There are too many fish in the sea: help choosing a new humbucker set

[R3-AUA]

Hi guys, new here. I apologize for the long first post, but I have been having trouble choosing a humbucker set for my new guitar.

Some time ago I bought an LTD Viper 256. I truly love the guitar but the stock pickups that came with it are a bit dull for my taste. The neck humbucker is very dark and lacks clarity while the bridge humbucker is okay but can sound a little muddy at times when I crank the distortion up. On the other hand, If I don't dial in lots of bass on my amp (and lower the tone on the guitar to about half way), I won't get that modern metal sound I want... but doing this just adds to that somewhat muddy tone.

Unfortunately I cannot try out different pickups as I live on an island but here's what I'm looking for: I need a humbucker set capable of producing some mean modern metal distortion (think Deftones, Mastodon, Tool etc.) and that can stay nice and clear even when tuning to something like drop C. It will also need to perform nicely while on the clean channel. Hence I think I need something less aggressive for the neck pickup. The guitar is also coil splittable but I haven't really used that feature though.

Gear:
Guitar - Mahogany Body (SG style), mahogany set neck, rosewood fingerboard.
Amp - Peavey Valveking 50
Pedal - main pedal for metal is the Emma Pisdiyauwot

I really love the look of the covered stock pickups, so I'd like to stick with a nickel covered bucker. I currently looked into a heap of Duncan pickups like the duncan custom, Duncan distortion, JB, Pegasus and the Alt 8. And I also heard some good things about the Dimarzio D Activator. Then there's EMG, which is probably the most famous choice for modern metal. However, I don't want to go active as that would mean having to drill a cavity for the battery (something I'm not planning on doing). So for this reason, I'd like to stick to passive pups.
Then there's the dilemna about going ceramic or alnico: honestly, I don't know which I'd prefer. I have a Dimarzio Breed (alnico V) in one of my guitars and I love it! Mean, powerful and has all the low end I want. I also have another guitar with ceramic stock humbuckers which I thought were a little weak for my personal taste. I blame the pickups though and not saying ceramics are bad!

Of all of the SD options I mentioned, I keep coming back to the Alt 8. I just fear that it could make the guitar sound too trebly/ice picky? I've also heard good things about the SH-5, but have been wondering whether they have enough low end to do modern metal well.

I really appreciate any help I can get and look forward to being on this forum!

 

[Mincer]

Re: There are too many fish in the sea: help choosing a new humbucker set

Welcome to the forum!

My first thought when reading your story is the the Pegasus/Sentient set. You will get good cleans, tight lows, and it won't have the high end of a A8 magnet in there. They sound good with low tunings and keep the percussive chug thing going through all levels of gain. They also sound great with a mahogany body.

 

[ColeJustesen]

Re: There are too many fish in the sea: help choosing a new humbucker set

I have been super pleased with my Jazz set in my Yamaha Studio Lord. The neck is clean and articulate, with a lot of sparkle. The bridge is similar, but it can get aggressive with a modern high gain amp. I don't use any pedals with my amps to boost them and the Jazz bridge delivers in my opinion. I do have to run my tone knob a bit lower than what I do on my other guitars, but it rips with gain!

Cole

 

[darthphineas]

Re: There are too many fish in the sea: help choosing a new humbucker set

Hi guys, new here. I apologize for the long first post, but I have been having trouble choosing a humbucker set for my new guitar.

Some time ago I bought an LTD Viper 256. I truly love the guitar but the stock pickups that came with it are a bit dull for my taste. The neck humbucker is very dark and lacks clarity while the bridge humbucker is okay but can sound a little muddy at times when I crank the distortion up. On the other hand, If I don't dial in lots of bass on my amp (and lower the tone on the guitar to about half way), I won't get that modern metal sound I want... but doing this just adds to that somewhat muddy tone.

Unfortunately I cannot try out different pickups as I live on an island but here's what I'm looking for: I need a humbucker set capable of producing some mean modern metal distortion (think Deftones, Mastodon, Tool etc.) and that can stay nice and clear even when tuning to something like drop C. It will also need to perform nicely while on the clean channel. Hence I think I need something less aggressive for the neck pickup. The guitar is also coil splittable but I haven't really used that feature though.

Gear:
Guitar - Mahogany Body (SG style), mahogany set neck, rosewood fingerboard.
Amp - Peavey Valveking 50
Pedal - main pedal for metal is the Emma Pisdiyauwot

I really love the look of the covered stock pickups, so I'd like to stick with a nickel covered bucker. I currently looked into a heap of Duncan pickups like the duncan custom, Duncan distortion, JB, Pegasus and the Alt 8. And I also heard some good things about the Dimarzio D Activator. Then there's EMG, which is probably the most famous choice for modern metal. However, I don't want to go active as that would mean having to drill a cavity for the battery (something I'm not planning on doing). So for this reason, I'd like to stick to passive pups.
Then there's the dilemna about going ceramic or alnico: honestly, I don't know which I'd prefer. I have a Dimarzio Breed (alnico V) in one of my guitars and I love it! Mean, powerful and has all the low end I want. I also have another guitar with ceramic stock humbuckers which I thought were a little weak for my personal taste. I blame the pickups though and not saying ceramics are bad!

Of all of the SD options I mentioned, I keep coming back to the Alt 8. I just fear that it could make the guitar sound too trebly/ice picky? I've also heard good things about the SH-5, but have been wondering whether they have enough low end to do modern metal well.

