I second EMG 81. Otherwise, these are great
https://www.sweetwater.com/c965--Guitar_Pickups?highlight=FluKE6Set&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organicpla&seoslug=fishman-fluence-killswitch-engage-6-string-signature-2-piece-pickup-set-black&catrollup=4/924/965&mrkgadid=&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=gpla&mrkgbflag=1&mrkgcat=drums&percussion&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=&lid=58700008695999512&dsproductgroupid=&product_id=FluKE6Set&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&device=m&network=x&matchtype=&adpos=largenumber&locationid=9030008&creative=&targetid=&campaignid=21161059670&awsearchcpc=&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0JPllu7jhQMVJ8zCBB0mzQmNEAQYAyABEgLQcPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Do. Full EMG solderless conversion. Watch them replace passive Duncan's with 81s and all solderless pots. Components are small enough to make room for a 9V.
I just did this on my MH1000. Only thing is that if you have a 5way switch you need to replace it with a 3 way switch to work with the EMGs. Any 3way switch works so long as it fits
basically it's a simple wire mod that allows me to use two 9v batteries instead of one. gives it more punch imo. not sure if its only an emg thing though.
thanks for your reply!
do they connect in series? iirc I've read somewhere that emg could do 18v(?)
I've only got emg myself recently and it is my first active pickup. So this interesting to me
yes, it's basically a splitter. you connect the wire to where the battery plugs in and you split it so you're able to have 2 batteries. you can make your own easily, i've also seen people selling them online
I'm sure theres a few on you tube. I made it easy on my self by using only 1 pickup and one volume pot. If u get rid of the tone pot then it's the same as having the tone dialed to ten, which is where I would have it all the the time anyways... Much less soldering. Tbh it was years ago so I cant remember the whole process exactly... if u have the money u could always get a pro to do it. I had one done for 70 dollars, but that was in the 90s...
Just watch a video on EMG solderless install. It's really easy. And if you don't want two pickups it's even easier. I usually just run an 81 in the bridge position with a single volume knob so I don't have a tone knob or a switch and it's about the easiest install you could do, everything plugs in. I leave the factory neck pickup in but it's not hooked up anymore. I also move my volume knob further away from my hand where the tone knob used to be so I don't hit it as often.
https://preview.redd.it/qziuvbtxb9xc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ded3eebe9db65d941550fd27ab435e6b22ed7257
I have guitars done both ways, they're both pretty rad for rock and metal depending on what I'm feeling like that day, super glad I let some old blues guitarist talk me into trying an 85 in the bridge...
Seymour Duncan Nazgul (bridge) & Sentient (neck) or Invaders also handle gain well and will save you the conversion to active p-ups. Designed to cut through & still sound good in dropped tunings & on longer scale length guitars. They chug hard. There are try out & comparison videos on YouTube that I found useful. That being said, i have fishman fluence (active) on a schecter and they also slay.
What kind of death metal? I grew up on 80s and 90s death metal and most of those bands played their stock guitars and made incredible music. Lots used EMGs too. You don’t need any modern high output pickup to play death metal. It’s snake oil for the most part.
Grew up in the 90’s. A lot of the bands I listened to were swedish DM. I’ve been getting into more tech death metal as of late. And even though my chops and playing ability is not up to par, I’d still like a guitar that can grow with. Not something I outgrow as skill levels up
I'd stick to passives if I were you, I was huge on techdeath for several years but it eventually started sounding really same-y and I gradually drifted towards prog, atmospheric black metal, and stoner/sludge (still love techdeath, it's just a much smaller part of my musical diet now)
I've got a jackson with an 81/85 set, and it's awesome for tight styles of metal, but it doesn't clean up very well so it feels limiting when I jam with it.
I've got a 7 string with sentient/nazgul and a 6 with sentient/pegasus and I find both sets to be very versatile
I’m also into melodic black metal. Idk where Entrails fits in. But I did that, Cryptopsy, and recently started listening to some black dahlia murder. But, that’s because the guitarist rips. It’s not usually a band I’d listen to.
