Juggernaut or Alnico Nailbomb in Maple Neck Through construction?

[Slartibartfarst42]

Yes, it does end up quite balanced as the maple neck-thru tends to highlight the upper mids most of all. It's certainly much darker than you're suggesting. The thing is, nobody has a crystal ball with these things so I can't tell you with 100% certainty what will or won't work for you, I can only give you my honest opinion based on my experience. To a degree I'd say that any of the three pickups I've suggested will work but of course, none will really get you that Petrucci tone because the pickups are just one tiny element that contributes to overall tone. Here are the reviews I wrote for both the Holydiver and Miracle Man::

 https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=24376

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=28004

For the neck, I'd take a serious look at the Emerald. It has a beautifully sweet tone, it's very versatile and matches well with either the Miracle Man or Holydiver in the bridge. Here's my review of the Emerald:

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=28425

And on this next thread, I make a few extended comments on the Emerald that people were gracious enough to think was of enough use to include in the Review section:

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=31081.msg400552#msg400552

I hope all that helps 

[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

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.

well he did use the steve's special for years with dream theater too
just checked dimarzio's website and it shows the steve's special/air norton combo for suspended animation as well
I'm not too familiar with his discography and not really a fan of his tones, but from what I hear, the steve's special does have a lot in common with the miracle man voicing
although they have different wire specs, they were designed with the same objective: clarity, instead of overwhelming midrange push (which makes steve's special different from 90% of the dimarzio range, and also makes the miracle man sound quite unique)
hot wound asymmetrical coils combined with a ceramic magnet, so the treble is not tamed, the mids are controlled and the low end is big but keeps a fast concise response

I only had the miracle man in les pauls and in a PRS, but it used to be quite popular among all maple guitar owners and also sounds amazing in basswood superstrats
it does have a lot of top end indeed, but it's a quite thick sounding pickup with lots of clarity and versatility

not that the nailbomb or the juggernaut wouldn't sound good, but the miracle man seems like a natural choice for that sort of tone
even a holy diver should sound amazing, but quite different from those guys

I just got an emerald neck, but I can't give any advice about it yet

[Alex]

Here's my suggestion on pickups for Petrucci tone

Metropolis II  - Black Dog
Six Degrees/Train of Thoughts/Black Clouds & Silver Linings - Nailbomb
Dramatic/Dream Theater - Juggernaut

I can't quite work out what would work for Systematic Chaos and I don't know the earlier albums.

[JimmyMoorby]

In general i'd recommend juggeranuts for modern progressive metal especially bands like Dream Theater.  Other combinations will 'do it' but I think the juggeranuts are perfect for all modern technical rock and metal styles.

I'm impressed by the set i've put in my SG.  For 'higher output' pickups the cleans are flawless.

I've played with them a fair bit at home but not at band volume yet and wont be doing for a few weeks :-( Looking forward to trying them out.

Of course magnets dont make a pickup by any stretch BUT as desbribed they have the best qualities of ceramic and alnico and none of the flaws.  I'm a BKP fanboy in general but I can see the Juggs working in any guitar for 'metal'.  I'd stick them in a strat, sg, les paul whateveer and can see them working.

[Slartibartfarst42]

The Juggernaut is a strange one for me. When I saw the specifications on its release I thought it would be perfect as I love alnico  tone but I liked the idea of the ceramic magnet keeping things tight and holding onto the highs in a hot wind. The problem is that I've really disliked all of the various clips I've heard. Ironically, I've just ordered something similar that has two alnico 5 magnets and an alnico 8 so hopefully that will appeal more. Perhaps it's one of those pickups that has to be heard live as certainly in principle I like the idea of the Juggernaut.

[JimmyMoorby]

The Juggernaut is a strange one for me. When I saw the specifications on its release I thought it would be perfect as I love alnico  tone but I liked the idea of the ceramic magnet keeping things tight and holding onto the highs in a hot wind. The problem is that I've really disliked all of the various clips I've heard. Ironically, I've just ordered something similar that has two alnico 5 magnets and an alnico 8 so hopefully that will appeal more. Perhaps it's one of those pickups that has to be heard live as certainly in principle I like the idea of the Juggernaut.

I haven't had enough time with it so i'm struggling compare it to any thing else but i'm sure I'm sure saw some one on here said it's like a 'tighter holy diver' and I can see why but there's more to it than that.

It's modern but not extreme.  It's actually very polished but can get nasty.  The neck is like a slightly higher output vhii neck but I'm struggling to describe the bridge atm.