Pickup selection - Need some help

[Potatohead]

Hey everyone

I have a Carvin CS4, which is a singlecut LP type guitar, with a mahogany body/neck and a thick maple cap. It is in drop C and I typically play metalcore stuff with it. I am not super concerned with cleans as long as they are passable, I use the bridge pickup probably 95% of the time. I recently tried an EMG Het Set in it and I really didn't like it. Too much output and way too much compression/presence. I highly prefer the original Carvin M22SD, which is a thinnish, bright pickup but very clear and articulate, and med/high output with an Alnico V magnet.

I want to switch into a BKP set. I'm trying to get just a touch more heaviness and lows/fullness out of the guitar but I want to avoid compression and fizz, which I hate. My amp has a presence knob and I just keep it at zero, I can always add some in if I have to. Ben @ BKP said the Cold Sweats would be a good choice. Another retailer here recommended the C-Bomb. I have to say I am a little worried about going with a ceramic magnet after the bad experience with the Het Set, and the fact that I like the stock Carvin Alnico V a lot more. I guess if the ceramic is low enough output it may be ok. Looking at the BKP site it doesn't look like there is an Alnico V option with lowish bass and mids but lots of treble. A-Bomb and Rebel Yell aren't far off I guess.

I do have to say I like some clips I have heard of the Cold Sweats and am leaning that way I think. For Ceramic they sound pretty juicy.

[Slartibartfarst42]

The Nailbomb probably isn't for you. Even the alnico Nailbomb is very tight and aggressive; more so than many ceramic pickups I've tried so the ceramic version may be too much for you. The Rebel Yell is more of a Rock pickup but has plenty upper mids so like the Nailbomb, it can be quite aggressive sounding and very tight. No BKP is overly compressed imo and none are fizzy but either way, it sounds like you want something that isn't too hot.

The Cold Sweat would be an excellent choice. It may be hot and ceramic but it's really versatile and quite open sounding so it retains the feel of something more vintage while still being hot. It will sit beautifully in a guitar like yours. It may be ceramic but you'll find it a VERY different experience to EMG. I generally prefer alnico magnets too but I loved the Cold Sweats I had and surprisingly, I loved the Miracle Man too.

As an alternative to the Cold Sweats, you might try looking at Black Dogs. Plenty Metal bands use them in LP style guitars, they're quite full sounding pickups with loads of mids to cut through the mix. Think of it as a modern interpretation of a PAF so definitely no compression or fizz. As an alternative to the Cold Sweats, I think Black Dogs could work very well.

[Lucas]

I would agree with that, `cause I`ll probably find C-Bomb slightly too dark especially with that low tuning. I have similar guitar to yours wood-wise and even using standard tuning bridge ceramic Nailbomb is rather on darker side with mids pronounced along with warmer highs. To the point I even started considering changing that to CS as well. C-Bomb doesn`t have that much of treble what you`re looking for. It doesn`t in my mahogany body with maple top, mahogany/rosewood neck Dean Caddy anyway.

In the neck I put mentioned  Cold Sweat and that pickup is truly superb. Defined, clear, lively sounding with vowel-like sustain and also with amazing clean tones as well. Very pleasing pickup indeed.

I would go for Cold Sweat as well.

[Dave Sloven]

I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with the Cold Sweats.

Pretty much every metalcore dude I've ever known has been a massive fan of Dimebag, and the Cold Sweat can do a great Dimebag.  I don't use mine for that most of the time, but it's a very versatile pickup and brighter, cleaner, and more open sounding than any other ceramic pickup out there and more so than most of the hotter alnico ones too.  I have a set in an SG and I am comfortable using it for any kind of metal.  You just move the volume and tone controls around a bit and you can generally get whatever sound you want, unless that's some kind of annoying honk or a very compressed sound, which the Cold Sweat doesn't do.  You can add compression in with a compressor, but you can't take it out!!

[Potatohead]

Thank you for the help guys.

I completely agree you can add compression and presence but can't take it away, and I'm trying to avoid too much.

I have to admit I am very confused because I had an 81/85 (18v) set in a mahogany RG bolt on, and it sounded killer. Absolutely awesome. When I tried the Het Set in my Carvin, it sounded COMPLETELY different. I put the 81 in there and same thing, totally different. I even tried the Het Set at 18v and it didn't really help. I know people say EMG's sound the same in everything and I am not really a huge tonewood guy but from what I can gather that maple cap (which is very thick, 2+ cm in the centre and 1 cm on the edges) makes a massive difference. So, what I thought I liked, I really don't... At least in these guitars (I actually have three of them).

