What's the TIGHTEST pickup you can think of?

[mightywarlock]

Still having issues with pickups and my Explorer's, as I feel the Explorer bottom end is soft and mushy, and I even popped a 500k pot in this morning.
I currently have a BK Painkiller in there (which may be for sale soon), and I still feel it is a bit soft on the bottom end, due to all the wood perhaps, but I am trying to figure out what the absolute Tightest pickup would be, especially tight on the low end, for that tight staccato chug. I have a Suhr Aldrich to try, but I don't think this will be good, seems a bit loose on the bottom end as well, and also have a SD El Diablo to try next as well, but I'm looking for more ideas. Major emphasis on Tight Bottom End!!

Any ideas?

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EDIT -

I made some sound samples to show you guys what I'm talking about, regarding tightness and such.
I used the following:
My Friedman modified '76 Marshall and Bogner Uberkab, Sennheiser e906 mic into my Zoom H4N. I did not change any settings on amp other than gain, between more gain and less gain for the 2 different clips each.

a Les Paul Custom with Motor City Warcry - as the basis of the Tightness I am looking for -

a Gibson Explorer Thunderhorse loaded with Bare Knuckle Painkiller (which shows the bigger, SOFTER bottom end-lack of tightness) - now has a 500k pot -

A Gibson Explorer loaded with a hot rodded Motor City Warcry, Wade called it either Angry, or Pissed off. - shows the tightness, but more output which compressed under higher gain -

And finally, just another tonal choice, another Les Paul with Suhr Aldrich. Sounds good with less gain, compresses under high gain, not sure if this would be good in the Explorer or not -

 

[JakeAC5253]

Duncan Custom without a doubt.

 

[linuxpenguin]

EMG';s. I hate them though BECAUSE they are so tight.

 

[CaseyCor]

I'd have to agree, EMGs.

 

[mightywarlock]

EMG';s. I hate them though BECAUSE they are so tight.

Too sterile and boxy for me...and I don't care for the mid scooped out...

I have them in my ESP Viper, and it's the only guitar I can mildly stand them in. I had my ESP Eclispe with them, tried Blackouts, went back to EMG's and traded the guitar off.

they are my last resort I guess....if all else fails.

maybe an 81x.

 

[killertone]

Not sure what is up with your setup but I have yet to hear a pickup as tight as the Painkiller.

 

[MichaelG]

MCP Solution. Definately tighter than a Painkiller.

 

[mightywarlock]

MCP Solution. Definately tighter than a Painkiller.

I gotta look...I think I sold it off recently...if not I still have one...

 

[mightywarlock]

Not sure what is up with your setup but I have yet to hear a pickup as tight as the Painkiller.

Every try one in an Explorer?

I'm telling you...it's a very soft bottom end.

And I've got a hot rodded MCP Warcry in my other Explorer...and I think it is a little too hot...a hell of a lot tighter than the Painkiller, but still that soft bottom end IN the Explorer.

and the Warcry is an incredibly tight pickup.

I need specifically a very very tight Bottom end to tighten up the mushy soft explorer. Something to ADD definition to the bass side of things, instead of just boom.

 

[sebby123]

Bareknuckle Aftermath! But i cant imagine not being able to get a tight tone with a set of painkiller in an explorer.

 

[mightywarlock]

Bareknuckle Aftermath! But i cant imagine not being able to get a tight tone with a set of painkiller in an explorer.

It's tight.
just nowhere near tight enough.

like i said, the MCP Warcry is a ton tighter than the Painkiller, and even that is not tight enough (and that's a super super tight pickup).

Perhaps I could give the Aftermath a try...

Anyone try one in an Explorer?

(Maybe tomorrow, I will do a demo video or audio clip mic'd to show you guys what I'm talking about, between the difference between my Tight as hell Les Paul Custom with a warcry, and the explorer with a warcry, and the explorer with the Painkiller.Then you'll understand what I mean...).

 

[Anonymous]

Not sure what is up with your setup but I have yet to hear a pickup as tight as the Painkiller.

+1. I was shocked...

Steve

 

[mightywarlock]

Not sure what is up with your setup but I have yet to hear a pickup as tight as the Painkiller.

+1. I was shocked...

Steve

I repeat.
have you ever tried it in an Explorer?

 

[CaseyCor]

Sounds like you've got a dud of a guitar to me..no offense, but.

 

[mightywarlock]

Sounds like you've got a dud of a guitar to me..no offense, but.

2 of them?
(Both Explorers)....

 

[A5scott]

I would say EMG 81. not the X though (even though i have never tried the x series.) They don't seem too popular. but then again, maybe they are what you are looking for. I have them in two explorers, one is an ESP explorer and the other a LTD. Also have an ibanez with EMG. All super tight low end, but I use mesa boogie mark series, and standard E tuning most of the time.

What years are your explorers from? Sometimes the older woods just resonate better. I got my ESP brand new in 1998, and that's my desert island guitar.

scott

 

[dainbramage0]

Lundgren m6

 

[fearhk213]

I'm not sure if tightness is the main issue (maybe it is since I've never played the axe), but my guess is it's a compression problem amplifying the lack of tightness. You're running some pretty hot pickups and high output pickups into high gain amps increase compression. If you're Explorers naturally have a soft low end, that's only going to be magnified under high compression and just get squishier & softer. That's probably why the PK seems "soft". If compression is the issue a boost won't help here either because that'll just increase the compression even more. I'd be looking at low output pickups.

Going low output should open up your sound & give you back some punch. A WCR Icebucker would fit the bill and though I've never played them I'd also take a look at the BK Blackdog & BK Riff Raff as well. You may or may not need a boost since they're on the lower side, but since they aren't over-the-top you can just add what you need & still keep the punch & dynamics.

I bet going lower output will get you closer, but it still may not fix it. Just as you said, your Les Paul is naturally a much, much tighter guitar. If that Explorer has an inherently soft low end and you want it to be very tight, hard, and percussive it's going to be really hard to impossible to find a pickup that makes it do a complete 180. It may save a lot of grief & money to just sell it if that's the case. I had a guitar that had amazing playability, but I couldn't get a descent metal tone out of unless I boosted and/or eq'd it. Acoustically the guitar was very alive & resonant (which was very nice), but the tone was too round & warm with prominent low mids. No bite in the highs. Apparently not a good recipe for a tight riffing metal guitar. Trying to dial in a tight metal tone without a boost was a joke; everything was just mud city. I went through 4 sets of pickups before I sold it. That was a strong lesson for me that a pickup can only do so much when battling the inherent tone of a guitar.

That's my $.02

 

[mightywarlock]

Riff Raff is what Tim suggested to try, his thinking the same as yours, Lower Output for Explorers resulted in better tone and less compression.

the first thing I would suggest would be to wire the PK direct to the jack - this will allow you to hear how much loading the pots/cap are having on the pickups. You might find that moving up to a higher value pot is all that is needed.
Explorers can be difficult guitars to get sounding right and I find the best results come from lower output pickups. I have Riff Raff humbuckers in mine and find that they don't over emphasize the bottom end while still giving me enough output for rock and metal

And yes, the Painkiller seems too compressed in the Explorer, and definitely not raw, but more modern compressed with grindy output.

The Hot Rodded MCP Warcry may have backfired, as it is as you said, more output, and is compressing more in the other guitar.

Methinks I should try a lower output pickup that is still very raw and grindy.

 

[racerevlon]

I have a MCP 2nd Degree Black Belt we could try...