Help me pick some pickups for my NTM Silo

[RSG]

Hey everyone, I finally broke down and bought a 24-fret Silo. I've had my share of Specials over the years but I couldn't pass this one up. Just arrived today and it plays incredibly nice but the pickups just aren't working for me. The neck pickup is overall pretty good but the bridge pickup sounds like a slightly cocked wah with some of my Fractal patches. I think these are Virtual PAFs, but I'm looking for something fuller and more powerful. Honestly, I think I already know the perfect pickup for this guitar (Tom Anderson H2+) but I'm curious what others have tried or suggest. The ASS is stock and already covers the bright/cutting tone, so I want the Silo to cover a wider frequency response with about the same amount of gain.

Obligatory pic, of course:

 

[Rbg]

Bare knuckles or motor city.

 

[GWDavis28]

Nice collection!!!

Glenn |B)

 

[Vito Porkleone]

I have a Suhr Thornbucker in my Silo Special, and I highly recommend it. A little more clarity than the stock DiMarzio, but not exactly high output. I would put a couple of those in a regular Silo without hesitation.

BTW - those tops suck.

 

[RSG]

I have a Suhr Thornbucker in my Silo Special, and I highly recommend it. A little more clarity than the stock DiMarzio, but not exactly high output. I would put a couple of those in a regular Silo without hesitation.

BTW - those tops suck.

Great suggestion. I was a big fan of Thornbuckers and put them in a few of my guitars not long ago. I grew tired of the neck pickup but kept a Thornbucker+ in the bridge of 2 of my guitars. I ended up switching those guitars to Dimarzio Air Classics recently (which I'm really happy with), but a Thornbucker+ could be the ticket for the Silo.

Yeah, the crazy flamed neck on the Silo sucks too

 

[DrKev]

Great suggestion. I was a big fan of Thornbuckers and put them in a few of my guitars not long ago. I grew tired of the neck pickup but kept a Thornbucker+ in the bridge of 2 of my guitars. I ended up switching those guitars to Dimarzio Air Classics recently (which I'm really happy with), but a Thornbucker+ could be the ticket for the Silo.

Yeah, the crazy flamed neck on the Silo sucks too

How do you think the Air Classics compare to the Virtual PAF?

 

[RSG]

How do you think the Air Classics compare to the Virtual PAF?

In general, I think the Air Classics are my favorite Dimarzio pickups because they are versatile and well balanced. In a typical vintage-inspired PAF (SD Seth Lover, Gibson Burstbucker 1/2, PRS 57/08, etc.) the bridge pickup emphasizes the mids + highs and the neck pickup emphasizes lows + mids. You get an imbalanced tone when switching from the bright bridge to the dark neck, but that middle position is pretty magical. To my ears, and with my gear, the Air Classic softens the highs and adds some low mids to the bridge pickup and adds highs and reduces lows (i.e. more clarity) to the neck pickup.

This is important when comparing them to the Virtual PAFs.

The Virtual PAFs seem to have some strange things going on in the mids. The bridge pickup is the real problem - you get some good lows and strong highs, but it has this wonky midrange that is sort of scooped but also has a spike in the middle. Like someone took the mids and EQ'd them like a W shape. Because my Fractal presets are EQ'd for my other guitars, when I play the Silo through them, the weird mids create some nasty tones in the bridge pickup (the cocked wah effect I mentioned). The neck pickup is ok - I think it's got a little too much output compared to the bridge, so I have to lower it a lot into the pickguard, which takes away some of it's dynamics. They split really well, though, and since the Silo is HSH that may be the biggest advantage of these pickups in this guitar.

This is my experience anyway, and I haven't yet tried Air Classics in the Silo because I don't have any extra sets sitting around. I have other guitars with Air Classics in them, so I have a general idea of what to expect... and that's why I wanted something louder/heavier for this Silo. You can't have a sparkly guitar and have it sound weak

 

[jlf599]

When I was looking for pickups for my Silo Special, BKP recommended either the Abraxas or the Rebel Yell.

I went with the Abraxas and have zero regrets though I like would have also liked the Rebel Yell and still plan to try it in a guitar. I went with Mother's Milk for the single coils. For the Rebel Yell, they suggested the Trinity singles as a match.

I also really want to try the BKP Silo humbuckers (Rabea Massaad’s sig pickups). Alas, I'll need another guitar for that.

 

[RSG]

When I was looking for pickups for my Silo Special, BKP recommended either the Abraxas or the Rebel Yell.

I went with the Abraxas and have zero regrets though I like would have also liked the Rebel Yell and still plan to try it in a guitar. I went with Mother's Milk for the single coils. For the Rebel Yell, they suggested the Trinity singles as a match.

I also really want to try the BKP Silo humbuckers (Rabea Massaad’s sig pickups). Alas, I'll need another guitar for that.

Another good suggestion. I have not tried the Abraxas but I have tried the Rebel Yell and it's a great pickup if you have a slightly darker guitar. I think Steve designed them to go in a Les Paul (and his Knaggs) so they have really punchy mids and highs. Maybe a little too piercing for an alder/maple guitar, but that's what an EQ is for. However, the Abraxas looks interesting since it's got A4 magnets and softer high-end response. Looks like a really good option.

 

[Ventanaman]

BKP Silos are great - thick but very articulate, and with a fair amount of gain (but less than the stock Axis DiMarzios). I have a set in an Axis and a St. V HH. Abraxas is just slightly hotter than a PAF - I have a set of those in an Axis SS and they sound great. YMMV.

 

[Rbg]

Crawler is a bit darker version of RYs with maybe a tad more output, but not really if you ask me. Talking bridge.

 

[Vito Porkleone]

I too think the Silos sound fabulous. The high gain stuff crushes, but Bea's low/mid-gain tones are some of my favorites ever.

 

[Rbg]

Only thing about them — they may be too dark in some guitars, same as RYs may be too bright.

 

[NorM]

I have enjoyed combinations of EMG 85, EMG 89 and an EMG single coil in my SiLOs. For me the dirty sound is everything I ever wanted and clean with chours and delay is beyond compare.(Delicious Volume Swells)
I have an HH Floyd SiLO and I cannot think of a reason to change the pickups. I just love the stock on that ax.