of course! I would recommend the jazz or the 59 but also have you tried any of the bare knuckle stuff or the fishmans? they might be better suited for what you're looking for! @@mfconstructor
This is great layout! Thanks for making us trust our ears, man! For me, the mid-forward sound of the Black Winter is what does it. All four sound great, but that makes the sound I want. Great sound comparison, man! Thanks for putting this up! Also, those are some TASTY riffs.
Wow, thanks Craig for your amazing feedback...happy you like the comparison and my riffs 🤘😊! And agree, the mids from the BW sets are extremely tasty 😋
It sounds so boxy here! It definitely requires an EQ in the amp or post. It can’t be pleasant as-is, it is too imbalanced. It sounds good otherwise, once the boxinness is reduced.
JB still works for me. As far as a ceramic magnet pickup goes, I’m really digging the Nazgul. But the JB is a classic for a reason. Versatility. Awesome video! Thanks for all the work you put into it.
Thanks allot for your comment and great feedback :). Fully agree with your view on the all time classic JB. It still works great in allot of scenarios. My personal fav is the Nazgul as it fits even better in a modern Metal production und overall sounds very homogenous.
Thanks so much James for your great feedback! The Nazgul with its very balanced frequency spectrum is my fav Duncan in most cases and the Omega is always a great choice if you are searching for the little extra brightness and if you want to cut through the mix/band sound. Great to have these choices 😊
Thanks allot for your feedback and happy you liked my video :). The Black Winter set has these tasty roar and pleasing mids which I like as well. Can be a bit too much sometimes but in the right guitar they can be a win :D
@@YungPariah if you're mostly into a growling mid-voiced sound the BW set could be the right choice for you. It`s a great combination together with a mahogany body but might be too much dependent on your amp or how the rest of your band sounds like.
Before knowing which was which, my impressions were: “definitely 1 and 4 are the winners for me”. “Maybe number 4 even a tad better than 1”. “2 too harsh”. “3 has a very strong high mids peak, it probably is the JB”. To my surprise, the JB was number 4! Actually not that much of a surprise: it’s always been a wonderful do-it-all pickup!
Thanks for your interesting comment Giulio! And fully agree, the JB is just the ultimate Swiss knife pickup which has proven over a long time that it just fits right in allot of styles. I also like the Nazgul allot which is also a very well-balanced pickup. The Omega especially makes sense if you want to cut through in a mix/band context and/or when you have a dark sounding guitar which screams for some additional highs and the BW when you search for that special mid growl.
Thanks so much Shea for your fantastic feedback, happy you liked my little comparison and it was of help for your decision on the BWs. Enjoy this amazing pickup sets 🤘
So how did that swap go ? I just bought a set of Black Winters which I'm planning on putting in an old ltd Viper 301 that I've never really been happy with pups for. It started with the EMG HZ. I swapped out the bridge for an 81, which was cool, but then eventually tried some BKP Boot Camp. Pretty sure it's a True Grit in the bridge, and a milder one in the neck, but never really like them. Too weak and that guitar wants a heavier pup. Planned to go back to EMG 81/60, but never got around to it. Discovered the BW tonight and found a set for a good price. How you like yours ?
Thanks for this!! I've been faced with the choice of installing these models in a custom build. I've used JB's in the past and loved them, but from what I'm hearing, I'm liking the BW's or Nazgul's better. they just have a certain mid sizzle that the JB's don't have, especially the BW's, where the Nazgul seems a bit more dry or controlled. For me I think the Nazgul would fit good for a Rhythm played guitar, definitely suited for d'jent or chugging or just riffing. Where as the Black Winters would probably be nice for a mean lead tone.......... Just what I'm hearing anyway.
Thanks for your great feedback Scott and you summarized it pretty well. See it very similar and my personal choice dependent on my needs would be exactly the same. I was still surprised how well the JB competes even in such a relatively modern Metal sound contest. As I'm doing mainly rhythm the Nazgul is my preferred choice but the BW has these nasty mids which are amazing for leads or for standard tuning.
Interesting! I own Nazgul pickups currently and love them, but was surprised at how just how underwhelming I found them in comparison to the Omega and Black Winter in the blind test. Might be changing pickups here in the near future. Great job!