I like the tone in his video, and it's the same style of guitar with a CS in the bridge. Not exactly raw guitar sound but, you get an idea. I think Cold Sweats are 90% what I will do.

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

[Dave Sloven]

Let me put it to you this way: you won't find a bad review of a Cold Sweat set in a Gibson, whether it's a Les Paul, an SG, an Explorer, or a Flying V.  They are very well suited to that type of guitar.  Sometimes a player might prefer the characteristics of one of the other models of BKP for a specific application, but I haven't read a review where it said 'this Cold Sweat might sound okay in something else, but it doesn't sound right here'.  Out of all the Gibsons the SG is the most difficult to get pickups for and the Cold Sweat is fine in it.  If your guitar has the basic characteristics of a Les Paul - mahogany body and neck, maple cap, same single cut shape, set neck, and body thickness, and TOM style bridge you should find that the BKP sample clips are a pretty reliable guide.

EMGs generally love mahogany.  Out of the BKP  contemporary line Cold Sweats and Rebel Yells are the 'no-brainer' pickups for mahogany.  The Cold Sweat will give you more bottom end chunk than the RY 

[Potatohead]

Ok, It's settled, I am going Cold Sweat. If I don't like those then I know a) I am an idiot and doing something very wrong or b) my amp needs to find the bottom of a river.

Here's a shameless plug of the guitars. They're all mahogany with maple cap but will have different neck woods. The purple one is walnut, the green flamed maple, and the black will be mahogany. Not sure how much the neck contribues to tone for someone almost always on the bridge pickup. The black one is being built and about a month away. Now to decide on gold or aged gold covers  :mrgreen:. Brushed gold would be sweet but doesn't look like they offer it.

[Dave Sloven]

Gold ages really quickly anyway.  Just forget to wipe it after you play it and it will be faded and pitted looking in six months.

I'm swapping out some 'aged' gold hardware from my Epiphone Explorer if anyone wants some, including some aged inline Grover mini-rotomatics

[Potatohead]

Yeah, that's what I figured.

I found a retailer online who had a set of gold CS's in stock, so I picked them up. The bridge pickup has the BKP etching on it which I wouldn't have ordered on my own, but these were a good deal and ready to roll now.

Thanks for the help, I will report back with how I feel about them  8)

[Dave Sloven]

Cool.  I have the same etch on my bridge Cold Sweat.

[Potatohead]

Hey guys

Just wanted to update this thread as I received my new guitar a few days ago and installed the Cold Sweat set tonight.

I am pretty darn happy with them. I only played them about an hour but after dialing in the height and what not, they sound great. I mentioned earlier I like the M22SD and the CS bridge is similar, but has slightly more lows and low mids and sounds a bit fuller and chunkier, has very slightly less output, and is also tighter. There is absolutely no compression and fizz which is awesome. Really it is an improvement all around. You guys were right in that it's not a really "ceramicy" sound.

I haven't spent much time on the neck pickup yet but it is quite warm, but that's not bad. I like it so far too.

Now the hard part is deciding what models to put in my other ones  :lol:. I think it's now obvious that I like something without too much output and without too many mids. I can now be pretty certain my rig is pretty dark and middy and works best with brighter pickups.

[Dave Sloven]

You might also like the Miracle Man, which is the other scooped BKP, although it is darker and has more output.  Depends really on what guitars you have.  They are always recommended for Jackson neck-throughs.  If you get a Nailbomb get the ceramic version.

You might also like the ceramic version of the Black Hawk.

I don't think any of these has as good a clean as the CS set though.

It really depends on exactly what part of the mid-range is the issue. Rebel Yells, which are an upper-mid focused pickup, might also work for you.  A

Also don't discount the Vintage Hot series.  You might like the Emerald and VHII sets, or even the Riff Raff from the Vintage range.

You might find that any of the pickups suggested for SGs work with your rig when installed in a Les Paul.  This is because SGs need a pickup with less low mids.  If this theory is correct then you might find a P-90 works well, as any P-90 seems to work in an SG

[Potatohead]

I have two more of the LP style singlecuts (the two pictured above) which are both mahogany/maple cap. I also have two seven strings which are maple neck throughs with maple caps (one mahogany body wings and the other alder), and I'll probably save the MM set for one of those.

I was leaning towards the Rebel Yells in the one in the highest tuning (drop D) I just wish I could hear a metal type tone out of it. The website doesn't have a "modern metal" sound clip on it, but I guess that's no big deal. If it's got an upper mid focus like the PK, but tamed back a bit, that might be ideal. The C-bomb just seems like it might have too much compression. Emeralds might work too.