Rock/Metal pickups for LP Custom with 3HBs

[mjreardon]

Condensed version of paragraphs below: thinking about an A-bomb/MQb/CSn, want to make sure all sounds are fat enough for my tone goals.

My first post on the forum but I have been an active reader for some time now. I just acquired an Edwards MIJ copy of a LP Custom with 3 HBs. Mahogany body with maple top and  ebony board. The purpose for this guitar is to be a hard rock and metal guitar. I have a Gibson CR0 loaded with Mules for the blues/rock stuff and it handles that all wonderfully. So I'm not really looking for PAF tones, but I am not wanting EMGs either.

The guitar is currently loaded with SD Custom/PGb/59 pickups. The PGb is almost useless in the middle, in that it doesn't offer a tone in any setting that I prefer to the neck or bridge pickup. The 59 is excruciatingly bright in the neck. It sounds great clean, but I prefer a smoother, singing tone in the neck like Petrucci, Santana, Slash, etc. The 59 is too brittle for that. I like articulation, don't get me wrong, it just too much in this guitar. I am probably going with a MQ HSP90 in the middle. Seems like it would give me something that the HBs won't and be more useful than trying to work another humbucker in there to balance between bridge and neck. As for the Custom in the bridge, I like the attack and pinch harmonics of this pickup but I would like it to be punchier on palm mutes, the Custom just seems to be all bite and no bark if that makes sense.

Before I received the guitar, I sent an email to BKP that I was thinking of an A-bomb set with a Supermassive HSP90 for the middle and they confirmed that it would work well but recommended a CS for the neck pickup. Now that I have the guitar in my hands, I am thinking the A-bomb might be too aggressive (weird thing to say about a metal-oriented guitar, I know) since the guitar seems to have a lot of high mids already and is maybe a little shy in the low mids. So now I am more confused about the number of choices I have than I was before. I also use a DRRI, which is a little mid scooped, with multiple pedals for distortion.

I am 90% set on the MQ bridge pickup for my middle position and 75% set on the CS for my neck pickup, but still open to recommendations for both. What I really need help with is a versatile rock/metal pickup for the bridge that will give fat, punchy palm mutes without overwhelming lows, and still have a harmonically rich midrange and bright enough to have good articulation and pinch harmonics without being shrill or overpowering the lows and mids.

I have considered the A-Bomb, CS, HD, Abraxas and RY. I play a wide range of rock and metal so I'm looking for something that is good all-around, but I don't play any djent or death metal. Think Scorpions/Dokken as lightest end of the spectrum and Killswitch Engage at the heaviest end with stuff like Metallica, Dream Theater and Alice In Chains in the middle. I'm really into the tones of most types of power metal and prog rock/metal primarily. Hopeful the experts here can help me make a decision.

[Dave Sloven]

Kind of sounds like you want a Cold Sweat set here ... a Supermassive neck pickup might work in the middle

[ericsabbath]

miracle man should deliver what you want
less compression than the sd custom, but more punch and a much clearer top end
it also splits really really well and has a great lead tone
I'd also say it's the best bridge pup option for most of the bands you mentioned

[mjreardon]

I had initially avoided the Miracle Man because the output looks to be way hotter than what I'm looking for and the tone chart makes it look very scooped. I will give it some consideration though since it was recommended. The fact that it appears to be inspired by an EMG type of tone is not really the direction I would prefer to go. However, I know that no BKP will be probably get that tone exactly due to being passive and using different winding techniques. What would I gain/lose by using a Miracle Man over a Cold Sweat? And how does the Miracle Man bridge balance with the CS neck?

[Dave Sloven]

I've had a Cold Sweat neck with a CS bridge and a MM bridge in the same guitar at different times (also an A-Bomb bridge with that neck CS in the same guitar).

The easiest one to balance it with was probably the A-Bomb, but there were characteristics of the A-Bomb that I didn't like, which in effect led me to lower the A-Bomb anyway.  With the CS set I had the neck pickup very low.  With the CS neck and MM bridge I have had to bring the neck pickup up a bit and drop the bridge pickup a little to balance them

[darkbluemurder]

I had initially avoided the Miracle Man because the output looks to be way hotter than what I'm looking for and the tone chart makes it look very scooped. I will give it some consideration though since it was recommended.

The DC resistance looks very hot but is mainly due to the fact that the magnet wire used is very thin. In practice the MM bridge is not much hotter than say a Holydiver bridge or Cold Sweat bridge. It is also not as scooped in the mids as the tone chart would suggest. I know this from testing it in four different guitars.

What would I gain/lose by using a Miracle Man over a Cold Sweat? And how does the Miracle Man bridge balance with the CS neck?

You would get more low mids and a bit more output (not much as I already wrote) in turn for a bit less highs and high mids.

