The pickup predicament: I want it all

[Haxasaurus]

Hey y'all, I'm new here and am seriously interested in picking up my first pair of SD pickups. I'm ordering this guitar (PRS SE Custom 24) and am struggling to find the right pickup for me.

I play mostly metal music (metalcore, black metal, progressive metal) but love having flexibility in using clean tones as well. My ideal dirty tone is very clear and aggressive with a lot of bite which initially drew me towards the Nazgul/Sentient combo. However, I've heard a lot of people claim that the Nazgul is a one trick pony and doesn't clean up very well. Furthermore, I love playing big complex chords so note separation is a big deal for me, which drew me to the Pegasus bridge pickup. I've also heard that the Black Winter pickups may provide the best of both worlds, but they seem to sound a bit dark to me.

I have no personal experience with any of these pickups, unfortunately. However, I do have a guitar with EMG 81/85s in it and it I have loved them and can get great dirty tones with them but the cleans definitely leave something to be desired as they are very dark and kind of lifeless. I guess I just prefer a brighter tone.

Any suggestions? I'm open to anything, even pickups I haven't mentioned, or even other brands if necessary.

Thanks, and feel free to ask me for clarification on certain points if needed!

 

[J. Burns]

Re: The pickup predicament: I want it all

Hey y'all, I'm new here and am seriously interested in picking up my first pair of SD pickups. I'm ordering this guitar (PRS SE Custom 24) and am struggling to find the right pickup for me.

I play mostly metal music (metalcore, black metal, progressive metal) but love having flexibility in using clean tones as well. My ideal dirty tone is very clear and aggressive with a lot of bite which initially drew me towards the Nazgul/Sentient combo. However, I've heard a lot of people claim that the Nazgul is a one trick pony and doesn't clean up very well. Furthermore, I love playing big complex chords so note separation is a big deal for me, which drew me to the Pegasus bridge pickup. I've also heard that the Black Winter pickups may provide the best of both worlds, but they seem to sound a bit dark to me.

I have no personal experience with any of these pickups, unfortunately. However, I do have a guitar with EMG 81/85s in it and it I have loved them and can get great dirty tones with them but the cleans definitely leave something to be desired as they are very dark and kind of lifeless. I guess I just prefer a brighter tone.

Any suggestions? I'm open to anything, even pickups I haven't mentioned, or even other brands if necessary.

Thanks, and feel free to ask me for clarification on certain points if needed!

Always felt that the cleans from the Custom were pretty good. It's not quite as hot as some of the other offerings but I think it's more than heavy enough to take care of your metal chores too.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: The pickup predicament: I want it all

I play mostly metal music (metalcore, black metal, progressive metal) but love having flexibility in using clean tones as well. My ideal dirty tone is very clear and aggressive with a lot of bite

DiMarzio Titan set

 

[AlexR]

Re: The pickup predicament: I want it all

The PATB series has a really great clean for its output. The driven tone also has more clarity.

 

[Haxasaurus]

Re: The pickup predicament: I want it all

Always felt that the cleans from the Custom were pretty good. It's not quite as hot as some of the other offerings but I think it's more than heavy enough to take care of your metal chores too.

Ooo, I just listened to the sound byte they have up on the SD website for the SH-5 and THIS is the clarity I'm looking for with high gain. Definitely seems to meet my needs more than a BW or Pegasus would.

 

[Haxasaurus]

Re: The pickup predicament: I want it all

DiMarzio Titan set

I'm definitely going to check these out. From what I'm seeing right now, these and the SH-5 are the two I'm most interested in.