Thanks nunchakupapi for your great feedback and that my comparison was of help :). I think I know where you coming from and why you prefer the BW and Omega, who have a bit more character over the Nazgul. I still like the Nazgul as it's a very well balanced choice.
So they are all great,. Which i think we all knew., but anyway,. With slight nuances I'd go with Black Winters. Can't go wrong with any of these. Great clarity and great job Author 👍
thanks allot Jonster for your great feedback and fully agree, they all sound amazing and have the typical Duncan voicing 😃with only some small differences.
Interesting comparison. Black winter are very different from the others. I got now a set of nazgul 7 strings second hand. I am looking forward to compare them to the pegasus set!
Thanks for your comment Alberto! Agree, the Black Winter set is pretty unique, especially in its mid voicing. I never had the chance to hear the Pegasus set but I very much like the Nazgul Set, let me know how you compare both when you received the Nazgul set :)
Great comparison and video, thanks for doing this. I was surprised by the Nazguls, I didn’t expect to like them so much. I loved them and the good old JB. The only difference I picked up especially in the mix is slightly more highs in the Nazgûl and slightly more mids in the JB.
Thanks allot for your great feedback Jimbo Slice! The Omega with it's present treble voicing is for sure the most mix-ready Duncan I have played and seeing how long the JB is selling well it's next to the EMG81 probably the ultimate classic metal pickup. I also like the other two allot in the end it really depends which guitar you have and which sound you are after :)
@@MassiveSoundProductions definitely agree! I came in expecting to like the black winter the most. Although I do like the BW and Nazgul I noticed they don't seem to bounce as much, maybe a little stiffer feeling compared to the Omega and JB. In a weird way the Omegas voicing with it's presence reminds me of an Invader with the low end cut out. Very distinct
@@JimboSlice44 Fully agree on what you say about the Omega. Their frequency spectrum seem to be designed to emulate a tube screamer pedal which also cuts the deep lows and boost the highs to make room for drums and bass :D. With three guitar players in the band Holcomb needs to find a way to still cut through ;)
That mid push, clarity, definition and brightness in the Omega definitely stood out in the mix, and makes me even more excited for the A/O set to arrive. And honestly, for my preferences, made the JB seem really lackluster, possibly the least favorable side by side comparison it’s ever been in.
What an excellent video. Just what I needed as I am shopping for passive pickups for my cheaper guitar right now to upgrade. Thank you bravo!! (I think the Jeff Becks sound best, followed by the Nazguls, then Black Winter, then Omega last)
I'm a current Nazgul owner, and it holds up so well in the low tunings. I actually was preferring the Omega in the blind test because of that extra snarl it seemed to have, but then the extra mid push from the Nazgul really made it stand out in the mix.
@@Algocalmin_ it's a lot like the JB I feel. It's good in every tuning but especially dropped. The lower notes and much better EQ'd through it than a lot of other pups.
Great comparison mate. Lowered my opinion of the black winters a lot and really opened my eyes to a sleeping giant in that nazgul. I had looked at the Omega but really got an unbiased look and can see how the high end articulation is a little prettier on the omegas ( not surprisingly) but that nazgul fucking shreds
Thanks for your great feedback and happy the comparison was useful for you 😊! I just installed another Nazgul in the bridge of one of my guitars and again extremely happy with the result. In the end it's of course a matter of taste and which sound you are after, e.g. if you want more transperency (Omega) or looking for more mids (BW), they are IMO all great in their way 😎🤘
Nazgul is epic!!! I have it in my Ibanez RG Prestige from 2002., I play mostly heavy, neoclassical and it just destroys everything (I don't use neck pickups or tone pots!). It delivers clean but massive riffs and solos are clear and round/full, also natural and pinch harmonics, they scream and you get them so easy out of your guitar with Nazgul! My fav. pickup ever, and funny thing, I discovered it by accident, haha! :D
@@kanazyr Thanks for your comment! I can completely underline what you said about the Nazgul which is exactly what I feel as well. It's just a fun pickup and a pleasure to play with 😃🤘
For high distortion omega is great but so does Nazgul. Black winter has the best note separation. I have a bridge one for my prs baritone. There is virtually no noise other than tone. It’s fantastic and almost sounds active when you want but passive when you need it for cleans.
