What pickups do you like with your Marks?

[xT00BZRG00Dx]

I have a mark III, and i just put a BKP Nailbomb in my alder jackson. i am very unimpressed with it. it has the little muddiness in the lowmids with high gain that i can't dial out, even with treble on 10, presence on 10, bass/mids at 0, all the brights pulled, and lows/low mids/mids at zero and highs/high mids all the way at the top on the geq. It would sound amazing otherwise, but the muddiness ruins it. it is very subtle, and is onlly really noticeble in front of the speaker, but you can still notice it, and it is very aggravating. the only thing that makes it go away is picking extremley hard, to the point you can't play right. it is way harder than normal for me, and i arleady have a heavy right hand. i'm probably gonna change it out. i was just curious to see what you guys use, and if you have a nailbomb, do you like it?

 

[MrMarkIII]

Wow, sounds like a bit of a mis-match in the pickup department.
I'm not familiar with the Nailbomb, but I prefer un-super-hot p/ups as they tend to be un-subtle. But that's just me.

 

[silentrage]

I thought I got this "muddiness" when I switched to a mahogany guitar with my warpig, but after a few weeks with it it grew on me.
Now I think it would sound thin and a little lifeless without this mud.
:lol:

 

[emperor_black]

I installed Dimarzio X2N's in three of my Jacksons and all guitars sound great with a MK IV. Cheap and IMO best!

 

[jjblacksheep]

I've tried several but my favorite so far is the Anderson H2+. No mud.

 

[fishyfishfish]

For me, most High Gainers sound best with a mid output pickup. OR if using a hi output pickup lowering it down to 3/8" from the strings and raising it to taste. Might need a swap-out for something brighter for that guitar.

 

[Geiri]

Seymour duncan Jb/59 combo in one guitar and well a jb with alnico 2 instaed of 5 in the bridge and duncan jazz 3 in the neck of another guitar. I'm contemplating the blackouts for one guitar but I'm not sure. The blackouts did wonders for my stilletto head but the mark 4 really has more than enough gain as it is.

 

[jjblacksheep]

Yep agree, I've got a J.S. Moore Black Widow that I love in my Ibanez and had to drop it down a good bit or it was way to much for my amp. I actually put most of my pickups (any output) lower than normal, I just like the tone better that way.

 

[lesterpaul]

Nailbombs are kick *** in the right wood-I use in a bright LP Custom-awesome combo..I don't think NB's sit well in your guitar due to alder-I would def. email Tim and tell him your whole signal chain and describe your tastes-he always nails it for me,and a helluva guy to boot
(I have nb's,ry's,crawlers,VHII, and M Milk fwiw)

 

[Platypus]

love 57 classics with any mark as well as burstbuckers though they can get a bit muddy in the neck. any telecaster pickup sounds great in the marks, really like the stock american reissue jazzmaster pickups too.

 

[straitouttahell]

love 57 classics with any mark as well as burstbuckers though they can get a bit muddy in the neck. any telecaster pickup sounds great in the marks

+1

I'll add the PRS Dragon IIs. Very nice pups, though the neck pu may feel too boomy for somebody.

 

[CoG]

I too have never had good luck with high output pickups in my MkIII even to play high gain stuff. I tried SD Distortions for a while and they're pretty muddy. EMGs sound horrible. The best sounding pups so far are '59s which are moderate output.

I think you have to keep in mind that a lot of guys using really high-output pickups are scooping the crap out of their sound either in the amp or in post-eq.

 

[GD_NC]

I use a Duncan JB/Jazz set in my Les Paul Studio. That's the best sound I've found so far and very flexible. The stock Gibson 490/498T set was just too muddy for me. The Gibsons PUs had over the top mids and poor note/string definition.

I used to have a Dmarzio X2n in the bridge of my LP custom with the original 1984 Tim Shaw PAF in the neck. The X2N was hot as hell but maybe too much if you don't play metal. I recently switched that to a Gibson 57 Classic Plus. It's great for rock and blues but can't get nasty like the JB. I seriously f&*ked up loosing the original Tim Shaw PAF that was in the bridge.

 

[Fronzil]

D sonic in the bridge and Jp custom in the neck for my BFR...very versatile, and all around great pups...X2N in my Jackson KE1 for more aggressive ****...sooo...dimarzio..

 

[emperor_black]

Finally! Someone who likes the X2N.

I changed to X2N on all 3 of my jacksons. I tried playing with the JB but it just could not do it. If I dime the gain and drive, it got too muddy. When I used a OD pedal with its treble and mids higher the JB sounded fantastic. The X2N does exactly that. High mids, high treble, less bass. We all know how bass the mk iv's can get. The X2N sounds perfect to my ears. Gain and drive are around 6.5 and 7.

however, I'm still looking for a good neck pup to match the o/p of the X2N. Oh, the search never ends! :lol:

 

[Fronzil]

only thing I find with the X2N is it's hard to get great cleans out of them..I've never tried THAT hard, and it is in a Jackson KE1 so that may be the problem as well..

 

[Scary]

I thought I got this "muddiness" when I switched to a mahogany guitar with my warpig, but after a few weeks with it it grew on me.
Now I think it would sound thin and a little lifeless without this mud.
:lol:

It's interesting how that works. What sounds great one day may not the next depending on how you're playing.

 

[treedroppings]

I like the Voodoo '57 humbucker and the Duncan custom custom

 

[jjblacksheep]

I'll be trying out a Neodymium magnet loaded pickup from a friend for a possible trade within the next two weeks and see how that works, always wanted to try one. APCpickups Persuader Lead Custom.

 

[edgecrusher]

I bought a Nailbomb for my RG7621 and was also pretty unimpressed. I like the D-Sonic better, it's much tighter and better suited for metal. The Nailbomb wasn't necessarily bad, it just wasn't tight enough for me and didn't sound any better than my Dimarzios. I didn't think it was worth twice the price so I sold it.

I think you'd like the D-Sonic, Crunch Lab or X2N (in order from hot to over the top hot)