Most versatile PUP?

[Zachalou]

So I just ordered a Kramer Baretta special at $180, guitar has really good reviews despite the price, and I have always wanted a baretta. I plan on upgrading most everything on the guitar, but I am torn on what pickup to go for.
I play mostly metal,but I appreciate versatility in gear. In the past I've gone almost strictly with Dimarzio pickups, X2N, evolution 1 and 2, Gravity storms, all are great, but I'd really like to try something new. I have been looking at bareknuckle pickups lately and they seem cool but I've never heard them or played them in person.


I'd like to hear your suggestions

 

[JerEvil]

What kind of metal? Thrash, death, classic, hair? I play a little of ALL of those. So far the plain old Duncan Custom or JB work for me. Never found a DiMarzio I bonded with. I hated the BKP Painkiller set I had until I heard them recorded. Sounded great on studio tracks but didn't like them at all in person. The BKP Rebel Yell looks pretty cool. I am also a fan of the Suhr Aldrich.

For an "off the beaten path" brand, Joe Balaguer of Balaguer Guitars makes a pickup called "The Feral" which is pretty killer. You can hear it over on the Friedmna section of Rig-Talk in my Butterslax demo's or click the link in my sig. It handles EVERYTHING really well.

 

[Zachalou]

What kind of metal? Thrash, death, classic, hair? I play a little of ALL of those. So far the plain old Duncan Custom or JB work for me. Never found a DiMarzio I bonded with. I hated the BKP Painkiller set I had until I heard them recorded. Sounded great on studio tracks but didn't like them at all in person. The BKP Rebel Yell looks pretty cool. I am also a fan of the Suhr Aldrich.

For an "off the beaten path" brand, Joe Balaguer of Balaguer Guitars makes a pickup called "The Feral" which is pretty killer. You can hear it over on the Friedmna section of Rig-Talk in my Butterslax demo's or click the link in my sig. It handles EVERYTHING really well.

I play pretty much all of the above lol

I've not tried the Duncan JB either, but a few of my local friends have suggested it to me so I'll be giving it a listen.

The BKP's I've been looking at today are the Rebel Yell and the Holy Diver, both seem like good options, so I'm going to start a clip hunt!

Very cool demo, excellent sounding guitar and amp! That is a very nice sound and seems to handle it all really well, I'll definitely keep the feral in mind, plus it is a little better price wise than the BKP I believe(don't have the site up at the moment)

 

[Starman22]

Duncan Custom

 

[JerEvil]

What kind of metal? Thrash, death, classic, hair? I play a little of ALL of those. So far the plain old Duncan Custom or JB work for me. Never found a DiMarzio I bonded with. I hated the BKP Painkiller set I had until I heard them recorded. Sounded great on studio tracks but didn't like them at all in person. The BKP Rebel Yell looks pretty cool. I am also a fan of the Suhr Aldrich.

For an "off the beaten path" brand, Joe Balaguer of Balaguer Guitars makes a pickup called "The Feral" which is pretty killer. You can hear it over on the Friedmna section of Rig-Talk in my Butterslax demo's or click the link in my sig. It handles EVERYTHING really well.

I play pretty much all of the above lol

I've not tried the Duncan JB either, but a few of my local friends have suggested it to me so I'll be giving it a listen.

The BKP's I've been looking at today are the Rebel Yell and the Holy Diver, both seem like good options, so I'm going to start a clip hunt!

Very cool demo, excellent sounding guitar and amp! That is a very nice sound and seems to handle it all really well, I'll definitely keep the feral in mind, plus it is a little better price wise than the BKP I believe(don't have the site up at the moment)

Yeah the Feral's are not super expensive that's for sure. Joe is good people as well.

Duncan Custom

See. Even Starman knows!

 

[Zachalou]

Duncan Custom

so far the best priced of the bunch, listening to demos now and sounds great so far in comparison videos

 

[Zachalou]

I think I'm narrowing it to seymour duncan customs due to the slightly lower price and the excellent quality clips I have found. Looks like it's between the SH5 and the SH14, SH14 seems to get better all around reveiws

 

[Starman22]

I think I'm narrowing it to seymour duncan customs due to the slightly lower price and the excellent quality clips I have found. Looks like it's between the SH5 and the SH14, SH14 seems to get better all around reveiws

Get the SH-5 and if for some reason you want to change up the tone you are just a magnet swap away from all the other "Custom variants" that they sell. That's all it is.

