The Nazgul saved my Strat - My review

[ToneFiddler]

Yeah, it's great.
I still couldn't push myself to remove it, to test my other PUs from my collection.
The chuggs are so much fun. Single note and power chords also sound fantastic.
Screaming leads are fun with this. It's a tight and stiff PU, but leads still pop out easily and it screams and squeals jump right at ya.

[Rex_Rocker]

Alright... so I ordered a second Nazgul for my Gibson Les Paul.

I like it that much. It's my new favorite pickup. I just kicked the Black Winter and the 500T into second and third place.

[Rex_Rocker]

The Pegasus isn't really fat and round, though. I'd say it is more scooped and tight.

I honestly don't know, LOL. I'm just going by the clips, but I don't like how it comes across on the clips, but as ToneFiddler mentions, it's almost always being compared to the Nazgul, so that makes it harder to hear compared to other pickups.

[ToneFiddler]

I'm not sure I want to try the Pegasus myself.

On one hand, I love Alnico 5. Especially in bridge pickups. On the other, I'm not sure I dig the Pegasus on the clips. I like that it seems to have some cool high-end detail. I don't like that the attack seems pretty laid back, and it seems like more of a fat/round pickup than fierce and aggressive. Seems to be almost the opposite of the Nazgul.

The one that I have my eye on next is the Alternative 8. I don't have much experience with Alnico 8, and the Alternative 8 seems like an interesting pickup. It seems fat, but it seems to have some bite to it as well.

i wouldn't buy the pegasus at this point, but i have it laying around quite some time and every PU needs a 2nd change
it's spring time, i need to clear out some stuff

Alt8: in the merrow clip it indeed does seem this way. seems too fat for my taste. I like more lean pickups. even the low end thump is still there with something like a EMG81 or the Nazgul.

chalkboard scratch is a good description for the SH-6 distortion. I read this on hear.

[ToneFiddler]

The Pegasus isn't really fat and round, though. I'd say it is more scooped and tight.

yeah no i wouldn't describe it as a fat PU, but it depends from where you are coming from.
it's not as aggressive as the nazgul and has more low mids (at least relative), so compared to the nazgul it's fatter.

[Mincer]

The Pegasus isn't really fat and round, though. I'd say it is more scooped and tight.

[Rex_Rocker]

I have it in an Explorer. Really great match. Low string saddle is 4.5 cm to bridge PU middle (heavy strings tuned to D std or dropped C) as a refernce, since i know you think this distance is too much on your strat.
500k Vol, 500 tone. Since i have to turn the tone lower than 8 out of 10 to notice something i think the pots are fine. Sound great the way it is, don't feel the need to change something.

The top end is great, it's ceramic alright, but i don't notice is as unpleasant as with a lot of pickups. SH-6 was a bit more fizzy and ugly, yes. I think the Nazgul does everything better (except for maybe clean), so i sold the Distortion. But yes it's unbelievable how good the Distortion by todays standards still is.
Nah, anything grainy, raspy, fizzy drives me crazy in the long run. I like a very fine grain and therefore smooth distortion.If the grid gets too big, it turns me crazy. To achive this, my best results have been with PUs with reduced bass and lowmids.
If it get's too smooth and fluid i lower the gain.

next up will be the pegasus. only one of those two (Nazgul/pegasus) is allowed to stay and think i am pretty much settled on the Nazgul.
Tried the Pegasus before, but in a different guitar. Still don't think this will work as good as the Nazgul. it's has more low mids and is fatter in general, if i remember correctly. It's not aggressive enough for high gain, but also not the best choice for classic rock as i remember it...

I'm not sure I want to try the Pegasus myself.

On one hand, I love Alnico 5. Especially in bridge pickups. On the other, I'm not sure I dig the Pegasus on the clips. I like that it seems to have some cool high-end detail. I don't like that the attack seems pretty laid back, and it seems like more of a fat/round pickup than fierce and aggressive. Seems to be almost the opposite of the Nazgul.

The one that I have my eye on next is the Alternative 8. I don't have much experience with Alnico 8, and the Alternative 8 seems like an interesting pickup. It seems fat, but it seems to have some bite to it as well.

[ToneFiddler]

Yeah, I wouldn't say it's a djenty pickup (luckily).

I guess it also depends on what guitar you have it in. I haven't tried it in anything other than my Fender Strat. I kinda want to try it on my Gibson Les Paul, but I love thte 500T in there, so I don't think I will.