I had the MM bridge together with the CS neck in one guitar that was a 24 fret guitar. There the MM bridge slightly overpowered the CS neck but setting the MM lower compensated for that. In a 22 fret guitar that should not be a problem.

Cheers Stephan

[mjreardon]

Ok, so after reading a lot of other reviews, I am 95% set on a MM/CS set for the bridge and neck. That leaves the middle pickup. While I am 100% sure I want a HSP90 there, I am having some trouble deciding between two of them, the MQ bridge or Supermassive neck.

For reference, I am not wanting a P90 that sounds similar to a HB, I want some spank and sparkle on this one. A great tone for heavy stuff is also not needed, as I will likely only use this pickup in combination with a split HB for cleans, or on its own for more bluesy  or classic/southern rock tones (.38 Special, Skynatf, etc). So, while I do want it to have some attitude and not have a huge volume drop from the HBs, I definitely want some traditional P90 characteristics. I was thinking the MQ for this, but the Supermassive neck has been recommended a couple of times to me. However, I am not sure I correctly explained the purpose of going for a P90 instead of a 3rd HB in the middle, as I've been more focused on picking a bridge pickup since that is the one I was having the most difficulty with. So, considering the information I've put above, am I on the right track with MQ or should I listen to those who are mentioning the Supermassive? Still open to alternative suggestions here as well.

[leolyonsofficial]

Why not go for the Sam Coulson arrangement?

Holy Diver - Bridge
Abraxas - Middle
VHII - Neck

This however is on a aerodyne Strat but the options could work.

[darkbluemurder]

With an Abraxas neck in the middle that could work. I would advise against an Abraxas bridge for the middle - that would likely be too much as the Abraxas bridge is almost equal output to the Holydiver bridge.

Cheers Stephan

[mjreardon]

I don't want an Abraxas in the middle, I want to put a P90 in that position. I'm just trying to decide which one.

[Telerocker]

For the middle: Nantucket or MQ if you like raw but clear P90's that can handle loads of gain. The Blue Note is more polite and would be a weird interesting combination with the MM at the bridge.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I think the MM/CS set is a good choice and pair very well. As previously stated, the MM is nothing like as scooped as the tone chart suggests. It's a bit scooped in the upper mids but that's all. The association with EMG is also massively misleading and it put me off a MM for years. For the P90 in the middle position, I think you should bear in mind that most people find P90 pickups a lot hotter than expected so it probably doesn't have to be a bridge model. The MQ is an awesome pickup with a godly tone and is very versatile so I'd go with that.

[Dave Sloven]

Yeah I have a MM in my SG Standard now and it doesn't sound like an EMG to me.

[mjreardon]

For the middle: Nantucket or MQ if you like raw but clear P90's that can handle loads of gain. The Blue Note is more polite and would be a weird interesting combination with the MM at the bridge.

I hadn't considered the Nantucket and am intrigued by it, but still leaning heavily towards the MQ. The neck model might be the right call here the more I think about it. I don't acticipate loading it up with gain though. I expect to use it clean in combination with a solo HB, or with moderate amounts of gain that you would use for classic or southern rock

As for the bridge pickup, I am still completely undecided and having a real tough time nailing it down. One day I'm sure it's a MM, the next I am dead set on RY, then to CS, then maybe a HD or an Abraxas (since I love the Mules in my R0 so much). I've been listening to all the clips I can find but nothing has jumped out at me and said "this is the one" so far. But I do appreciate the suggestions that have been given here. I think I need to spend more time with this guitar to figure out what I'm missing from it or what I'm trying to bring out.

[mjreardon]

Just a quick update...I spent some time with the guitar using A real time audio analyzer (it's just an app, but it's better than nothing) to try and figure out what I'm hearing that I dislike. Acoustically, the guitar has a lot of high mids, a surprising amount of bass and not much in the low mids. The previous owner took a stock JB out because he said it didn't work in this guitar and that could explain why. Clean, the Custom has a balanced tone with a moderate scoop in the 500hz area. It's actually quite a pleasing clean tone for a ceramic bridge pickup. With distortion is where is starts to get ugly. The low mids increase a little, but the high mids and treble drops off drastically. This gives the distorted tone a dry character with very little harmonic content. The low end is nice and tight, but there isn't much else to the tone, no cutting mids, no high end sparkle, just the low mids which are not really present in the guitar's acoustic sound, so it's accentuating something that really isn't there to begin with.

Since the guitar is a little bright acoustically, due to the high mid content, I am back to considering an A-bomb set. I am also considering a HD or RY set as well. I think CS will be just too bright and haven't written MM off completely, but I am leaning more towards Alnico Vs for the mid content, harmonics, and split tones. Am I way off base here? I'm still a little new to the whole pickup swap game.