If I like the Duncan Distortion and Black Winter...

[stratjacket]

Thanks for the replies, dudes!

The Painkiller looks interesting.

How about the Aftermath? Is it any good for what I want?

I’ve had the Aftermath twice and tried and several guitars, never liked it. It seemed weak and thin to me and every guitar I had it in. Well, to be fair, it seemed weak compared to the Painkiller and some of the others mentioned in this thread.

I just threw a DiMarzio Super 3 into the bridge of my PRS and it sounds incredible. Has all the high output I can handle and upper mid focused.

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

i have Blackened Winters in two guitars, and they just are my fav.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Thanks for the replies, dudes!

The Painkiller looks interesting.

How about the Aftermath? Is it any good for what I want?

I’ve had the Aftermath twice and tried and several guitars, never liked it. It seemed weak and thin to me and every guitar I had it in. Well, to be fair, it seemed weak compared to the Painkiller and some of the others mentioned in this thread.

I just threw a DiMarzio Super 3 into the bridge of my PRS and it sounds incredible. Has all the high output I can handle and upper mid focused.

Always wanted try the Super3, so this is good to hear.

 

[ChurchHill]

Just my opinion, but I think the Alnico Nailbomb is closer to the SD Distortion than the other BKPs I've tried. The DD is my favorite Duncan, but I always wanted it to have a little more "air" and I found it in the A-Bomb. The lows are still tight (if I didn't know better, I'd think the A-Bomb was ceramic), the mids are still huge, and it's not quite as compressed (not that I think the DD is overly compressed). BKPs in general are very sensitive to height adjustments, the tone changes more than the output does.

 

[riffermadness]

I wanted the Nailbomb Alnico bridge pickup but I slapped a Nazgul in my Schecter Blackjack and now a Black Winter in my new Jackson SLQ2 in place of the stock SH-6B Distortion and in this guitar the Black winter blows the distortion away,but I have the distortion in my KNE Soloist body single hum and it sounds amazing with Maple and Rosewood fretboard necks,so IDK. I still want to try the Nailbomb eventually but I can get almost 2 SD's for the price of one BKP.

 

[cecilbag]

I found the painkiller and DD nothing alike. The Duncan is my all time fav and I absolutely hated the painkiller. I also found the nazgul to be very DD like but different enough. It works well in super strat alder body types

 

[lowmantotempole]

Skip them all and get yourself a Lundgren Black Heaven Ceramic.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

I found the painkiller and DD nothing alike. The Duncan is my all time fav and I absolutely hated the painkiller. I also found the nazgul to be very DD like but different enough. It works well in super strat alder body types

Interesting. Just goes to show how we all hear things differently. I've had both pups in a walnut neckthrough superstrat back and forth multiple times, and to me they seem really similar as far as tone; response not so much. The PK is not as compressed, more immediate in response/attack, and very unforgiving, but eq wise I find them similar. The DD might be a touch more balanced in the mids, where as the PK seems to favor the upper mids over low mids.

I love both the PK and DD.

I just pulled the PK and dropped in a MM and with the limited time I have on this bridge, it's kicking all kinds of ass.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Skip them all and get yourself a Lundgren Black Heaven Ceramic.

I've been seriously contemplating this one in a new custom 6 string I'm having built.

 

[glip22]

Pickup recommendations can get you in the ballpark but for me it is always a flipping game of comparing and trial with a particular guitar and setup. I wind up spending too much in the process as pickups have poor resale. I have tried most mentioned. Of the BK's I like the Miracle Man. Aftermath is clinical sounding if you like that.

One thing I found with the Black Winters was my guitar had bad fret buzz all of a sudden. I removed it and the buzz was gone. I tried lowering the pickup and no difference. I spoke to a guitar pickup dealer and he told me the Black Winters have a magnetic pull like no other and it can cause fret buzz from the pull. I found the same thing. Nazgul was pretty cool.

 

[fearhk213]

Pickup recommendations can get you in the ballpark but for me it is always a flipping game of comparing and trial with a particular guitar and setup. I wind up spending too much in the process as pickups have poor resale. I have tried most mentioned. Of the BK's I like the Miracle Man. Aftermath is clinical sounding if you like that.

One thing I found with the Black Winters was my guitar had bad fret buzz all of a sudden. I removed it and the buzz was gone. I tried lowering the pickup and no difference. I spoke to a guitar pickup dealer and he told me the Black Winters have a magnetic pull like no other and it can cause fret buzz from the pull. I found the same thing. Nazgul was pretty cool.

Exactly. It is nice to have a starting point - knowing what pickups have the inherent traits you're wanting. That said, it will always boil down to how the pickup works in that particular guitar. It can sound great in one and like garbage in the next regardless of the brand or model and how well it works on paper.

As for BK's, I'm not much help. I've only played the warpig, ceramic warpig, & ceramic nailbomb. None were very upper mid focused, so I'd stay away from those.

 

[NinjaRaf]

I like the DD and I’ve hated every BK pickup I’ve tried....and I’ve tried 4-5 of them.

This.

DD and BW are both pretty cool, and better than any BKP I have played. Painkiller was way too harsh, MM and Holy diver weren't really my thing...not tight enough, too low output, too much midrange...don't remember which complaint about which of those at this point haha. Warpig was a weak little bitch compared to what I expected it to be.

Ended up getting an MCP Nuke, and it is fucking MONSTROUS and super tight.