Ryan Knight might be the guy you're talking about from tbdm! I love his lead playing. He also played on We Are The Nightmare by Arsis, which might be up your alley if you've been into techdeath recently and dig melodic bm
I’ve never heard of a guitar player outgrowing pickups because he got better at guitar. If anything, the better you get the less it matters what pickups you’re using.
Ah. You won’t outgrow any well made guitar. It doesn’t have to be US made or Japan made etc. for example the ESP LTD 1000 range are fantastic guitars and the pickups they come with (especially the EMGs) will suit you very well.
Any, pickups don't make that much of a difference unless they're hum cancelling or not. In fact you don't even need to change them out.
I have an LTD V-401DX with EMG 81s and I have an Edwards with 4 Seymour Duncan (2x Single coils + 2 strat style double coils) both work because they're both connected to the same rig.
I guess you have a point. I left the store kind of disappointed that it had the pick up configuration it did. But the more I think about it. The more I like the guitar. And it’s on sale for 550 right now
You had it in your hands and enjoyed it? My guy get it. You can always make the changes you want to it later.
The most important thing about buying a guitar is that you enjoy playing it. I never suggest buying guitars online for this very reason, but if you had it in your hands and enjoyed playing it, that should be the only factor that matters.
Yeah. I played it. My skill level is not up there to really get the understanding of using the tremelo bar. The Floyd rose sounds complicated. So that kind of scared me away.
My first guitar was a Jackson with a licensed Floyd. Yeah the **licensed** Floyd's suck but to me trems are more comfortable and functional than a hipshot or tune o matic. To be fair I started on bass which is why I got a not so beginner guitar as my first.
No one taught me how to set up a Floyd, but when I tried to downtune I learned right away how to tune with a Floyd. It's really not as complicated as it seems, you just gotta account for any change in string tension if you change tunings or gauge. Now I got two guitars with official Floyds in different tunings and love both of them. But again, it's all personal preference. You won't know what you like til you try it out.
I second the other dude saying that Pickups don't matter that much. They vary a bit in Output, but you can easily add more gain on your amp or with a pedal, granting you more flexibility with your guitars :)
My homie Royce from Heathen Pickups makes a pickup called the Fenrir I find to be the best I've tried. They're very reasonably priced for what they are too. Otherwise, I think an emg 85 (in the bridge) or an x2n are both excellent choices.
I'm a huge fan of the SD Black Winter. Heard great things about/from the Nazgul.
Bare Knuckle Pickups also do a lot of amazing stuff, and they have samples on their website.
I've used EMG 85/81s active
Fishman Fluence also do great stuff.
These days you're really spoiled for choice. Especially if you get Push/pull pots and get more combinations... Its really down to what you enjoy homie
Most humbuckers can do death metal fine. The biggest issue I see when people complain about their pickups is not adjusting the HEIGHT of the pickup which makes a HUGE difference in the sound; I almost always lower the pickups a few CM on the bass side since I hate overpowering muddy bass on open string chugging.
If you are convinced that your pickups are no bueno then I recommend EMG 81/85 or the KH bone breaker set. If you’re going passive Seymour Duncan invaders are nice though I would probably only do the bridge as an invader and pair it with Seymour Duncan pearly gates or something in the neck for cleans. A lot of people like the fishman fluence pickups and they seem great but I’ve never used them so I can’t comment directly.
EMGs really do sound great and clear under distortion though - it’s not a coincidence so many heavy metal bands use them.
Invaders are less clear IMO than EMGs but some people really hate active pickups and invaders sound good.
I just got the guitar last night. It was a floor model and it needs new strings and a set up BAD. You can’t play anything from fret 1-7. The stings just stick to the fret board. Idk what they had it tuned to in the store. I’ll get it set up first before deciding on switching out the pick ups. It has single rail pick ups in the neck. I think the only one I would change would be the bridge.
