Now that all but one of my guitars have BKPs, I'm growing increasingly dissatisfied with the one guitar that doesn't.
Before we get too into this, I've read through pretty much every thread on the forum regarding replacing JBs, and I know the outcome of this thread is most likely going to be the Holydiver. But as ever, it's always nice to discuss the other options and I like to as certain as I can be, so please humour me. Also apologies, I'm incapable of making short posts but hopefully it helps inform the discussion.
The guitar:
LTD Ninja 600 Michael Amott signature (this might give a clue as to the sound I'm after)
Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge, 59 in the neck. Mahogany body, mahogany set neck, ebony board. Spec says quilt maple top but ESP are buggers for this and it's a veneer, but who cares. Acoustically quite balanced - compared to my Les Paul it's not got as much top end but it's got more in the mids; the low end response is very similar. So, balanced - not necessarily dark, but certainly not bright.
Seymour Duncan JB - what I like:I love the way it screams on high notes. And I mean
screams, this beautiful high mid wail that catches the tail end of notes in a way the Emerald and Mule in my other two guitars just can't match. I would hate to lose this screaming/singing quality, hence why I'm apprehensive about the change. I suspect the fact that it's a little compressed helps with this too, as for leads this pickup in this guitar sings.
..and what I don't like:BKPs have spoiled me, basically. The upper mid prominence of the JB is quite harsh if I'm switching from another guitar to this one, and I find it a bit too compressed over all - great for leads but bugger all else. The low strings overpower the higher strings when playing chords thanks to a low-mid muddiness, and this muddiness robs it of aggression and composure for metal rhythm playing; going between my Mule-equipped PRS Bernie, Emerald-equipped LP and this guitar, the other two have much better defined lows and sound more aggressive, especially the Mule, weirdly! Outside of metal, I also find that it doesn't really play well with the volume control, and starts sounding thin when rolled down because all that's coming through is upper mids.
As for the 59 in the neck, I actually really like it. It's clear, has a pleasing mid scoop that creates a nice woody-sounding neck, and it's just a great sounding pickup. That said, if I'm replacing the bridge pickup then I can't help but be curious about neck options, especially as they're discussed less generally. I might just keep it and put a chrome cover on it (assuming it'll play nicely with whatever ends up in the bridge), but I'm definitely intrigued by the
Holydiver neck - if anyone can tell me more about it then please do!What sound/style am I going for/what do I want from a replacement?As the guitar implies, I love Arch Enemy. Michael Amott used a JB/59 set for years before Dean started making him a signature pickup, and while their tone varies from album to album in terms of desirability, it's a good starting point and it's the kind of music I play on this guitar. Similarly Megadeth, Gojira, Lamb of God... note that all of these artists have used JBs until getting replacement signature pickups.
However, my favourite metal tone is Josh Middleton from Sylosis. Now, he's nominally an EMG man, but their second album was apparently all a JB-equipped ESP, and their third album was recorded mostly on a Gibson Les Paul Custom Axcess with a Holydiver in the bridge, and it sounds
glorious (link).
What I'm after is a pickup that retains the singing/screaming quality of the JB, but improves everyting else. I want a more balanced and clear pickup that's thick and aggressive for playing metal rhythm, but that can also be dialed back without feeling like I've taken the wind out of its sails. I play classic/hard rock live mostly and the LP/Bernie cover that nicely, but I'd like to be able to use the Ninja if I wanted to without it being too much - not essential as the primary objective is metal, but it'd be a nice bonus.
Have I just described the Holydiver? I've seen it mentioned that it can be a bit too thick for darker guitars, but my guitar isn't necessarily dark, it just isn't bright. Apparently the Holydiver is less upper mid focused (phew), but can it still scream/sing? And how does it behave rolled down or with splits?
TL;DR: Is the Holydiver set what I want?
