In praise of the Nazgul

[weepingminotaur]

I know it's not the most versatile pickup. But holy hell, what it does, it does really, really well. I've got it in a mahogany Schecter with a maple neck, tuned to E flat, running into a Boss Katana, and it just grinds so nicely. It's not even that hot a pickup compared to others in the metal category but it sounds hotter than it is. For someone like me who emphatically doesn't scoop their mids, it's almost the perfect metal pickup. And it is IMO serviceable for non-metal applications if you make liberal use of the tone control.

I've done a fair bit of pickup swapping with my other guitars, but I have zero urge to take the Nazgul out of this guitar.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

It is pretty hot, though! I'd say it's almost as hot as the Distortion even if the DCR would suggest otherwise.

I like it, but I'm not sure I like it as much as I initially did on my Strat, TBH. I wish it had more of that rude chainsaw top-end like the Distortion or the 500T.

On my Gibson Les Paul, it 100% didn't work. It was too low-mid heavy, and the attack was kinda round and laid-back.

But on the positive side, it is REALLY tight. The mid focus and the low-end rolloff really pay off in making it sound really focused while at the same time still being controlled and polished in the high-end. I'd still say it's in my Top 5 Duncans and in my Top 10 pickups.

 

[weepingminotaur]

It is pretty hot, though! I'd say it's almost as hot as the Distortion even if the DCR would suggest otherwise.

I like it, but I'm not sure I like it as much as I initially did on my Strat, TBH. I wish it had more of that rude chainsaw top-end like the Distortion or the 500T.

On my Gibson Les Paul, it 100% didn't work. It was too low-mid heavy, and the attack was kinda round and laid-back.

But on the positive side, it is REALLY tight. The mid focus and the low-end rolloff really pay off in making it sound really focused while at the same time still being controlled and polished in the high-end. I'd still say it's in my Top 5 Duncans and in my Top 10 pickups.

Yeah, I guess what I meant was, it's hot beyond the listed DCR. Like it's something like 13.3, which isn't too much more than, say, the Pegasus, and substantially lower than a JB or even a Black Winter, but you'd never know that from how it sounds.

The low-mids definitely need EQ taming. That's a standard part of my Katana setup for metal anyway. I've only ever had the Naz in this Schecter, but yeah, I can imagine that it wouldn't be the best fit for a Les Paul.

I love the tightness. That's my jam for metal pickups!

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Yeah, I guess what I meant was, it's hot beyond the listed DCR. Like it's something like 13.3, which isn't too much more than, say, the Pegasus, and substantially lower than a JB or even a Black Winter, but you'd never know that from how it sounds.

The low-mids definitely need EQ taming. That's a standard part of my Katana setup for metal anyway. I've only ever had the Naz in this Schecter, but yeah, I can imagine that it wouldn't be the best fit for a Les Paul.

I love the tightness. That's my jam for metal pickups!

I came across as I didn't like it now that I read my post again. I didn't mean to. I really like the pickup. It just caught me off guard that it just didn't work on my Les Paul at all. It works better on my Strat, though, but I still wished it had more of that kind of treble that I like that makes pickups sound so 90's.

It's still a fantastic pickup, honestly. But like any other pickup, it's guitar-dependant. It was, after all, developed with Keith Merrow in mind, and his guitars are all super snappy Ash with a really bright-sounding Hipshot bridge.

It's still one of my favorite Duncans along with the Black Winter and the Distortion, but ideally, I'd love to custom order a Duncan at some point that has elements of all three, the 'Winter's raspy attack, the Nazgul's tightness and upper mid clank, and the Distortion's chainsaw treble.

 

[weepingminotaur]

I came across as I didn't like it now that I read my post again. I didn't mean to. I really like the pickup. It just caught me off guard that it just didn't work on my Les Paul at all. It works better on my Strat, though, but I still wished it had more of that kind of treble that I like that makes pickups sound so 90's.

It's still a fantastic pickup, honestly. But like any other pickup, it's guitar-dependant. It was, after all, developed with Keith Merrow in mind, and his guitars are all super snappy Ash with a really bright-sounding Hipshot bridge.

It's still one of my favorite Duncans along with the Black Winter and the Distortion, but ideally, I'd love to custom order a Duncan at some point that has elements of all three, the 'Winter's raspy attack, the Nazgul's tightness and upper mid clank, and the Distortion's chainsaw treble.

For sure, it always depends on the guitar. My Schecter is definitely on the brighter side of things, so the Nazgul fits in beautifully. But I also don't like treble to be overpowering, which is just my personal preference. One thing I love about the BW bridge is how lead work cuts through nicely without being overly harsh or brittle.