Pickups for Symphonic Metal. As well as a different neck Humbucker.

[AnnunakiMassacr]

I've messaged BKP, but it would be nice to hear your thoughts as well. So I'll just copy and paste the message :)

Dear BKP,

Thanks again for the advice a couple weeks ago. But my search has moved on to something different this time...

I decided to do something different to my Hard Rock band, and decided on pushing the boundaries of my musical abilities, and start forming a Symphonic Metal band. Kind of like Within Temptation, Nightwish, Epica, etc... and wondered what a goo set of recording, as well as live pickups, would work. Rather than having the guitar as the driving force of the band, I'm wanting to use orchestral scores to build up the weight of the sound, and need something that can keep up with the heavy layers of instruments, and not get lost in the mix. Whilst Symphonic Metal has it's heavy moments, here will be lighter moments as well. Plus having solos, it would be great for something musical and expressive. But rhythm will be the main driving force. So preferably a bridge pickup that can cater to this.

Being a Musicman Silhouette (Alder/Maple/Ebony), it has 2 single coils as well, so I'm looking for something which can provide the clean tones, but at the same time, keep up if gain is applied. I'm not after hendrixy clean tones. But it would be nice to have a sort of paino-esque sound the arpeggiated chords. Again being able to sit nicely in a dense mix.

Something else I wanted to ask is that I'm looking to replace my Emerald neck. Whilst it's a sweet sounding pickup, and the clarity is great...I just don't feel it's for me. When playing it through gain, and turning down the volume control to clean it up, it just goes too polite for my liking, and isn't sharp enough in the treble department. I'm preferably after a neck pickup that has good cleans, but rather than going muddy with gain, it tightens up for a more precise attack. I know a lot of players like to hide behind the gain and mud, but I prefer each picked note to sound resolute. I like the attack. Have you any recommendations for this?

[Dave Sloven]

You might want to consider a Nailbomb set.

Good videos of the Nailbomb neck are rare but here's a video that's all neck, of someone playing Parisian Walkways

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE9Ip7BFpiI

Here's a video on the Nailbomb bridge options:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2kvQkpz5sM

[gwEm]

The brightest BKP neck pickup is I believe a Riff Raff. However, you might like to look into the a single coil in the neck, or parallel wiring - which will really brighten things up.

The Rebel Yell cuts through a dense mix very well. But I'm going to suggest the Aftermath. I realise this might seem like a strange suggestion, but I discovered this weekend that it remains extremely punchy, even under high gain.

BKP say:

"The bottom-end responds quickly to pick attack and tracks fast riffing extremely accurately, mids are focused and intense for ultimate punch no matter how dense the mix or how low the tuning and highs are precise and articulate. With a more compressed dynamic, single notes have masses of sustain while the front of the note is clear-cut and defined even under extreme amounts of gain. "

and I would 100% agree. I think that it could be worth looking into.

[Slartibartfarst42]

Tricky one.

I'd be tempted to say a Holydiver bridge and Trilogy Suite singles.

For the replacement pickup for the Emerald, try looking at a Holydiver neck or alternatively, why not look at a HSP90 instead as that should give you plenty articulation as well as some grit.