Bridge humbucker selection

[CommonCourtesy]

Definitely the black hawk for me. It will nail those brutal but polished modern metal tones.

It will make your nuts shake with massive bottom end and its very very tight.

I'd get the ceramic magnet to be safe but the alnico might work well too I just get nervous around low tunings not really my thing these days.

I dropped tuned one of my guitars with an alnico nailbomb in the other day to play some mastodon riffs like blood and thunder/the czar and I proper didnt like it.......might just be me though.

For this application I wouldnt even consider the nailbomb definitely black hawk, aftermath or even the juggernaught or maybe even the painkiller.

If I had to play in that low thing id definitely go for a painkiller but I have different tastes I guess I really wouldnt play that kinda stuff but can appreciate the tone of the riffs.

Not considered the Black hawk! As mentioned above I don't want a fizzy metal tone, more of a metalcore or post-hardcore brutal rhythm chugging sound. Something that'll make people go "phwooaarr!" Haha.

Most of my work involves 5th chords on the bottom 3 strings, chugging and squealies!

Ceramic i've read is the better one as its more punchy. But then an Aftermath only has ceramic anyway for a humbucker.

Well im still thinking a ceramic black hawk set would be ideal but between the aftermath and the nailbomb I really think the aftermath will be more your thing but if youre really set on a nailbomb get one but id stick to ceramic pickups for this.

Aftermath ceramic was first choice i think. Alnico Nailbomb backup option perhaps?

[Slartibartfarst42]

My first thought was an A-Bomb but when you mentioned that huge bottom end it made me think again as the A-Bomb has a lot of high mids and they tend to be the dominant aspect of the pickup. I've never tried an Aftermath myself so I'm wary of commenting. I'm surprised the Juggernaut hasn't been mentioned more as I suspect that would give you the middle ground you need between Aftermath and A-Bomb.

[ericsabbath]

My first thought was an A-Bomb but when you mentioned that huge bottom end it made me think again as the A-Bomb has a lot of high mids and they tend to be the dominant aspect of the pickup.

not really, in my experience
I actually sold it cause it had far less upper mids than I was expecting
considerably less than both the holy diver and aftermath in the same guitar (the '73 lp custom in my avatar)
it had a lot of treble edge, lot of bass and low mids, but the center and upper mids felt quite flat

the aftermath suggestion sounds right at first, and will work for the stuff on the clips, but it's not I'd call a low end heavy pup
nailbomb and cold sweat had a lot more chug on the lower string
the aftermath has a more in your face response, but not the same depth
perhaps the painkiller might have more bass response, but I only tried it in a brazilian mahogany 7 string ibanez RG, so I can't make a direct comparison
from clips in les pauls, I wouldn't expect the PK to be much different from the aftermath, except that it sounds hairier and less "contained", but I'd take that over the aftermath in this case

the juggernaut seems to be a great option for a lot of people
still skeptical about its tone chart, but I might try it (not so) soon
the concept of having an underwound hybrid aftermath is amazing

[Dave Sloven]

I agree that the Painkiller Les Paul clips make it sound like a great choice for this application.

[Slartibartfarst42]

My first thought was an A-Bomb but when you mentioned that huge bottom end it made me think again as the A-Bomb has a lot of high mids and they tend to be the dominant aspect of the pickup.

not really, in my experience
I actually sold it cause it had far less upper mids than I was expecting
considerably less than both the holy diver and aftermath in the same guitar (the '73 lp custom in my avatar)
it had a lot of treble edge, lot of bass and low mids, but the center and upper mids felt quite flat

This is why I find it so difficult to assess the A-Bomb! In my guitar the bottom end was swamped by aggressive, tight, bright hairiness so whenever I think of it, I never think of it having a bottom end at all. Your comment is actually particularly interesting for something I'm currently considering but I'll elaborate on that in my own thread rather than hog this one.

[ericsabbath]

My first thought was an A-Bomb but when you mentioned that huge bottom end it made me think again as the A-Bomb has a lot of high mids and they tend to be the dominant aspect of the pickup.

not really, in my experience
I actually sold it cause it had far less upper mids than I was expecting
considerably less than both the holy diver and aftermath in the same guitar (the '73 lp custom in my avatar)
it had a lot of treble edge, lot of bass and low mids, but the center and upper mids felt quite flat

This is why I find it so difficult to assess the A-Bomb! In my guitar the bottom end was swamped by aggressive, tight, bright hairiness so whenever I think of it, I never think of it having a bottom end at all. Your comment is actually particularly interesting for something I'm currently considering but I'll elaborate on that in my own thread rather than hog this one.

well, it was indeed all that, but quite bassy and not upper mid heavy
I even had to back it down quite a bit to tame the bass and output
most of the other pups I had in this guitar were set very close to strings
I was kinda disappointed cause I was expecting something like the holy diver, but with more aggressive upper mids
got more aggression than I actually wanted, but not the upper mids
probably should have gone with the rebel yell
replaced it with a mcp afwayu at the time, which had a fuller midrange, but it was even bassier and not as organic

my guitar is quite bass heavy, but the midrangy models like the diver, aftermath and black dog showed a more controlled low end (in amount of bass, not tightness) than the nailbomb, cold sweat or even the riff raff (mine has a thicker magnet, so it's probably a little bassier than usual)
the aftermath always felt like it was missing something in the low E string (actually tuned to Eb or C#), compared to the cold sweat and nailbomb, specially on non-muted single notes and heavy sliding riffs
the diver and dog had way less output and volume, but they sounded a little fuller and deeper, despite of having almost the same overall voicing (MIDS everywhere)

if you didn't like the nailbomb for particular guitar, it still might work for a different one
I had completely different experiences with the holy diver and cold sweat simply going between different gibson models (which changes mostly shape/size and top)
I didn't enjoy the NB in that particular les paul, but I'd probably love it in the '78 greco lp std I had, or maybe in the PRS CE-22 I had
or maybe even in my SG (that sounded amazing with VHII's, by the way)

