Bridge pickup recommendations please!

[JimmyMoorby]

I've come to realize more than ever all the BKP's have their place but they rely heavily on being put into the right guitar.

I'm absolutely loving the vhii set I have in my esp alder/maple neck super strat at the moment.   I love messing around with it and being able to get all those EVH harmonics.  The guitar is really fun to play and the best cleans i've had from any guitar so far.  The reason I can say theyre staying is for what they do theyre perfect but I need more 'guts/beef' but ideally keeping those harmonics.

To start with i'm getting a new super strat with mahogony body, maple cap and maple neck thru.

My experience with the alnico nailbomb says its definitely chunkier and could keep up with harmonics if it didnt have those 'warm highs'.  Tightness doesnt matter as id prefer a big sound.

I need some thing AT LEAST as chunky as the nailbomb (Thicker if possible but not crucial) but with more EVH / Nuno Bettencourt type harmonics.

Seriously now im at the mercy of recommendations as I havent a clue on this one and as per the above I know all bkp's are top notch and whatever I get I wont be disappointed.  For any one who may remember what ive said about pups I may or may not have liked in the past forget it....just suggest what you think!

Cheers
Jim

[Chris Rowberry]

Hey Jimmy

The Crawler would be a good idea to check out. It has slightly less output than the Nailbomb but has a smoother, creamier tone and at 15.4k DC reading you aren't going to find it lacking a big tone and will push out harmonics nicely.

On the flip side it would be a good idea to also check out the Holydiver, still a alnico 5 magnet but with a thinner gauge wire giving it more gain. It comes across as slightly darker but with a tighter bottom end which ensures it keeps the clarity in its big, rich tone. You wont have any problems with harmonics with them either.

[JimmyMoorby]

Hey Jimmy

The Crawler would be a good idea to check out. It has slightly less output than the Nailbomb but has a smoother, creamier tone and at 15.4k DC reading you aren't going to find it lacking a big tone and will push out harmonics nicely.

On the flip side it would be a good idea to also check out the Holydiver, still a alnico 5 magnet but with a thinner gauge wire giving it more gain. It comes across as slightly darker but with a tighter bottom end which ensures it keeps the clarity in its big, rich tone. You wont have any problems with harmonics with them either.

Really appreciate your response Chris, thank you.  The crawler is THE pickup I always overlook and I have no idea why!

I think i'm more drawn to the holy diver.  I didnt mention i'm a metal head at heart who dabbles in other styles.

[Yellowjacket]

For any one who may remember what ive said about pups I may or may not have liked in the past forget it....just suggest what you think!

JUGGERNAUTS!!!!           































....

seriously, I just wanted to say that.  Now, I'm going to second the "crawler" recommendation.  It's hard to know what pickup will just spew forth harmonics but at least with the crawler, you'll get both phat and versatile. 

I also think a VHII / Holy Diver combo may be interesting but man, Crawler....   

[JimmyMoorby]

I've been tempted by 'the juggs' for some time but can they really pull off EVH/Nuno type stuff or are they 'too modern'?
I really want the sound of the first van halen/extreme album (Cliche alert ahead) on steroids.  Think if EVH/Nuno wanted to join a much heavier band.

I didnt ask for an opinion on the neck because id go for a jugg neck.

[Yellowjacket]

Which EVH album are you thinking for tone?  Do you have some examples of this?  I'd be interested to hear it and compare.

The Juggernauts definitely have a certain 'voice' to them but this is also affected by the guitar tone and the amp one is using.  My more vintage sounding amp pairs with the juggernauts in a really pleasing way.  In general, the voice is somehow rounded or quite smooth in the highs and it really purrs, even if it has quite a bite on the top end.  I don't do much for pinch harmonics but I've had some crazy harmonics pop out by accident. 
Overall, the bridge pickup is really phat, tight, and percussive.  The palm mutes are devastating and both the lead and clean tones are incredible.  That aside, the voice of the pickups is indelible and it's really a question of if you jive with that or not.  I can't really answer that question for you aside from stating that it really doesn't bother me in the least.  Of course, I am someone who really likes variety so I'm happy to have a bunch of axes that sound quite different from one another.

Anyway, Juggernauts get a vote for great metal tone, great prog metal / prog rock tone, great hard rock tone, and great modern rock tone. 

[darkbluemurder]

My experience with the alnico nailbomb says its definitely chunkier and could keep up with harmonics if it didnt have those 'warm highs'.  Tightness doesnt matter as id prefer a big sound.

I need some thing AT LEAST as chunky as the nailbomb (Thicker if possible but not crucial) but with more EVH / Nuno Bettencourt type harmonics.

