Warpig or Juggernaut For Semi Hollow?

[james.zack]

I’m looking to get myself into an obscure semi hollow build soon, a thinline tele with a single humbucker in the bridge and I was looking into the Warpig and Juggernaut as options. The source of my inspiration for this build stems from Tom DeLonge when he put a SD Invader in a 335 while he was waiting for his signature model, which ended up also having a hot pickup (Gibson Dirty Fingers) in the bridge. Both sounded really unique, and I really like the idea of a Warpig or Juggernaut for a semi hollow because I know they are also high output pickups. Was just looking to see if anyone had experience with either pickup in a semi hollow and thoughts/opinions.

[Dave Sloven]

With a semi-hollow the issue will be more with what you plan to do in terms of gain.  If you just want a thick sounding pickup that gives a relatively warm clean sound, you should be okay, but if you are planning to play heavy music with a lot of gain you will find that the semi-acoustic design will cause a lot of feedback problems, regardless of pickups used.  In other words the amp and pedals used are more of an issue than the pickups.  If you are playing relatively clean then the issue just becomes the tone you are going for.

[Nolly]

Clearly you know what you're after, I'm sure you know about the potential feedback issues etc. I'd say if you want something akin to an Invader or Dirty Fingers you'd really be looking at the Warpig. Both Invader and Dirty Fingers are ceramic but I'd say go for the alnico Warpig here.

[ericsabbath]

I'd probably pick the alnico nailbomb for that

[james.zack]

With a semi-hollow the issue will be more with what you plan to do in terms of gain.  If you just want a thick sounding pickup that gives a relatively warm clean sound, you should be okay, but if you are planning to play heavy music with a lot of gain you will find that the semi-acoustic design will cause a lot of feedback problems, regardless of pickups used.  In other words the amp and pedals used are more of an issue than the pickups.  If you are playing relatively clean then the issue just becomes the tone you are going for.

I use a Fractal Axe FX 3, and I’m not playing metal or anything super high gain. Mostly in the Nirvana, Green Day, Blink-182 levels of gain, lots of power chords and octaves and single note riffs. I’m not gigging or anything as of now, just playing at home and diving into recording, looking for a super unique tone.

[james.zack]

I'd probably pick the alnico nailbomb for that

I did glance at the nailbomb and also the Silo as well, I was just more familiar with the Jug and Warpig (I’ve never used either but I’ve seen and heard others play and give opinions of them).

[james.zack]

Clearly you know what you're after, I'm sure you know about the potential feedback issues etc. I'd say if you want something akin to an Invader or Dirty Fingers you'd really be looking at the Warpig. Both Invader and Dirty Fingers are ceramic but I'd say go for the alnico Warpig here.

Yeah, I certainly enjoy variety so I was leaning Jug over warpig since it has alnico and ceramic magnets in it and not just another ceramic like those two. The alnico warpig is really something I’m not familiar with, but was looking at, along with the Silo and Nailbomb as other options.

[Nolly]

Believe it or not, in the early days the Warpig was quite popular with jazz and fusion guitarists because of its fat and smooth sound for cleans and fusion leads. It's a way more versatile pickup than it gets credit for, and I think would be preferable to the Juggernaut (too much low end for this application) or Silo (maybe too midrangey to suit a hollowbody) in your guitar. The Nailbomb is worth considering but I personally would be concerned again about that midrange being too dominant in a hollowbody.