Other pickups for my esp svii camo
Other pickups for my esp svii camo
If you're looking for more low-end, the pickups in my Jackson RR1 provide a ton of that, and the specs are very close to yours (Maple neck, alder body, neck-thru construction, OFR). Those pickups are a Seymour Duncan SH2 at the neck and a Seymour Duncan TB4 at the bridge.
Additionally, the Seymour Duncan JBL in my ESP custom shop provides most of the low-end I hear in my RR1, as well as the high-end, cutting frequencies I hear in my Ibanez Jem.
So for a bridge pickup at least, I'd say the JBL is the best balanced pickup I've heard yet. Though keep in mind my ESP has a fixed bridge and is made of Korina, not alder. So there might be a difference if you were to toss it in your guitar.
Yes, I have a set of Blackouts in one of my guitars. I highly recommend them. I would rip EMG 81/85 out of any guitar and replace with Blackouts, without a second thought.
They are big and powerful, but they have real living breathing tone. Hard to describe without using cliches like "organic" or "open."
I'd try the Black Hawks from BKP. Basically a passive Blackout from what I understand.
From Duncan I like Distortions. From Dimarzio I am personally having good experience with the Crunch Lab, but some of the other guys here seem to really like the Dominion pickup for metal. I'd consider trying that too.
Some day I really want to try Doug Aldrich pickups from Suhr, but those might be better suited for a more versatile hard rock setup, than a black metal sound. For that kind of thing, I'd also think about some other BKP's. Aftermath, nailbomb, miracle man, etc.
I play in drop C, strings 10-50 DR