which BKP for USA PRS Tremonti for 1970-2000 era hard rock/heavy metal sound?

[igor.majer]

The Holy Diver has a load of mids that the Nailbomb or Cold Sweat doesn't have

is that a good or a bad thing in your opinion?

[igor.majer]

The Holy Diver has a load of mids that the Nailbomb or Cold Sweat doesn't have

Is that a good or a bad thing in your opinion?

sry for the double post

[Dave Sloven]

Maybe a relevant info,... I have 2 Friedman amps,... Be100 Deluxe and 2015 BE100, Friedman 412 2x v30 and 2x G12m25 ... and Friedman 212 v30,...
Also,... I stay 99% of the time on the bridge pup,... for rhythm and leads,... neck I use mostly for cleans,... (and I don't play lot of cleans) but I would like to change that,....

so maybe

Miracle Man/Cold Sweat  or MM set (not sure yet)
Holly Diver set

hearing and reading all of this, I'm leaning more and more to HD set instead of Nailbomb,..... maybe a safe bet going that way...

I have the MM/CS combo in my SG Standard, it is one of the few really good combinations I found for that guitar.  I already had a CS set, so I just swapped the bridge for a MM for more bottom end than the CS.  There is a bit of imbalance in output that led me to raise the neck pickup a bit when I installed the MM bridge.  The differences between the MM and CS bridge are minor though.  I have heard good things about the MM neck, so a MM set would be tempting.  I'm not sure about the Holy Diver in this guitar, I think though that the HD, CS, MM, and RY sets are all safe choices for bridge lead work in a single cut, it just depends on the sound you are going for.  There are actually a lot of similarities between the HD and MM bridges.  In some ways the MM is like a ceramic version of the HD.

It's worth checking out videos online

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCzh2of4AaA

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

[timmy_pix]

Thanks guys,...
Nice suggestions... somehow I decided on using hi gain PUS for both of guitars instead of making one low gain, since I don't use clean much... so now I'm thinking A-Bomb for one, and MM for other,.... or Maybe even RY for one of them,... so many choices, not enough guitars :)

Ben from BKP suggested Black Dogs for the other guitar... I used to have PRS McCarty 594 but I got rid of her, since I could never bonded with low turn pups she had, so now I'm hesitant about vintage PUS, and always afraid they won't be enough....

Don't think of the Black Dogs as being anything like the 58/15LTs in your 594. The Black Dogs are best described as a low-output modern - the voice is modern and aggressive, but the low output means they clean up beautifully too. Wonderfully versatile pickups - yes they need a bit of help from a TS/boost for all out metal, but the payoff is increased dynamics.

[ericsabbath]

The Holy Diver is one of the best bridge models for metal, in my opinion, BUT it works a lot better with a booster (overdrive or equalizer) in front of the amp
Without a booster, it sounds warmer and less high output than the other mentioned models, so it requires a heavier hand for maximum punch and sustain

[darrenw5094]

The Holy Diver has a load of mids that the Nailbomb or Cold Sweat doesn't have

Is that a good or a bad thing in your opinion?

sry for the double post

Good thing for me as I like the extra mids for fullness, but it's not my choice though. The Nailbomb is leaner, but with a spike in the upper mids and is at home in mahogany set neck guitars.

[igor.majer]

Thanks a lot everyone!
In the end I ordered Miracle Man and A-Bomb sets for Tremonti guitars...
So now it's:

Miracle Man b/n - PRS Tremonti
Alnico Nailbomb  b/n - PRS Tremonti
Rebel Yell b/n - PRS Cu24 2006 (replaced HFS/VB set)
Cold Sweat b/n - PRS Cu24 2009 corina body Killer Quilt LE (replaced 57/08 set)

[igor.majer]

Too bad I don't have more guitars to test some more pups,....
Thanks again guys!

[asianaxeman]

Thanks guys,...
Nice suggestions... somehow I decided on using hi gain PUS for both of guitars instead of making one low gain, since I don't use clean much... so now I'm thinking A-Bomb for one, and MM for other,.... or Maybe even RY for one of them,... so many choices, not enough guitars :)

Ben from BKP suggested Black Dogs for the other guitar... I used to have PRS McCarty 594 but I got rid of her, since I could never bonded with low turn pups she had, so now I'm hesitant about vintage PUS, and always afraid they won't be enough....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSzGWTFMbcg Here's a clip of Miracle man calibrated set in my PRS std 24. I think they;re too scooped for your needs, you;d be better off with HDs or Black Dogs which have a more open and middy sound.

[igor.majer]

Thanks guys,...
Nice suggestions... somehow I decided on using hi gain PUS for both of guitars instead of making one low gain, since I don't use clean much... so now I'm thinking A-Bomb for one, and MM for other,.... or Maybe even RY for one of them,... so many choices, not enough guitars :)

Ben from BKP suggested Black Dogs for the other guitar... I used to have PRS McCarty 594 but I got rid of her, since I could never bonded with low turn pups she had, so now I'm hesitant about vintage PUS, and always afraid they won't be enough....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSzGWTFMbcg Here's a clip of Miracle man calibrated set in my PRS std 24. I think they;re too scooped for your needs, you;d be better off with HDs or Black Dogs which have a more open and middy sound.

I appreciate your input bro,... but I see you using Engl amp,... (I use to own Engl special edition 670) and I see how it could sound scooped with it,.. also CU24 is a different beast then Tremonti that has a much thicker body and more of a LP vibe to it.... and btw, I have a Friedman, that is by itself a mid forward amp, so I hope it will be just fine,... I will report back when PUs are installed,...

[Dave Sloven]

You can really only tell once you have them in.  The MM bridge is quite scooped in itself, like the CS bridge.  It just depends on how it interacts with your guitar and amp as to how all of that balances out.

MM and CS usually come out sounding fine in Les Paul style guitars.  Should have a chunky bottom end at least.

[igor.majer]

Just to confirm,... I installed MM into my Tremonti, and I love them,... perfect match! I love both Bridge and neck pup.... Nailbomb set is good,... I like it, but if I have to choose, MM kick it's ass.... I will wait a bit to give them both a chance, but I suspect I will get MM set for the other Tremonti also, just a matter of time :)
Couldn't find much on the MM neck, but I love it,.. perfect pair for the MM bridge,.. hot enough to match perfectly,.. and I got them split separate from each other , ton of combinations...

[Dave Sloven]

Good to hear!

Other pickups that might be worth considering are the Ragnarok (which seems fairly similar to the MM, with more mids) and the Silo.

I also really liked the sound of the Impulse set in a PRS, but it was a double cut one, not yours.  But I suspect you might like those.  Output is lower, more like the Cold Sweat, and they seem to work in a wide variety of guitars.

[asianaxeman]

The Holy Diver is one of the best bridge models for metal, in my opinion, BUT it works a lot better with a booster (overdrive or equalizer) in front of the amp
Without a booster, it sounds warmer and less high output than the other mentioned models, so it requires a heavier hand for maximum punch and sustain

Agree. It's just too good that pickup! TBH most ppl even with actives or ceramic passives will still put an OD in front of a tube amo anyway. The wonderful thing about BKP, if you use them correctly with the optimal pickup height they can handle as much gain as you can throw at them.