trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

[appar111]

I've been thinking of getting a real modern sounding pickup like the Nazgul or Pegasus for my alder strat (a single humbucker hardtail warmoth strat, striped up EVH style) as I'm looking to freshen up my sound, and have been listening to a couple demos like these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6qUC9qBxDo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR0JdiGV0bA

And I'm realizing that I really just don't get these types of tuned down metal genres. I honestly could not tell the difference between these 2 pickups at all. It just sounded tuned too low, and alot of repetitive riffing with chords that sound very dissonant. Thank God there were no cookie monster vocals on either demo. Not that I mind aggressive music, I'm just more from the school of VH, Priest, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, Anthrax, so I'm trying to get a feel for these pickups while not being able to hear them demo'ed for anything other than a genre that I don't really get.

Would the Nazgul or Pegasus work for these types of genres, or would it just not be a fit at all?

 

[kramersteen]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

A simple fix would be to just get a dimarzio super distortion.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

Try running the audio through an octave multiplier to hear the music at regular pitch.

 

[dominus]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

The tone chart doesn't give the B/M/T ratings of the 6 string versions but it does for the 7 string. They look like mostly boosted mid/treble based pickups. They might be fairly close, eq-wise, to the Distortion, which would be perfect for most of those bands.

 

[Ptolemaeus]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

And I'm realizing that I really just don't get these types of tuned down metal genres. I honestly could not tell the difference between these 2 pickups at all. It just sounded tuned too low, and alot of repetitive riffing with chords that sound very dissonant.

Yeah, it's going to be hard to hear a difference between any pickup running through what most of the guys doing those demos are using. That put me off for a good while on trying the Nazgul and Pegasus because I didn't think there was much of a difference between the two. I decided I was wrong when I happened across a guitar in my local shop that had a Pegasus in it. It's a good pup and I liked it so much I went home and ordered the Pegauss/Sentient set for myself. I also found a used Nazgul on ebay, so I scooped that up as well.

Running both straight into an amp, you can definitely tell a difference in tone and feel. The Nazgul is the most aggressive humbucker I've ever used, in my opinion. It's not even all that high output, there was just something about it that made it gnarly. I couldn't control it, so I swapped in the Pegaus and I liked it much better. Not as aggressive, and I found the marketing to be correct when they said you could hear all the notes in a chord ring out across the fretboard.

Now, in my opinion, if you were going for old school thrash and heavy metal, the Nazgul would be my choice out of the two. It lends itself to angry riffing ala Metallica and Testament. If you want what I would personally choose for those bands you listed, I'd go with a Duncan Distortion. Has a more old school feel, but flawlessly pulls off modern tones as well.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

I think the demos are done to illustrate how well they work for the target genres, and that's why you hear them playing that style. However, if they're not doing a direct comparison with the pickups that have been used in that genre for all this time, it's a one-sided argument.

 

[omg81]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

And I'm realizing that I really just don't get these types of tuned down metal genres. I honestly could not tell the difference between these 2 pickups at all. It just sounded tuned too low, and alot of repetitive riffing with chords that sound very dissonant.

And they're only using 7- and 8-strings, not the latest 9-strings. I think they're trying to play something like Meshuggah, which is a fairly popular extreme metal band using 8-strings. I don't get it either, it's mostly monotonous noise in my ears.

/turns on Darkthrone again

 

[harmonix1234]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

SH6 I grew up playing Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Testament, Anthrax, SOD, Sepultura, Machine Head, Iron Maiden, blah blah. For 90's thrash and everything modern the SH6 can handle it. Just don't expect a sweet clean tone from it. The more gain you give it, the more it sings.

 

[appar111]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

I think the demos are done to illustrate how well they work for the target genres, and that's why you hear them playing that style. However, if they're not doing a direct comparison with the pickups that have been used in that genre for all this time, it's a one-sided argument.

