Want to swap Painkiller 7 for something more all round

[Chargrilled]

Hello!

I have a Painkiller 7 in the bridge position of my mahogany Ibanez but was would like a more all round pick up to cover a range of styles:

I'd like to if it all possible be able for the pickup to do from heavier stuff like Korn, Limp Bizkit, through Queens of the Stone Age, Smashing Pumpkins, Paramour, Blink 182, Nirvana all the way down to gentler clean indie/ folk stuff.

The question is of course - am I asking for too much!!!  :D

The Nailbomb looks the choice still, however has anything new popped up in the last year that could fit the bill?

[Slartibartfarst42]

As I play in a broadly Rock based covers band, I need something that is versatile too. Now I don't do it all with one guitar but for our second set I generally use a Holydiver set and that will take me from cr@p like 'All the Small Things' to Metallica.

If I were to have to take a punt on something other than a Holydiver, I'd be tempted to say Rebel Yell or Cold Sweat.

[Chargrilled]

Cheers for that, I've actually got the Holydiver bridge which sounds super. The Rebel Yell actually sounds really cool, when I was first buying these pickups I had that in mind but was going through a down-tuned metally phase.

P.s. nothing wrong with All The Small Things - it's  a great pop-punk number!  :lol:

[Slartibartfarst42]

Ah, now if you already have a Holydiver I can understand why you'd like to try something else. I used a Cold Sweat bridge a few years ago and it's a very effective pickup. It's open enough to give it a bit of a vintage vibe but it still has plenty of balls and is nice and tight for those Metal numbers. Thinking of John Sykes era Thin Lizzy is a good place to start when thinking of this pickup. I haven't tried a Rebel Yell myself but from what I can gather it's based on a Nailbomb but has elements of things like a Cold Sweat and VHII thrown into the mix. I didn't find the Nailbomb as versatile as I'd hoped but it might work better in your guitar.

[Dave Sloven]

Apparently the Cold Sweat can do some pretty good Dimebag tones too, which might appeal to you?

I'm another person who found the versatility of the Nailbomb to be over-rated.  It's a great pickup, although it definitely has a fairly broad niche that suits it.  Certain guitars allow it to have a broader scope while others intensify its core characteristics and as a result make it sound very aggressive and middy.  I'm swapping out an A-bomb for a Cold Sweat at the moment, because it will give me more classic metal tones.  Another great pickup for the same application seems to be the Holy Diver, but it has a poor reputation in my particular guitar.  I'm really keen to try the Rebel Yell set and you may find it to be the best one for you. Basically I agree with Slartibartfast42 regarding the Nailbomb for some of the milder stuff you are playing.  Also keep in mind your cabinet.  I'm starting to realize that my Orange PPC412 cab (and in particular its V30s) emphasize the raspy mids of the A-Bomb in my SG.  I tried it through the same head and a PA cabinet (strange I know, but it was what was on hand last night) and it sounded completely different.  A lot of the raspy aggressiveness of the guitar was subdued.  You might be okay with a Nailbomb if you have a bassy cabinet or you want to tame the guitar with an EQ pedal but my first choice would be one of the Rebel Yell, Cold Sweat, or Holy Diver sets.

[Chargrilled]

Ah, now if you already have a Holydiver I can understand why you'd like to try something else. I used a Cold Sweat bridge a few years ago and it's a very effective pickup. It's open enough to give it a bit of a vintage vibe but it still has plenty of balls and is nice and tight for those Metal numbers. Thinking of John Sykes era Thin Lizzy is a good place to start when thinking of this pickup. I haven't tried a Rebel Yell myself but from what I can gather it's based on a Nailbomb but has elements of things like a Cold Sweat and VHII thrown into the mix. I didn't find the Nailbomb as versatile as I'd hoped but it might work better in your guitar.

This is really interesting as looking at the bass/mid/treble profiles of the Rebel Yell and Nailbomb they do look very similar. I might head down the Rebel Yell route as I'm writing a variety of styles these days and moving away from djent to an extent.

 Also keep in mind your cabinet.  I'm starting to realize that my Orange PPC412 cab (and in particular its V30s) emphasize the raspy mids of the A-Bomb in my SG.  I tried it through the same head and a PA cabinet (strange I know, but it was what was on hand last night) and it sounded completely different.  A lot of the raspy aggressiveness of the guitar was subdued.  You might be okay with a Nailbomb if you have a bassy cabinet or you want to tame the guitar with an EQ pedal but my first choice would be one of the Rebel Yell, Cold Sweat, or Holy Diver sets.

I'll be going through a Kemper Digital Profiling amp so no cabs! I'm sticking with the Holydiver in the neck as I love the clean delay sounds I get with that pickup.

[Chargrilled]

By the way before I pull the trigger on the Rebel Yell, any thoughts on this pickup a) in a mahogany guitar and b) downtuned half a step?

Thanks again for all the great advice

[Dave Sloven]

I haven't heard one outside of youtube and clips but I've heard a clip of one in a Flying V and it sounded really nice, and they've been recommended for SGs before and were basically designed for Les Paul type guitars, so I'd say that it's a safe wood/pickup combination.  In fact I'd say that probably all of the clips have been in mahogany guitars (with or without tops in other woods).

There is a video with Steve Stevens where he discusses the guitar that the Rebel Yell was designed for.  I think it was a non-chambered Les Paul.

Rig Rundown - Steve Stevens

[GuitarIv]

Mahogany + low tuning + Rebell Yell = safe choice.  :)

[Chargrilled]

Cheers guys it's in the guitar shop as we speak! Anyone want to buy as Painkiller 7 in green??  :P

[Chargrilled]

Guys outstanding call on the RY I absolutely love it!!!! You can easily djent with it, it's got a lovely punky vibe to it as well and cleans up beautifully. Should have got this in the first place  :shock:

[Dave Sloven]

Glad it worked out!

[Kiichi]

Good to hear, the RY rules!

We can also always use more reviews, especially with 7 string versions and something like djent...if you feel up to it ;)

[Chargrilled]

I'll post some clips next weekend, people were spot on when talking about the all round nature of the pick up, it can sound really heavy going through Rectifier profile on my Kemper, but then it's got the rock/ punk vibe as well.

Sounded great through a Smashing Pumpkins Fuzz preset as well - the clean sound of it is really nice as well.

I do a clip with full Rebel Yell - clean, distortion and solos

[Dave Sloven]

Just curious: did you get these in green as well?