Alnico Nailbombs too tight?

[bradrid]

I have a guitar that came with Alnico Nailbombs - mahogany body, maple cap, set-in maple neck, ebony fretboard, no trem. The low end is certainly VERY tight and sounds much better the lower you tune the guitar. It sounds especially good in Drop-B. But in Eb or D standard the low end sounds thinner and a little grainier than all of my guitars , especially when doing palm muted chugging metal stuff. I was intending for this guitar to stay in Eb or D standard which is mostly what I play in, so I was wondering if I should swap these pickups out for something with more low end like Ceramic Nailbombs or Ceramic Warpigs. I have even wondered if I should swap theA-Bombs out for a DiMarzio Tone Zone that I have in a basswood guitar as that pickup is very bass heavy and sounds a bit flabby in a basswood body. Any thoughts? Thanks!

[Alex]

Have you tried adjusting the height of the pickup? The Nailbomb is one of the few BKP where I feel having it a bit lower makes it sound better.

[ericsabbath]

Have you tried adjusting the height of the pickup? The Nailbomb is one of the few BKP where I feel having it a bit lower makes it sound better.

I agree
but having it set lower also will thin out the bass

both a-bomb and c-bomb are pretty bass heavy, so maybe he actually has it too low, or he just doesn't like the aggressive nature of the nailbomb

[darrenw5094]

I have just had a C-Bomb fitted to a mahogany Ibanez and it's thinner sounding than my other guitars, especially my fav Holy Diver guitar.
It could be the nature of it, i am beginning to assume it's suited to mahogany Les Paul style guitars.

[bradrid]

Have you tried adjusting the height of the pickup? The Nailbomb is one of the few BKP where I feel having it a bit lower makes it sound better.

Yes, I have. The character of the bass response doesn't change too much, just the output. I agree, the pickup, like most, does not sound good too close to the strings.

[bradrid]

Have you tried adjusting the height of the pickup? The Nailbomb is one of the few BKP where I feel having it a bit lower makes it sound better.

I agree
but having it set lower also will thin out the bass

both a-bomb and c-bomb are pretty bass heavy, so maybe he actually has it too low, or he just doesn't like the aggressive nature of the nailbomb

Agree, too low thins out the bass. I cannot characterize it as bass heavy. It's tight and grainy but not bass heavy at all. In fact, it sounds much better in Drop-B, for instance, rather than Eb standard. The tightness is low dropped tunings is better, but in more standard tunings, it sounds too tight, too grainy, not bass heavy at all.

[bradrid]

I have just had a C-Bomb fitted to a mahogany Ibanez and it's thinner sounding than my other guitars, especially my fav Holy Diver guitar.
It could be the nature of it, i am beginning to assume it's suited to mahogany Les Paul style guitars.

Are you saying you like Holy Diver's better in mahogony guitars? I have one on order for my Basswood, RG, perhaps I should try it out in the mahogany guitar first...?

[darrenw5094]

The HD in a LP would be a gamble, but in a bolt on maple neck the HD should be fine.

Do no harm to try the HD in there first.

[Alex]

Have you tried adjusting the height of the pickup? The Nailbomb is one of the few BKP where I feel having it a bit lower makes it sound better.

I agree
but having it set lower also will thin out the bass

both a-bomb and c-bomb are pretty bass heavy, so maybe he actually has it too low, or he just doesn't like the aggressive nature of the nailbomb

Agree, too low thins out the bass. I cannot characterize it as bass heavy. It's tight and grainy but not bass heavy at all. In fact, it sounds much better in Drop-B, for instance, rather than Eb standard. The tightness is low dropped tunings is better, but in more standard tunings, it sounds too tight, too grainy, not bass heavy at all.

I actually play the pickup in standard tuning on a LesPaul and find the low end is perfect, real chunky. I think this is must be related to your particular guitar, especially its neck.
Do you have a picture of your guitar?

[Lucas]

Have you tried adjusting the height of the pickup? The Nailbomb is one of the few BKP where I feel having it a bit lower makes it sound better.

I have to agree with that as well, my CBomb is set quite low and lowering down a bit actually helps.
Alex is right.

[bradrid]

Have you tried adjusting the height of the pickup? The Nailbomb is one of the few BKP where I feel having it a bit lower makes it sound better.

I agree
but having it set lower also will thin out the bass

both a-bomb and c-bomb are pretty bass heavy, so maybe he actually has it too low, or he just doesn't like the aggressive nature of the nailbomb

Agree, too low thins out the bass. I cannot characterize it as bass heavy. It's tight and grainy but not bass heavy at all. In fact, it sounds much better in Drop-B, for instance, rather than Eb standard. The tightness is low dropped tunings is better, but in more standard tunings, it sounds too tight, too grainy, not bass heavy at all.

I actually play the pickup in standard tuning on a LesPaul and find the low end is perfect, real chunky. I think this is must be related to your particular guitar, especially its neck.
Do you have a picture of your guitar?

It's a 3 piece maple/mahogany neck with ebony fretboard, here it a link to it http://www.ibanez.co.jp/products/u_eg_page15.php?year=2015&cat_id=1&series_id=7&data_id=220&color=CL01

[bradrid]

Have you tried adjusting the height of the pickup? The Nailbomb is one of the few BKP where I feel having it a bit lower makes it sound better.

I lowered the height to a lower distance than my other pickups and I must say, you are correct. The farty, grainy, thinness is not there anymore. I can't say it really IMPROVED the bass response, but the quality and character of the bass is much better! I am wondering if the ebony fretboard / maple neck is too bright for this pickup and I need something different to get a real chunky low end, but lowering the height really did make it sound much better. Any thoughts if I were to try a different BKP? I am wondering if a C-Bomb would work better, and the dealer is suggesting if I did try something different to maybe try a Warpig or Blackhawk. Thoughts?

[Alex]

Wow, for me that guitar would be perfect as it is.

I'm not really familiar with those other pickups, so I cannot comment on them.
I suppose more low-end from the amp is not an option?

[Slartibartfarst42]

I found the A-Bomb to be insanely tight and aggressive. A great pickup but not at all for me, largely because I think I had it in the wrong guitar (maple neck-thru) but I think it would work great in a Les Paul.

[bradrid]

I wanted to report back that Nick from Axe Palace recommended I swap out the C-Bomb with a C-Warpig. Nick's recommendation was spot on! The C-Warpig in this guitar NOW gets the bottom end I want without the graineyness in the C-Bomb. I was worried it would be too dark, but in this guitar (Mahog body/Maple top/Maple neck/Ebony board) it most definitely not too dark. Perfect!