Pickup choice advice

[Jackzaa]

Hi guys,

I have a new guitar that will be on it's way to me within a couple of weeks, but it's a lot of firsts for me. My first 8 string, first FF guitar and first guitar built with more "exotic" woods that I have no experience with, and so I was hoping someone here could give me an informed opinion on which pickups may best suit my needs.

The specs are as follows:
Fanned Fret 28"-26"
-Burl Poplar Top
-Black Limba body
-Ziricote Fretboard
-5 Piece Wenge Neck with Bubinga Stripes

It currently has BK Miracle Man pickups (which I also have yet to try... I'm not massively experienced with gear!)

Ideally I'd be searching for something that will provide me with a weighty, almost bitey low end, nothing brittle, that retains a lot of clarity across the board, preferably with a smooth top end on the neck pup as well. I play a lot of tech/death metal if it helps. I love sound of the blackhawks in my 7, but as it's composed of entirely different materials, and 8 string is new territory (and the fact that I'm not sure I could ask for a custom blackhawk slanted 8 pup?). Would the current MM set suit my needs? Or is it worth buying something else before it arrives? I had hoped you lovely forumers could point me in the right direction.

Thanks a lot!

[Slartibartfarst42]

Weighty low end with some smoothness certainly sounds like a Miracle Man to me, though I have no idea what it would be like on an 8 string. It sure wouldn't be lacking in low end! As it already has those pickups in it, I'd start off by giving those a try.

[Jackzaa]

Yeah, reading up on the MM it sounds like it may be a good choice, but being that it's a couple of weeks away and I'm SO excited, I just wanted to make sure I have a new pup set ready and waiting if there was something more suitable. :)

I genuinely have no idea how a MM will react to an 8, and the fact that pup tones tend to vary between 6/7/8 models (or at least, that's what I've come to understand), and so I can't take the majority of reviews as a truly accurate representation of the pickups.

Thank you for your input!

If there's any 8 stringers on this forum as well, I would highly value your opinions.

Thanks again

[Dave Sloven]

Seriously I would wait until you have it in your hands and can play it with the Miracle Man pups in it.

Once you have them set up to their optimum height etc then you will be able to either say 'I love these pickups and I don't want to change them' or you can come back here and say 'this is what I like and this is what I don't like' and as there are a number of people here with experience of different BKPs you should be able to get a sensible answer.  But to me it seems like the MM would be a good choice anyway