Pickup suggestions for Hydra

[Dust_to_Dust]

I'm going to be treating myself to a pickup change on for my Mayones Hydra BL6 for my birthday, but I'm not sure what to change them to..
Ideally I want all out brutality in the bridge pickup, but nice cleans in the neck. Splitable is preferred.
I've been thinking of either:
Ceramic Nailbomb + Cold Sweat Neck
Ceramic Nailbomb + VHII Neck
Ceramic Warpig + Cold Sweat Neck
Ceramic Warpig + VH Neck

I'm definitely open to suggestions, I've also been looking at some Fishman Fluence sets, I've been recommended both the KSE set and the Abasi set.

Here's some pictures for attention:

 

[Ben Pinkus]

I've got a Qatsi with Ceramic Nailbomb and Cold sweat which I really like, but I know alot of people like the VHII in the neck, so those would be my first suggestions.

Then I've seen some Hydras that sound good with the Abasi set, but imagine its more complicated getting these fitted aftermarket.

Other BKN's like Blackhawks/Ragnaroks may work for you if you like a passive pickup thats like an active one, or if you're tuning super super low the BKN Northlane Impulse pickups would be worth a shout.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

C-Pig bridge and VH-II neck is one of my favorite combinations. I've had that setup in a couple of different guitars in a wide range of tunings and they deliver exactly what you described.

As long as the guitar isn't super dark/bass heavy to start with, the Warpig is a very articulate, brutal, and clear pickup. Punchy, tight low end, glassy top end, and a relaxed upper midrange to compensate for a bit of a bump in the middle/lower mids. BKP describes it as one of their hottest pickups, but it's still a good bit less hot than most Dimarzio and Duncan options I've tried.

The VH-II neck is just an all-around great neck pickup. Sweet cleans, not too much low end, great articulation, and it'll still handle lead work like a champ as long as you aren't looking for Petrucci-ish liquid shred.

 

[hensh!n]

I'm definitely open to suggestions, I've also been looking at some Fishman Fluence sets, I've been recommended both the KSE set and the Abasi set.

I'm getting an Abasi set installed today and may try out the KSE set next week. I'll let you know how that goes.

 

[Dust_to_Dust]

I've got a Qatsi with Ceramic Nailbomb and Cold sweat which I really like, but I know alot of people like the VHII in the neck, so those would be my first suggestions.

Then I've seen some Hydras that sound good with the Abasi set, but imagine its more complicated getting these fitted aftermarket.

Other BKN's like Blackhawks/Ragnaroks may work for you if you like a passive pickup thats like an active one, or if you're tuning super super low the BKN Northlane Impulse pickups would be worth a shout.

I had the C-bomb and cold sweat in a Gibson Explorer many many moons ago, always liked them in it. Had Blackhawks for years in my Duvell too til I changed them for Will Adler Fishmans!

I usually tune around B, haven't really looked at the Impulse to be fair

C-Pig bridge and VH-II neck is one of my favorite combinations. I've had that setup in a couple of different guitars in a wide range of tunings and they deliver exactly what you described.

As long as the guitar isn't super dark/bass heavy to start with, the Warpig is a very articulate, brutal, and clear pickup. Punchy, tight low end, glassy top end, and a relaxed upper midrange to compensate for a bit of a bump in the middle/lower mids. BKP describes it as one of their hottest pickups, but it's still a good bit less hot than most Dimarzio and Duncan options I've tried.

The VH-II neck is just an all-around great neck pickup. Sweet cleans, not too much low end, great articulation, and it'll still handle lead work like a champ as long as you aren't looking for Petrucci-ish liquid shred.

Sounds good to me, I don't do much lead work anyway haha.

I'm getting an Abasi set installed today and may try out the KSE set next week. I'll let you know how that goes.

Thanks! A friend of mine has some Abasi's that he isn't using, so I might buy them off him in the end

 

[Ben Pinkus]

I usually tune around B, haven't really looked at the Impulse to be fair

Ah ok, I think the impulses were designed for lower tunings than B, but may be wrong still may be worth checking out

 

[Addie5150]

Ceramic warpig IS all out brutality
And the VH2 neck delivers in terms of beautiful cleans and a nice well rounded lead tone

 

[KnightBrolaire]

If you're dead set on BKPs then the C pig and VhII will do exactly what you want.

If not, then maybe look into Lundgren Black Heavens or Guitarmory Polaris.

 

[hensh!n]

Thanks! A friend of mine has some Abasi's that he isn't using, so I might buy them off him in the end

So I spent a couple hours with the Abasi set last night, here are some points of note:

Abasi set may be the most versatile Fishman set thus far. The Active Voice is tight, bright, and aggressive but it isn't overly compressed like the Modern set. The Passive Bridge Voice is mid heaven, very warm and clear, even sounds great clean. Single coil sounds like a single coil, very bright and "chimey". Unfortunately the single coil is pretty noisy if you use it with any sort of higher gain application. That is the biggest drawback.

My favorite part of the set though is if you have multiple toggle switches, you can route the North Coil and South Coil to them giving you "blends" in different positions (Middle and Neck mostly). So even if the single coil isn't useable with high gain amps, I can switch one of the coils (I'm not sure which due to my setup) that gives the Bridge V2 more of a tele-like twang. It isn't a true single coil, but for me I think this is one of the biggest selling points of the set. It's the halfway point between a single coil and humbucker, all the features you like of both without any of the drawbacks.