jackson soloist sl2h pickup suggestions

[jimm]

I need suggestions for a maple neck thru body with alder wings jackson soloist for hard rock and metal.   The miracle man seems like a reasonable choice, but i worry it might be too bright for this guitar.  I also am not very familiar with ceramic pickups.  I am also considering the nail bomb.  From what i have read it would be more versatile, and has a less mushy lead tone.  
I have read confllicting posts on this forum regarding maple neck thru guitars..  One, that it is bass heavy, and the other that it is trebly and bright because of the maple.  Any opinions/ advice would be appreciated.

jimm

[Antag]

Hi & welcome to the forum :)

I have a Jackson RR1T which is also maple neck-thru w/alder body wings.  Acoustically, I think it's very bright but also has tons of sustain & resonance from the thru neck.

The pickup I chose was the mighty HOLY DIVER

I wrote an "OMFG" type post here once I'd picked my jaw up off the floor :lol: & posted a whole bunch of clips, including clean metal drop C# & clean+solo

The Miracle Man does have plenty of top end, but also a lot of bass.  It has a very tight, precise tone -   one thing it's not is "mushy" - it's a  fantastic pickup for heavy riffage & makes palm muted rifffs jump out of the guitar.  It's also very powerful :twisted:

The Nailbomb is less powerful but very dynamic - cleans up really well & brings out changes in your pick attack a little more.  It has much more upper mids than the MM & really "slices" through the mix. I only have it in a Les Paul, but I'm not sure whether the NB rather than the MM would be brightest in a Jackson - compared to the NB, the Holy Diver has a LOT more lower mids - it's a very thick, heavy tone & for me seemed the best choice to offset the brightness of the guitar.

I don't think that either the MM, NB, or HD would be a disaster in a neck thru alder/maple guitar, but hopefully I've outlined why I made the choice I did. YMMV etc...

[Philly Q]

I have read confllicting posts on this forum regarding maple neck thru guitars..  One, that it is bass heavy, and the other that it is trebly and bright because of the maple.  Any opinions/ advice would be appreciated.

Yes, welcome aboard!   :D

I'll steer clear of trying to make pickup suggestions for metal, but I agree with Antag that the neck-thru should be bright and defined because of the maple, but with good sustain and resonance.  

I think if it's a large-bodied guitar with mahogany wings (say a V or Explorer type), then the warmth of the mahogany counteracts the brightness of the maple.  But a Soloist is quite small, and alder is relatively bright anyway.

And I'm guessing your Soloist has a Floyd, which also tends to rob some bass.  So overall, I'd expect a pretty bright guitar.

Sorry, I'm not helping with your pickup choice.  Just a bit bored sitting here in work on a Sunday and the distraction was welcome.

[jimm]

Hi guys,

Your responses are very helpful.  I think i am clear now on the fact that this will be a very bright guitar with good sustain(i dont have it yet.  should arrive in a couple days).   Its funny you mention the holy diver antage because i was looking at some posts about it last night.  You would make a great salesman because i am tempted to order it right now, but i will wait and research a little longer(listen to me pretending that i am not childishly impulsive when it comes to buying guitars/pickups).  Unfortunately I am here in des moines, iowa(usa), and i am not having any luck downloading and listening to the sound clips, oh well.


jimm

[jimm]

I forgot to ask, antag are you discussing the tone from the bridge or neck?  I am pretty sure it is the bridge.  If i went with the holy diver any suggestions on the neck pickup, a calibrated set perhaps?  I have heard cold sweats are good neck pickups for rhythm and solos.

[jimm]

Well,  I heard a clip of the hd and it might be a little too 80's metal for me.  I might be looking at MM/CS for my jackson.  By the way, it has a floyd rose.  Where might i hear a MM clip?

If i find the MM too bright for my guitar couldnt i simply adjust the tone knobs on the guitar or amp?

[FELINEGUITARS]

Hi there
We have fitted a few BKPs intoneck through Jacksons
The best result came from a Miracle Man
Crisp, articulate and well balanced
Great for metal and tight as anything if you detune

The Holy Diver would be good but be somewhat warmer due to the Alnico magnet

You wont go far wrong with either - personally I would go for the MM

[JoshuaLogan]

Hi there
We have fitted a few BKPs intoneck through Jacksons
The best result came from a Miracle Man
Crisp, articulate and well balanced
Great for metal and tight as anything if you detune

The Holy Diver would be good but be somewhat warmer due to the Alnico magnet

You wont go far wrong with either - personally I would go for the MM

did you ever try a nailbomb in one of them? it seems some of you think it would be too bright in the sl2h soloists, but that guitar comes with a duncan JB in the bridge, which has a very similar upper mid kinda voicing to the nailbomb it seems like... and the JB is not too bright in the jackson.. I've actually heard some really good clips coming from the stock JB fitted soloist (it was played through a hell of an amp though.... the mako dorado...)

I like what I've heard of the miracle man, but just curious about the nailbomb in comparison

[jimm]

I am also very interested in the nailbomb.  I heard the nb and mm clips.  I must say the nb tone is the more classic metal tone i have in my head, but the modern mm tone is also interesting.  I think those clips used a les paul, and i know in a jackson the tone will be different.  I think i will go with Tim and feline guitars suggestion for my neck thru jackson and get the mm/cs set for it.  I also have a bolt on jackson professional and will probably get the nb/irish tour HSS set for that.  That way i could switch the mm and nb if i wanted.

jimm :D