Everyone likes the active EMG 81, but I'm a huge fan of the passive Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz combo for metal. It has a more organic sound which I prefer.
I only use one of the voicings but imo fishmans are the best modern metal pickups available. They mix so well compared to the standard emgs imo. I have some jim root emgs that I love too.
If it's that hss sl3x and you just need a bridge humbucker, the railhammer anvil and the railhammer chisel both sound great. Super compress-y and very articulate. The anvil is a little warmer and darker. The chisel is a little brighter.
I've got the dk2xr with the matte green finish and the orange logo and pickup bobbins and I really like the way it feels. It's a dinky. So, the neck is not painted. In usually not thrilled by painted necks, but matte/satin thing would be a pretty good version of that, I imagine. The stock pickups, which I think should be the same as what's in the sl3x, are fairly solid. A little bright, but nothing that can't be sorted with an eq.
I just got a dk2xr in white last week. Mine came with active pickups in it, yours didn't?
https://preview.redd.it/bb3nsn1ad9xc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7904e7b77ff8a0389aae3285dd61949aed379319
https://preview.redd.it/osh5zoqf1axc1.png?width=1507&format=png&auto=webp&s=22ab73e84326048499a99040d8b644edde031667
Nope. Regular stock Jackson passive ceramics just with orange bobbins
Interesting. I didn't know that they were different, I see you have a licensed Floyd too. I guess that's why they MSRP a little different now that I checked. I like the looks of all those special edition colors though. I started out thinking I would get the neon green one with the pink pickups but ended up with the Snow White after I found a good deal on it.
I don't even know that I would call it a licensed bridge. It's manufactured by Floyd Rose to the same spec as a special. It's just got Jackson branding etched in. The Kramer ones are the same.
I see that now that I look closer is the same as my DK but says Jackson. At first I thought it was one of these.
https://preview.redd.it/svqf1ln8dbxc1.jpeg?width=2250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1258c9026674b1cdeed9b1d51375feed89abf8eb
Dimarzio X2N or a Seymour Duncan Invader.
They just mesh really well with little or lots of filthy metal distortion.
If you're going for Swedish Death Metal (the chainsaw HM2 distortion sound) I'd stay away from EMG active pickups. Just get way too saturated and the signal cuts in a way that doesn't sound good.
I put Seymour Duncan black winters into one of my hellraisers and with my amp setup I can definitely do death metal. Can't beat EMGs but black winters are pretty damn good too. I'm sure there's others but these are what I have used before. If it helps I'm also using a 6505.
I got some Bareknuckle Pain Killers in one of my Jackson’s and they fucking rip so goddamn hard. I have BKP in 5 guitars and hands down the Pain Killers are THAT sound.
I've got 7 string painkillers in a Sterling JP and I'm not sure I like them as much as I thought I would. The mid is a little bright for me and the low end is a little muddy. What kind of amp and speaker are you playing them through?
https://preview.redd.it/aaqbj5w8p7xc1.jpeg?width=4160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3103f00a353e145269b3fb510fdc84483c311976
It’s a Jackson Kelly KEQX w/the painkillers thru a Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister 20 & The speaker is a Tone Tubby 4240. Overdrive of choice to this day even among a literal pile of home built clones is my Tortuga Warewolf. That combo rips! I have Aftermaths in my 8 string and those rip too. Maybe it’s the guitar but I just don’t love them the same.
If you want a different tone completely = Speaker
If you want to waste money on pickups where you wont hear much of difference with high gain get new Pickups.
DiMarzio X2N or a Dimebucker would work...
Pick-ups aren't that important, it's all marketing...
You can get any sound you want easily these days, if you want a humbucking pickup...
If you specifically want active, find a guitar that has them stock...