I really appreciate any help I can get and look forward to being on this forum!

Would you consider the bands you like to be in the same vein as Between The Buried And Me? Mojotone has signature models for both of those guitarist. I think the new Tomahawk would be up your alley. Or have a peek at their Sledgehammer.

 

[R3-AUA]

Re: There are too many fish in the sea: help choosing a new humbucker set

Welcome to the forum!

My first thought when reading your story is the the Pegasus/Sentient set. You will get good cleans, tight lows, and it won't have the high end of a A8 magnet in there. They sound good with low tunings and keep the percussive chug thing going through all levels of gain. They also sound great with a mahogany body.

Thanks!! Funny I haven't given the Pegasus much thought because I thought it was mainly marketed for 7 string guitars. However your description is spot on to what I'm looking for! Now to check with SD if it can be ordered with a nickel cover as the option is unavailable online (purely for aesthetics by the way).

I have been super pleased with my Jazz set in my Yamaha Studio Lord. The neck is clean and articulate, with a lot of sparkle. The bridge is similar, but it can get aggressive with a modern high gain amp. I don't use any pedals with my amps to boost them and the Jazz bridge delivers in my opinion. I do have to run my tone knob a bit lower than what I do on my other guitars, but it rips with gain!

Cole

Cool! So does the jazz bridge pickup give you enough tight low end though? I figure it's probably brighter than other pickups like the custom or distortion.

Would you consider the bands you like to be in the same vein as Between The Buried And Me? Mojotone has signature models for both of those guitarist. I think the new Tomahawk would be up your alley. Or have a peek at their Sledgehammer.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have to be honest and say that I'm going to have to checkout Mojotone as I haven't heard of this company before.

 

[ColeJustesen]

Re: There are too many fish in the sea: help choosing a new humbucker set

The Jazz bridge has some sag, but it actually fairly tight. Personally, I am not into super tight amps and pickups, however if I am playing fast and palm muting I don't want any sag. I feel like the Jazz still stays dynamic, but had a quick response. The guitar it is in is tuned to drop c#. It sounds great with all my amps.

Cole

 

[Mincer]

Re: There are too many fish in the sea: help choosing a new humbucker set

You should be able to order the Pegasus with any cover you want from any dealer.

 

[R3-AUA]

Re: There are too many fish in the sea: help choosing a new humbucker set

You should be able to order the Pegasus with any cover you want from any dealer.

Cool,thanks!

 

[DeathMetalWill]

Re: There are too many fish in the sea: help choosing a new humbucker set

With the neck pickup, I'm not sure, but could you possibly go wrong with a Seymour Duncan JB or a '59?

For the bridge however, I'd recommend you to the Seymour Duncan Black Winter. Everything your looking for (I was looking for the exact same thing), and works really well in Drop C (One of my common tunings). I could even give ya sound samples if you need.

And the Nazgul is quite trebley...
Plus if a pickups too trebley, that's what a tone knob is for.

 

[Thundermtn]

Re: There are too many fish in the sea: help choosing a new humbucker set

The sh-5 can go down that low and still sound awesome. It's probably my favorite sounding pup for the type of stuff you're talking about. Alt-8 is on the bottom of my lists. Mastodon has run a bunch of stuff for pups. Recently they include lace hammer claws & nitro hemis, sd pearly gates in the neck sometimes, stock gibson 57 classics. For modern stuff maybe also checkout the Juggernaut from bareknuckle.

 

[R3-AUA]

Re: There are too many fish in the sea: help choosing a new humbucker set

With the neck pickup, I'm not sure, but could you possibly go wrong with a Seymour Duncan JB or a '59?

For the bridge however, I'd recommend you to the Seymour Duncan Black Winter. Everything your looking for (I was looking for the exact same thing), and works really well in Drop C (One of my common tunings). I could even give ya sound samples if you need.

And the Nazgul is quite trebley...
Plus if a pickups too trebley, that's what a tone knob is for.

I'm thinking about Jazz or 59 for the neck. I'd want something mean and aggressive for the bridge and something clean and somewhat brighter for the neck. I hope this combination will allow me to cover a bit of everything within the metal/rock spectrum (I play modern metal, grunge and 90s rock... from Nirvana to Deftones)

The sh-5 can go down that low and still sound awesome. It's probably my favorite sounding pup for the type of stuff you're talking about. Alt-8 is on the bottom of my lists. Mastodon has run a bunch of stuff for pups. Recently they include lace hammer claws & nitro hemis, sd pearly gates in the neck sometimes, stock gibson 57 classics. For modern stuff maybe also checkout the Juggernaut from bareknuckle.

The SH-5 is definitely on my list, along with the SD distortion. Have you tried the SH5 in a solid mahogany guitar like an SG or something else? If so, was it able to retain its clarity even when tuning to Drop C (the lowest I go)? Also, why is the Alt-8 at the bottom of your list?

As for the Bareknuckle, I was under the impression that they're not cheap and I want to spend roughly $100 per pup.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: There are too many fish in the sea: help choosing a new humbucker set

As for the Bareknuckle, I was under the impression that they're not cheap and I want to spend roughly $100 per pup.

nobody should be spending more for $100 for a pre-owned BKP. especially at the way the pound-dollar exchange rate has been since Brexit. although I'm not so certain about the Juggernaut, when the Aftermath or the Blackhawk might be a better fit.