Passive pickups for Les Paul in B standard?

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buller

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I'm looking for recommendations for a high output bridge pickup and low output neck pickup for a Les Paul in B standard that will be used for sludge metal like Amenra and Isis, and some death metal that uses B standard tuning like Carcass and Dead Congregation.

I don't want a pickup that's super modern sounding, so I'm not sure a Nazgûl, Lundgren M6, or stuff like that would be a good pick for me and I'm allergic to djent. I want the bridge pickup to have a little bit of give and old school character while having some grind and cut and not being too flubby for the low tuning. For the neck pickup I'd want something articulate and clear with some sweetness. Not bassy like a 59.

I have a Les Paul in D standard that I've had Black Winters (found kind of harsh and too modern), PG neck and SH-5 Custom bridge (really liked), and now Jim Wagner Darkburst and Ironman (love) in. Could stick with the same Jim Wagner combo, but curious if there might be better options for the lower tuning. The bridge pickup needs to be potted, and I'm not interested in going down the vintage rabbit hole.

Bridge pickups I'm considering:
Mighty Mite 1300
Mighty Mite Motherbucker 16k
Jim Wagner Ironman
Pariah Sykonaut
Monty's Bill Steer set
Gibson 500T
Duncan Distortion

Neck pickups I'm considering:
Jim Wagner Darkburst/Godwood
Duncan Pearly Gates, Jazz, or Sentient
Pariah Leone
Gibson Custombucker
Monty's Bill Steer set

What would you all recommend? Interested if anyone here uses a LP tuned this low
 
All I can say is a generic answer of something high output but leaner in the bottom. Actually I would want to know what is the amp going to be, or what family of circuits if more than one amp. Any boosts?. If you’re not opposed to using an EQ in front, that may open up options.
I actually love a Treble Booster on lower tunings on my Gibsons. My TB (Naga Viper) lets you tailor in the frequency range though so you can finesse for real lean or more meaty.
Maybe transfer the Ironman in for testing purposes?
 
skoora said:
All I can say is a generic answer of something high output but leaner in the bottom. Actually I would want to know what is the amp going to be, or what family of circuits if more than one amp. Any boosts?. If you’re not opposed to using an EQ in front, that may open up options.
I actually love a Treble Booster on lower tunings on my Gibsons. My TB (Naga Viper) lets you tailor in the frequency range though so you can finesse for real lean or more meaty.
Maybe transfer the Ironman in for testing purposes?
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This is probably blasphemy here but I'm using a pedal-based rig. Lichtlaerm PandorA power amp pedal, and the two preamp pedals I use are the Science Mother which is kind of Hiwatt lineage, and the This Heavy Earth Fleshrot V2 which is an Ampeg VH140c preamp. I use a Lichtlaerm King In Yellow (Tubescreamer style boost) into either of the preamps. My cab is a KSR 212V with Alnico Cream and Redback.

I'm thinking I might grab Monty's Bill Steer pickup set since he uses LPs and Melody Makers in low tunings so those should work well, and Alnico 6 bridge pickup is interesting. Then I could also compare them to my Jim Wagners
 
Lollar DB seems to very well match what you are describing though I do not use it for heavy music or deep detuning myself I'm always in Eb.
 
Try the Duncan Wes Hauch Jupiter 6 set. I had them in a Charvel, and I should have kept that fucking thing. The pickups made that guitar. Exceptional note separation, and I only went drop-D. They're really made to shine lower.. I can only imagine how perfect they'd be in a Les Paul.
 
buller said:
I'm looking for recommendations for a high output bridge pickup and low output neck pickup for a Les Paul in B standard that will be used for sludge metal like Amenra and Isis, and some death metal that uses B standard tuning like Carcass and Dead Congregation.

I don't want a pickup that's super modern sounding, so I'm not sure a Nazgûl, Lundgren M6, or stuff like that would be a good pick for me and I'm allergic to djent. I want the bridge pickup to have a little bit of give and old school character while having some grind and cut and not being too flubby for the low tuning. For the neck pickup I'd want something articulate and clear with some sweetness. Not bassy like a 59.

