Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

[offworld92]

I've been looking at different pickups for weeks, trying to figure out which combo I should invest in, but I can't settle on anything. I was hoping to be able to add some other opinions to my thought mix.

The guitar is an Ibanez S420. Mahogany body, maple neck, ZR trem. My amp is a Peavey 6505.

My style is mostly modern death metal, and progressive death metal. I'm tuning to C Standard and Drop C. Think The Black Dahlia Murder, Bloodbath & Between the Buried and Me.

For the bridge, full chord (4,5 & 6 string chords) clarity is most important to me. But I don't want something that's low output. I'm a big fan of low mids, I like a really dark and aggressive tone, not a bright or upper middy tone. I want something clear and concise, articulate and not muddy. But something that has a lot of presence and body as well. I think that's a difficult line to find, as the ideas are somewhat conflicting.

For the neck, I need something that is bright, clear and articulate clean, and is also able to handle heavy distortion without getting muddy, or boomy/bassy. Clean cleans are important to me, I don't like gritty cleans.

I'm thinking of going for a Distortion/Jazz set, but I'm just not positive.

 

[LatsMcGee]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

If the guitar wasn't mahogony I would recommend the invader but I think the Super 3 would get you what you want with that amp.....

 

[owj]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

I have a Jazz/Distortion in my LTD but mine is a basswood body. You can check out the SD Invaders

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

Welcome to the forum.

Some details that you might want to check before ordering;
1) String and polepiece spacing for each pickup.
2) Pickup height adjustment screw lug length.
3) Selector switch type. (OTAX? If so, which model number?)
4) Magnetic polarity of each humbucker.

Make a drawing of the stock wiring before you desolder anything.

 

[vinta9e]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

Don't rule out the Invader "just cause it's mahogany". Whether it'll work or not is more about the particular guitar's resonance and your amp's gain structure, than what they wrote in the specs. Figure out Nile has been using them in mahogany and so has this funny guy from A7X. I wouldn't call the Invader concise, though. It has a distinct tone of its own, very big, fat and rude, which I think might be too much for the 6505 to stay tight.

I would not recommend the DD if you want dark... but how about the Parallel Axis Distortion? Maybe a Custom of some sort or a Full Shred, but these aren't dark either, just smoother on the top end.
Apart from the Jazz, I think you might like a hybrid in the neck route. Or a Full Shred, or a Demon.

Dimarzios generally tend to be more compact, darker and more mid-focused. They sometimes get bashed for sounding dull, flat, lifeless, blanketed or nasally. As a long time user, I don't neccessarily agree with all that, but sure they are differently voiced to Duncans. They don't sound like Duncans, they don't feel like Duncans nor look like Duncans. They need the amp dialled in a bit brighter as well.

Like LatsMcGee, I think the Super 3 might be the ticket. Lots of output, huge in the lows, dark in the highs. So much, I sometimes run mine unloaded, straight to jack for more scream. Pair it with a Super 2, and rock out like a madman. I don't think the Super Distortion + Paf Pro set would disappoint, either.

Now, that I've got you confused, just try the Blackouts. The 5150s love active pickups IMO.

 

[CTN]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

Dark/emphasis on low mids but still articulate is begging for Dimarzios.

Duncans tend to have more emphasis on upper mids and highs, for the most part.

 

[agentzero12]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

Is say jb8 or jb9. I have a jb9 in my explorer right now through the same amp and same tuning. It give me the cut trough the mix against my rhythm player (same amp, emgs) without getting shill. Doing a mag swap on the jb shifts the upper mid hump to the lower mids. The jb9 is a bit brighter than the jb8 but I like a bright tone. Mag swaps are super easy and the jb is easy to come by.

Btbam uses the dimarzio d activators so that would be an option. If you're considering actives, I'd look at the mick Thompson set. He's got a killer tone.

 

[offworld92]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

I'm not opposed to DiMarzios. I just wasn't sure if this was the proper place to ask about them, haha. I'm really open to anything, I guess, as long as it's around the same price range. No BKPs or anything like that.

I actually emailed DiMarzio, and they recommended a D Activator / Dominion set. I'm not sure about that. I cant' really find any good info about the Dominion, I have no idea as far as other opinions go if it would be good for me or not. I was looking into a Super 3 / PAF Pro set in the past, but I get different opinions all over the place, so I was dissuaded from them until now.

I emailed Seymour Duncan five days ago, but they haven't gotten back to me yet.

Some more info: I have an Invader in an LTD H-301 right now, and it's a bit bassier, a little too high output, and a little more undefined than I want for this guitar. The problem is, since that guitar has a TOM + tailpiece setup (same specs otherwise), I don't know if the locking trem and thinner body in my S would balance out to give me exactly what I want with an Invader or not.

I had a Custom in that H-301 for a while, and I'm not a fan. It was too low output for my tastes, and the palm mutes on it were just... weak, for lack of a better word. So I'm looking for something right in the middle of a Custom and an Invader, at least in relation to that guitar.

I'm not a fan of the JB, and I really don't want to go active. Nothing against them at all, I love EMG, but I already have an EC-1000 with an 81/60, and I'm looking to expand and diversify my tonal palette a little bit, haha.