What pot values are you using with? I first had it with a 1 Meg pot, but I just lowered it to 500K, and it's great still.

I will say, though, compared to the 500T, the top-end is more polite. It's obviously not smooth. I mean, it is a Ceramic pickup. It's just polished and less raspy/ugly than the 500T or the Distortion. Not to say that's better or worse. It's just different. Sometimes ugly is cool too.

I have it in an Explorer. Really great match. Low string saddle is 4.5 cm to bridge PU middle (heavy strings tuned to D std or dropped C) as a refernce, since i know you think this distance is too much on your strat.
500k Vol, 500 tone. Since i have to turn the tone lower than 8 out of 10 to notice something i think the pots are fine. Sound great the way it is, don't feel the need to change something.

The top end is great, it's ceramic alright, but i don't notice is as unpleasant as with a lot of pickups. SH-6 was a bit more fizzy and ugly, yes. I think the Nazgul does everything better (except for maybe clean), so i sold the Distortion. But yes it's unbelievable how good the Distortion by todays standards still is.
Nah, anything grainy, raspy, fizzy drives me crazy in the long run. I like a very fine grain and therefore smooth distortion.If the grid gets too big, it turns me crazy. To achive this, my best results have been with PUs with reduced bass and lowmids.
If it get's too smooth and fluid i lower the gain.

next up will be the pegasus. only one of those two (Nazgul/pegasus) is allowed to stay and think i am pretty much settled on the Nazgul.
Tried the Pegasus before, but in a different guitar. Still don't think this will work as good as the Nazgul. it's has more low mids and is fatter in general, if i remember correctly. It's not aggressive enough for high gain, but also not the best choice for classic rock as i remember it...

[Rex_Rocker]

Finally managed to try the Nazgul and I agree with your description.
I feared it would would have that annoying Djent quack like i heard in some demos and read in some reviews/comments, but it's actually bright enough, so with my setup there is NO quack or cocked wah quality. The highmids are strong but it's not overbearing.
There is a very bright, percussive and immediate quality to the attack, which i really like!

Damn too few guitars, too many good pickups...

Yeah, I wouldn't say it's a djenty pickup (luckily).

I guess it also depends on what guitar you have it in. I haven't tried it in anything other than my Fender Strat. I kinda want to try it on my Gibson Les Paul, but I love thte 500T in there, so I don't think I will.

What pot values are you using with? I first had it with a 1 Meg pot, but I just lowered it to 500K, and it's great still.

I will say, though, compared to the 500T, the top-end is more polite. It's obviously not smooth. I mean, it is a Ceramic pickup. It's just polished and less raspy/ugly than the 500T or the Distortion. Not to say that's better or worse. It's just different. Sometimes ugly is cool too.

[ToneFiddler]

Finally managed to try the Nazgul and I agree with your description.
I feared it would would have that annoying Djent quack like i heard in some demos and read in some reviews/comments, but it's actually bright enough, so with my setup there is NO quack or cocked wah quality. The highmids are strong but it's not overbearing.
There is a very bright, percussive and immediate quality to the attack, which i really like!

Damn too few guitars, too many good pickups...

[ToneFiddler]

cool!
i must try mine!
it's in a box somewhere.
My taste has changed (again) and i might actually really like it

[Rex_Rocker]

Reporting back... yeah, the honeymon is not wearing off, LOL. Man, what a damn killer pickup. I think I may actually like it better than my beloved Black Winter, and I'm considering getting another for my Les Paul. I love it that much.

[Rex_Rocker]

Yeah, no.

The SDS-1 kinda has raspy top end that the 500T also kinda has. It's cool in the bridge position. Gives the 500T a very 90's vibe. Come to think of it, the SDS-1 would be a good match for the 500T if it were higher output. But I don't think it fits the more polished sound of the Nazgul's top-end.

[El Dunco]

The DMZ Super D has the “chewy/motorcycle” top end the full size has if you’re into that. I’d go Hot Rails if you want something smoother.

[Rex_Rocker]

The Quarter Pound is good, but you will hear the hum easily with a lot of gain. I generally recommend true singles only with cleaner styles.

Not with a noise gate. I mean, the SDS-1 is a true single coil, but the noise gate easily takes care of it. I also had the QP in the bridge position of an Esquire, and it worked great for t3h Chuggz. I'm not too concerned about the hum.

I'm not sure if QP's shine through clean tones, personally. The one on my Esquire wasn't fantastic clean, TBH.