I have a Les Paul in D standard that I've had Black Winters (found kind of harsh and too modern), PG neck and SH-5 Custom bridge (really liked), and now Jim Wagner Darkburst and Ironman (love) in. Could stick with the same Jim Wagner combo, but curious if there might be better options for the lower tuning. The bridge pickup needs to be potted, and I'm not interested in going down the vintage rabbit hole.

Bridge pickups I'm considering:
Mighty Mite 1300
Mighty Mite Motherbucker 16k
Jim Wagner Ironman
Pariah Sykonaut
Monty's Bill Steer set
Gibson 500T
Duncan Distortion

Neck pickups I'm considering:
Jim Wagner Darkburst/Godwood
Duncan Pearly Gates, Jazz, or Sentient
Pariah Leone
Gibson Custombucker
Monty's Bill Steer set

What would you all recommend? Interested if anyone here uses a LP tuned this low
Click to expand...
Use the one that's in there.
 
buller said:
I'm looking for recommendations for a high output bridge pickup and low output neck pickup for a Les Paul in B standard that will be used for sludge metal like Amenra and Isis, and some death metal that uses B standard tuning like Carcass and Dead Congregation.

I don't want a pickup that's super modern sounding, so I'm not sure a Nazgûl, Lundgren M6, or stuff like that would be a good pick for me and I'm allergic to djent. I want the bridge pickup to have a little bit of give and old school character while having some grind and cut and not being too flubby for the low tuning. For the neck pickup I'd want something articulate and clear with some sweetness. Not bassy like a 59.

I have a Les Paul in D standard that I've had Black Winters (found kind of harsh and too modern), PG neck and SH-5 Custom bridge (really liked), and now Jim Wagner Darkburst and Ironman (love) in. Could stick with the same Jim Wagner combo, but curious if there might be better options for the lower tuning. The bridge pickup needs to be potted, and I'm not interested in going down the vintage rabbit hole.

Bridge pickups I'm considering:
Mighty Mite 1300
Mighty Mite Motherbucker 16k
Jim Wagner Ironman
Pariah Sykonaut
Monty's Bill Steer set
Gibson 500T
Duncan Distortion

Neck pickups I'm considering:
Jim Wagner Darkburst/Godwood
Duncan Pearly Gates, Jazz, or Sentient
Pariah Leone
Gibson Custombucker
Monty's Bill Steer set

What would you all recommend? Interested if anyone here uses a LP tuned this low
Click to expand...
I'd consider the Duncan Wes Hauch Jupiter 6 set. Clarity is exceptional, and would be excellent in an LP for lower tuning.
 
Personally I found something slightly scooped works fairly well. Since 24.75" scale + thick body + low tuning adds up a lot of lower mids which can get congested pretty quickly. I liked the BKP Impulse for this application but I'd imagine something like SH-5 could work too.
 
Mojotone Tomahawk / Dustie Waring set. 16k Alnico V bridge, 7.6k Alnico V Neck. The bridge pickup is super mean and sounded sick in my Les Paul. Just so happens I have a set for sale :D

I will also suggest the Bare Knuckle Ragnaroks. I'm not into Djent, I can't Djent.. but the pickup set is full balls to the wall aggression at all times. I play melodic death metal in B/C/C# standard and I have them in 3 guitars. They really tighten up the low tuning, making those palm mutes come out nice.
 
I've been playing strictly baritone guitars in B standard or G# for a few years now, and I've gone through many many pickups in this time. My findings are this: High output pickups suck for low tunings and baritones. Go for a medium output, tight sounding pickup. Bigger strings in low tunings put out more energy through the pickups than smaller strings in standard tunings due to the added bass, and because of this it's easy to overwhelm your preamps, or hi-z inputs, unless you're using something like an SD-1 or a Dirty Tree to shave off low end. A tight medium output passive like a Bareknuckle Mule or a PAF works well to reduce this effect. It cost me a lot of time and money to finally realize this. High output pickups used to be necessary back when amps like the JCM 800 were king, but now amps have so much gain it actually sounds better to use something with a conservative output to retain clarity and dynamics.
 
