Motor City Pickups users please help...

[firejack]

I'm looking for a fluid, liquidy neck pickup that's fat, dark, smooth, powerful, articulate and clear.
I play instrumental rock/metal music and use the neck pickup for anything from melodic vocal phrasing, to singing screaming sustaining solos.

As a general guide...
My fave neck pickups to date are the Duncan Distortion neck (around 13k), BKP Painkiller neck (also around 13k) and the Dimarzio Liquifire (around 11k).
I've got these pickups in some of my guitars already and would really like to try a different brand but in the same tonal ballpark.

I've tried quite a few Duncan and Dimarzio pickups in the 7k-10k range, but never really liked them for my tastes and style (Jazz, Pearly Gates, 59, Full Shred, Alnico 2 Pro, PAF Pro, PAF Joe, Humbucker From Hell, even the Breed neck at around 10.5k felt too stiff and sounded bland to me).

Suggestions?

 

[jmgman69]

The Afwayu,Solution and Nuke necks are just that,they produce some some great lead tones and I believe they are 15/16/17k winds,be awhile since I've checked!!

 

[firejack]

The Afwayu,Solution and Nuke necks are just that,they produce some some great lead tones and I believe they are 15/16/17k winds,be awhile since I've checked!!

Thanks for the advice.
I'm gonna go search for info on those models.

 

[chumbucket]

I wish he would set his site up so that we could see the pickup characteristics by tone, output, etc. The descriptions of the pickups don't really tell you much at all. In fact the descriptions are quite laughable.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

The Hell Baby neck seems to fit your description quite well. I don't have any experience with the pickups you mentioned though. If I remember correctly when i tested it it was around 10k dc or so.

My hell baby neck is clear, fat, round, smooth, powerful and articulate . The leads sing and it sounds really bouncy for thick warm cleans.

I currently have the hell baby solution and nuke, the entire extreme line and I think the hell baby fits your needs from those perfectly.

The best way to choose Wades pickups is to talk to him, tell him your gear and your goals. his recommendations are usually spot on for what you are looking for.

1 734 525 4590

I think you should start with the Hell Baby.

 

[Ricky Rockhardo]

i would consider an afwayu over the solution and nuke, given your needs.

I have a set of Solutions in my LP and they are great for metal rhythms ( they are emgs done right) but I'm not sure if they are the right tool for liquid leads.

Email Wade, he is a great guy and will point you in the right direction.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

The Afwayu,Solution and Nuke necks are just that,they produce some some great lead tones and I believe they are 15/16/17k winds,be awhile since I've checked!!

Afwayu is 15k solution 17k and the nuke is a little higher its actually 22k DC.

 

[firejack]

Thanks for the replies guys.

After the info provided in this thread, I'm thinking an Afwayu neck or a Hellbaby neck.
That Hellbaby neck description by MoltenMetalBurn has me leaning toward the Hellbaby.

I've emailed Wade and he recommended the Black Belt neck and the Detroiter neck.
But I honestly didn't expect him to recommend me those models.
I really don't think they'd be hot enough or compressed enough for my tastes, but if someone could correct me if I'm wrong I'd be very appreciative.

 

[locoed]

Solution does it for me.

 

[killertone]

Thanks for the replies guys.

After the info provided in this thread, I'm thinking an Afwayu neck or a Hellbaby neck.
That Hellbaby neck description by MoltenMetalBurn has me leaning toward the Hellbaby.

I've emailed Wade and he recommended the Black Belt neck and the Detroiter neck.
But I honestly didn't expect him to recommend me those models.
I really don't think they'd be hot enough or compressed enough for my tastes, but if someone could correct me if I'm wrong I'd be very appreciative.

I would probably go for the Afwayu or Hellbaby neck pups in the MCP line.

Have you tried a Warpig neck from BKP?

 

[firejack]

I would probably go for the Afwayu or Hellbaby neck pups in the MCP line.

Have you tried a Warpig neck from BKP?

Only BK neck models I've tried are the Nailbomb, the Holy Diver and the Painkiller7.

Outright hated the Nailbomb as it was too sharp and sounded almost like the Nailbomb bridge.
The Holy Diver wasn't bad but just didn't have the output I like.
Love the Painkiller7. It's the only BKP neck model I have kept.

