Need help finding a pickup that sounds decent.

[kylendm]

Alright so I can't find a nice pickup for my guitar for the life of me. My guitar is an Ibanez JEM7VWH.

Alder Body
Maple Neck
Ebony Fretboard

My guitar is medium to bright as far as wood tones go but these pickups just haven't done it for me.

Dimarzio Evolution (Too loose and muddy)
Bare Knuckle Warpig (Too much low end, a bit too loose for me, and too much output) I liked this one the most
Bare Knuckle Aftermath (Too tight, Bland, Boring)

I play mainly metal/metalcore/djent.

I'm thinking a Nailbomb would be best for me but I'm open to anything honestly. The pickup needs to be articulate but not too tight/stiff like the Aftermath. I like open saturation but I like the fast galloping palm mutes and stuff as well.

Remember the pickup shouldn't be too bright and overbearing. A JB would be a no no in my opinion at least.

 

[Zozobra]

Based on what you do and dont like about the aftermath and warpig, I'd get a ceramic nailbomb.

 

[kylendm]

Yeah it seems like it's right in the middle between the too. I play the guitar in drop B/A and that's what I don't like about the Evo mainly. It just gets a bit too loose for me at those tunings.

 

[Rex Rocker]

EMG 81? It's tighter than the Evo for sure, at least IME.

 

[LuketheDuke]

I play an Ibanez RGD, and I was struggling to find a decent pickup for it as well. It's a 26.5" scale, and I play metal/metalcore and its always in drop G#. I bought a Dimarzio Crunch Lab for it, but was super disappointed in the low end. Very muddy and loose. I had a Seymour Duncan Blackout in another guitar of mine, so I swapped them and it sounds decent. The bottom end is pretty tight, but it has more of a warm character than EMG's...waaay hotter as well. But honestly, I would go with the EMG 81. I've owned 3 guitars with them installed, and I just CANNOT find something that compares both in a live and recording scenario for the metal/metalcore genre.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Scottxx]

Seymour Duncan JB.

 

[JakeAC5253]

I can relate to your troubles trying to find a nice pickup for a bright guitar. I tried a Duncan Jazz in my bright guitar not too long ago and it's not perfect but it's still really cool.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8838613/Duncan Jazz.mp3
That's a clip^

 

[kylendm]

JB is too bright for my guitar in my opinion.

Might go with a Tonezone, BKP Crawler, or Nailbomb. I like the dynamics of passive pups so im trying to stay passive.

 

[amarshism]

i have those exact materials in my robin medley that i got off lasse last year

it has an 81 in the bridge

it is tonally one of the best guitars ive recorded

 

[Spite]

I'd suggest an EMG 85. 18-volt that sucker and prepare to shit bricks.

 

[kylendm]

As much as I know people like them, I'm just not a fan of Actives. Had them in a nice guitar but couldn't get a good feel for them. :/

 

[Axonic Rot]

As much as I know people like them, I'm just not a fan of Actives. Had them in a nice guitar but couldn't get a good feel for them. :/

You should probably give them another try at 18v.

EMGs on 9v is not bearable. EMGs on 18v is my favorite over everything else right now. 18v takes all the disadvantages like the feel and clipping away and lets you have all the advantages like the clarity and extended frequency response.

Another suggestion is a Lundgren M. They are passive but seem to have been precision designed to get the best out of a passive design. They are super clear and super tight and have a wider frequency response than most pickups.

 

[weimark]

Keep in mind that maybe there's the possibility of not liking the tone of the wood. Have you tried other guitars?

 

[Skinny Viking]

^ maybe we can all donate money to him so he can buy one!

anyway, I've always loved my SD Fullshred pup ... passive and sounds killer. Might be something to look into

 

[kylendm]

I'm starting to actually think I don't like the tone of the wood haha. But I like the sound acoustically, I really think it's just pickup though. I don't have the guitar and haven't played it in 2 months because it's at my other place. Once I get it back here I'll fool around with electronics and try the Evo again.

 

[D.Vial]

Get away from dimarzio, their pickups don't work for metal

 

[kylendm]

Can't say I agree with that but they do work better for hard rock than metal in my experience at least.

 

[weimark]

^ maybe we can all donate money to him so he can buy one!

 

[Skinny Viking]

Yeah ... cause I'M the asshole

 

[kylendm]

Hmm...Donations....Idk I liked the idea.