The regular Custom sounds incredible, in fact I think it sets the bar for a hard rock/metal pickup that isn't easily beat.

 

[fretout]

As far as versatility goes, I'd say a coil-tappable JB might be the ticket.

I've been developing an appreciation for passives lately. The JB has a higher output, but as of right now, I would love to have a coil-tappable 57 Classic Plus. There's something about the A2 magnet that my amps love. It has a special "grit" to it hat sounds really ballsy through a high gain amp.

After years of playing though super-high output pickups, I realized years ago that I don't "need" high output with the high gain amps I use, and the lower output pickups have a touch sensitivity that I thought was only available in high output pickups.

 

[Zachalou]

I think I'm narrowing it to seymour duncan customs due to the slightly lower price and the excellent quality clips I have found. Looks like it's between the SH5 and the SH14, SH14 seems to get better all around reveiws

Get the SH-5 and if for some reason you want to change up the tone you are just a magnet swap away from all the other "Custom variants" that they sell. That's all it is.

The regular Custom sounds incredible, in fact I think it sets the bar for a hard rock/metal pickup that isn't easily beat.

Looks like that's what I'm going to do, and I'll keep the magnet change in mind if for some reason I don't like it. The clips all sound really good, ready to pull the trigger on it on payday!

 

[mchn13]

I think I'm narrowing it to seymour duncan customs due to the slightly lower price and the excellent quality clips I have found. Looks like it's between the SH5 and the SH14, SH14 seems to get better all around reveiws

The custom is a great all around pickup. I prefer the ceramic myself, but the black winter is my absolute favorite these days.

 

[SavageRiffer]

Dimarzio Norton is very versatile. I like it better than the Duncan JB. If you want Bareknuckle, the Rebel Yell is awesome. My favorite is the Riff-Raff/Mule set. Don't be fooled by the output. They're louder than you would think, but don't push your amp too much like the real hot pickups do. Suhr SSH/SSH+ or Aldrich are great. EMG makes some passive pickups which are actually pretty good and pretty versatile. All of these pickups will be a nice departure from what you're used to.

However, having said all of that, there is a brand called Tesla. I have several guitars with their pickups. They are very affordable but the quality is as good as any boutique brand, especially the Opus 1. Try the hot alnico set or the Opus 1. You'll be blown away with the quality and price. They don't make pickups anymore, but you can still find a lot of them online. I have a few extras laying around, so if you're interested then PM.

 

[Zachalou]

Dimarzio Norton is very versatile. I like it better than the Duncan JB. If you want Bareknuckle, the Rebel Yell is awesome. My favorite is the Riff-Raff/Mule set. Don't be fooled by the output. They're louder than you would think, but don't push your amp too much like the real hot pickups do. Suhr SSH/SSH+ or Aldrich are great. EMG makes some passive pickups which are actually pretty good and pretty versatile. All of these pickups will be a nice departure from what you're used to.

However, having said all of that, there is a brand called Tesla. I have several guitars with their pickups. They are very affordable but the quality is as good as any boutique brand, especially the Opus 1. Try the hot alnico set or the Opus 1. You'll be blown away with the quality and price. They don't make pickups anymore, but you can still find a lot of them online. I have a few extras laying around, so if you're interested then PM.

Being a fan of Dimarzio, I was thinking the norton as well and it was actually what they recommended to me when I reached out a few days back. Looking at the Tesla seems interesting, I'm still debating what to go for but I may shoot you a message. Never heard of the brand but it does sound very good!

 

[Mr. Willy]

The most versatile bridge pup I've played yet is a BK VHII.

 

[Zachalou]

The most versatile bridge pup I've played yet is a BK VHII.

I almost want to go bareknuckle just because the customization options lol

 

[the rossness]

Versatile? Metal? and you like BKP's? Try any flavour of Fishman Fluence.