Warming up the tone of a bright guitar for Metal

[StratoBlaster666]

I've got a Fender American Strat with 2 humbuckers, typical alder body/maple neck/rosewood fretboard. The bridge pickup is a fender "black cobra" with an Alinco3 magnet, and I don't love the tone with high gain. I find it gets kind of shrill. So I'm looking for a medium/high output pickup for high gain metal tones. My research points me towards the Nazgul or Pegasus. Thoughts?

Side note: I have a coil-splitter, so split single-coil tones are something I consider semi-important.

[Bogner]

Between those two I would go Pegasus.

[elelpe]

If you have problem with shrillness, go with Invader.

[Mincer]

What you need is a Black Winter. The Pegasus (& especially Nazgul) will increase the brightness. The BW gets you the growl. And, as a bonus, it sounds great for many other styles, not just metal.

[nexion218]

If it's already bright, avoid te Nazgul! If it's just the shrillness that bothers you, then you could try maybe different pot values: lower resistance values will decreace the brightness. In fact I've had CTS pots labeled as 500k and measured at around 430k... So if you have some pots laying around, even swapping them around a bit might help. Or maybe try using the amp/pedal EQ to dial out the frequencies that you dont like. Or just simply roll back the tone pot a bit! Much cheaper solution. That being said, I can attest to what Mincer said: the BW has some seriously thick growl and not harsh or shrill at all (at least with my gear).

[StratoBlaster666]

What you need is a Black Winter. The Pegasus (& especially Nazgul) will increase the brightness. The BW gets you the growl. And, as a bonus, it sounds great for many other styles, not just metal.

I was under the impression that the BW was a bright pickup with tons of mids and a compressed low end, maybe I misunderstood how it’s described on the SD website. Do you know if it performs well as a split single coil?

[weepingminotaur]

I was under the impression that the BW was a bright pickup with tons of mids and a compressed low end, maybe I misunderstood how it’s described on the SD website. Do you know if it performs well as a split single coil?

Seconding the Black Winter rec, and God, it splits hella-well. Bridge and neck both. You will be delighted by how much ground you can cover with the Black Winter.

[Mincer]

Seconding the Black Winter rec, and God, it splits hella-well. Bridge and neck both. You will be delighted by how much ground you can cover with the Black Winter.

This. The BW has mids, and isn't bright at all. It is more body than top. It is a great sound for a bright guitar.

[alex1fly]

Dimarzio Air Zone? Great with high gain, doesn't add highs that aren't there, cleans up pretty good, has a slight compression when dimed, fat mids, medium output. I had one in a Strat, now it lives in a PRS SE. Definitely a warm sound in both guitars.