pups in an ibanez jtk2

[moominking13]

hey.

im thinking about buying some BKPs in just over a months time and need some good advice!

i play an ibanez jtk2, mahogany body. the stock pickups just sound lifeless so i need a change. i play alternative/hard rock, very muse-esque, so i need a humbucker that has a real nice growl and bite to it. i also play a fair bit of clean, so a nice clean sound would also be helpful. It needs to have a nice lead tone that can cut through a band well too.

Also, the jtk2 has coil taps for both neck and bridge pickups, is this a problem? sorry im very much the n00b!

any help would be appreciated!

[ericsabbath]

nailbomb or holy diver

[moominking13]

ive heard that the nailbombs dont clean up very well?

i forgot to mention, i emailed tim and he reccommended me either the rebel yells, crawlers or cold sweat. any of those fit the bill?

[TwilightOdyssey]

Welcome!

I wish I could help you out, but I don't know your style of play well enough. The dude from Muse does play BKs, however, no? Maybe a set of what he's using??

[moominking13]

yer matt plays a set of nailbombs in most his guitars, however i think hes changed to MQs. im tempted towards the nailbomb but they sound like they dont clean up too well. at the moment im thinking either nailbombs rebel yells or cold sweats.

if you wanna know more specifically what i playi guess its similar to muse, radioheadfoo fighters that kinda stuff.

[ericsabbath]

i never played a nailbomb, but even the warpig cleans up well

all these pickups, except the cold sweat, seem to have some similarities

the rebel yell is brighter, more singing and upper mid oriented
the crawler is fat, with a bluesier approach
the holy diver would be a strong and modern rebel yell with more bass, and low mids
the nailbomb has a bit more aggressive edge and less bass than the holy diver
i think they all will do great cleans

[moominking13]

nice one, i think its gonna have to be the nailbomb! mind you seeing as im gonna have to wait over a month i know my mind will change VERY quickly  :P

[TwilightOdyssey]

i never played a nailbomb, but even the warpig cleans up well

REEEALLY depends on the amp.
My Cold Sweat will not play dead clean in my Splawn. Combination of the pickup's drive, the sensitivity of the amp's input, and how hamfisted you are as a player. :)

[TwilightOdyssey]

if you wanna know more specifically what i play i guess its similar to muse, radioheadfoo fighters that kinda stuff.

Sorry, I was referring to the whole genre. Definitely not my area of expertise!

[moominking13]

im probably gonna invest in a laney vc30 or a vox ac15 if that helps.

 :D

[ailean]

My wife put a set of BK's in her Ibanez s2170 as she likes playing Muse. She got her set from Mansons, and it's a Nailbomb bridge and Mississippi Queen neck. Plays awsomely well. I have a Nailbomb set myself in a Les Paul.

The bridge NB is quite a high output (15.9K) but still cleans up well, the NB neck pickup produces lovely tone played clean.

The MQ neck is also a great pickup and sounds great clean, but dirty's up well too.

I think your only question is how clean do you want your bridge? Either neck cleans up well, but the Nailbomb bridge can be played clean but dirty's up quickly.

Edit: We play clean through a Peavey ValveKing and dirty through a Tiny Terror, the NB's LOVE the TT.

[moominking13]

i think the nailbomb would suit me best, i dont want it too clean, it sounds like tha nailbomb would be good at that break up kinda clean. the NB and MQ set sounds good to me! thanks :D

[The Emperor]

Nailbomb no doubt!. I put this pickup in one of my guitars i didn't use so much a jackson RR1 and now i always use it !

E

[gingataff]

the NB has a good clean tone for a high output pup, plus you can split the coils or run them in parallel for lower output and cleaner tones. Or could could just turn your volume control down

[moominking13]

yer i was gonna ask about the coil tapping thing. do i just order the pup with 4 conductors? i was considering only coil tapping the neck pickup and leaving the NB as it is, so is there anyway to do this even though i have coil taps for both bridge and neck?

nailbomb seems to be the popular option