I've heard that the Warpig is supposed to be fat and juicy sounding with hot output.
I really should have gotten that one when I was shopping for BKP's.

 

[ericsabbath]

the afwayu neck is 10k

 

[killertone]

I would probably go for the Afwayu or Hellbaby neck pups in the MCP line.

Have you tried a Warpig neck from BKP?

Only BK neck models I've tried are the Nailbomb, the Holy Diver and the Painkiller7.

Outright hated the Nailbomb as it was too sharp and sounded almost like the Nailbomb bridge.
The Holy Diver wasn't bad but just didn't have the output I like.
Love the Painkiller7. It's the only BKP neck model I have kept.

I've heard that the Warpig is supposed to be fat and juicy sounding with hot output.
I really should have gotten that one when I was shopping for BKP's.

I looooove my Warpig bridge models. Nice and hot but super thick and tight. Treble is very nice on them, too. My favorite metal pickup for sure and I have owned a bunch (MCP, other BKPs, WCR, Custom Shop Duncans) . I am gonna have to give the Painkiller another shot. I wasn't blown away when I heard one before.

 

[droptrd]

I wish he would set his site up so that we could see the pickup characteristics by tone, output, etc. The descriptions of the pickups don't really tell you much at all. In fact the descriptions are quite laughable.

i actually suggested this to him over a year ago. youre right, the descriptions dont tell you shit. all you really need to know is that the Afwayu kicks ass pm Luxxtone. he is very knowledgable about the MCP line

 

[jmgman69]

The Afwayu,Solution and Nuke necks are just that,they produce some some great lead tones and I believe they are 15/16/17k winds,be awhile since I've checked!!

Afwayu is 15k solution 17k and the nuke is a little higher its actually 22k DC.

I was just using genral K"s as i forget what the actually nuke was but it smoked ion the Neck spot one of my favs for sure and Wade's neck pickups are very very nice.I have both the 2nd Degrees and Detroiters in nnecks of a Suhr and and Anderson and they are more hot PAF y killer necks but not hot like the HO stuff

 

[firejack]

I looooove my Warpig bridge models. Nice and hot but super thick and tight. Treble is very nice on them, too. My favorite metal pickup for sure and I have owned a bunch (MCP, other BKPs, WCR, Custom Shop Duncans) . I am gonna have to give the Painkiller another shot. I wasn't blown away when I heard one before.

I reallly love the Painkiller set.
The neck especially has this single-coil like attack, but still has the punch of a humbucker.
It can get quite fat-sounding too.

The problem is that I don't like having the same pickup in more than 1 guitar.
I really dig having different guitars with their own tones, even if the differences are only subtle.

I was just using genral K"s as i forget what the actually nuke was but it smoked ion the Neck spot one of my favs for sure and Wade's neck pickups are very very nice.I have both the 2nd Degrees and Detroiters in nnecks of a Suhr and and Anderson and they are more hot PAF y killer necks but not hot like the HO stuff

Yeah, I'm really certain that they won't quite be to my tastes.


Anyways...
I've decided on the Hell Baby neck!
Can't wait to get it.
Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[FastRedPonyCar]

I've got an Afwayu bridge and detroiter neck pickup being built for my JP6 and you know what type of playing/style I do.

I've found that after playing countless pickups, even for the heavy scorching leads, I prefer a low(er) output neck pickup as they seem cleaner and less stuffy and compressed when using a lot of gain. when I had my mojo fly, it came with the JB/Jazz pickups and they were ok but when I swapped them for a pearly gates bridge and Alnico II pro neck, the instrument just came to life and you could hear the thing really breathe if that makes any sense.. A much clearer and more articulate sound at the expense of a little saturation. It just meant that the amp had to drive the sound more than the pickups.

I've talked this stuff with wade from motor city, shep from Sheptone pickups and Tim from bareknuckles and it seems like they're all saying the same thing and that's a lower resistance will = a cleaner sound and as long as you're willing to sacrifice a little output and drive from the pickups, you'll have an overall cleaner and more articulate sound.