I second the Treble Booster recommendation. Personally I like the Keeley Java, and have also owned a Beano Boost, and Union Snap. The Java stayed. The Naga Viper gets lots of love, and CB have made a lot of awesome pedals. I don't doubt you would find it an awesome tool.

If you want to stay in the traditional Gibson HB camp the 490R/498T set served me very well in an SG Standard I tuned to C#. I played it through a Mesa Tremoverb running EL34's, and a slaved 4x6550 KMD head in stereo. I'd use the Treble Booster always on, control my clean to crunch with the guitar volumes through the clean channel, and the vintage high gain channel for heavy crunch to high gain tones. With my LP tuned to C with that rig nailed Matt Pike's Death is this Communion tones really well.
 
Lots of good recs, thanks guys. Back when I emailed Jim Wagner about a bridge pickup for my LP that I have in D standard for anything from indie through to death and black metal he said I should go with the Ironman over the Godwood, but I do see a lot of people recommend lower output pickups especially for LPs when playing heavier music. My VH140c preamp pedal with King In Yellow boost don't have any shortage of gain, so maybe I should look into something lower output for B standard. I see the Godwood described by people as being pretty fat sounding so maybe that wouldn't be the right choice but I'll look at the BKP Mules and others
 
You said it yourself already, "Monty's Bill Steer set". Since Bill also uses Gibsons tuned to B standard, I can't see this not working perfectly for your application.
 
buller said:
...but I do see a lot of people recommend lower output pickups especially for LPs when playing heavier music. My VH140c preamp pedal with King In Yellow boost don't have any shortage of gain, so maybe I should look into something lower output for B standard.
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I've had multiple LP's and other Gibsons I tune to C, B, Bb, and A standard. In my experience they're dead on right.

Strangely enough, if I intend to use a guitar with really low tunings I inevitably swap in single coils. My Gibson 61ri SG, Adam Jones LP Standard, and two LP Specials are tuned to C#, C, and A standard, and all of them have either P90's, HB sized P90's, Dynasonic clones, A5 Gibson Staple clones, or Goldfoils in them. The extra thwack and punch on the low end, glassy metalic midrange, and air in the highs cuts mud, and stands out with a natural "presence" most amps' presence controls cannot compensate for when using humbuckers. In A std with 15-70 gauge strings this is a beautiful thing to me. Everytime I have swapped out humbuckers for single coils on a guitar in Baritone range tunings I have been nothing but happy with the results.

My base pedal/amp tones come from a Keeley Java alone or stacked with a Game Changer Audio Plasma Coil or KMA Wurm 2 > Fulltone TTE's preamp > Hiwatt DR103 or Matamp GT150 (sometimes if I'm lucky enough to crank it up both in stereo 🫠) > Mesa Powerhouse attenuator > whatever cab(s) I'm using. Fwiw I noticed your using a VH140 preamp pedal, and a Hiwatt based Mother Preamp, where I'm using a tweaked HM2 variant into a Hiwatt with both of us going for heavy sludgy bottom dwelling tones that still pack punch and grind. I'd guess we've got some overlap in tastes when it comes to heavy tones.

It's a very different feel and tone from playing high output humbuckers > high gain distortion > gate > poweramp. But the greater range in going from clean to crunch to heavy rhythm to lead, and controlled feedback at volume when I can play loud were worth learning to manage it with my guitar pickup selector, volume, and tone controls.
 
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Hiwatts-n-Gibsons said:
I've had multiple LP's and other Gibsons I tune to C, B, Bb, and A standard. In my experience they're dead on right.

