Suggestions for new (Death)-Metal Pickups

[Sertay S]

Hi every one!

I just bought a new guitar.
It's the Ibanez RG921QM
The stock pickups are the DiMarzio's IBZ, which sound nice to me.
But are there better pickups which fit for my style?
I play mostly Thrash or (Tech)-Death.
People say that XN2 or D-Activators are very good or Duncan's Distortion.
But I heard that passives will sound muddy on lower tunings.
So, should I get some decent passives or actives like EMG 81/85, Blackouts?

What do you guys say?

 

[GizmoGardens]

Well I reject the notion that ALL passives will sound muddy in drop tunings... But EMGs definitely don't muddy up down there. Most of my guitars are in dropped to B, A, and A flat and all the passives I use can handle it without being muddy (BKP Ceramic Nailbomb, Manlius Custom Hot, Manlius Ceramic Asphalt). If you're playing modern Death Metal, a little bit of mud seems to be part of the territory anyway.

For passives, I'd recommend the three I just mentioned since I'm currently getting results with all three.

For actives, I'd say go with EMG 81-7 or 81-7X. You'd have to really try to make them sound muddy, especially the X series.

 

[Sertay S]

Thank you for your reply
The Bareknuckles are exellent but a bit too expensive for me.
I will give the EMG X serie a try.
Thank you again

 

[GizmoGardens]

Good luck. Don't forget to post some sound clips once you have 'em installed

 

[goldsteinat0r]

My last guitar with EMGs sounded better the lower I tuned. YMMV.

 

[Sertay S]

I will
But it will take a while I guess, because I want to use the stock PU's until I got bored of them haha

 

[Ishan]

You should check out the Lace Deathbucker too, fantastic brutal pickup.

 

[Sertay S]

Dude, I checked them and really liked them
Such a brutal tone and nice design!
Any chance getting them in Europe?
I only saw American prices.. :/

 

[RobPhoboS]

I bought SH-6 today, specifically for suffocation style riffs (well for me to try and learn).


This vid basically confirmed it for me:

 

[oracles]

I personally prefer the D-Sonic for death metal. I threw one in the bridge of my RG1421 and play Decapitated riffs on it all day without any issues at all. Plenty hot and articulate, even at lower tunings.

 

[Ishan]

Dude, I checked them and really liked them
Such a brutal tone and nice design!
Any chance getting them in Europe?
I only saw American prices.. :/

I ordered mine direct from them. Just mail them asking what model you want and where you are located, and one of their Euro rep will answer you back and give you a price + shipping in € to your country. They're nice dudes too

 

[Ironbird]

I tend to go back to EMGs, but if you have the time (and money) do experiment with different pickups.

All the best!

 

[Mega-Mads]

/thread

 

[Sertay S]

The Duncans sounded also the best for me
Now I'm stuck between them and the Lace haha

 

[Vostre Roy]

Just installed a Dimarzio Super Distortion in my telecaster... I'll do a second test tonight but yesterday, the pickup gave me some thick, punch-me-in-the-body palm mutes aswell as defined tremolo picking while keeping the grain of my Orange. I know they are somewhat similar to the Seymour Duncan Distortion (people says that the SD is brighter and the Dimarzio is thicker, but I haven't tried both myself), so I think that either one would be a killer choice for some old-school death metal sound.

Dunno if that helps, but wanted to share my experience. Cheers!

Edit: I also tried a D-Activator X (in the neck) and X2N (in the bridge) in my Schecter 006. I use the X2N for fast tremolo, thrash style riffs while I use the D-Ax for my doomy, slow part. I love both, but I might put th Super Distortion ahead of both, I'll test it a little more

 

[BlueAsher5]

Check out the Lace Deathbar and/or X-Bar pickups. Brilliant in your face tone. Brutal punch and power, and no mud in the bottom. Every note you play is clear, even with complex chords and heavy distortion. They clean up extremely well and make for an extremely versatile pickup. They are passive, but feels like the power of an active system...no batteries! Check out the vids below.

Lace Aluma Deathbar Pickups Review [HD] - YouTube

 

[Sertay S]

I have seen this vid days ago and was very amazed by their sound!
Very clear and brutal at the same time

 

[Hemorrhage]

I have seen this vid days ago and was very amazed by their sound!
Very clear and brutal at the same time

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