 

[surface54]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

JB8
its all and more you can think of

 

[alteredbeast]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

Btbam uses the dimarzio d activators so that would be an option.

i know Paul def uses BKP Blackhawk set now, idk about the other guy tho.

 

[Grindspine]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

I've been looking at different pickups for weeks, trying to figure out which combo I should invest in, but I can't settle on anything. I was hoping to be able to add some other opinions to my thought mix.

The guitar is an Ibanez S420. Mahogany body, maple neck, ZR trem. My amp is a Peavey 6505.

My style is mostly modern death metal, and progressive death metal. I'm tuning to C Standard and Drop C. Think The Black Dahlia Murder, Bloodbath & Between the Buried and Me.

For the bridge, full chord (4,5 & 6 string chords) clarity is most important to me. But I don't want something that's low output. I'm a big fan of low mids, I like a really dark and aggressive tone, not a bright or upper middy tone. I want something clear and concise, articulate and not muddy. But something that has a lot of presence and body as well. I think that's a difficult line to find, as the ideas are somewhat conflicting.

For the neck, I need something that is bright, clear and articulate clean, and is also able to handle heavy distortion without getting muddy, or boomy/bassy. Clean cleans are important to me, I don't like gritty cleans.

I'm thinking of going for a Distortion/Jazz set, but I'm just not positive.

It is hard to compromise between dark and aggressive while being clear and concise but not bright. The Full Shred is clear and concise, but somewhat bright. The JB is aggressive, but very upper middy. The Invader has great low mids, but can also get muddy. The Distortion is possibly what you're looking to use, it has a great throaty growl and is aggressive, but still clear. However, I would not describe it as a dark tone.

For neck, the Full Shred or Distortion neck would both give you something clear, bright, and articulate while able to handle heavy distortion better than the Jazz.

The other option is to opt for the original Blackouts set. That set has power and clarity, though I do find the bridge has a touch of mid lows that can get muddy if not dialed correctly. I would not expect that to be a problem with the 6505 though.

Any of those combinations (Distortion neck & bridge, Full Shred neck with Distortion bridge, or the Blackouts set) should get you pretty close to what you're wanting.

 

[Grindspine]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

Some more info: I have an Invader in an LTD H-301 right now, and it's a bit bassier, a little too high output, and a little more undefined than I want for this guitar. The problem is, since that guitar has a TOM + tailpiece setup (same specs otherwise), I don't know if the locking trem and thinner body in my S would balance out to give me exactly what I want with an Invader or not.

I had a Custom in that H-301 for a while, and I'm not a fan. It was too low output for my tastes, and the palm mutes on it were just... weak, for lack of a better word. So I'm looking for something right in the middle of a Custom and an Invader, at least in relation to that guitar.

I'm not a fan of the JB, and I really don't want to go active. Nothing against them at all, I love EMG, but I already have an EC-1000 with an 81/60, and I'm looking to expand and diversify my tonal palette a little bit, haha.

You know, if you're looking for something more defined than the Invader, but with higher output than the Custom, the Distortion is a nice middle ground between those... I did not see before the last post that actives were off the menu, so, Distortion neck and bridge should fit very well!

 

[LonePhantom]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

You definitely want the DiMarzio Mark Morton Dominions in your guitar. Razor sharp attack and great articulation.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

I'm gonna say Distortion or Invader in the bridge leaning towards the disortion. I also think you're spot on with the jazz. So I say you alreay got it down to a science. If you wanna get Crazy and the sky's the limit on price, hit up the Ducan Custom shop about the Black Winter bridge humbucker. Like. DD but with more cut and edge. Or check put Bare Knuckle too.

 

[surface54]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

the mark morton set was based off his usage of the dimarzio breed, im assuming its just a breed with a ceramic magnet in it and deemed a new pickup set for him with his name on it.
that ceramic in a breed is not going to magically transform the sound, even the tone chart suggests it takes away treble from the A5 breed.
look for yourself there the same DC and basic tone.
thats being said its a full tight midrange pickup but its nothing compared to say a distortion or super distortion imo.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

I was thinking either a CC or C8 for this? They should have enough output, will have strong mids of all types, and will be clear yet dark enough.

 

[vinta9e]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

My gut tells me the Custom 8 might be a damn nice match for the double contoured body. The Custom Custom though, wouldn't be my choice for any kind of metal. Ever. It is far too loose. It isn't high output either. It's a Slash-in-a-strat machine.

Two more ideas: go ahead and transplant the Invader into the Ibanez. You've got nothing to lose but time. But you will know for sure how it works in your guitar, in your hands, through your amp into your ears, while all we can do is keep guessing.
Check out the Alternative 8. It seems roughly similar to the Distortion but more oomph and less grind. Sounds like a winner - on paper.

 

[XPAULPITT]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

LACE drop & gains.

 

[Grindspine]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

I was thinking either a CC or C8 for this? They should have enough output, will have strong mids of all types, and will be clear yet dark enough.

I had not considered mentioning the CC. I thought it would lack definition and tightness with a mohogany body.

 

[elelpe]

Re: Pickups for modern death / prog metal?

Wilde L500XL - L500C or L90