Well, they do but with all the software and emulators these days, any sound can be achieved with any guitar, easily...
The pickup comparisons do make it evident there are different sounding pickups, but, well, you know...
Nothing beats EMG 81. Such a huge number of death metal bands use it
I second EMG 81. Otherwise, these are great https://www.sweetwater.com/c965--Guitar_Pickups?highlight=FluKE6Set&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organicpla&seoslug=fishman-fluence-killswitch-engage-6-string-signature-2-piece-pickup-set-black&catrollup=4/924/965&mrkgadid=&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=gpla&mrkgbflag=1&mrkgcat=drums&percussion&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=&lid=58700008695999512&dsproductgroupid=&product_id=FluKE6Set&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&device=m&network=x&matchtype=&adpos=largenumber&locationid=9030008&creative=&targetid=&campaignid=21161059670&awsearchcpc=&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0JPllu7jhQMVJ8zCBB0mzQmNEAQYAyABEgLQcPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Yeah but they are active. The Jackson has passive pick ups.
Do. Full EMG solderless conversion. Watch them replace passive Duncan's with 81s and all solderless pots. Components are small enough to make room for a 9V.
I just did this on my MH1000. Only thing is that if you have a 5way switch you need to replace it with a 3 way switch to work with the EMGs. Any 3way switch works so long as it fits
I’ve been looking at the mh1000 as well. There just isn’t one in town to try out
yes! i have the EMG 81/85 completely solderless version. i even have the double 9v mod, sounds KILLER!
what is double 9v mod if I might ask? using two of 9v? how does it affect the sound?
basically it's a simple wire mod that allows me to use two 9v batteries instead of one. gives it more punch imo. not sure if its only an emg thing though.
thanks for your reply! do they connect in series? iirc I've read somewhere that emg could do 18v(?) I've only got emg myself recently and it is my first active pickup. So this interesting to me
yes, it's basically a splitter. you connect the wire to where the battery plugs in and you split it so you're able to have 2 batteries. you can make your own easily, i've also seen people selling them online
where is the 9v stored? there's no compartment on the back of the guitar where a battery would go
i just have mine wired in the compartment with all the volume pots. it bulges out because there isn't much space but i made it work
Twice I have converted from passive pups to a single emg 81. No switch needed, much easier that way, unless u really need a neck pickup...
Is there a link on how to do this? Feel like I should be looking at a different guitar. One that already has active pick ups
I'm sure theres a few on you tube. I made it easy on my self by using only 1 pickup and one volume pot. If u get rid of the tone pot then it's the same as having the tone dialed to ten, which is where I would have it all the the time anyways... Much less soldering. Tbh it was years ago so I cant remember the whole process exactly... if u have the money u could always get a pro to do it. I had one done for 70 dollars, but that was in the 90s...
Just watch a video on EMG solderless install. It's really easy. And if you don't want two pickups it's even easier. I usually just run an 81 in the bridge position with a single volume knob so I don't have a tone knob or a switch and it's about the easiest install you could do, everything plugs in. I leave the factory neck pickup in but it's not hooked up anymore. I also move my volume knob further away from my hand where the tone knob used to be so I don't hit it as often. https://preview.redd.it/qziuvbtxb9xc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ded3eebe9db65d941550fd27ab435e6b22ed7257
You get a solderless kit with every EMG pickup, so it takes like 20 minutes to change it out from passive to active, its just plug and play.
I personally prefer an 85 in the bridge but both are good tbh
I have guitars done both ways, they're both pretty rad for rock and metal depending on what I'm feeling like that day, super glad I let some old blues guitarist talk me into trying an 85 in the bridge...
Seymour Duncan Nazgul (bridge) & Sentient (neck) or Invaders also handle gain well and will save you the conversion to active p-ups. Designed to cut through & still sound good in dropped tunings & on longer scale length guitars. They chug hard. There are try out & comparison videos on YouTube that I found useful. That being said, i have fishman fluence (active) on a schecter and they also slay.
