Which 8 string pickup set for best natural "raw" tight and balanced?

[hopkinwfg]

Am wondering which BKP 8 string set i should get for the best nautral "raw" "marshally" tone  being tight, well balanced, dynamic picking, crystal clear when at high gain and fat ?

My guitar has a neck thru maple and swamp ash body...i play metal mostly...

[ericsabbath]

riff raff

people tend to recommend black dog for long scale, though

[hopkinwfg]

Will a black dog set be more towards a notch on modern tone approach ? It just be as natural sounding as the riff raff ?

Am thinking of a VH2 as well but am worry since i be ordering it for my 8 string guitar
....

[Slartibartfarst42]

Under normal circumstances the best pickup for a maple neck-thru is a Miracle Man but on an 8 string I think I would be more inclined to go with a Black Dog as that does particularly well in that sort of application.

[hopkinwfg]

Under normal circumstances the best pickup for a maple neck-thru is a Miracle Man but on an 8 string I think I would be more inclined to go with a Black Dog as that does particularly well in that sort of application.

Thanks alot never tried the blackdog or riffraff nor a vh2 and holydiver..... i wonder the alnico magnet of the blackdog bridge will result in less attack ?

I wonder if i opt for a ceramic blackdog it would be too bright for the nature that my 8 string guitar is a maple neck thru with swamp ash wings... 27" scale....

I like nice thick tones not compressed but abit dry and natural tone being aggressive and reactive to how you pick being able to take high gain, with a tad of modern tone is ok too...

Played the motorcity afwayu and am liking it and am trying to get something like that from BKP with a twist of getting less modern tone or with an added character that different but still sticking with the baseline of the afwayu being raw and thick...


So far am getting positive on a blackdog but am also open on getting a holydiver or a VH2... i just have no idea which of these would fit the bill of what i be ordering in end result....

[Slartibartfarst42]

I think you might find the Holydiver a bit too modern and compressed.

As far as magnets are concerned, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Ceramics are generally tighter but conversely, they tend not to have the same quality tone you get from an alnico magnet. Some alnico pickups, such as the A-Bomb, can also be just as tight as ceramics or in some cases, even tighter. They don't do a ceramic Black Dog anyway.

Based on what you've just said, I'm even more inclined to think that you'd really like the Black Dogs. They have a very PAF feel but it's a more modern interpretation of the classic PAF design, thanks to the 42.5AWG wire that tends to give it a bit more bite than a traditional PAF. It sits nicely between vintage and modern and honestly fits your description very well indeed.

If you really decided you wanted a ceramic magnet (I don't think you do) then I'd recommend a Cold Sweat set. It's a modern pickup but with a bit of a vintage feel and unlike many pickups from the contemporary section, it's quite open sounding.

[hopkinwfg]

Thanks alot.... i be ordering a set of black dog then to see if it suits the maple neck and swamp ash wings.....