Moderate to High Output pickups for Basswood?

[MarcusProg]

I got a JP70 a little while back, and have been curious about what passive pickups would work with a basswood body for progressive metal? Think Dream Theater (of course), Persefone, Ne Obliviscaris, Aeon Zen, Periphery type tones. I'm looking for something with a punchy upper-midrange sort of sound, with a clear attack (no icepicks thank you very much), with a tight but powerful bass response.

I've been looking for diagrams that could compare the pickup tones, much like how BKP has it on their website, but so far I can't find anything that could help me get the exact sound I'm looking for. I've heard good things about the Pegasus/Sentient combo, but I also hear that the Pegasus is really muddy in basswood, so now I'm not so sure what I want anymore.

Money is no issue.

Thanks again.

 

[thisismrfrenzy]

Get a pair of Illuminators, they sound amazing

 

[wakjob]

CrunchLab/LiquiFire combo with inevitably be recommended in 3..2..1..

Oh wait, I already did it!

 

[Underworld]

Liquifire/Liquifire combo. It's what I have in my JP7. Never turning back. The Liquifire in the bridge is very warm, medium/high output will lots of chords definition.

 

[Itchyman]

I like my aftermath/'59 combo.

 

[Rook]

i'll say what I did on Facebook haha

Believe it or not the DiMarzio D Activator 7 is a nice, balanced, versatile pickup. If you pull it close up the the strings it has a nice amount of power, but brought back a touch it has a nice, crisp top end, power in the mids and a present but not flubby low end. Taken a step further, a lot of people like the DA7 neck in the bridge which adds lows and takes off some of the total output.
Other options include the Illumnitor you mentioned, or maybe the Blaze set. Only thing with the blazes are they don't have a lot of midrange power which people find a little odd. I personally love them, some hate them, but they're very versatile and balanced and were the sound of vai's 7's for years - a testament to that.

 

[maxturbator]

I had a Duncan Full Shred bridge in my basswood Ibanez for several years before recently switching it out for a DiMarzio Titan (just to see what it was all about). Honestly, the Full Shred was a fantastic pickup - clarity was great, any sharp high-end could be EQ'd out, and it handled lower tunings quite well (the lowest I tend to go is drop B on a 6, though).

I use a standard set of .10s for drop B and C (blasphemy for some, I know), and the Full Shred stayed clear in drop B. The Titan, to my ears, seemed a lot muddier going as low as drop B; but I need to spend a bit more time with it. In drop C, though, it really shines. Very tight, very "punchy". If I had to pick one: the Full Shred.

 

[Michael T]

Ceramic BKP Warpig, it melts faces, makes vikings cry & summons forth the apocalypse.

In other words it's a bad ass metal pickup.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

Ceramic BKP Warpig, it melts faces, makes vikings cry & summons forth the apocalypse.

In other words it's a bad ass metal pickup.

Fact

 

[cardinal]

Tom Anderson's pickups seem well suited for basswood and come in great, moderate output varieties. I have an H2 (7 string) in a basswood bodied/maple top guitar and it's really nice. So dynamic. Very thick sounding. Not the most metal pickup, but I'd go for something high output if you want no-holds-barred metal.

 

[enghell]

Ceramic BKP Warpig, it melts faces, makes vikings cry & summons forth the apocalypse.

In other words it's a bad ass metal pickup.

That definitely is a fact. I have a calibrated set of ceramic Warpigs (in an RGD2127FX=basswood) and they're just ....ing amazing. As crushing as it can be in the bridge (with both bottom end and clarity) and really nice and smooth for cleans and lead tones in the neck. In a basswood guitar, this is the ultimate set as I see it.

 

[enghell]

Sorry, double post

 

[MarcusProg]

So the Warpigs are really tight and clear then? I'm checking out the tone chart on BKP's website, and there's a LOT of bass, so I just want to hear what you guys think.

Also, how do they hold up when idle? How much noise do they have, and how do they work with feedback?

 

[feraledge]

Another vote for the Dimarzio D Activator 7. Solid low end, articulate and well balanced. I have it in my RG 7620 and am really liking it.

 

[MarcusProg]

Another vote for the Dimarzio D Activator 7. Solid low end, articulate and well balanced. I have it in my RG 7620 and am really liking it.

Are they mid-heavy without being too mushy?

 

[feraledge]

Are they mid-heavy without being too mushy?

Definitely really balanced. According to Dimarzio the EQ is 6.5 on the treble and 6 on the mids and lows. Definitely believable. I replaced a Nazgul bridge with the D Activator 7 because I thought the low mids were too prevalent in the Nazgul and it sounded a bit dull in basswood. The D Activator is brighter and more articulate. I wouldn't describe it as mushy at all.

 

[Addie5150]

Warpigs in basswood have some serious low end. esp the ceramic version. I just gave up playing the warpig in an ibanez once i replaced emgs in my other guitars with other bkp s vhll, holy diver, cold sweat.
The issue i had with the warpig was that it was so dark , dialing out the low end was a hassle. i had to have different presets for the ibanez on the axefx. while other guitars would not need much fine tuning with the same presets (a little bit of eq and gain adjustment and you would be good to go)
Replaced the warpig in my 2127z with rebel yell and it has a much more balanced sound.
The c pig is definitely hi gain but noise isnt an issue