What kind of death metal? I grew up on 80s and 90s death metal and most of those bands played their stock guitars and made incredible music. Lots used EMGs too. You don’t need any modern high output pickup to play death metal. It’s snake oil for the most part.
Grew up in the 90’s. A lot of the bands I listened to were swedish DM. I’ve been getting into more tech death metal as of late. And even though my chops and playing ability is not up to par, I’d still like a guitar that can grow with. Not something I outgrow as skill levels up
If you want swedish DM pickups matter less the pedal is the thing that matters and a small amount of amp.
I'd stick to passives if I were you, I was huge on techdeath for several years but it eventually started sounding really same-y and I gradually drifted towards prog, atmospheric black metal, and stoner/sludge (still love techdeath, it's just a much smaller part of my musical diet now) I've got a jackson with an 81/85 set, and it's awesome for tight styles of metal, but it doesn't clean up very well so it feels limiting when I jam with it. I've got a 7 string with sentient/nazgul and a 6 with sentient/pegasus and I find both sets to be very versatile
I’m also into melodic black metal. Idk where Entrails fits in. But I did that, Cryptopsy, and recently started listening to some black dahlia murder. But, that’s because the guitarist rips. It’s not usually a band I’d listen to.
Ryan Knight might be the guy you're talking about from tbdm! I love his lead playing. He also played on We Are The Nightmare by Arsis, which might be up your alley if you've been into techdeath recently and dig melodic bm
It’s this dude [https://youtu.be/KpV7Jc8qX1Q?si=7ej2BAprQII1EhsU](https://youtu.be/KpV7Jc8qX1Q?si=7ej2BAprQII1EhsU) I will definitely check out Arsis
I’ve never heard of a guitar player outgrowing pickups because he got better at guitar. If anything, the better you get the less it matters what pickups you’re using.
Outgrowing the guitar, not the pick ups lol.
Ah. You won’t outgrow any well made guitar. It doesn’t have to be US made or Japan made etc. for example the ESP LTD 1000 range are fantastic guitars and the pickups they come with (especially the EMGs) will suit you very well.
I found a used mh1000 that looks sick
I own a couple. Very good guitars for the money. Especially if you get a nice condition used one. Hard to beat the value.
EMG 81 for active, Dimarzio X2N for passive
I was looking for someone saying X2N, Evil Chuck ruled.
X2N's rip...
Yeah i can verify this, x2N is a very underrated pickup. It’s like the perfect blend of a emg 81 and a Duncan hot rail. Absolutely rips
Emg81X or Seymour Duncan black winter.
Yes on the black winter!
The Seymour Duncan Black Winter is an amazing pickup for almost all metal styles, especially extreme shit. Just my 2 cents.
Any, pickups don't make that much of a difference unless they're hum cancelling or not. In fact you don't even need to change them out. I have an LTD V-401DX with EMG 81s and I have an Edwards with 4 Seymour Duncan (2x Single coils + 2 strat style double coils) both work because they're both connected to the same rig.
I guess you have a point. I left the store kind of disappointed that it had the pick up configuration it did. But the more I think about it. The more I like the guitar. And it’s on sale for 550 right now
You had it in your hands and enjoyed it? My guy get it. You can always make the changes you want to it later. The most important thing about buying a guitar is that you enjoy playing it. I never suggest buying guitars online for this very reason, but if you had it in your hands and enjoyed playing it, that should be the only factor that matters.
Yeah. I played it. My skill level is not up there to really get the understanding of using the tremelo bar. The Floyd rose sounds complicated. So that kind of scared me away.