Strangely enough, if I intend to use a guitar with really low tunings I inevitably swap in single coils. My Gibson 61ri SG, Adam Jones LP Standard, and two LP Specials are tuned to C#, C, and A standard, and all of them have either P90's, HB sized P90's, Dynasonic clones, A5 Gibson Staple clones, or Goldfoils in them. The extra thwack and punch on the low end, glassy metalic midrange, and air in the highs cuts mud, and stands out with a natural "presence" most amps' presence controls cannot compensate for when using humbuckers. In A std with 15-70 gauge strings this is a beautiful thing to me. Everytime I have swapped out humbuckers for single coils on a guitar in Baritone range tunings I have been nothing but happy with the results.

My base pedal/amp tones come from a Keeley Java alone or stacked with a Game Changer Audio Plasma Coil or KMA Wurm 2 > Fulltone TTE's preamp > Hiwatt DR103 or Matamp GT150 (sometimes if I'm lucky enough to crank it up both in stereo 🫠) > Mesa Powerhouse attenuator > whatever cab(s) I'm using. Fwiw I noticed your using a VH140 preamp pedal, and a Hiwatt based Mother Preamp, where I'm using a tweaked HM2 variant into a Hiwatt with both of us going for heavy sludgy bottom dwelling tones that still pack punch and grind. I'd guess we've got some overlap in tastes when it comes to heavy tones.

It's a very different feel and tone from playing high output humbuckers > high gain distortion > gate > poweramp. But the greater range in going from clean to crunch to heavy rhythm to lead, and controlled feedback at volume when I can play loud were worth learning to manage it with my guitar pickup selector, volume, and tone controls.
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Thanks so much for this it's super helpful! Seems like we do have a lot of overlap in what we're going for. I haven't completely ruled out Monty's Bill Steer set, but I'm pretty convinced now that I should be going for lower output pickups, probably either two PAFs or a humbucker-sized P90 in the neck and PAF in the bridge. BKP and Fralin seem like they have good options for HB-sized P90s. Do you have any favorites for HB-sized P90s?
 
Also, what PAFs would people recommend if I want something clear and articulate with lots of kerrang? Would the BKP Mules be better than the Jim Wagner Darkburst for this? Any others I should take a look at?
 
buller said:
Also, what PAFs would people recommend if I want something clear and articulate with lots of kerrang? Would the BKP Mules be better than the Jim Wagner Darkburst for this? Any others I should take a look at?
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Fralin has underwound pickups and I believe the Marshallhead II from Wolfetone is an underwound Marshallhead, which I have in a V and love for any tuning. Marshallhead reads in the 9’s for DC resistance.
 
buller said:
Thanks so much for this it's super helpful! Seems like we do have a lot of overlap in what we're going for. I haven't completely ruled out Monty's Bill Steer set, but I'm pretty convinced now that I should be going for lower output pickups, probably either two PAFs or a humbucker-sized P90 in the neck and PAF in the bridge. BKP and Fralin seem like they have good options for HB-sized P90s. Do you have any favorites for HB-sized P90s?
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For sure. I will say I have only ever used BG Pickups Pure 90 HB sized P90. That said I have had mid '80s Gibson P90's in an '85 Explorer III, Seymour Duncan Vintage P90 wound on the old '50's Gibson equipment they bought, a bunch of modern Gibson P90's in a M2M 3xP90 LP Custom, and a few LP Specials, and I've also got a set of Lollar Dog Ear P90's on an Eastman 330 copy. Crap, almost forgot I had a BKP Super Massive P90 in the bridge of that Explorer for a while too.

I have the BG Pure 90's in the bridges of both an SG Std, and an LP Standard, and they deliver just as well as any P90 I've played. He will wind them under, vintage, or vintage hot for you too. In voicing I would say they are a little smoother vintage, and less aggressive than the modern Gibson P90's, but really really close to the Duncan Vintage and Lollar Dog Ears. There is still plenty of P90 bark and grind on tap when it's called for.

For me, in the bridge I liked

Gibson P90
BG Pure 90/Seymour Duncan Vintage P90/Lollar P90
BKP Super Massive

I don't really use P90's in the neck, I like a little less forward mids, and a tauter low end so I go with Dynasonic and Staple type pickups in the neck slot of most guitars.
 
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