best pickups for postrock/post metal

[druz15]

so I've picked up a Greco Les Paul Custom for my proggy/stoner/postrock project that's in Drop C.

The stock pickups sound pretty nice but are definitely PAFish and I think I might be keen on something a bit tighter.

Possibly higher output but keeping in mind cleans are pretty important, the heavy tones are mostly fuzz pedals driving marshally/orange/hiwattesque EL34 amps rather than amp overdrive itself (although my plexi style amp is sort of on the verge of breakup with current pickups)

styles I'm going for is sort of a Russian Circles / Explosions in the Sky meets Mastodon/Deftones style metal

What options should I be looking at?
Doesn't have to be BKP but I do love the Black Dogs in my other LP, so throw some ideas out there.

Was looking at the Juggernauts, or perhaps Nailbomb or Aftermath, or even Rebel Yells, the only thing I'm worried about is the high output of most of these models completely ruling out a clean sound.

Thanks in advance

EDIT: I should add Mike Sullivan from Russian Circles has a sound i really dig and most of his guitars use Gibson Dirty Fingers, what from BKP would be close to that.
(I do dig the sound of Juggernauts and their description makes them sound perfect)

[littleredguitars2]

I think the nailbomb would work.  I had an alnico nail bomb and it had some nice clean but could certainly pull off some heavy tones. Especially with your amp and pedal setup. I think it's quite a versatile pickup with a modern voicing.  Not sure if the ceramic  version would be better for you or not though.  Both good choices

[Sarkasis]

For the bridge, the Holydiver comes to mind. Hotter and more focused than PAFs but not quite as hot as a Nailbomb or Aftermath. Rebel Yell sounds like a good idea, if you like brighter with more upper mids.

I think the Juggernaut or Aftermath might be too tight and fast if you're going for thicker postrock tones. Their cleans aren't bad, and the Juggernaut sounds like it has some nice crisp cleans, but I think it might be too aggressive, fast-reacting and crunchy for what you're going for.

[druz15]

thanks guys.

Yeah that's what I was worried about with the juggernauts.

Should have mentioned the project is a two piece with just guitar and drums, I use a POG in combination with lower tunings and a dual amp setup to create all of the low end, so I need to be able to drive a "bass sound" quite well, but don't really want the pickups to be overly bassy if that makes sense.

Will check out some Holy Diver clips after work.
I guess the problem is most contemporary output pups tend to be voiced towards classic/thrash metal or djent whereas Im after more of a doomy/sludgy rhyhtm sound.
The  current pups are I'd say 85% there, just need something with a bit more clarity and output (without making cleans impossible)

[druz15]

by a stroke of luck I'm installing some pickups in a guitar for a customer and one is a juggernaut bridge, so when I've wired it up I can test it out through my rig to get an idea of how it'll work and that'll give me a good idea of how they'll react with my setup and whether I should go down a route with less output.

[Skilpad]

Well, Mike Sullivan use Miracle Man.

However, I also wanted to have this kind of post-rock sound, aiming for bright cleans. Based on Monkey3's extracts I provided, Ben French from BKP helped me in my choice: I went for a Cold Sweat bridge, and a Riff Raff neck for my ESP Eclipse II. I am wainting them, and will do a demo asap.

[ericsabbath]

if the juggernaut doesn't work for you, there's always the warpig
c-bomb and miracle man should work too
maybe even a painkiller

[Dave Sloven]

A Cold Sweat set could work well.

Cleans are certainly very good on the bridge and excellent on the neck.

[JimmyMoorby]

Bill Kelliher from mastadon uses a holy diver in his les paul custom, they often play in that tuning too.

[FELINEGUITARS]

post rock?
Post metal?

Somebody explain these for me.
I automatically assumed post rock is where you get too old for all that noisy stuff and settle down to play jazz or fusion

Be gentle - I'm over 35 so these new terms are baffling  (the last niches that made sense were grunge and nu-metal)
Emo ? Screamo? Scene? - I'm getting lost with all the subdivisions I confess.....it's all rock and roll to me

Somebody told me that Metallica weren't considered heavy metal anymore last week - old school rock apparently  :roll:

[Slartibartfarst42]

Holydiver was my first thought. Obviously ideal for 80s Metal but by no means limited to that genre as it's very versatile and an especially good choice if you already like the Black Dog.

[BigB]

post rock?
Post metal?

Somebody explain these for me.
I automatically assumed post rock is where you get too old for all that noisy stuff and settle down to play jazz or fusion

Be gentle - I'm over 35 so these new terms are baffling  (the last niches that made sense were grunge and nu-metal)
Emo ? Screamo? Scene? - I'm getting lost with all the subdivisions I confess.....it's all rock and roll to me

Somebody told me that Metallica weren't considered heavy metal anymore last week - old school rock apparently  :roll:

Being over 45 now and still thinking of the first three BÖC albums as heavy metal I can feel your pain :lol: - but hopefully I work with younger guys, and no, post-rock is not "jazz or fusion", and google will yield quite a few explanations on the genre.

[Sarkasis]

Post-rock: Russian Circles
Post-metal: Isis, Pelican

Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock. Post-rock bands are often without vocals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-rock

Post-metal is a fusion music genre, a mixture between the genres of post-rock, heavy metal, and shoegazing.

Hydra Head Records owner and Isis frontman Aaron Turner originally termed the genre "thinking man's metal", demonstrating that his band was trying to move away from common metal conventions. ...

According to Aaron Turner of Isis, experimental bands such as Melvins, Godflesh and Neurosis "laid the groundwork for us [...] we're part of a recognizable lineage". Although Neurosis and Godflesh appeared earlier and display elements befitting post-metal, Isis, who like Neurosis are linked to the sludge metal scene, are often credited with laying down the conventions and definition of the genre in less nebulous terms, with their release of Oceanic in 2002.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-metal

[druz15]

thanks for all the replies very helpful. Gonna chuck the Juggernauts in this morning and see how they go.
Sounds like a lot of options will do the job, with varying flavours.

Pretty much every postrock thread gear I start no matter on what forum it has to be explained to someone (that's okay though as it is a relatively new and not very mainstream genre... yet)

I do find niche subgenres extremely annoying and almost pointless especially the ridiculous number of metal subgenres there are, but this is one style of music that I feel is so different it kind of needs its own name.

Don't really like the term post-rock, apt as it is it gives off kind of a pretentious vibe when usually the groups associated are anything but

[Dave Sloven]

I usually think of 'post-metal' as being pretentious tools who think of themselves somehow as 'thinking men' and form bands like Tool or Isis.

I say this as a 46 year old PhD who can appreciate Hellhammer and Venom.