Neck Pup - Cold Sweat?

[AngusYoung01]

Right, I need a neck pickup for my Gibson SG Special. If you need to know any of my other things, check the miracle man thread I made not long ago.

What I'll be using it for

Metal, moreso Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Metallica.
I'm particularly looking for those fluid, bubbly neck tones of Dave Murray and John Petrucci. Currently, I find my neck pup (its the standard Gibbo one) to be too... percussive. It sounds very compressed, and you can really hear the pick, I'mnot keen.

I use the neck for lead tones more regularly than the bridge, and need clarity for sweeps and things. I'd like it to be a nice smooth tone, nice and full sounding.

Petrucci hasa gorgeous neck tone, so between that and Murray.

It'll be used in conjunction with a Miracle Man in the bridge, through a hefty helping of gain and bass boost.

It should clean up nicely, and maybe be able to cope with a little jazz, but I'm more concerned about the metal side of thingsvas Jazz is barely my most common playing style!

So... is the Cold Sweat my way forward?

Thanks for reading the lengthy novel above too!  :lol:

[Antag]

hmmm, why not a Miracle Man neck?  (i.e. get a MM calibrated set)

Cold Sweat would be OK, but the MM neck sounds thicker, more fluid & has more output than the CS.  It's useable clean (the MM neck is A5, not Ceramic like the bridge) as long as you allow for the high output.

[AngusYoung01]

I dont know, I'm not after like, pushing the neck into as high output as the bridge.

Do you think thats a wise choice?

[dave_mc]

i have a neck cold sweat and i think it'd do what you want. Problem is, that's the only BKP neck pickup I've tried, so some of the other guys around here who've tried more than me may have a better suggestion for a neck pickup which'd do it better...

:drink:
EDIT; bear in mind, from what i remember tim recommends not to get medium output pickups in an sg as they mush up or something? so maybe best to check with tim too, in addition to any answers you get in here.

[AngusYoung01]

Thanks dude!

So any of the BKP pros know if this'll do?

And btw, A fellow Nuno fan :D

[Antag]

I dont know, I'm not after like, pushing the neck into as high output as the bridge.

Do you think thats a wise choice?

Trust me, ALL the BKP calibrated sets work well together.  I wish Tim would make a bigger deal on the product pages of how the necks are different pickups than the bridge, with different specs, designed specifically to compliment the bridge pickups.

FWIW, I think the CS neck is the best neck pickup in existence - a fantastic all rounder that can do it all & a great match for any of the high output BKP Bridge pickups.  It will do what you want.

But you said "I'd like it to be a nice smooth tone, nice and full sounding" & my first thought was "That's a MM neck".  If neck leads are your priority (they're a distant third for me) then MM neck might be the one.

[AngusYoung01]

I dont know, I'm not after like, pushing the neck into as high output as the bridge.

Do you think thats a wise choice?

Trust me, ALL the BKP calibrated sets work well together.  I wish Tim would make a bigger deal on the product pages of how the necks are different pickups than the bridge, with different specs, designed specifically to compliment the bridge pickups.

FWIW, I think the CS neck is the best neck pickup in existence - a fantastic all rounder that can do it all & a great match for any of the high output BKP Bridge pickups.  It will do what you want.

But you said "I'd like it to be a nice smooth tone, nice and full sounding" & my first thought was "That's a MM neck".  If neck leads are your priority (they're a distant third for me) then MM neck might be the one.

Ohh thank you!

My main priority is getinga Dave Murray/ Petrucci neck tone, that is also pretty versatile for cleans and stuff.

So with this as my main priority, would you stick to the MM set?

[Canadian Steve]

I would go for an MM neck!

[ericsabbath]

i wouldn't go with miracle man bridge in a marshall
it sounds better in a rectifier, but in marshall/peavey, alnico goes a lot better, especially for the things you want to play
miracle man is raw and crispy (in a good way, but for only some styles)
i'd recommned a holy diver or nailbomb for the bridge and cold sweat or nailbomb for the neck

[JamesHealey]

I think the MM neck works better than the CS with the MM bridge, it's output matches up better, it's more fluid and a better neck pickup for faster playing.

The CS isnt bad but I didn't think it was a great match.

[dave_mc]

And btw, A fellow Nuno fan :D

:drink:

[AngusYoung01]

Tim has recommended a MM calibrated set, so after I get some advice about potentiometers, I may order!

Infact, you guys may be able to help!

So I'd like two push push pots, one per pup.
But, which of the ones do I get, with all the 250 and 500 something or other lol?

Cheers guys

[6stringgrind]

Pretty sure it was stated somewhere on this board that the MM and CS neck pickups were the same thing.

[ericsabbath]

Pretty sure it was stated somewhere on this board that the MM and CS neck pickups were the same thing.

that's the old cold sweat version
now it's close to rebel yell neck

i have the mm neck and cs neck
they are VERY different

the cold sweat is more open sounding, with a little paf mid scoop, weaker, but much more detailed than the miracle man

the miracle man has more power, mids and sustain
sounds very fat and smooth, but the cleans aren't so alive as the cold sweat's
the MM neck is powerful, but the bridge pickup still sounds a bit louder, so i wouldn't pair a cold sweat neck with a miracle man bridge, unless if asked Tim to wind a calibrated version

[dave_mc]

i dunno, if anything my CS is louder than my MM. it definitely sounds less hot, but you can generally mess with the pickup heights to level the outputs of mis-matched pickups...