EVH/Nuno Bettencourt harmonics - that would be the Cold Sweat bridge. Not necessarily chunky in the midrange though.

The "thick department" would indeed be the Crawler bridge and the Holydiver bridge, Crawler being more vintage and HD being more modern (i.e. 80s modern :)).

Cheers Stephan

[JimmyMoorby]

I've always liked EVH's tone but if I had to pick one I like his tone on the F.U.C.K album.

Tim got back to me and the miracle man seemed to be his first choice which makes a great deal of sense to me.

He said the juggs could be good but id have to decide on whether or not the mids would suit me or not.

He also suggested the rebel yells.  I know the rebel yells are awesome but I dont think theyd have enough bottom end for me.  If the rebel yell had that bottom end it'd be the obvious choice but obviously theres always got to be that compromise.

I get the multiple guitar thing but I always want one 'workhorse guitar' and I want this to be said workhorse

So far i'm thinking

1) Miracle man set
2) Jugg set
3) Holy Diver / jugg neck

Im not sure I can bring my self to use the crawler.  It sounds ace and nothing tonally is wrong with it but some thing just doesnt sit right with me.  I guess all the other pickups are blatantly aimed at OTT rock and metal styles and that one isnt.

I'm inclined to trust Tim and go with a miracle man set.....he only suggested the bridge but I like compressed neck pickups for metal.

[Dave Sloven]

Maple neck-through + metal application = I'm not surprised Tim suggested the MM.

You could use either a MM neck or a Cold Sweat neck with that bridge pickup.  If you run the MM maybe add a series/parallel switch to give less output for cleans.

I'd get 4-conductor wiring in any case.

[JimmyMoorby]

Maple neck-through + metal application = I'm not surprised Tim suggested the MM.

You could use either a MM neck or a Cold Sweat neck with that bridge pickup.  If you run the MM maybe add a series/parallel switch to give less output for cleans.

I'd get 4-conductor wiring in any case.

The cold sweat tone is incredible and it deserves its rep but I always want more output and power so I should be fine with the miracle man neck.  Its why I also liked the aftermath neck its just had that little extra compression going on than the cold sweat.

I'm more than happy using an emg 81 in the neck and I also like emg cleans.  I like low output and high output just depends what for.

Im guessing the jugg neck would be to my liking if in the simplest terms its a higher output vhii neck which reading between the lines of what Misha has said in the past it is.  It's a vhii neck that can keep up with the output on pups like the jugg/aftermath etc.

[Yellowjacket]

Juggerneck is a gorgeous and powerful neck pickup for sure.  It's smoother than the VHII neck but it does have that warm quality about it.  It's not as gritty and bad mannered and the 'shred' characteristic tends to take over more.  That aside, the timbre still has that sort of PAF or 'Rock' feel about it.  It's not totally rich and violin like in the way you'd expect from a modern neck pickup.

[JimmyMoorby]

Sounds rate up my proverbial street

[Dave Sloven]

With the hot pickup bad cleans issue the problem really is the type of amp.  On my Peavey the cleans are 'okay' most of the time but it is easily overdriven by a hot pickup.  CS fine, NB fine, WP overdriven.  From what I know of the MM neck it is similar to the WP neck, although my WP neck also has two rows of bolts, which might ramp it up a little.

[JimmyMoorby]

With the hot pickup bad cleans issue the problem really is the type of amp.  On my Peavey the cleans are 'okay' most of the time but it is easily overdriven by a hot pickup.  CS fine, NB fine, WP overdriven.  From what I know of the MM neck it is similar to the WP neck, although my WP neck also has two rows of bolts, which might ramp it up a little.

I think with this guitar I might just be happy to make the compromise on the cleans.

[seancorker]

My experience with the alnico nailbomb says its definitely chunkier and could keep up with harmonics if it didnt have those 'warm highs'.  Tightness doesnt matter as id prefer a big sound.

I need some thing AT LEAST as chunky as the nailbomb (Thicker if possible but not crucial) but with more EVH / Nuno Bettencourt type harmonics.

EVH/Nuno Bettencourt harmonics - that would be the Cold Sweat bridge. Not necessarily chunky in the midrange though.

The "thick department" would indeed be the Crawler bridge and the Holydiver bridge, Crawler being more vintage and HD being more modern (i.e. 80s modern :)).

Cheers Stephan

For the EVH/Nuno sound (and I'd throw in DiMartini) I eventually had to go elsewhere. I've tried HD's, Crawlers and VHII's and wasn't completely convinced by any of them as an 80's style pickup. Personally I think they are wound just a smidge too hot and are too thick.