Help for death/black metal pickups

[loziodavid]

Hi all,
I love so much classic rock and prog rock, but I'm also a metalhead. I have a OLP MM1 I bought used for 200 bucks a couple of years ago, that I want to bring life back with a new set of humbucker.
I already own a metal-oriented guitar with EMG 81-85 set and Floyd Rose, so I want something hotter than a traditional PAF or '59 pickup, but not as hot as an EMG active pickup.
I'd use this guitar for stuff like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOovW2945U0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdZJvgR1pTw


and my options are the Distortion TB6 or the Custom Custom TB11 for bridge position, and the Jazz SH2-N in the neck position for versatility and soloing.
How about my choice?

 

[weepingminotaur]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

I'd go Black Winter all the way, personally. They were made for black and death metal, but they're also very, very versatile, especially if you've got coil-split options.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

Another good option is a Pegasus/Sentient set, especially if you like to play other things. For a purely death tone, the Sentient/Nazgul is great, too.

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

Since the bands you posted are some of my favorite bands, I'll give my two cents for this question.

Apart from going active (which is the Rotting Christ tone, both on record and live), the BW suggestion might be a good one (never tried them myself).
For classic rock/prog rock/metal-geared tones, and considering the guitar they'll going going in, I'd suggest either a Custom/'59 or a PATB set.

Of course, amplification and effects used will be major factors here.

 

[loziodavid]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

Do you think that the output of a Custom Custom or Distortion, combined with the Jazz SH-2 neck, is not enough if paired with an AmpTweaker Tight Metal ST (Peavey 5150) or an AMT E1 preamp (Engl Powerball)?
Well, this is definitely death and black metal, but not as extreme as bands like Carcass or Napalm Death. The sounds are rounder and more defined.

Moreover, I wanted to mantain the cool zebra look of the stock pickups, and Black Winter and Sentient/Nazgul are all black.

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

The Custom Custom will have flabbier lows, and the highs of the Distortion may be too piercing, according to your tastes/settings.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

I don’t think death metal and black metal sound very similar.

For death metal, anything with tight bass and mids is gonna be fine. For black metal, literally anything will be fine.

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

Usually the pickups are the same, either actives or high gain passives.

The biggest difference are amp gain and EQ.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

Certainly not the Custom Custom, which is super loose lows. For that tone with tighter lows, look at the Black Winter set.

 

[loziodavid]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

Thanks for advises. I fear that the Black Winter is too mid scooped

https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/product-news/the-versatility-of-the-black-winter-bridge-model
The Black Winter is listed as having an EQ scale of 6 (bass) –6 (mids) and 6 (treble), resistance of 16.6K for the bridge model

How would it work for soloing?

 

[EDX]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

for a sure bet i'd say a Distortion and a 59, but how much heat do you have on board?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

The Black Winter isn't mid scooped at all. It has more mids than most pickups, save for the Custom Custom. Those numbers don't sound right to me. I'd go with 575.

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

The Black Winter isn't mid scooped at all. It has more mids than most pickups, save for the Custom Custom. Those numbers don't sound right to me. I'd go with 575.

Even compared to a JB? I neved played the BWs, but now you got me curious.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

The chart on the Black Winter's product description looks like 6/9/7.

I think the 6 6 6 thing was a joke, but I suppose that might reinforce the belief that it's perfect for any extreme style.

 

[RevDoom73]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

Loziodavid, the Black Winter pickups aren't scooped sounding at all. They're also extremely versatile, which I think might surprise some folks who assume it's mostly only going to be good for extreme metal. I have a few sets of Black Winters, one set in a 27" baritone scale guitar tuned down to A# for playing death/doom metal, another set in an LP style guitar that I use for playing classic rock/hard rock stuff, and another set in an HH Telecaster that I usually keep tuned to D for more Alice In Chain-ish style riffing. These pickups work amazingly well in all situations.

What I like about the Black Winter for playing the death/doom stuff particularly is that it's got heaviness and chunk to it but never gets flubby. Notes in chords have definition even with considerable gain dialed in. I fluctuate between heavy riffing and clean passages a lot so I need it to be able to respond well to both. I recorded our last three albums with the Black Winter set as my main pickups and they've worked out great so far.

As Mincer mentioned above earlier, the Pegasus/Sentient set is another good option too for something that'll be great for heavier stuff but also have versatility for other styles. I'd seriously consider these options, and I'll be curious to hear what you decide on!

 

[Mincer]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

Even compared to a JB? I neved played the BWs, but now you got me curious.

The Winters are more true mids (body), the JB is more upper mid bark. The BW has a ton of mids to me, and yeah I think the 666 thing was a joke, too.

 

[weepingminotaur]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

Echoing the chorus here, the Winters are not mid-scooped at all (that 6/6/6 thing was likely a joke). Plenty of mids and really tight bass. Super-versatile, as I said before. I can play black and death metal, hair metal, pop, classic rock, even some blues and jazz via coil-splitting or playing with the tone and volume. I really do think this is the pickup set you need. But Naz-Sentient or Peg-Sentient would work too (though I'm not as sure about the Peg for classic rock).

 

[loziodavid]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

Do you think that this BlackWinter-Distortion comparison is accurate?
On the clean tone I hear the higher output of the BW, in the drive tone I hear more trebles from the Distortion.

 

[6stringerguy]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

Hi all,
I love so much classic rock and prog rock, but I'm also a metalhead. I have a OLP MM1 I bought used for 200 bucks a couple of years ago, that I want to bring life back with a new set of humbucker.
I already own a metal-oriented guitar with EMG 81-85 set and Floyd Rose, so I want something hotter than a traditional PAF or '59 pickup, but not as hot as an EMG active pickup.
I'd use this guitar for stuff like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOovW2945U0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdZJvgR1pTw


and my options are the Distortion TB6 or the Custom Custom TB11 for bridge position, and the Jazz SH2-N in the neck position for versatility and soloing.
How about my choice?

For that type of thing the range is huge,
For neck pickups there’s the Duncan 59, Duncan Jazz, Duncan Sentient, Dimarzio Liquifire, Lollar DBs
For bridge pickups there’s the Duncan Nazgûl, Duncan Black Winter, Duncan Custom 5, Duncan Full Shred, Dimarzio Titan, Lollar DB just to name a few.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[loziodavid]

Re: Help for death/black metal pickups

For that type of thing the range is huge,
For neck pickups there’s the Duncan 59, Duncan Jazz, Duncan Sentient, Dimarzio Liquifire, Lollar DBs
For bridge pickups there’s the Duncan Nazgûl, Duncan Black Winter, Duncan Custom 5, Duncan Full Shred, Dimarzio Titan, Lollar DB just to name a few.

Hi thanks for the advise. After reading this thread
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...Output-Neck-PAF-s-And-High-Gain-Bridge-Pickup

I was thinking to do the same on my guitar: a quieter neck pickup for soloing and versatility, a hotter bridge pickup for hardrock/metal riffing and soloing.
For the neck I'd probably go with a '59, for the bridge I'm open to many solutions. I'll check out DiMarzio and Lollar, until now I never considered other brands, thanks a lot.