Cold Sweat with more mids?

[Dudley]

Hi all,

I purchased a new Mayones Regius 7 string a few months ago (25.4 inch scale, maple-neck through, swamp ash wings, birdseye maple fretboard, flame maple top and Hipshot feed bridge) that came with a set of Cold Sweats that I've developed a bit of a love/hate relationship with. 

I love how lively and responsive they feel, especially their tone when split, but in a guitar with so much maple in it and that's very bright/scooped by nature they seem really hollow and empty, especially as more and more gain gets added.  Some days I convince myself to keep them and other days I want them out badly.

My main goal with this guitar is clean and mid-gain tones, though I do want to be able to get in to heavier territory when the mood takes me.  I'm a big big fan of thick middy/low-middy tones.

I'd originally planned on putting a Black Dog in the bridge and a VHII or Mule in the neck for some lower output versatility (I'm consciously trying to take a step away from my usual Black Hawks and Aftermaths with this guitar), but I'm starting to think they both might feel a bit 'sluggish' and not quite as lively as the Cold Sweats.  In particular, I've heard that the Black Dog can feel quite 'stiff'.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a pickup that feels quite similar to the Cold Sweats but with a lot more midrange?

[Dave Sloven]

From what I have heard and read I'd say the closest thing to a 'Cold Sweat with more mids' in the BKP range would be the VHII

[Telerocker]

I would suggest Aftermath here. Def. more mids, less highs than the CS. Tight and agressive.

[Dudley]

Cheers for the replies, gents. 

I’ll have to look in to the VHII more, but the Aftermath is definitely not what I’m after. Really surprised at the recommendation as I don’t think it’d be most people’s first choice for a pickup for great cleant tones.  I  own one set and while I like the bridge (hate the neck) I don’t feel like it can do anything other than tight aggressive metal, which isn’t the goal and definitely doesn’t feel lively or great at cleans.

I’m more after Solstafir/modern Opeth  and post-rock with a chug thrown in as a secondary concern.

[Dave Sloven]

Re-reading your post, you say "a lot more midrange" whereas I thought you wanted "a bit more midrange" ... The VHII is basically the CS with some more midrange, but not a huge amount.

Which Black Hawk have you tried?  If you have only tried the ceramic version you might appreciate the cleans in the alnico version more.  Also it would be worth you considering the Impulse, Rebel Yell, and maybe even the Holy Diver (out of all of these the Holy Diver and alnico Black Hawk might have too much output for you).  You might also want to look at the Juggernaut.

I agree, stay away from the Aftermath for what you are trying to achieve.

[Telerocker]

Right, I did focus on the midrange, not on the cleans. Sorry... Suddenly I think you might want a Crawler, but that is not a particularly tight pickup, but has the mids and the cleans. Maybe a Holy Diver. Compared to a Mule the BD might indeed feel a bit stiff. Juggernaut I have no experience with.

[ericsabbath]

The Miracle Man sounds close enough, but not middy enough
The Ceramic Nailbomb is something like an overwound Cold Sweat but it has a darker and more compressed character, so it sounds quite different
The Aftermath has a lot less bass than the cold sweat, and the Holy Diver is not as tight and aggressive
The VHII has a similar voicing with a Mulish less aggressive vibe, but it's just as scooped, in my experience having both sets installed in the same guitar

I'd pick the Rebel Yell 

[JimmyMoorby]

Maybe too late to the party but when I was in a Metallica style band I found the Cold Sweat was a great pickup lacking in mids for my tastes and  I was happier with the Painkiller.

After that i've settled on Rebel Yells for a number of years now and i'd NEVER take them out.  In actual fact i've seen some people say Rebel Yells are pretty much alnico cold sweats i.e the same with rounded lows and highs and a little more mids but I don't personally subscribe to that.

[Chris Rowberry]

If you want to keep away from a sluggish tone and go towards something with a more vintage vibe, I would recommend looking at the Riff Raff.
Tim Mills used the Riff Raff/Mule combo when doing the Bare Knuckle Blues Band, and although it was called the Bare Knuckle BLUES band, it was a very heavy blues/hard rock. The Riff Raff will sound huge and still cut through really well.

[darkandrew]

If you want to keep away from a sluggish tone and go towards something with a more vintage vibe, I would recommend looking at the Riff Raff.
Tim Mills used the Riff Raff/Mule combo when doing the Bare Knuckle Blues Band, and although it was called the Bare Knuckle BLUES band, it was a very heavy blues/hard rock. The Riff Raff will sound huge and still cut through really well.

I've got a CS set in my Fender Showmaster superstrat, primarily for its crisp and fast attack (the basswood body soaks up a lot of the high frequencies and really softens the attack, so you need a pick up that can counter this) but recently I've been thinking about changing it for a Riff Raff too for pretty much the same reasons.