Opinions Wanted: Best Bridge Pickup for Metal

[Ventura]

I've got a few sets of 18v-modded EMGs in a couple guitars, and I absolutely love how consistent they are. I modded a switch that allows me to select between 9v and 18v on the fly, and I hardly ever go back to 9v, but...

I've unexpectedly been a huge fan of these Gibson '57 Classic / '57 Classic Plus pickups. These came stock in my '68RIs, and I used to tear them out as soon as I could, but I picked up some PIO caps and figured I should try them out with a set of passives, and I was forever changed! I play everything from Thrash to blues to drop Db and drop B, and these things are so thick, with a really robust grind, that I haven't heard from any of my other pickup combinations. I love these pickups! I'm not sure why I used to hate them, but I adore them now! If you get a chance to try them, definitely check them out.

Oddly enough, they're fairly low on the output, but they track fast palm mutes really well...

True story - a lot of the in-house pups from Gibby are choice products. I'm a fan of the 57's as well. Nice nice pickups.

 

[mchn13]

BKP PainKiller - done.

Agreed. I've been converted as far as this model goes. Angry, but clear, and tighter lows than my Duncan's or mcp's which are killer pups.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

OK I've decided on the following three pickups and we'll play with each of them for a while to see which one is gonna stick:

Seymour Duncan: Nazgul
Motor City: Solution
DiMarzio: X2N

Thanks for the input fellas.

If you happen to decide to sell the Nazgul and Solution, I'll buy both from you.

Ended up not liking the Nazgul because it was way compressed and thicker in the low end than I wanted it. Also tried to make a Distortion work but there was something in the high end that I couldn't gel with. Kept researching and kept reading more and more about how great the Nazgul was, "articulate" was the descriptor that stuck out the most. So I dropped the Nazgul in again and tuned to drop-C. Still sounded too chubby for my liking but I lowered it way way down and wow what a difference. Most other pups sound kinda limp at that height but the Nazgul still crunched really well and only needed a little eqing to make it sound fantastic.

Thanks for all the good info.

Exactly what I did with my C-pig and Painkiller to get the sound I was after. Had to drop em LOW.