nailbomb vs. miracle man (harmonics/compression/etc...)

[JoshuaLogan]

Well, shite, I was all ready to order a nailbomb bridge and coldsweat neck, and then I went and listened to Tim's miracle man clip, and holy hell it was ridiculously good sounding, but it was recorded in a les paul, and the nailbomb clip was in an ibanez rg... so, it's hard to tell really.... but i've got some questions here for anyone who may know

-The miracle man seems to have lots and lots of harmonics going on... can the nailbomb compete here with the harmonics?

-The miracle man, although a bit compressed sounding, seems really tight... but so does the nailbomb, which is more open. It's kinda hard to make a compressed pickup sound more open, so.... do you think maybe going with the nailbomb would be a better choice, and then if I want some more compression I just boost with a tubescreamer? (I have a maxon od808 for boosting purposes...)

-Also, if the nailbomb was in an LP, do you think it'd be more ballsy and a bit closer to the miracle man lp clip?

making a pickup choice here is $%&#ing tough. now, I'm sitting here wondering if I went with the miracle man in the bridge, that I probably shouldn't go with the coldsweat in the neck anymore because they are even further apart.... argh  :?


anybody who has owned/tried both nailbomb and miracle man want to make some comparisons? I know you probably get these questions constantly, but I don't want to keep bothering Tim with emails, so it'd be much appreciated

[JoshuaLogan]

by the way, right now i'm playing through a framus dragon into a bogner 4x12 and orange 4x12, both with v30's.... the dragon rhythm channel is somewhat like a smoother marshall... with a bit more gain on tap. I may be replacing the dragon with a splawn quick rod or pro mod soon though, which itself is pretty much a modded, hot-rodded jcm 800... so the amp tones are in the marshall ballpark if that helps any

[kanamvar32]

Tim recommended me a calibrated set of nailbombs when I told him the pickups would be going into a mahogany bodied double cut guitar with maple top, ebony fretboard, OFR, 3 way pickup selector and coil tap. I play metal/prog stuff but do need good cleans. Bands/artists include opeth, dream theater, satriani, sabbath, etc. He said the nailbombs would be pretty balanced in the guitar and would be quite suitable for those styles. I can't directly answer your questions but I hope this gives you some ideas.

[JoshuaLogan]

Tim recommended me a calibrated set of nailbombs when I told him the pickups would be going into a mahogany bodied double cut guitar with maple top, ebony fretboard, OFR, 3 way pickup selector and coil tap. I play metal/prog stuff but do need good cleans. Bands/artists include opeth, dream theater, satriani, sabbath, etc. He said the nailbombs would be pretty balanced in the guitar and would be quite suitable for those styles. I can't directly answer your questions but I hope this gives you some ideas.

thanks, what does OFR stand for?

[kanamvar32]

OFR= Original Floyd Rose

i added that since I'll be needing the trem spaced pickups (53mm). It would suck if you order the pickups and they don't fit hahaha

[maverickf1jockey]

And the OFR takes some bass away from your tone.

[kanamvar32]

o ya, floyd equipped would sound different than fixed bridge hehe.

[Muso]

Hey mate

I would say nailbomb has more edge and bite than a miracle man, in my opinion miracle man sounds a bit round. Nailbomb is very clear too, does Rebel Yell not appeal? Harmonics sounded better on the nailbomb than the Miracle Man as well. hope this helps.

[cnotold]

from my experience, nailbomb has better picking harmonics response than miracle man. as muso has mentioned above, miracle man sounds a bit rounded in my opinion. but it has the power to drive your amp to nuts and never gets mushy. i bought mm to substitute L500 and i am satisfied.  :D  of course different guitars and electronics will change the overall view though.

just a question to all. does anyone find nailbomb easier to produce picking harmonics than mm? because i've heard that it should be other way round.

[TwilightOdyssey]

And the OFR takes some bass away from your tone.

Unproven!!

[JoshuaLogan]

Hey mate

I would say nailbomb has more edge and bite than a miracle man, in my opinion miracle man sounds a bit round. Nailbomb is very clear too, does Rebel Yell not appeal? Harmonics sounded better on the nailbomb than the Miracle Man as well. hope this helps.

thanks. what guitar did you try them out in? do you think the nailbomb would be too bright in a neck through jackson soloist with alder body? some people have been saying they think it would be too bright in that guitar, but it comes stock with a duncan JB, which is supposed to have a similar uppder mid voicing to the nailbomb, and I think the JB works in that guitar well (as far as bite and brightness and general voicing... i'm sure the nailbomb is a much better pickup overall with the harmonics, power, and clarity)

[JamesHealey]

i tend to find the nailbomb has more harmonic content than the miracle man, the miracle man sounds a bit more sterile has more lower mids and a more clinical high end..

but if it's zakk wylde style pinch harmonics your after and balls to the wall thrash sound nothing beats the miracle man in my opinion, just imagine the nailbomb as a more british sounding pickup with more higher mids and more harmonic content but less lower mids and output.

[JoshuaLogan]

i tend to find the nailbomb has more harmonic content than the miracle man, the miracle man sounds a bit more sterile has more lower mids and a more clinical high end..

but if it's zakk wylde style pinch harmonics your after and balls to the wall thrash sound nothing beats the miracle man in my opinion, just imagine the nailbomb as a more british sounding pickup with more higher mids and more harmonic content but less lower mids and output.

well, I'm actually not a fan of zakk wylde himself, but I do like the sound. I think I'm gonna go with the nailbomb, it seems to sound like more what I'm looking for I think, but, just to know.... if I were to go with the miracle man, what neck pickup would you think would be good to match up with it? a lot of people seem to like the coldsweat in the neck with the nailbomb... would it work with the miracle man too or do you think it'd be too much of a drop off in output/too drastic a change?

[gingataff]

I would have thought the opposite, on this forum at least the MM/CS combo is very popular and I've rarely heard of a NB/CS set.

[fps_dean]

The Nailbomb has excellent harmonics... I am sure about as much as the MM, maybe more I am not sure about that..  The Nailbomb is a very solid pickup where the Miracle Man has less low mids and more highs and lows, so it's tone and harmonics will have a different sound.