Pickups for Mayones Setius

[PK]

Hey everyone,
This is my first post here on this board, so "Hi everyone, I'm Peter from NL".

I'm looking to replace the JB and Jazz in my Mayones Setius (GTM, Mah body, maple top, laminated maple/Mah neck).

My amp is a Budda Superdrive 18 (Hot rodded Marshall tone) and for leads I boost it with a T-Rex Mudhoney (set to almost clean with a big volume boost).

The style of music that I play is a mix between Porcupine Tree, Newer Opeth, and Hard rock (like Aldrich, Black Stone Cherry)

The problem that I have with the JB (a problem a lot of people seem to have with it) is that it's a little thin, a lot of 'Chink' and too compressed (if that makes sense). Although I like the JB, I dont love it. I'm looking for more beef (I need to fill quite a bit of space in the mix, I'm the only guitarist in the band), but I want to retain note definition and a little of the 'chink' the JB's have. I just want to have a little less compression, a little less 'chink', a bit more beef and 'chunk'..........heheheh

In one of my other guitars (Les Paul BFG Gary More) I have Dimarzio 36th PAF, that I really like, but for my Mayo I'm looking for a bit more energy and rudeness.

I can't go really High output though, since I switch between the LP, Mayo and a Strat quite a bit, and I need a tiny bit of balance between all guitars.

On the shortlist for the bridge for now:
1. Black Dog
2. Holy Diver
3. VHII
4. ABomb
5. Rebel Yell

Neck:
1. Emerald
2. Mule

[ericsabbath]

rudeness, beef and chunk screams nailbomb
it sounds perfect for all the bands you mentioned
but the holy diver cuts better through the mix, in my opinion, and has a warmer and fatter lead tone
both sound beefier and less compressed than the JB

[PK]

Hi Eric,
Thank was quick! Thanks for the input.

The reason that I put the Abomb lower on the list were the sound clips. They sound a little harsh to me, but these are only soundclips.........is there any info on the guitar/amp used for the clips?

One thing I forgot to mention is that I play around a lot with picking dynamics and my volume knob, I rarely use my Rythm/clean channel, I just turn my volume down a little.

[Mr. Air]

All the humbucker BKP clips were recorded with a Gibson Custom through an Axe FX. I think the high gain metal clips is a 5150 patch and the rock clips is a Marshall patch (jcm 800), but I couuld be wrong about the amp patches.

[Telerocker]

You can't go wrong with a Holy Diver/Emerald-neck. The beefy HD will give you a thick leadtone. The Emerald has the vintagehot organic vibe and keeps clarity with a lot of gain.

[GuitarIv]

You can't go wrong with a Holy Diver/Emerald-neck. The beefy HD will give you a thick leadtone. The Emerald has the vintagehot organic vibe and keeps clarity with a lot of gain.

This. The Holydiver has a great warm, organic and beefy sound, being like an improved version of the JB and not so honky. Tighter, very fluid, very clear and a the best bridge humbucker lead tone I ever heard. Less compressed and reacts great to boosts. You can always dial in a bit more highs to make it bite a bit more if you miss the treble from the JB. The Emerald Neck is said to be a perfect match with one of the best clean and distorted lead sounds.

[PK]

Thnx for all the replies!

So it seems the HD/Emerald is what I'm looking for.
I've done a few searches on this board and I read somewhere that the Black Dog is like a lower output version of the Holy Diver.
How do these 2 compare?

[Slartibartfarst42]

Never played the Black Dog myself, though it does appeal a great deal precisely because I like the Holydiver so much. If you want a pickup that is rather more vintage than the JB it could certainly be an option but for the styles you mention I'd say the Holydiver would be a better option.

If you went with a Black Dog bridge, I'd be inclined to just go with the calibrated set instead of mixing and matching, though that's probably because I'm not that fussed on neck pickups that are too vintage sounding. They just don't have the cut I like. If you go with the Holydiver bridge (awesome pickup - love it  8)) then the Emerald is a fantastic match. The AIV magnet gives it some real vintage sweetness but the modern wire gives those thick notes some serious cut. The other option you might like is to go with a calibrated Holydiver set. The Holydiver neck uses a more modern AV magnet and modern wire but it's a very light wind which does give it a very vintage feel. I use both of these pickups and love them both.

[PK]

Thanks for the input everyone.
I think i'm gonna go with the HD/Em combo.
Now the next question is, the colour/cover........

At first I wanted to go with simple open, black, coils. But now I found out BKP does black covers, both glossy and matte (right?)

The guitar we're talking about is this one:
http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/1803/imgp0807fc9.jpg
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/2516/imgp0804su7.jpg
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/1075/imgp0808ob3.jpg
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1583/imgp0812sc4.jpg

[Dave Sloven]

Personally I'm not a fan of the black covers, and there have been some questions regarding the durability of that particular finish.  I would tend to stick with the black bobbin look for that guitar

[littleredguitars2]

i love the look of the black covers. but its easy to scr@pe the black paint off it seems. i accidentally nicked my black stockholm p90 and you can see the chrome underneath

[Dave Sloven]

That's probably nickel you can see.  I believe they are all nickel underneath, with chrome and gold being a plating over nickel.  I'm not sure what the other finishes are, but I think they are a type of paint rather than an anodizing or powdercoating.

You have a choice of nickel or gold screws for the pole pieces.

[littleredguitars2]

even though its not an "option" i asked if i could have black screws for the pole pieces one time and ben said its not something they have "in shop" but they'd be willing to do it. just sayin.

[PK]

Hhhhhmmmmmm............makes me doubt about the covers........I do like the look of those glossy black covers.
Seems strange to me that a company so obviously dedicated to the quality of their products would offer painted covers instead of powdercoated.

So I think I've about made up my mind on the bridge pickup. But listening to the clips, I'm still in doubt about the neck.
Although I really like the Emerald, the Mule sounds really good to y ears as well.
The Emerald seems a little less Raw than the Mule does. There is a certain Rawness in those clips that i really dig. Almost like a hot single coil in the high end. The Emerald sounds a little more sophisticated.

How does the Emerald compare to the SD Jazz neck?

[mongey]

lol.

I came here to post exactly the same post. I have a 2nd hand setius arriving tomorrow or friday with the jazz/JB combo and I know I dont love  the JB from experience . musically I'm in the same ball park as you . modern metal but not djenty or super brutal . stuff like katatonia

I've been wondering if the juggernauts would be a good suit for drop D .

do you find the setius bright ? some places I read its a fairly dark guitar/ others bright