Best passive pickups for metal?
Best passive pickups for metal?
Hello. I have 2 alexi laiho 600 LTDs and I dont like the toneless, sterile sound im getting out of the emg hz's they allready have in them. I was wanting to replace them. Ive had my eyes on some dimarzio x2n pickups I can get on ebay. I have one in my B.C.Rich stealh and I think it sounds really great. was just wondering, before I order them, does anyone know of any other pickups they would recomend for metal other than the x2n?
I'm not sure if they are the "best" but before I started using EMGs, I used the Seymour Duncan Black Winter pickups. They have a nasty high gain output.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/pickups/featured/black-winter
Jesse P. wrote:Hello. I have 2 alexi laiho 600 LTDs and I dont like the toneless, sterile sound im getting out of the emg hz's they allready have in them. I was wanting to replace them. Ive had my eyes on some dimarzio x2n pickups I can get on ebay. I have one in my B.C.Rich stealh and I think it sounds really great. was just wondering, before I order them, does anyone know of any other pickups they would recomend for metal other than the x2n?
It depends on what you're looking for. Do you have a high gain amp/pedal in your rig?. If you already have, you might or might not want to consider a clearer and lower output pickup. You don't need something as hot as the x2n or similar if you already get a lot of gain from your rig, unless you like the particular tone of a specific hot pup. What kind of sound are you looking for?. Which frequencies do you want to emphasize?.
I'm asking because I already have an amp with ridiculous amounts of gain, so I'm going to install a DiMarzio PAF Pro in the bridge position of my guitar (medium output, 8.4k D.C. Resistance, Alnico 5). It was originally designed for rigs with plenty of gain and effects, so it's supposed to have a clear and well defined tone.
For my bolt on, Basswood body, Maple neck guitar, the DiMarzio Super Distortion/PAF Pro combination works very very well. Of course, I was looking for power and clarity without shrillness. This is a tried and true pairing, particularly for bolt on guitars. You might or might not like the SD for more extreme Metal styles, but it can do everything from Jazz Fusion to Classic Metal extremely well. The PAF Pro is excellent for cleans and solos. Very clear pickup. If you are ok with a vintage-modern vibe, you might consider these 30-40+ year Humbuckers.
New U. wrote:For my bolt on, Basswood body, Maple neck guitar, the DiMarzio Super Distortion/PAF Pro combination works very very well. Of course, I was looking for power and clarity without shrillness. This is a tried and true pairing, particularly for bolt on guitars. You might or might not like the SD for more extreme Metal styles, but it can do everything from Jazz Fusion to Classic Metal extremely well. The PAF Pro is excellent for cleans and solos. Very clear pickup. Morbid Angel’s Trey Azaghtoth is a notable PAF Pro user, so you don’t really need an insanely hot pickup if you could get plenty of gain from your amp. If you are ok with a vintage-modern vibe, you might consider these 30-40+ year Humbuckers.
The Bare Knuckle Warpig has been my preference when it comes to passive. The Aftermath is good as well, but lacks a bit of output at times.