Pickup Suggestions Please

[ckennett89]

Hey guys and gals, I am looking for a new pickup, and I'm trying to get my ducks in a row.  I play in a hard rock/ metal band (more hard rock than metal), a metal band, and in a southern blues project.  The guitars I am using are a Jackson Dominion, a Fender Jim Root Telecaster, and a Fender Jim Root Stratocaster.  All 3 are tuned differently.  That being said, I need a very versatile pickup combination (neck and bridge). 

I want a neck pickup that is thick and warm, with a little chime and lots of clarity.  I want it to keep its true tone when you dirty it up, and I want it to have a nice fat, meaty voice to it.  Something that is not thin in the slightest, and has a great string to string separation. 

I want the bridge pickup to be huge, and have lots of intestinal fortitude.  I want a hot and high output humbucker, that is thick, raw, punchy, chunky, beefy, warm, and clear.  I do not play djent, and I want to stay away from really scratchy tones found in a typical "djent pickup."  I want the bottom end to be wide and fat, but clear, and the high end to soar and not scream.  As with the neck humbucker, I want to stay far away from a "thin" sound, and have great string to string separation.  Thickness, punch, heat, warmth, "balls," and clarity are essential. 

Thanks for the time, and any help you guys can give me. 
Chris

[Dave Sloven]

Slarti can chime in on this, but I'm thinking that the set-up he has - Emerald neck with a Holy Driver bridge - might work in your Tele.  Otherwise maybe an Abraxas set, which he also knows about.

Also, have a close look at  the VHII set

[Slartibartfarst42]

For the neck, I'd say either an Emerald or Cold Sweat. For the bridge, either a Holydiver or Miracle Man. Both are lovely and smooth and both will suit the woods in your guitars very well. The Miracle Man will give you more at the bottom end and more at the top while the Holydiver is more about mids.

[darkbluemurder]

I want a neck pickup that is thick and warm, with a little chime and lots of clarity.  I want it to keep its true tone when you dirty it up, and I want it to have a nice fat, meaty voice to it.  Something that is not thin in the slightest, and has a great string to string separation. 

Abraxas neck would fit that description, so would the Holydiver neck. I have read some posts saying that the HD neck is thin but I have had it in two different guitars and while it is bright and clear it did not sound thin to me in the least.
 

I want the bridge pickup to be huge, and have lots of intestinal fortitude.  I want a hot and high output humbucker, that is thick, raw, punchy, chunky, beefy, warm, and clear.  I do not play djent, and I want to stay away from really scratchy tones found in a typical "djent pickup."  I want the bottom end to be wide and fat, but clear, and the high end to soar and not scream.  As with the neck humbucker, I want to stay far away from a "thin" sound, and have great string to string separation.  Thickness, punch, heat, warmth, "balls," and clarity are essential. 

The Miracle Man would tick all the boxes, maybe the "thickness" and "warmth" boxes a bit less than the others. The Holydiver would tick many of the boxes, but the "punch" it has comes from its midrange content. For "punch" in the low end this has to come from the guitar in the first place - that's not necessarily what the HD bridge is about. The Alnico Nailbomb would also tick many of the boxes but I would not really call it "warm" - the other two are definitely warmer to my ears.

Cheers Stephan

[Slartibartfarst42]

Abraxas neck would fit that description, so would the Holydiver neck. I have read some posts saying that the HD neck is thin but I have had it in two different guitars and while it is bright and clear it did not sound thin to me in the least.

I think the Holydiver neck is also a good shout as I've been increasingly impressed with mine. It's a bit thinner than the Cold Sweat neck and a bit brighter too but nothing like to the degree that some people make out. It actually sounds really vintage to me with that light wind. The Emerald neck that I use has a far more cutting and modern tone to it which is why I eventually split the Holydiver set and moved the neck in with the Crawler. The Holydiver neck kind of reminds me of Kiichi's description of the Rebel Yell bridge - vintage with a modern twist.

[ckennett89]

Thanks for all of the input.  I'm probably more of a bottom end guy than a major midrange guy.  I dig the beef!  Okay that sounds a little flamboyant...  Anyways, I play through an ENGL Fireball 100 through a Mesa/Boogie 4x12 straight oversized cab with vintage 30's.  I play in Drop Db (aka C#), Drop B, Standard Eb, and a Standard Eb but with a Bb for the low Eb.  I hope this helps. 

[ckennett89]

Also, I've been using a PRS Tremonti pickup set since 2007, and I love the tone of those pickups.  I just want something with more balls and greater warmth. 