Yeah that's a good point. I know the default choices for the styles I listed would be stuff like the Duncan Distortion or Dimarzio Super D, and unless I'm hearing a comparison against those, it might not be a ton of use to me anyway.

I can pick up an old Duncan Distortion or Super D for not too much money, so that's definitely the easiest way to go. I've used the Super D alot and almost just grabbed an old one, but I've never tried the Duncan Distortion, except very briefly in a buddy's old pointy-head Charvel Star. From my short time with it, I remember everything feeling very fluid and compressed when playing fast barre chords.

 

[Will Shred 4 Food]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

Don't forget about the Black Winter. I recently put the Nazgul/Sentient set in one of my guitars and the Black Winter in another. The Black Winter is very high output while remaining tight on the low strings and easier to control than the Nazgul. It would be great for old school thrash & metal imo. The Nazgul picks up every little move you make whether you want it to or not, so it becomes more difficult to quiet open strings and pick noise when playing more intricate parts.

BTW, if you want to hear a new band that might be more your speed, check out Sylosis. Standard tuning, straight ahead old school style thrash played with the accuracy and incredible talent of new school metalists.

 

[Gibson 1964]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

I've been thinking of getting a real modern sounding pickup like the Nazgul or Pegasus for my alder strat (a single humbucker hardtail warmoth strat, striped up EVH style) as I'm looking to freshen up my sound, and have been listening to a couple demos like these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6qUC9qBxDo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR0JdiGV0bA

And I'm realizing that I really just don't get these types of tuned down metal genres. I honestly could not tell the difference between these 2 pickups at all. It just sounded tuned too low, and alot of repetitive riffing with chords that sound very dissonant. Thank God there were no cookie monster vocals on either demo. Not that I mind aggressive music, I'm just more from the school of VH, Priest, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, Anthrax, so I'm trying to get a feel for these pickups while not being able to hear them demo'ed for anything other than a genre that I don't really get.

Would the Nazgul or Pegasus work for these types of genres, or would it just not be a fit at all?

I just got a Nazgul. FTR I play in E Standard. It would sound great. I have no experience with the Pegasus. IMO, the Black Winter is slightly less aggressive if you want, than the Nazgul. The Nazgul 6 is one aggressive pickup. Metallica and Megadeth would be easy with a Nazgul. IMO the Nazgul shines at high gain and with what some would call Metallica cleans. To me, a Nazgul sounds like a more modern Distortion. By Modern, I mean more clarity and string separation, less bass and a different emphasis in the mids.

 

[cardinal]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

I thought the Pegasus 7 sounded similar to the Tone Zone 7, for what it's worth. Never played the Nazgul.

 

[appar111]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

Don't forget about the Black Winter. I recently put the Nazgul/Sentient set in one of my guitars and the Black Winter in another. The Black Winter is very high output while remaining tight on the low strings and easier to control than the Nazgul. It would be great for old school thrash & metal imo. The Nazgul picks up every little move you make whether you want it to or not, so it becomes more difficult to quiet open strings and pick noise when playing more intricate parts.

BTW, if you want to hear a new band that might be more your speed, check out Sylosis. Standard tuning, straight ahead old school style thrash played with the accuracy and incredible talent of new school metalists.

Cool, I'll have to check out Sylosis-- thanks man!

Also, thanks for some clarification on the Nazgul being hard to control-- I was wondering what some folks meant by that. I wonder if it's similar to the Evolution bridge in that regard? (i.e. being hard to quiet open strings & finger noise).

 

[appar111]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

I just got a Nazgul. FTR I play in E Standard. It would sound great. I have no experience with the Pegasus. IMO, the Black Winter is slightly less aggressive if you want, than the Nazgul. The Nazgul 6 is one aggressive pickup. Metallica and Megadeth would be easy with a Nazgul. IMO the Nazgul shines at high gain and with what some would call Metallica cleans. To me, a Nazgul sounds like a more modern Distortion. By Modern, I mean more clarity and string separation, less bass and a different emphasis in the mids.

