Juggernaut or Alnico Nailbomb in Maple Neck Through construction?

[Nephilim]

How would the Juggernaut or Nailbomb sound in a guitar like this? I'm in a melodic metal band and I was originally thinking of a Holy Diver, but I wanted something a bit more aimed at the metal spectrum. With the Ceramic style tightness, but also sounds juicy for solos. After reading a few threads, I know people say the Miracle Man would be the way to go. But I can't really get on with clips I've heard. They just don't have that juicy lead tone I'm looking for.

[Dave Sloven]

Out of those two for what you want/have I'd say the Juggernaut.

[ericsabbath]

the miracle man has the best metal lead tone of all the pups I had
the diver may sound a little fatter and more fluid, more like Eddie Van Halen or Jerry Cantrell, but the miracle man sounds METAL
it is fluid and everything, but it has a very focused sound with a modern harmonic character (whatever that means  )

[Slartibartfarst42]

Out of those two I'd say the Juggernaut but that's only because I tried an A-Bomb in my maple neck-thru and just didn't work at all. The Miracle Man and Holydiver both work well but if you want a more open style ceramic you'd be better off with a Cold Sweat set. I used that set in a maple neck-thru too and it was really good.

[BigB]

As much as I love the ABombs in my (rather dark) SG, I wouldn't even bother trying them in my maple-thru Vox Custom 24. Just my 2 cents...

[Slartibartfarst42]

Now a dark SG or a darker Les Paul would be completely different. I can see them working there for sure but not in a maple neck-thru.

Miracle Man - Scooped EQ for a balanced tone with plenty saturated smooth distortion and tightness. Late 80s Metal and early 90s
Holydiver - Lots of thick mids with smooth, saturated distortion and a sweet lead tone. Early 80s Metal
Cold Sweat - Scooped EQ for a generally balanced tone but overall much brighter than the Miracle Man and more open. Late 70s to early 80s Metal

[Duck2587]

First and foremost, what does your guitar sound like naturally? Unplugged. This makes a huge difference to guide you in the right direction. Just because your guitar is composed of mostly maple, does not mean it will be overly bright or snappy-provided by most luthier and internet hype. My Jackson was very dark sounding and was maple neck through construction with alder wings. I have also had mahogany guitars that were bright. All depends on the piece you have.

[Nephilim]

would you say the Juggernaut would be the first selection if I was also looking to use this guitar to play songs by J.Petrucci and Marco Sfogli on their solo albums? I know Sfogli used the D Sonic and Norton, and Petrucci used the Steve's Special. Would be cool if I could achieve these tones as well?

[ericsabbath]

would you say the Juggernaut would be the first selection if I was also looking to use this guitar to play songs by J.Petrucci and Marco Sfogli on their solo albums? I know Sfogli used the D Sonic and Norton, and Petrucci used the Steve's Special. Would be cool if I could achieve these tones as well?

I'd say miracle man for the classic petrucci sound

[Nephilim]

would you say the Juggernaut would be the first selection if I was also looking to use this guitar to play songs by J.Petrucci and Marco Sfogli on their solo albums? I know Sfogli used the D Sonic and Norton, and Petrucci used the Steve's Special. Would be cool if I could achieve these tones as well?

I'd say miracle man for the classic petrucci sound

It's not the "classic" sound I'm after. It's his solo stuff. I'm just using him as an example loosely. His album Suspended Animation as an example. I just think the Miracle Man is too metal and isn't expressive enough. Marco Sfogli's tone from his 2 instrumental albums is nice too.

[ericsabbath]

would you say the Juggernaut would be the first selection if I was also looking to use this guitar to play songs by J.Petrucci and Marco Sfogli on their solo albums? I know Sfogli used the D Sonic and Norton, and Petrucci used the Steve's Special. Would be cool if I could achieve these tones as well?

I'd say miracle man for the classic petrucci sound

It's not the "classic" sound I'm after. It's his solo stuff. I'm just using him as an example loosely. His album Suspended Animation as an example. I just think the Miracle Man is too metal and isn't expressive enough.

didn't he still have the same pups by then? (steve's special and air norton)

miracle man is pretty expressive in the right hands
it's way more versatile than most would expect

[Nephilim]

would you say the Juggernaut would be the first selection if I was also looking to use this guitar to play songs by J.Petrucci and Marco Sfogli on their solo albums? I know Sfogli used the D Sonic and Norton, and Petrucci used the Steve's Special. Would be cool if I could achieve these tones as well?

I'd say miracle man for the classic petrucci sound

It's not the "classic" sound I'm after. It's his solo stuff. I'm just using him as an example loosely. His album Suspended Animation as an example. I just think the Miracle Man is too metal and isn't expressive enough.

didn't he still have the same pups by then? (steve's special and air norton)

miracle man is pretty expressive in the right hands
it's way more versatile than most would expect

I believe he used the Tone Zone, then the D Sonic, then the Crunch Lab for his Dream Theater tones. The Steve's Special he used purely for his solo album as the mid range was spread in such away, it filled the spectrum for his solo tone. But the Steve's Special has a nice rounded end. Even the other pickups he used have a very round top end. The Miracle Man is just too bright in the highs from everything I've heard.

[Slartibartfarst42]

The Miracle Man isn't overly bright at all. It has plenty highs for sure but it also has a strong bottom end and plenty lower mids. The Holydiver has the mids spread more evenly. Being Alnico V it isn't as tight as the Miracle Man but it does have a sweeter tone. Having said that, I'm not overly struck on ceramic pickups these days and even I liked the Miracle Man. It's certainly a lot better than the Crunchlab I tried in a JP100D the other day! There's no way the A-Bomb will work for what you're after and I have serious doubts the Juggernaut is your best option too but if it's what you want, it's your money. I still feel the best pickups for what you want would be either the Miracle Man, Holydiver or Cold Sweat.

[Dave Sloven]

The Miracle Man isn't overly bright at all. It has plenty highs for sure but it also has a strong bottom end and plenty lower mids. The Holydiver has the mids spread more evenly. Being Alnico V it isn't as tight as the Miracle Man but it does have a sweeter tone. Having said that, I'm not overly struck on ceramic pickups these days and even I liked the Miracle Man. It's certainly a lot better than the Crunchlab I tried in a JP100D the other day! There's no way the A-Bomb will work for what you're after and I have serious doubts the Juggernaut is your best option too but if it's what you want, it's your money. I still feel the best pickups for what you want would be either the Miracle Man, Holydiver or Cold Sweat.

I would be very surprised if you were not right in this.

[Nephilim]

The Miracle Man isn't overly bright at all. It has plenty highs for sure but it also has a strong bottom end and plenty lower mids. The Holydiver has the mids spread more evenly. Being Alnico V it isn't as tight as the Miracle Man but it does have a sweeter tone. Having said that, I'm not overly struck on ceramic pickups these days and even I liked the Miracle Man. It's certainly a lot better than the Crunchlab I tried in a JP100D the other day! There's no way the A-Bomb will work for what you're after and I have serious doubts the Juggernaut is your best option too but if it's what you want, it's your money. I still feel the best pickups for what you want would be either the Miracle Man, Holydiver or Cold Sweat.

I'll try a Miracle Man in that case. Would you say with the mid hump of my guitar (I believe this is what they have), the low mids and bass will give it a great low end, and the highs will balance it out with the hi mids to give it a balanced feel overall?
What would be a good neck pickup to support versatility?