Author Topic: Mahogany Dean Hardtail - Ceramics? Which ones? (Read 2906 times)

AllShallPerish · « **on:** August 17, 2007, 06:26:55 PM »

Hey guys, new to the forums but I'm a long time lurker and I've wanted some bareknuckle pickups for a long time now.

Just bought this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180149008976

Specs are: Flamed maple top, Mahogany Body, Set Mahogany Neck, 22 Fret Ebony Board, Tone Pros Bridge.

I'm currently playing through a Rivera K-Tre and a 2x12 with a celestion vintage 30 ad a g12h30 combination.

Just curious if I should be using ceramics in this mahogany guitar? I want a really brutal and articulate bridge pickup and something in the neck that will give me some smooth and singing leads for shred and slower melodic soloing. I'd like both pickups to be decent at cleans as well since I dabble in some jazzy or space out clean passages. I think the middle position on the dean hardtails is out of phase if I'm not mistaken.

I'm thinking a ceramic pig in the bridge and a cold sweat in the neck may be the ticket

Any advice would be welcome!

ericsabbath · « **Reply #1 on:** August 18, 2007, 10:39:57 AM »

with ceramics you won't get a true detailed clean with a powerful output pickup

maybe an alnico miracle man or warpig
but if you forget the clean part, i'd recommend a painkiller for ASP kind of tone
miracle man will greatly do the job too

the burnt chrome covers would look great in this guitar

Crazy_Joe · « **Reply #2 on:** August 18, 2007, 01:32:22 PM »

I'd say a calibrated set of Nailbomb's is what you want, i have an all Mahogany Explorer and have been through many pickup changes to find the right one. The most articulate is the Nailbomb and it can get real brutal but is also great for clean jazzy playing too like you want.

AllShallPerish · « **Reply #3 on:** August 18, 2007, 02:16:22 PM »

Man o man, like so many other people have said this forum makes it so hard to pick a specific pickup hahaha. I was thinking the same thing about the burnt covers or camo covers if he could make them a flamed kind of burnt pattern. Not sure if he is able to do that or if it's totally random.

Ratrod · « **Reply #4 on:** August 18, 2007, 04:25:49 PM »

The first thing that jumped in my mind was a set of Cold Sweats for that guitar.

It's just a gut feeling but gut feelings can be very accurate.

AllShallPerish · « **Reply #5 on:** August 18, 2007, 07:32:06 PM »

Interesting, I didn't think that was a heavy sounding bridge pup

Crazy_Joe · « **Reply #6 on:** August 18, 2007, 07:54:39 PM »

Any pickup can be heavy really, Tim uses Mules for some Ozzy covers and for his work in Iced Earth!

AllShallPerish · « **Reply #7 on:** August 18, 2007, 08:13:47 PM »

Interesting, I think I'm leaning towards a coldsweat and ceramic pig after listening to a lot of the clips here. I love that liquid emotional shred tone of the CS and that over the top and tight as a virgin death metal sound with the CWP. Seems like a match made in heaven fo rmy musical tastes. Now I'm just curious if in the middle position the two will sound good because I believe on the hardtails it taps both pickups in the middle for a single coil sound.