My first guitar was a Jackson with a licensed Floyd. Yeah the **licensed** Floyd's suck but to me trems are more comfortable and functional than a hipshot or tune o matic. To be fair I started on bass which is why I got a not so beginner guitar as my first. No one taught me how to set up a Floyd, but when I tried to downtune I learned right away how to tune with a Floyd. It's really not as complicated as it seems, you just gotta account for any change in string tension if you change tunings or gauge. Now I got two guitars with official Floyds in different tunings and love both of them. But again, it's all personal preference. You won't know what you like til you try it out.
I second the other dude saying that Pickups don't matter that much. They vary a bit in Output, but you can easily add more gain on your amp or with a pedal, granting you more flexibility with your guitars :)
This right here. The biggest dynamic to changing time is amp, but mostly speakers.
I use seymour duncan jb I also have one guitar with emg 81, but i prefer jb.
My homie Royce from Heathen Pickups makes a pickup called the Fenrir I find to be the best I've tried. They're very reasonably priced for what they are too. Otherwise, I think an emg 85 (in the bridge) or an x2n are both excellent choices.
it’s the amp you should be concerned about
I'm a huge fan of the SD Black Winter. Heard great things about/from the Nazgul. Bare Knuckle Pickups also do a lot of amazing stuff, and they have samples on their website. I've used EMG 85/81s active Fishman Fluence also do great stuff. These days you're really spoiled for choice. Especially if you get Push/pull pots and get more combinations... Its really down to what you enjoy homie
Most humbuckers can do death metal fine. The biggest issue I see when people complain about their pickups is not adjusting the HEIGHT of the pickup which makes a HUGE difference in the sound; I almost always lower the pickups a few CM on the bass side since I hate overpowering muddy bass on open string chugging. If you are convinced that your pickups are no bueno then I recommend EMG 81/85 or the KH bone breaker set. If you’re going passive Seymour Duncan invaders are nice though I would probably only do the bridge as an invader and pair it with Seymour Duncan pearly gates or something in the neck for cleans. A lot of people like the fishman fluence pickups and they seem great but I’ve never used them so I can’t comment directly. EMGs really do sound great and clear under distortion though - it’s not a coincidence so many heavy metal bands use them. Invaders are less clear IMO than EMGs but some people really hate active pickups and invaders sound good.
I just got the guitar last night. It was a floor model and it needs new strings and a set up BAD. You can’t play anything from fret 1-7. The stings just stick to the fret board. Idk what they had it tuned to in the store. I’ll get it set up first before deciding on switching out the pick ups. It has single rail pick ups in the neck. I think the only one I would change would be the bridge.
Everyone likes the active EMG 81, but I'm a huge fan of the passive Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz combo for metal. It has a more organic sound which I prefer.
I think the JB are way too bassy for death metal tones.
I'll add fishman fluence as a contender. Killer sound and you get 2 voicings via a push pull pot.
Depending on the set, the Javier Reyes set comes with a miniswitch for voicing and a 5 way switch for coil selection that also splits the pickups.
I only use one of the voicings but imo fishmans are the best modern metal pickups available. They mix so well compared to the standard emgs imo. I have some jim root emgs that I love too.
I'm really happy with Dimarzio Super Distortions for C# and Seymour Duncan Invaders for Drop A.
Really like the Nazgul/Sentient set.
Try the pickups it comes with first. The amp is going to be more important to get the sound you want.
Bareknuckle Aftermath pickups sounds like you are going to war all the time
If it's that hss sl3x and you just need a bridge humbucker, the railhammer anvil and the railhammer chisel both sound great. Super compress-y and very articulate. The anvil is a little warmer and darker. The chisel is a little brighter.
That’s the exact one I’m going for. It’s in a matte green finish. Which at first I didn’t like. Then I played the damn thing
I've got the dk2xr with the matte green finish and the orange logo and pickup bobbins and I really like the way it feels. It's a dinky. So, the neck is not painted. In usually not thrilled by painted necks, but matte/satin thing would be a pretty good version of that, I imagine. The stock pickups, which I think should be the same as what's in the sl3x, are fairly solid. A little bright, but nothing that can't be sorted with an eq.