[darthphineas]

Also, I've been using a PRS Tremonti pickup set since 2007, and I love the tone of those pickups.  I just want something with more balls and greater warmth.

that pickup was designed more for a LP-type mahogany w/maple top setup.  given what you're hearing from it and what you want, the HD might do it.  the ceramic mag of the Cold Sweat might keep your lows a little more in line, since you are de-tuned a bit there.

[ericsabbath]

sounds like a nailbomb job
mine sounded great through my bandmate ENGL clone (it had a fireball based pre with a SLO100 based power amp)
he had a tremonti pickup in a prs mccarty and replaced it with a cold sweat and than a miracle man
the cold sweat is cleaner, way more articulate, brighter and a bit more scooped
the miracle man seems a little bassier than the tremonti, but tighter and less fizzy
they all sounded pretty good with that amp, but I had the impression that the nailbomb was a natural match

[Slartibartfarst42]

Everything except 'Raw' suggests that he'd like the Miracle Man best but that's a smooth pickup and not a 'raw' one. If his emphasis is 'raw' then I'd agree the A-Bomb might be better.

[ckennett89]

Based off of the replies you guys have given me and the sounds clips from the website, I'm looking at the cold sweat, miracle man, and alnico nailbomb for the bridge.  I'm looking at the cold sweat, nailbomb, and holy diver neck pickups.  So now it's trying to figure out which pickup combination will cover all of the ground I need it to and still prove to be versatile, and not a one trick pony.  Thanks again for all of the help guys. 

[Slartibartfarst42]

None are doing everything you want but all are excellent at part of it. I'll try to pick out the words from your original post that I think might fit with each pickup:

Miracle Man - 'huge', 'lots of intestinal fortitude', 'hot and high output humbucker', 'thick', 'punchy', 'chunky', 'beefy', 'warm', 'bottom end to be wide and fat but clear', 'high end to soar and not scream', 'far away from a "thin" sound', 'great string to string separation', 'Thickness, punch, heat, warmth, "balls," and clarity'

A-Bomb - 'huge', 'lots of intestinal fortitude', 'hot and high output humbucker', 'thick, raw, punchy, chunky, beefy, warm', 'fat but clear', 'far away from a "thin" sound', 'great string to string separation', 'Thickness, punch, heat, warmth, "balls," and clarity'

Cold Sweat - 'lots of intestinal fortitude', 'hot and high output humbucker', 'punchy', 'clear', 'high end to soar and not scream', 'away from a "thin" sound', 'great string to string separation', 'punch, heat, "balls," and clarity'

The only thing I'd add is that the woods in the guitar will be crucial in choosing your pickup. The Cold Sweat is quite bright so is better suited to Les Paul style guitars. The A-Bomb is also VERY aggressive and hairy sounding and the wrong woods will just highlight that. I tried one in a maple neck-thru with alder wings and it was really awful but I may be trying it again in the New Year in an all mahogany Les Paul copy. The Miracle Man works well in many things unless the guitar is very dark.

Of the neck pickups you listed, the Cold Sweat is the one that is certainly the closest to your requirements, though your description also describes the Emerald very well. Don't be fooled by the EQ charts as they only relate to the bridge version. The neck Emerald is everything you want. It's perhaps a little brighter than the Cold Sweat but certainly not a bright pickup and it has a sweeter lead tone thanks to the AIV magnet.

I would describe my tastes in tone as quite similar to yours and I've also tried all of these pickups before and I'd take the Miracle Man again in a heartbeat. For the neck, I prefer the Emerald over the Cold Sweat neck but it's a bloody close call between the two of them. You can't really lose with either of them.

[Dave Sloven]

I have a Cold Sweat set in my SG and I've just installed an Emerald set in a mate's Les Paul.  I can back up Slarti's recommendations of these two.  The choice between them really is in terms of which better suits your playing style.  Both are really for playing leads, rather than being used as a 'rhythm' pickup.  My mate chose the Emerald because he is a very expressive player, with a style based around bending notes rather than hammer ons, pull offs, tapping, etc.  If you lean toward the latter I'd suggest the Cold Sweat, but of you are more like him go for the Emerald.  A good example of the style he gravitates toward is that of Brian Robertson (Thin Lizzy), whose sound the Emerald was designed to reproduce.

[ckennett89]

So the miracle man sounds like it's what I'm looking for in a bridge.  I really only use my neck pickup for cleans.  That being said, would you guys still recommend the cold sweat or the emerald?

[Dave Sloven]

The Cold Sweat neck has great cleans.