You mean like Ride the Lightning/Master of Puppets era clean stuff? I could deal with that. Recently, I've been using a Dimarzio PAF Pro, then an A2P with an A8, and most recently an EMG 85 in my hardtail strat-- hopefully the guitar won't implode if I put a Nazgul in it!

 

[Gibson 1964]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

You mean like Ride the Lightning/Master of Puppets era clean stuff? I could deal with that. Recently, I've been using a Dimarzio PAF Pro, then an A2P with an A8, and most recently an EMG 85 in my hardtail strat-- hopefully the guitar won't implode if I put a Nazgul in it!

Can you give me an exact song to compare? The Nazgul does a pretty nice crystal clean tone with no hair on it whatsoever. It definitely reminded me of tones from Metallica in the past. It would be weakest, at least in my rig on the lightly distorted stuff.

 

[appar111]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

Can you give me an exact song to compare? The Nazgul does a pretty nice crystal clean tone with no hair on it whatsoever. It definitely reminded me of tones from Metallica in the past. It would be weakest, at least in my rig on the lightly distorted stuff.

I'm thinking stuff like clean parts in Welcome Home (Sanitarium), The Call of Ktulu, One, that kinda stuff...

I end to go for a high gain sound and then back off the volume to clean up for varying degrees of dirt, rather than a lightly distorted base tone. My setup is medium-high gain now, so a pickup with some real wallop should pair nicely with it to get me firmly into high gain tones.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

I use a Distortion in the bridge of my guitars and it pulls off old school and modern metal tones perfectly as well as pristine cleans. It's a very versatile pickup. I'd recommend for what you want.

 

[appar111]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

I use a Distortion in the bridge of my guitars and it pulls off old school and modern metal tones perfectly as well as pristine cleans. It's a very versatile pickup. I'd recommend for what you want.

what amp are you using? I'm assuming something with high headroom? Otherwise, wouldn't the Distortion (and probably the Nazgul too) distort a clean channel? I can see clean-ish tones from a high output pickup, but not pristine cleans.

The Duncan Distortion has never really been out of the running, but it's more of a fallback as I'd really like to try a modern pickup if possible. I feel like I'm so old school on most of my stuff (music preferences, guitars, pedals, pickups, hell even music player devices-- I still favor my CD walkman and my Minidiscman to an MP3 player), that I figured I need to get a least a new design pickup rather than an "oldie but goodie".

 

[Gibson 1964]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

what amp are you using? I'm assuming something with high headroom? Otherwise, wouldn't the Distortion (and probably the Nazgul too) distort a clean channel? I can see clean-ish tones from a high output pickup, but not pristine cleans.

It is all about how you set up your clean channels. Unless you are playing a 5150, it is easy to set up most clean channels purely clean. I can get a pure clean sound out of my Frenzel or my Soldano. On my Frenzel, I have a clean channel set up as a base clean tone, and use an amptweaker tightmetal for dirt. I have used my Bassman preamp set clean as well with it. I am playing with a lot of amps and I tend to like my cleans clean.

 

[Will Shred 4 Food]

Re: trying to understand pickups like Nazgul and Pegasus

Personally, I can't get a fully clean sound out of my Nazgul or Black Winter without rolling back the volume pot a little; much like my EMG 81s. Regardless, wouldn't you typically use your neck pickup for clean stuff like "Sanitarium" etc.? I hate the sound of a bridge pup clean; too nasal. If you have a dual humbucker setup, the Sentient is a beautiful sounding neck pup. Perfect for both clean stuff and high-gain soloing.

Also, for what it's worth, while the Distortion is a great pup, is does have a very different sound from the Nazgul, Pegasus and Black Winter. Much more "constricted" for lack of a better term, while the latter 3 are a nice mix of high-output "metal-ish" tones and PAF tones.