Re: jb vs custom for thrash metal
So many pickups work for the broad term of "thrash metal". There's a lot of different (aggressive) tones in there.
JB - Spongy, cutting, and old-school. Works well in a mix and for lead guitarists.
Custom - More aggressive highs and lows. Relatively same output as JB. Great for tight/fast rhythms. Takes a little effort to sit in a mix for leads, but not much - just be coordinated with a band.
Custom 5 - Less aggressive than Custom, very scooped and hollow sounding humbucker. Gets lost for leads, but makes rhythm guitars sit nicely in the back of a mix.
Invader - Dark and aggressive. Lots of low mids, not a lot of highs, and very high output. Can work great for both rhythm and leads, and will fill out the sound a lot in a power trio situation.
Distortion - Like a JB, but tighter/more present lows, and a very sharp, cutting, and aggressive high end. Also works great for rhythm and lead.
Black Winter - Like a Distortion, but with a greater focus on tonal balance, high output, and note clarity/separation. Works well for rhythms and leads.
Nazgul - VERY aggressive midrange across the board. Tight lows, tamed but present highs, and lots of note separation. More compression than Pegasus.
Pegasus - Moderate output with a pretty even EQ. Very responsive to dynamics, and exceptional note clarity - you can hear every note of an open chord under heavy gain.
Full Shred - Very bright and tight. Not a lot of midrange going on, and relatively subdued lows, but VERY tight and compressed response.
Dimebag - Tight, scooped, bright, massive low end, compressed, insane output.
These are just most of the passive offerings - there's the Seymour Duncan Blackouts as well, which are SD's highest output humbuckers. Lots lots lots of options for high output humbuckers from SD - I think they've covered just about every base there is to cover in regards to "metal pickups" at this point. All of these options also heavily depend on your amp (what will we be talking? JCM800 sound? Mesa Dual Rec? 5150? etc). The pickups I'd have the most interest in are the JB, Nazgul, Black Winter, and Pegasus. If I were to downtune (I use Eb), then I'd be most interested in the Distortion, Pegasus, Custom, and Nazgul.