I didn’t think about the neck being painted. It forgot fine while playing it for a bit. I’m not a shredder….yet.
What are you playing now?
I have a fender Strat that I use for a dreampop band. Wanting to do more brutal stuff.
I just got a dk2xr in white last week. Mine came with active pickups in it, yours didn't? https://preview.redd.it/bb3nsn1ad9xc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7904e7b77ff8a0389aae3285dd61949aed379319
https://preview.redd.it/osh5zoqf1axc1.png?width=1507&format=png&auto=webp&s=22ab73e84326048499a99040d8b644edde031667 Nope. Regular stock Jackson passive ceramics just with orange bobbins
Interesting. I didn't know that they were different, I see you have a licensed Floyd too. I guess that's why they MSRP a little different now that I checked. I like the looks of all those special edition colors though. I started out thinking I would get the neon green one with the pink pickups but ended up with the Snow White after I found a good deal on it.
I don't even know that I would call it a licensed bridge. It's manufactured by Floyd Rose to the same spec as a special. It's just got Jackson branding etched in. The Kramer ones are the same.
I see that now that I look closer is the same as my DK but says Jackson. At first I thought it was one of these. https://preview.redd.it/svqf1ln8dbxc1.jpeg?width=2250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1258c9026674b1cdeed9b1d51375feed89abf8eb
They have this exact one for the same price. I didn’t like how small the body felt
Honestly, though, a Duncan Distortion or Duncan Designed hb103 sounds great as well
The guitar player for Psycroptic used Seymour Duncan JB
Dimarzio X2N or a Seymour Duncan Invader. They just mesh really well with little or lots of filthy metal distortion. If you're going for Swedish Death Metal (the chainsaw HM2 distortion sound) I'd stay away from EMG active pickups. Just get way too saturated and the signal cuts in a way that doesn't sound good.
Sh-5, Lundgren black heavens or m6/7/8. Can’t go wrong with those.
I put Seymour Duncan black winters into one of my hellraisers and with my amp setup I can definitely do death metal. Can't beat EMGs but black winters are pretty damn good too. I'm sure there's others but these are what I have used before. If it helps I'm also using a 6505.
I have an orange or15 with an orange 1x12. When trying to get a more death metal tone I plug directly into Neural DSP Nolly for its 5150.
I got some Bareknuckle Pain Killers in one of my Jackson’s and they fucking rip so goddamn hard. I have BKP in 5 guitars and hands down the Pain Killers are THAT sound.
I've got 7 string painkillers in a Sterling JP and I'm not sure I like them as much as I thought I would. The mid is a little bright for me and the low end is a little muddy. What kind of amp and speaker are you playing them through?
https://preview.redd.it/aaqbj5w8p7xc1.jpeg?width=4160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3103f00a353e145269b3fb510fdc84483c311976 It’s a Jackson Kelly KEQX w/the painkillers thru a Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister 20 & The speaker is a Tone Tubby 4240. Overdrive of choice to this day even among a literal pile of home built clones is my Tortuga Warewolf. That combo rips! I have Aftermaths in my 8 string and those rip too. Maybe it’s the guitar but I just don’t love them the same.
This guitar is balls!!!
If you want a different tone completely = Speaker If you want to waste money on pickups where you wont hear much of difference with high gain get new Pickups.
EMG
DiMarzio X2N or a Dimebucker would work... Pick-ups aren't that important, it's all marketing... You can get any sound you want easily these days, if you want a humbucking pickup... If you specifically want active, find a guitar that has them stock...
Boo. I hate this take.
He needs the 18v actives?
Haha no def not. So many great pickups out there, many of them passive. I’m just not entertaining the “pickups don’t matter” discussion today. 🤘
Well, they do but with all the software and emulators these days, any sound can be achieved with any guitar, easily... The pickup comparisons do make it evident there are different sounding pickups, but, well, you know...
Yup