Hot, aggressive, thick, passive pickup

[eveningninja]

I've got an Alexi-600 (alder body, maple neck-thru, ebony fretboard, 25.5" scale, Floyd Rose... essentially a very bright guitar) that needs a hot aggressive passive pickup that will thicken up its sound, preferably something with an Alnico V/VIII magnet?

I'm considering...

-Seymour Duncan Alternative 8
-Dimarzio Tone Zone
-Dimarzio Breed

My amp is a Marshall JCM2000 TSL100 with an Orange PPC212 cab, running through an Ibanez TS7 as boost.


Any recommendations or general input? Or a pickup that fits the bill that I haven't considered?

Thanks!

-edit: general question: If you want a slightly warmer/darker-voiced pickup, is it necessary that the magnet be Alnico? Or can it be Ceramic and still be a quite beefy-sounding (and not too treble-y) pickup?

Will a ceramic pickup always sound like an ceramic and an alnico always sound like an alnico, regardless? Or are they simply voiced differently to begin with and can eventually be EQ'd?

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Alt8 all the way

 

[jangoux]

+1 to the Alt8. You also described the Seymour DUncan Custom

 

[eveningninja]

How does the Alt8 compare with the Tone Zone or Breed? Any reasoning as to why the Alt8 would be better? I haven't really heard too much about any of these pickups.

+1 to the Alt8. You also described the Seymour DUncan Custom

Really? The Custom is what's currently in my Alexi guitar and I don't find it to fatten up the sound very much at all, nor does it sound aggressive enough. Seems like a pretty balanced pickup.

 

[Sepultorture]

BAREKNUCKLE WARPIG with ceramic magent

worth it trust me

 

[BLUElightCory]

I love the Gibson 500T for aggressive sounds from passive pickups. It's an overwound pickup with a ceramic magnet and it just sounds MEAN. Not the best pickup for clean sounds though...

 

[Lasse Lammert]

I don't think the Alt8 sounds anything like the custom tbh

 

[Blackie13]

Seymour Duncan Custom...
I have one in an alder body,fr,maple neck,single humbucker charvel Star...
Amazing tone...
I use it with my modded 6262 without any pedal in front(just a noise gate) and plays great...

 

[eveningninja]

I don't think the Alt8 sounds anything like the custom tbh

Could you describe what it sounds like in a nutshell? If it helps, I love the sound of the EMG-85 in the bridge of my RV (which has identical specs as my Alexi guitar), darkens up the tone (at least compared to the EMG-81) and sounds really aggressive with its low-mids. I was kind of thinking that either the Alt8, Tone Zone, or Breed would do a similar thing but in passive form.



Btw, kind of a more general question: If you want a slightly warmer/darker-voiced pickup, is it necessary that the magnet be Alnico? Or can it be Ceramic and still be a quite beefy-sounding (and not too treble-y) pickup? Will a ceramic pickup always sound like an ceramic and an alnico always sound like an alnico, regardless? Or are they simply voiced differently to begin with and can eventually be EQ'd?

I ask because some people are recommending I get the Dimarzio Crunch Lab, that a good ceramic pickup will work best for me.

 

[Robert W]

BAREKNUCKLE WARPIG with ceramic magent

worth it trust me

+1 on the BK Warpig. It's a very "thick" sounding pup, well suited for high gain applications.

 

[TonyS.]

Dimarzio X2N!

 

[ParsonsMatt]

Dimarzio X2N!

Came here to say this. X2N is so good for metal.

 

[Damphire]

Bareknuckles

 

[thefyn]

You won't get hotter and thicker than an Invader.

 

[Cryo114]

Wow, never even heard of the SD alt8 pup before.

 

[Brandon E.]

I, as well, came here to tell you to check out the X2N.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

The alt8 is not the thickest pickup on the planet, but it's chunky and tight as fuck.
Bit if "thickness" is you main goal and you don't care too much for tightness the BKPs might indeed be the better choice

 

[pfhuck]

JB

 

[eveningninja]

What do you guys think of the Dimarzio Crunch Lab? I've been recommended that, and have been told it's what I'm looking for based on how I described what I needed.

Sort of debating between the Alt8 and the Crunch Lab now