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[Paul G]

I'm looking into buying a replacement bridge humbucker for my Ibanez S570. The stock pickups sound fairly weak, just don't cut through when I'm playing with a band. I'm looking for a filthy distortion tone as I play in a raw, loose sounding death metal band (Bonesaw). I've never replaced pickups before, so I'm not really sure whether this is going to solve my guitar tone woes. Considering buying a Dimarzio super distortion but have a little time to mull it over until my next paycheque lands. Can you kind folks offer me any advice?

[Mick Maverik]

I'd suggest a Bare Knuckle! I just got one put in my Ibanez SZ model. I got the Steve Stevens Rebel Yell model which is an absolutely monster rock pick-up! But they have a wide range. Something like the Warpig or Nailbomb would probably sort you out for some brutal tones!

Official Site: Bare Knuckle Pick-ups

[HateEvent]

I've got a Di Marzio Super Distortion in the neck position of my Dean. While it sounds a bit smoother in there than it would as a bridge pickup, I can definitely hear the potential as a bridge p'up!

The DiMarzio X2N is meant to be quite a high output monster too!

Bare Knuckle are good in that you can be very specific if need be! The Miracle Man supposedly sounds like a passive EMG 81. The Nailbomb is sheer brutality though - I've played one of them in an Ibanez SA-260 and it sounded massive!

There are some cool Seymour Duncans that may do the job aswell - Dimebucker and Full Shred being those that come to mind first. The Invader would sound too muddy for you guys IMO (I had one in an Ibanez before and it seemed lacking in clarity for what was needed).

Bill Lawrence does the L-500XL. That's the pickup Dime used at the bridge. Sounds good in a mahogany guitar for sure (I have one). Never heard it through anything else though...

There's always EMG aswell. They aren't the most rounded regarding their sound but if you like what they do - they do it well!

Seymour Duncan's site has soundclips of their various models so you can check them out there!

Good luck!

[Paul G]

Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated.

The bare knuckles sound like they would do the trick (particularly the warpig), though they're a bit out of my price range. Off to Ebay to see what the going rate is second hand shortly.

Checked out the Seymour Duncan site too. The test sounds are handy, though none of them bear much resemblance to the noise I like to make. The full shred sounds closest I think.

I've seen a few Dimarzio super distortion cheap on Ebay, so that might be the deciding factor come the time.

[doobie]

I've used the Seymour Duncan Invader in a squire strat, it replaced a couple of different Ibanez humbuckers that I'd used preivously, its does have a lot of bass and gain to it. I've never thought it sounded muddy but it is in a squire and the string tension is quite high (bending strings is hard work!). It's miles better than the Ibanez pickups though!

It gives a good metallica style high gain crunch sound and with a boost from a fuzz or distortion pedal can make some really cool doom tones with loads of bass and fuzz while still letting the notes get through. You could probably find something with higher gain for really raw death metal sounds though, plus the invader's got the daft looking huge pole pieces!

I've been thinking about buying some new pickups from Wizard Pickups > Electric Guitar Pickups, Strat pickups, Tele pickups, P90 pickups, Bass pickups, but I'm kinda happy with my sound at the moment so I'm struggling to justify it! They have a few high gain options.

[HairyScaryMark]

EMG's are the obvious choice for death metal, but in my opinion Seymour Duncans usually sound nicer.

DiMarzio are the standard for rock lead guitar (Vai, Satch, Yngwie, Petrucci all use them). The Super Distortion is used by Frank Gambale and in some Iron maiden.

If i wanted a tone suitable for a variety of things, I would go for Seymour Duncans of some variety.

Bareknuckle Nailbomb.

It's the shit.

[Paul G]

Think I'm gonna save up for a while and go for the bareknuckle warpig. Noone seems to have a bad word to say about them, unique tone, sturdy as - just what I'm looking for. Thanks for all the tips guys!

[Bonesaw Bazz]

Mmmmm that Warpig set does look nice. Damn it i wish i had money. Imagine that ripping through my 5150... Mmmmmm. Excuse me.. heh

[britheguy]

I'll say it again....Wizard Pick ups. Tell him what you want and he'll do it. Of course you won't be able to say 'I've got a Bare Duncan' etc. But you will have a cracking pick up