From what wade has said, the detroiter is what I'm after from a neck pickup. A hotter PAF... The sheptone BK signatures I'm using in my Tokai are absolutely incredible pickups but with the JP6, I'm wanting a bit hotter of an overall sound so a pickup that falls into the "hotter PAF" camp should hopefully fit the bill.

Good thing is that if it doesn't quite give what I'm looking for, he has a good replacement policy to try another one.

 

[Ricky Rockhardo]

I've got an Afwayu bridge and detroiter neck pickup being built for my JP6 and you know what type of playing/style I do.

I've found that after playing countless pickups, even for the heavy scorching leads, I prefer a low(er) output neck pickup as they seem cleaner and less stuffy and compressed when using a lot of gain. when I had my mojo fly, it came with the JB/Jazz pickups and they were ok but when I swapped them for a pearly gates bridge and Alnico II pro neck, the instrument just came to life and you could hear the thing really breathe if that makes any sense.. A much clearer and more articulate sound at the expense of a little saturation. It just meant that the amp had to drive the sound more than the pickups.

I've talked this stuff with wade from motor city, shep from Sheptone pickups and Tim from bareknuckles and it seems like they're all saying the same thing and that's a lower resistance will = a cleaner sound and as long as you're willing to sacrifice a little output and drive from the pickups, you'll have an overall cleaner and more articulate sound.

From what wade has said, the detroiter is what I'm after from a neck pickup. A hotter PAF... The sheptone BK signatures I'm using in my Tokai are absolutely incredible pickups but with the JP6, I'm wanting a bit hotter of an overall sound so a pickup that falls into the "hotter PAF" camp should hopefully fit the bill.

Good thing is that if it doesn't quite give what I'm looking for, he has a good replacement policy to try another one.

+100 on this. Particularly with your Peters there is no need for a high resistance PU. I love my Solutions set but next time I will probably go the Afwayu route. Phatgirl has experience with a couple of Wade's creations. Might want to pm her

 

[firejack]

I've got an Afwayu bridge and detroiter neck pickup being built for my JP6 and you know what type of playing/style I do.

I've found that after playing countless pickups, even for the heavy scorching leads, I prefer a low(er) output neck pickup as they seem cleaner and less stuffy and compressed when using a lot of gain. when I had my mojo fly, it came with the JB/Jazz pickups and they were ok but when I swapped them for a pearly gates bridge and Alnico II pro neck, the instrument just came to life and you could hear the thing really breathe if that makes any sense.. A much clearer and more articulate sound at the expense of a little saturation. It just meant that the amp had to drive the sound more than the pickups.

I've talked this stuff with wade from motor city, shep from Sheptone pickups and Tim from bareknuckles and it seems like they're all saying the same thing and that's a lower resistance will = a cleaner sound and as long as you're willing to sacrifice a little output and drive from the pickups, you'll have an overall cleaner and more articulate sound.

From what wade has said, the detroiter is what I'm after from a neck pickup. A hotter PAF... The sheptone BK signatures I'm using in my Tokai are absolutely incredible pickups but with the JP6, I'm wanting a bit hotter of an overall sound so a pickup that falls into the "hotter PAF" camp should hopefully fit the bill.

Good thing is that if it doesn't quite give what I'm looking for, he has a good replacement policy to try another one.

I hear you man.
And I know it works for you coz I've seen your results many times in your clips and vids.

But i've tried the lower-output route and it's just not my thing.
I like to set my Gryphon up for a mid to heavy gain sound and then push it into searing lead tone-land with hot pickups or pedals.
This just seems to work best for my preferences and style.

Look forward to your thoughts on the pickups though.
And clips are a must as well.
Cheers mate.

 

[firejack]

+100 on this. Particularly with your Peters there is no need for a high resistance PU. I love my Solutions set but next time I will probably go the Afwayu route. Phatgirl has experience with a couple of Wade's creations. Might want to pm her

Argh, I didn't see this till after I posted the above.

I know this works for many people, but it just doesn't work for me.
I've tried many 7k-10k pickups from Duncan, Dimarzio, BKP, etc... with this principle in mind, and it never works out.
I've come to know that for my applications and tonal requirements, I need the push from the pickups.
Appreciate the input though.