[Arthurus]

This screams for a Juggernaugt ! I heard Misha Mansoor said it's kind of a compromise between the Black Hawks and the Aftermath (in terms of sound, not of output).
I'd say it's very broad sounding - much more than my holydiver in any case. The squealed harmonics scream. Oh yeah they do. And the bottom end is huge.
But hey, I have it on a superstrat guitar - maybe it would't go with you Les Paul.

[CommonCourtesy]

I could install Aftermaths on my main guitar which is a les paul studio, i have an Epi les paul that i use as a backup that has a stock pickup, alnico something. Could stick a Nailbomb in that although i'd get a different sound. The Epi actually has a bit more sustain possibly cos of the heavier wood, but the Gibson is better to play, if i can install a better bridge pickup to make it scream i'll be happy!

Not focusing on bass frequencies too much, mids is important as i think guitar is always a mid instrument, but low end is still essential for this style, its not metal don't forget, so doesn't have that scooped mid tone, its just aggressive and chunky sounding.

[CommonCourtesy]

*UPDATE*

So i've decided to put an Aftermath in the main guitar which is the LP studio and a Nailbomb in the back up which is an Epiphone LP standard. The backup has thinner strings (10-52's) so i thought a Nailbomb would give it a bit more beef.

Also installing Earvana nuts on both and an aluminium hard tail bridge piece, as apparently this increases the top end brightness. Will see how these go, I can always swap pickups around and stuff, but very excited to complete the work and hear how it sounds!

Thanks to everyone who's contributed and suggested recommendations.

[CommonCourtesy]

Got my guitars back yesterday with the BK Aftermath and Nailbomb (alnico) installed.

Fook me both sound like a beast and now i get the gnarly bark, instead of a whimper with these pickups. The output is very very high and the amount of sustain on ring out chords is something else! Definitely worth the money and effort, i did find the Nailbomb in the Epi Les Paul Std sounds more zingy and brighter. Possibly due to lighter strings (10-52). Aftermath in the main guitar sounds very very beefy, and more low end and throaty.

Can't wait to air these live in a venue!

[GuitarIv]

Great! Welcome to the BKP family ;)

[CommonCourtesy]

Cheers! Played my first show last night with them teamed up with my newly purchased 6505+ head. Sounds brutal!

Only snag is a bit of feedback when doing stop/start riffing, so i had to control this by muting strings and stuff, really tricky. I whacked up the threshold on the ISP decimator i had to get but it only serves to kill sustain on certain parts of my playing.

Really annoying, do i have to put another suppressor now after my guitar?

[Dave Sloven]

I doubt it.  The cause of the feedback is most likely in your guitar or your hands.  Are you sure it's not just harmonics?  Use both hands to mute if you want it completely quiet. If the feedback happens when you are near the amp rather than far away, then the issue is in the guitar. Check that there isn't some kind of ringing harmonic generated by that new tailpiece. Put some foam under the pickups to reduce vibrations of the pickup in the cavity.  Some foam has reduced feedback from my Warpigs.  I still get feedback from my Stockholm but I haven't put foam under that, and it also has a lot of single-coil hum that I might try to reduce in various ways, and just try to cut down on general environmental noise with some shielding

That said it is the Stockholm that blows my friend's minds when they hear it, despite the hum

[CommonCourtesy]

I don't think its the harmonics, i'm pretty good at muting the strings cleanly. I did notice several times when i took my hands off the strings it would start squealing, but when i started playing a riff which had a rest in it there was slightly feedback.

I faced my speaker when i had both hands on and it was completely quiet with the volume turned all the way up.

When you mean under the pickup do you mean before the saddles or the actual inside?

Can't seem to find the sweet spot on the ISP to cut out the pre-amp noise AND any feedback from the pickup.

[Dave Sloven]

When you mean under the pickup do you mean before the saddles or the actual inside?

Can't seem to find the sweet spot on the ISP to cut out the pre-amp noise AND any feedback from the pickup.

Inside.  Under the actual pickup.  Just unscrew the pickups next time you change strings and put a piece of that thin foam that came in the bottom your BKP box under each pickup, making sure you don't obstruct the legs too much.  It's just to dampen vibration, which can cause some feedback.

The ISP will only cut out preamp and pedal noise.  It won't cut out feedback.  Keep it around 11.30 or so on the dial, where you first had it. It only reduces a bit when you wind it up because it's killing everything.  You have to locate the source of the problem.

If the problem is a ringing harmonic behind the bridge or between the nut and the tuners you can wedge some of the thicker foam from the box in there under the strings, that will act like someone muting the strings there.  When you mute normally it only affects the length of string between the nut and the bridge saddles.  Apparently on some guitars you can get it on other parts of the string.  But if you can control it by muting the played length of the string I kind of doubt that's your issue