pickup help please

[zipline 7020]

So I have a schecter hellraiser c-8,
its a 27'' scale, all mahogany, ebony fretboard.
what pickup should I get to get a sound thats huge and thick and tight, but not exactly "djent" tight 24/7 (but could djent if necessary)....more like a thick, crushing hard rock kind of tight. ( i guess think breaking benjamin, red, love and death, korn, foo fighters, hacktivist, etc..but in drop F on an 8 string, and a little groovier)
if I had to describe it, its onomatopoeia would be "gonk".
Ive heard things about the aftermath, the nail bomb, and the painkiller. would any of these be good options?

[Slartibartfarst42]

Of the pickups you mention, I know the Nailbomb best and it's certainly the one that leapt to mind when reading your post so my suggestion would be to go with that one.

[littleredguitars2]

Yeah I gotta say nailbomb as well.  Not sure if you'd be better with ceramic or alnico though

[zipline 7020]

well, sound wise, what would be the major differences between alnico and ceramic?

and I know the default for 8 string players is the aftermath, why would the nail bomb be a batter choice. ( Im not doubting your judgement, Im just the kind of guy that likes to know every detail before I make a decision :P )

[Slartibartfarst42]

The A-Bomb will have better cleans, has more mid-range punch and is more organic while the C-Bomb will be tighter (the A-Bomb is already VERY tight though) and have more high end cut instead of mids. Generally ceramics are less organic sounding and the cleans aren't so great.

The Aftermath is very tight, very dry sounding and very modern while the A-Bomb especially is more of the 'thick, crushing Hard Rock' tone you described. It doesn't have the same level of compression as the Aftermath which gives it more of a 'Rock' feel to it while still being very aggressive sounding. I think it's that mixture that makes people view it as a versatile option whereas the Aftermath has a much narrower operating window.

[zipline 7020]

Ok , then I'm definitely staying away from the aftermath

now I emailed Ben from BKP, and he suggested I get the ceramic because my guitar is in drop F and all mahogany. But all of the ceramic recordings I've heard have all been in higher tunings, and they sound very thrashy and shreddy, kind of like metal core... Do you think the Alnico can handle the low F string? Noone seems to demo it any lower than A.
This is the closest I can find.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izRuNq_-vvk

"This is the alnico one. I think it only came out so tight because the guitar itself has little in the way of low end. To achieve similar results in a decent full-sounding guitar I'd say go for the ceramic. The pairing with the CS neck pickup very good, it certainly no problems keeping up output-wise. " -Nolly

What do you think?

[Slartibartfarst42]

I've never tried the C-Bomb myself, just the A-Bomb and I only play in Eb so it's difficult to say for sure. I remember it being somewhat brighter than I expected and insanely tight, both of which would suggest it would be OK, however, Nolly knows his stuff, as does Ben so I'd be inclined to follow their advice.

For what it's worth, the A-Bomb also sounded very 'thrashy' to me so I don't think that's perculiar to the C-Bomb. The Nailbomb is just a very aggressive sounding pickup and this is where I don't think it's as versatile as some people suggest. It will turn its hand to a lot of styles quite effectively but it always seems to retain that aggressive edge and hairiness to it.

[Dave Sloven]

I'm thinking of swapping the A-Pig out of my Explorer for the A-Bomb next string change, just to see what it sounds like in there.  Could be brilliant.  I tend to think the A-Bomb might like a darker guitar like my Explorer, whereas the A-Pig is quite dark already.  The A-Pig sounds good, but I could also keep it for a guitar that is a bit too bright.

[Slartibartfarst42]

When I had mine I always felt like it needed a guitar with a lot of mahogany to tame the hairy aggression of the pickup so if my theory holds up you should quite like it in the Explorer. I'd be very interested to hear how it turns out for you.

[zipline 7020]

Ceramic it is then! :D

also, the stock pickups are emg 808's,
can someone explain to me why they sound so brittle and always has that super high treble bite to it as soon as any gain is present, compared to a passive pickup. But yet how people like Josh travis, Devin townsend, Anthony Armstrong, and James Hetfield can get actives to sound awesome?

[Dave Sloven]

When I had mine I always felt like it needed a guitar with a lot of mahogany to tame the hairy aggression of the pickup so if my theory holds up you should quite like it in the Explorer. I'd be very interested to hear how it turns out for you.

The only issue would be that the neck pickup would be really mismatched with the bridge pickup if I were to use it there, so that would entail buying another neck pickup, either a Nailbomb, a Stockholm, or a Rebel Yell.  The Stockolm would be the cheapest, and I like my Stockolm bridge a lot in the SG Junior.  No idea what a Stockholm neck would sound like in an Explorer though.  I remember Nolly suggested somewhere that it is a good match with the A-Bomb

[Slartibartfarst42]

If you're going to keep the A-Pig bridge for a different guitar it makes sense to reserve the full set for that guitar and just get a new neck to go with the A-Bomb. I bet a Cold Sweat would go nicely  :D

[Dave Sloven]

I had a Cold Sweat neck with an A-Bomb before and I didn't like it.  Must be the only person who feels that way. I just thought it was too dark, smooth, and warm compared to the Nailbomb.  I'd even be tempted by the VHII neck.  Whichever one I go for it would probably be short leg.  No need for long legs in the neck position and I could move it into any guitar

[Slartibartfarst42]

You're right, I'm surprised at that. The Rebel Yell neck seems to be a brighter version of the Cold Sweat, as is the Holydiver neck so one of those may work well with it. I don't know much about the Nailbomb neck as it's not mentioned very much so in that respect I'd like you to get the set so we could have a nice review of the Nailbomb neck to add to Kiichi's collection  :D