What pickup am I after?

[danrawkz]

Seymour Duncan JB,
Custom 5,
Distortion,
Invader,

EMG81,

Seymour Duncan Blackouts.


Tried all those and they'd all work, if I had to pick it'd be a Seymour Duncan Distortion or EMG81, both have more clarity/heaviness than the rest. Blackouts would also be nice in drop D, but if it had to be passive, Distortion or JB imo.

[sopachrga]

Yeah was also going to suggest an EMG81, but that's not just a simple "drop in' job. But would do what you are after really well.
I've never been a fan of the JB or the Invader for high gain.

Another option would be a D-Activator.

[Kloppsta]

+1 for the D-Activator

Ive found an EMG 85 works really well in the bridge position, especially in brighter guitars. Or hit Glyn up for a Bareknuckle C-Bomb for ultimate awesomeness

[nztim]

What kind of heavy, exactly?

And through what amp?

This style of heavey, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Y4P9Wg ... re=related

and I'm using a marshall MOSFET 100, but also for use with MESA and UBER models on Line6 HD500 when doing demos

Cool. I'd look at a D-Sonic.

Sweet, i found a nice comparison here http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=pC5 ... =endscreen will definitely look further into that

[ash]

What kind of heavy, exactly?

And through what amp?

This style of heavey, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Y4P9Wg ... re=related

and I'm using a marshall MOSFET 100, but also for use with MESA and UBER models on Line6 HD500 when doing demos

I would call up a D Activator-X for that sort of thing in the passive flavour. EMG 81 or Blackouts in Active.

I don't have any of them in stock right now, but can get them all on request.

[xCaptainx]

EMG 81 X series would be worth a try. 81 tone but feels like a passive, slightly less output than an 81 and really, really nice and tidy. Works really well with my low saturated overdrive tone I go for (and works well with the HD500 too)

Solderless installation too, insanely easy to install (*I* can do it, that says it all haha)

[danrawkz]

Yeah was also going to suggest an EMG81, but that's not just a simple "drop in' job. But would do what you are after really well.
I've never been a fan of the JB or the Invader for high gain.

Another option would be a D-Activator.

Depends a lot on the guitar etc.

I used one in this video, which is of similar style to what the OP is looking for:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcKO4PoAFYY[/youtube]

well, actually it's a duncan designed HB102, but I would agree that the JB can be great/good depending on the guitar/amp it's used with.

/awaits comments on the ice pick tone, etc

[Aquila Rossa]

Those 'hot ceramic' pups Gibson uses in some of the LP Classics etc are really nice for a high output pup (496R and 500T). They are not exactly subtle but have a real snarl to them and their own distinctive sound. On my old LP Classic I swapped them out for 2x EMG 81 because I needed to tame the gat for some songs i was learning. I kind of missed the ceramic's growl, even though i loved the EMGs. The EMGs had more range and would clean up better with the volume control. They work well in my opinion in LPs if the pots and wiring etc are top notch. Changing batteries because I forgot to unplug the thing was the only annoyance. I did not find them 'sterile' like so many folk say either.

I do not see the point of putting really expensive gourmet boutique pups in a Epiphone even though there is nothing wrong with them as an instrument, it just seems like a bit of a extravagance relative to the value of the gat. Each to their own though..

I would go Dimarzio or Seymour Duncan, both of which can be had new for a little over one hundred bucks. Some of the less popular brands like Wilkinson and Rio Grande etc can't be that bad either and seem to be good value to me.

My grunty pup pick for this would be a Duncan SH-6 or Dimarzio Super Distortion. JB for something a little less aggressive. They are all more of a classic raw high gain than the more finely tuned designs than have come out since. I like that though.

4 conductor wiring is a must if you want more tone options. I have my bridge pup wired to give me the option of series which is high gain, or the slight milder and much sweeter parallel wiring. Parallel wired humbuckers can sound gorgeous with certain pup and gat combinations.

[TMG 03]

I dont think it would matter what you use. Everybody is too busy listening to the Lyrics in that format. An Epip with stock pickup would be perfect. I would me more incline to change the Amp. 5150 Combo.

[willow13]

for me dropping $150 on a pick up that takes a guitar (any guitar) from "I like how this feels and plays, but it sounds average" to "I love how it sounds" is worth it. I think adrian is on the mark as always. EMG's are a safe bet because they will sound exactly how you expect them to but the dimarzio's may very well be the best choice long term