Which BKP for me? (Interests inside)

[777]

Getting some custom work done on my RG1527 and want to change my Blaze Custon and Blaze neck out for some BKPs

I was thinking John Browne setup -> Ceramic Nailbomb and Cold Sweat

But the pickups cost a LOT of money. And I dont want to make the wrong choice. Heres the list of things I like/want to play

John Browne style Djent
Petrucci sounding leads (searing smooth loveliness)
Lamb of god
Killswitch Engage
In Flames
High Gain 4+note and open string chords with good clarity

I was thinking about a set of fluences but Im just not convinced and I hate actives

 

[Lorcan Ward]

What do you not like about the blazes?

 

[777]

What do you not like about the blazes?

It sounds a bit undefined

 

[Science_Penguin]

Well considering 3 out of 5 of your examples seem to use EMGs, if you're definitely sure you don't want actives...

Have you looked into the Black Hawk? They tout it as their passive answer to the "transparency and output of an active."

So, in other words, pretty broad frequency range (should help with that chord definition) high output, but with the responsiveness of a passive pickup. Could be the marriage of tones you're looking for. At the very least, it ought to give you a good canvas to tweak your amp and pedal settings to what you want.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

Here's a quick comparison I made a while back. The first pickup is a BKP ceramic Warpig, then a Blaze Custom like yours, then a BKP Ragnarok. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VtjLrVvCTyzpFarhbav83Nhz4rtB73Aq/view?usp=sharing

I will say the Cold Sweat neck is awesome for liquidy lead tones, but I wasn't crazy about it for cleans. I prefer the VHII neck overall, but that's probably because I mostly use the neck for cleans anyway

As for the bridge position, I'd go with either the C-Pig or a Nailbomb for the stuff you listed. I had an alnico Nailbomb that I thought was a bit too "hairy" and loose, but the ceramic version is probably better suited for what you want anyway.

If you aren't fully sold on BKP, I would also check out the Dimarzio Ionizer set. I've A/B'd a Blaze Custom/PAF 7 pair and the Ionizers in the same guitar. The Ionizer is a bit lower output and more articulate than the BC, plus the midrange emphasis is at a slightly higher frequency, so it does big chords no problem. The neck is a great all-rounder, though it falls short on the Petrucci-style leads compared to the Cold Sweat or Liquifire. The Air Norton 7 is also fantastic. It's very versatile as well, but does the shred thing better than the Ionizer neck.

 

[777]

Here's a quick comparison I made a while back. The first pickup is a BKP ceramic Warpig, then a Blaze Custom like yours, then a BKP Ragnarok. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VtjLrVvCTyzpFarhbav83Nhz4rtB73Aq/view?usp=sharing

I will say the Cold Sweat neck is awesome for liquidy lead tones, but I wasn't crazy about it for cleans. I prefer the VHII neck overall, but that's probably because I mostly use the neck for cleans anyway

As for the bridge position, I'd go with either the C-Pig or a Nailbomb for the stuff you listed. I had an alnico Nailbomb that I thought was a bit too "hairy" and loose, but the ceramic version is probably better suited for what you want anyway.

If you aren't fully sold on BKP, I would also check out the Dimarzio Ionizer set. I've A/B'd a Blaze Custom/PAF 7 pair and the Ionizers in the same guitar. The Ionizer is a bit lower output and more articulate than the BC, plus the midrange emphasis is at a slightly higher frequency, so it does big chords no problem. The neck is a great all-rounder, though it falls short on the Petrucci-style leads compared to the Cold Sweat or Liquifire. The Air Norton 7 is also fantastic. It's very versatile as well, but does the shred thing better than the Ionizer neck.

This is really great thank you! Can you send on the Ionizer comparison?

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

This is really great thank you! Can you send on the Ionizer comparison?

For the time being, I don't have anything recorded with the Ionizers since they're in a different guitar from the one I used for the other comparisons.

I'll probably be changing strings on a few guitars during my down time this week, so it shouldn't be much extra work to try out the Ionizers in the other guitar while I've got it on the bench I also have a spare A5 magnet that I was planning on comparing with the stock ceramic in the neck position anyway

 

[Alex79]

You cannot go wrong with the Nailbomb. It does everything, it is a super versatile and great sounding pickup.
To me it sounds a lot like Petrucci on Train of Inner Thoughts (the newer albums are a bit more towards the other, more modern sounding pickups), with that rawness and the soaring leads. I think that is really the best/closest comparison.
Tuned down it will do Killswitch Engage easily (they boost the mids a lot, I think they use an EMG85 as well?) and In Flames shouldn't be a problem, but really IF is such mixed bag with almost every production sounding different.
The only thing I'm not so sure about it djent; I don't have a lot of knowledge there, sorry.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

This is really great thank you! Can you send on the Ionizer comparison?

So by "sometime this week" what I apparently meant was sometime this afternoon

Here's the updated comparison: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vi_3USrUEU9sRFu1W7jbizriyKKAzYBy/view?usp=sharing

C-Pig, Blaze Custom, Ragnarok, Ionizer in that order. The basic rig is my OD-808 -> VHT Ultra Lead -> Suhr Reactive Load -> Ownhammer IRs of a Mesa Traditional 4x12 -> some basic EQ and a multiband comp to catch some of the palm mute mud.

 

[bzhang9]

tried many bkps including nailbomb, were not any better and sometimes worse than a solid set of dimarzios

any set of petrucci 7s will get you great leads and solid rhythm, as will a evo7

all the ultra tight djenty pickups are too shrill for good lead work IMO

 

[Avedas]

Pretty sure a set of Illuminators would do everything you want.

 

[fps]

Ceramic Nailbomb is great for that music, it has a mid-range presence despite the eq chart and would work well for In Flames/ Killswitch riffing. It has strong articulation and a pleasant rawness/ aggression to it. I haven't tried the other, but it seems from clips to be a tighter pup than the Alnico one which I prefer. I have eventually changed it for a Black Hawk as I wanted a deeper bass response/ slightly more hi-fi sound for some stuff I'm writing. Both are great.

 

[TommyG]

The Nailbomb / VH2 combo is great. I think it would work well for you.
Look around on reverb.com for any used ones to save a few bucks....