Pickup Suggestions? - BKP Warpig is Too Much

Genghis

Power User
Looking for suggestions on pickups to swap out in one of my guitars. It is an old Ibanez V, kind of Randy Rhoads inspired shape, and I have it strung up with heavy strings for either Drop B or Drop C tuning. (Had it in C, but recently dropped to B and might like it better... still deciding.)

Regardless, the body is alder, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. I have Bare Knuckle Warpigs in it now, but they are just to hot and lack high end in this scenario. For this guitar I'm looking for something tight and percussive, with good upper mids and highs that cut without being too harsh. Considering either Bare Knuckles or Tom Andersons, as I have consistently good sound with my Andersons, and my other Bare Knuckles pickup experiences have been great. Definitely want lower gain that what is in there, but I don't think this guitar is cut out for vintage PAF type tones. Something mid-hi in the gain would probably be best.

My current list includes:
  • BKP Aftermath
  • BKP Juggernaut
  • BKP Nailbombs (Probably Ceramic in the bridge)
  • Anderson but undecided. Something different than what I have, but still mid-hi on the gain. I currently have a range that includes H2+, H3, HN2+ and HN3+, and all sound decent in the guitars I have them in. I was surprised that I liked the HN series pickups as much as I did.
I am open to other suggestions as well, if anyone has some good ones. Duncan JB and 59 are a definite no, as I've tried them a couple of times, and they just don't sound good to my ears.
 
I have guitars with all three of those BKP’s. The Juggernaut will do what you want. I think it works great in down tunings and it has a lot of mid range punch. I have Juggs in an A # 6 string and they sound great. The Ragnarok would also be a good choice. My Ragnarok axe is tuned to drop C and sounds chunky but articulate. Don’t rule out the Nazgul. It is more forgiving than the BKP’s and also sounds great.
 
Check out either a Motor City Afwayu or Suhr Aldrich. Both are hot pickups but have all the characteristics you described IMO. I have used both and still have a Suhr Aldrich. Can go from Clean to Mean.

MOTOR CITY AFWAYU - http://motorcitypickups.com/products/afwayu.htm

SUHR ALDRICH - https://www.suhr.com/pickups/humbucker-pickups/suhr-aldrich-signature-pickups/
Aldrich is another i forgot about. I have one in the bridge of an old SG and it might be just the right pickup for this one. Decent output without getting muddy and cleans up a lot better than Warpig.
 
You can also call BKP for a recommendation as in my experience they are very helpful. I have Nailbombs (Alnico V bridge) in my rosewood neck PRS C22 tuned to C and have been extremely happy with them. The bridge tightened up the bottom end for metal without making it unusable for other styles.
 
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You can also call BKP for a recommendation as in my experience they are very helpful. I have Nailbombs (Alnico V bridge) in my rosewood neck PRS C22 tuned to C and have been extremely happy with them. The bridge tightened up the bottom end for metal without making it unusable for other styles.

I was in the middle of checking an old Reverb message about the Nailbombs and must have fallen asleep cuz I could have sworn I left a response here. Anyway it said pretty much the same as you describe how you want your pickup to sound. It also had the Alnico magnet, I imagine the ceramic to have more "hair" on top.


Hmm, I used to have a "Jackson" J80C in a guitar many many years ago, and a friend of mine had a J90, a little hotter kinda like a Duncan Distortion, maybe a tad warmer. I wonder if old Grover has resurected the old or created some new ones...
 
Well, here is my decision on pickups... at least for now:
Leave the Warpigs in an create a couple of patches that are just for this guitar. I used the general amp settings set for a little more upper mids and highs, and slightly less gain than the patches for my other guitars, then EQ out a little bit of the lows and lower mids that muck things up a little with the EQ in the amp block. I did one last night with 5150 III Red and sounded pretty tight and articulate in Drop C. I guess with all of those preset spots I don't need every patch to work with all of my guitars, right?
 
Hmm, I used to have a "Jackson" J80C in a guitar many many years ago, and a friend of mine had a J90, a little hotter kinda like a Duncan Distortion, maybe a tad warmer. I wonder if old Grover has resurected the old or created some new ones...

My understanding is the Habanero J-80 is the exact same 'formula' (wire size, number of winds, magnets, etc) as the Jackson model. I don't know if the rest of the Habanero line matches up against specific JE series models.
 
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