would get you the Adrian Smith tone as he seems to use a more aggressive and modern tone than the others. Dave Murray uses Hotrails and Janick uses a JB. Those might suggest something more like a Holydiver, which works really well on a Strat and will also give you credible Maiden tones. The Holydiver would also easily be the most versatile of the three.

[Dr.Pain]

I'm aware of what they use and I do like Adrian's tone the most.  I don't mind if it's a bit more aggressive as I can play thrash on it.  Just after something that's going to sound good playing Maiden.  Doesn't have to be exact though.  I think if I went any way, super d, holydiver, aftermath, nailbomb, JB,  I'll get a good tone. 

[Slartibartfarst42]

I wasn't tryng to suggest that you didn't know what they use; it was more part of a thought process for me. Anyway, you're right that all of those pickups will work to a greater or lesser extent and to a degree, it may depend on the era of Maiden on which you choose to focus. The Super Distortion will obviously nail their tone. The Holydiver will lend itself more to their smoother material in the mid to late 80s, as will the JB, albeit less successfully, while the Aftermath has that general Adrian Smith vibe of the Super Distortion while being a little drier and tighter. Of this lot (Aftermath is the only one of which I have no direct personal experience) I'd say the Nailbomb is least like Maiden but it will do 90s Thrash better than the others if that's what you want. You pay your money, you take your choice and all are good at what they do  :D

Out of interest, Adrian is my favourite guitarist in Maiden and has been since he joined. If I could choose to model my playing on one of them, it would be him without a doubt. As far as the bridge pickup is concerned, like you I prefer Adrian's tone but on the neck pickup I prefer Dave Murray's tone.

[James C]

I absolutely love the Nailbomb in my 7 (Abomb) for maiden-ish tones, but i if you already have heaver tones covered i think the holy diver is the way to go (not that it doesn't get heavy), the below has really turned me towards a holy diver for my next guitar, which will be a strat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRaoBDi1Hgc

Edit: for a good comparison see below with NB

[Dr.Pain]

I prefer Adrian's tone all the way.  In fact if I could buy any guitar I'd get a Jackson San Dimas Adrian Smith.  But I'm looking at this as an opportunity for BKP's.  The more I hear an A-bomb the more I like.  It's getting away from a Maiden tone but it sounds good to me and it would work best I think to cover what I do. 

Your clips were great James.  Both pick up's sound really good but the A-bomb sounds better.

I think I'm pretty settled on what I will do and all the input has been great.

First time I heard the opening riff on Two minutes to midnight on the Live After Death album Slarti,  I thought it was awesome and I've liked Adrian ever since. :)

[Slartibartfarst42]

I'm afraid at my age, my love of Maiden pre-dates Adrian Smith  :( It was actually a real pivotal moment in my life when i first came across Maiden. I'd been really into punk for a while and while I was at a friend's house he put an album on I'd never heard before. I immediately knew I liked it. It had a kind of Punky feel to it but obviously had far more talented musicians involved. Then the solo arrived and my whole world turned upside down; the hair on the back of my neck tingled like crazy. I knew then that I wanted to play guitar in a band. That song was 'Prowler' from the first Maiden album. Many years have passed and I'm still quite a poor player but I still love it.

[Philly Q]

^

Yeah, I remember seeing them do "Running Free" on Top of the Pops way back when.  :D

I never really became a big Maiden fan at the time, though, it was only much later that I bought all the albums.  I got into rock music at the time of the NWOBHM and The Friday Rock Show, but I was actually listening more to older bands than the actual NWOBHM bands themselves.