I'm looking to expand my pickup collection a little further, and I'm looking for a high-output "open" sounding humbucker. I play mostly hard rock riffs, thrash, and other heavier, fast genres, and I am wondering which pickup to get next. I mainly like brighter-sounding humbuckers like customs, JBs, and l500xls. I've seen some good videos of the D Activator, but I have been having a hard time finding videos on the Nailbomb and was hoping someone here would have some experience. I saw Kyle Bull's pickup comparison and liked the Rampage and the Duncan distortion the most. I've heard it's kind of like a JB and that it's what Steve Stevens was using before he got his signature set. I'll probably order the ceramic one because Vineham said the alnico one was too dark-sounding, but I might order some magnets to play around with. For the D Activator, I'm pretty sure from all the demos I've seen that it's my favorite of all the high-output DiMarzio pickups. Though, I did really like how the Paf Pro, Fred, and maybe the Norton, sounded in some of those demos, but I might revisit some of those when I get my Jackson preamp boards built to boost the output. Would the Sh6n also be a good choice, and how well would it stack up against the others?
What pickup should I buy first Vineham Rampage (BKP Nailbomb)or Dimarzio D Activator.
- Thread starter stinkfeet
- Start date
The only way to know if a pickup is going to work for you is to put it in one of your guitars and get it adjusted properly and play it for a while. I'm a big fan of Bare Knuckles, been using them for 17 years... and yet I've tried BKPs I know and love in guitars I really enjoy playing, and discovered to my dismay that they weren't a good match. I haven't tried those DMZs or anything by Vineham.
Nailbombs are very good - firm feel, hot and midrangey but still very clear. I had the ceramic version. I go back and forth between the Rebel Yell bridge (Steve Stevens sig) and the Cold Sweat in one of my main guitars. CS is my favorite - more scooped/chunky and more immediate, records better for what I'm doing - while RY is more chewy and forgiving. Both pretty bright and similar to one another. All of them are best in thicker/warmer guitars and can sound thin in brighter guitars.
The Duncan Distortion compared to those is hotter, more compressed, a bit more balanced and feels smoother/easier to control, but sounds more muddled and indistinct at comparable distortion levels. Like the JB, it's great if you want a consistent mic-ready tone, but depending on your rig and what you play (if you're splitting hairs like I do) it may not be clear enough. I actually liked the Gibson 500T better for clarity in my setup.
Nailbombs are very good - firm feel, hot and midrangey but still very clear. I had the ceramic version. I go back and forth between the Rebel Yell bridge (Steve Stevens sig) and the Cold Sweat in one of my main guitars. CS is my favorite - more scooped/chunky and more immediate, records better for what I'm doing - while RY is more chewy and forgiving. Both pretty bright and similar to one another. All of them are best in thicker/warmer guitars and can sound thin in brighter guitars.
The Duncan Distortion compared to those is hotter, more compressed, a bit more balanced and feels smoother/easier to control, but sounds more muddled and indistinct at comparable distortion levels. Like the JB, it's great if you want a consistent mic-ready tone, but depending on your rig and what you play (if you're splitting hairs like I do) it may not be clear enough. I actually liked the Gibson 500T better for clarity in my setup.
I've been pretty interested in the 500t too, but I kind of want to try a buzzword pickup and figured that it and the DD would be more compressed than what I was looking for, from what I've heard. How do you think your 500t compares to your nailbomb? Is it more compressed or pretty similar?
Also, I probably should have stated that the Rampage is a clone of the NailBomb, for much less that's made in Canada.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Out of the ones you mention, I've tried both the SH-6N in the bridge and the D-Activator.
I thought the D-Activator was pretty cool. It's not as mid-pushed as other high output pickups like the Distortion, Nazgul, or Black Winter. It's more neutral with a hint of high-mid and high-end raspiness. It has a cool attack. It's pretty hot, though. Like about as hot as the Duncan Distortion, even if the DCR is considerably lower.
The SH-6N in the bridge... meh. LOL. I think it sorta sounds like an underwound Duncan Distortion, just not particularly interesting to me. It's lower output, brighter, and not as mid-pushed as the Duncan Distortion, but sort of along the lines. Kind of in beteween the DD and the Custom, just thinner and with more twang than either.
About dynamics... I dunno, LOL. I personally don't fixate on that too much, so I'm probably not the right person to ask about that.
I thought the D-Activator was pretty cool. It's not as mid-pushed as other high output pickups like the Distortion, Nazgul, or Black Winter. It's more neutral with a hint of high-mid and high-end raspiness. It has a cool attack. It's pretty hot, though. Like about as hot as the Duncan Distortion, even if the DCR is considerably lower.
The SH-6N in the bridge... meh. LOL. I think it sorta sounds like an underwound Duncan Distortion, just not particularly interesting to me. It's lower output, brighter, and not as mid-pushed as the Duncan Distortion, but sort of along the lines. Kind of in beteween the DD and the Custom, just thinner and with more twang than either.
About dynamics... I dunno, LOL. I personally don't fixate on that too much, so I'm probably not the right person to ask about that.
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Thanks for the input! I was really thinking about the sh6n, but the more I find out about it, the less I'm interested in it right now. It might be good for something or just cool to try, but I'd miss the aggressive mids from a Duncan Distortion for thrash tones. I'm glad to hear more good things about D-Activator. I got turned onto them by Chris Broderick's setup, and they seem like my favorite of DiMarzio's modern pickups, though I would like to try the OG Evolution. I kinda want to try the buzzword thing first just to see how I'd like it. I figured that since everyone says BKP pickups are always super open-sounding, they would also be a good choice. They did sound pretty good and closest to the Sugarbuckers in the demo, but I can't find much else comparing to the nailbomb. I normally play super-compressed boosted tones and just wonder how that would work for me.