Thanks Brett for you comment! I'm slightly jealous about your PRS Baritone 😉. From what I know the PRS guitars sounds acoustically I can imagine very well that it matches great with the Black Winter set. I like the agressive mids on them allot.
The Nazgul had the best distorted tones and the SH-4 had the best cleans imo. I'd go Nazgul myself because I play more often with distortion than not and the cleans are still pretty damn good, if not quite as nice as the SH-4.
Thanks for your great comment Magneto! That's exactly the reason I choose the Nazgul for my last two pickup-swaps. Mainly a distorted type of guitarist and the well-balanced but still modern sound of the Nazgul is exactly what I'm searching for 😃
@@MassiveSoundProductions we actually play black metal but usually don’t use that much gain believe or not. In my other guitar I have bare knuckle ragnarok which feels perfect. I don’t want it to become too sharp and toneless.
Great video man To me, nazgul is amazing, in the second place alpha Omega, third place JB and the last place black winter, 'cause the sound is very loud in the mid frequency. Greetings from Mexico
Thanks for your fantastic feedback Kilian! I just put another Nazgul in one of my guitars and again love it allot 😃. The BW indeed has quite allot of mid freq which you either like or hate. Many greetings back from Germany to Mexico
Hahah thank you for confirming that I’m not crazy. I have a sh-4 and I bought a nazgul to replace it but didn’t want buyers remorse. I came in this video thinking number 1 blew everything else away only to confirm it was the nazgul 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Thanks allot Taylor for your feedback and happy the video was helpful 😊! Even though I like all four pickups and think they all do a great job I slightly prefer the Nazgul with its modern, overall very balanced overall sound.
Great video! I assumed Black Winter and JB will be my favorite and they were, but initially I thought pickup #2 was the Black Winter (I did get JB correct though! haha).
Thanks for your great feedback Matchless 😊! This was definitely a tough one and if I wouldn’t know I’m not sure if I would get them all right. You can still hear in all of them the characteristic Duncan sound.
Great work - that's a perfect comparison. I used studio headphones and high resolution to listen to this clip. The JB sounded the best to my ears, followed by the Black Winter. The Omega was underwhelming and the Nazgul is a no. I never thought I would like the JB this much, and yet here we are.
Thanks allot Vadim for you great feedback and comment. Agree, the JB is a great pickup and deserves to be an alltime classic which still works fantastic in almost every situation :D
Well... came here to harden my impression of the Black Winter and now I'm pretty mutch torn between the Winter and the Nazgûl... Someone has some experience or recomandations for me? For a direct mount guitar (maybe convert to a framed Mount if it dousn't look like s**t) and mostly D and dropD tuning.
I believe you can’t go wrong with either the BW nor the Nazgûl. The question is if you want a little more mids (BW) or treble (Nazgûl). If you already feel the guitar sounds very present with allot of high end I would probably go for the BW. As you don’t play extremely down tuned the BW should still have enough high end to cut through. I like them both allot 🤘
@@MassiveSoundProductions Ah. Thanks for answering. That was really helping. Just noticed a Tipo... ~_~ I ment Drop C not Drop D, but I this your statement still stands on this one. I think I'll sleep on night over it and decide then. Thanks again. 🫡
@@falconsh92 You're very much welcome. And yes, with drop C my statement should be still valid. Especially if your guitar is already pretty transparent the BW is a great choice. Independently, both are fantastic pickups which I like allot
It’s funny, I prefer different pickups depending on the riff/style. 2 and 4 really stand out to me overall, but the cleans on 3 and clarity when driven on 1 are excellent. The PRS you’ve got Omega’s in is absolutely stunning by the way!
Thank you, well done comparison. I liked the Nazgul the most here, second maybe the JB (which stands for Jazz/Blues i think ;)) The Black Winter sounds different than the others
Thanks for your great feedback and comment! The Nazgul is my fav Duncan too but the JB is just a classic choice. The BW has these growling mids which sometimes work great but sometimes can imo be a bit too much dependent on the natural sound of the guitar.
I've been trying to decide which one i want to buy between Nazgul and Black Winter for weeks. I can't make up my mind. My favourites were #1 and #3 after listening to the hidden name part to finally see that those were nazgul and black winter haha
I like that you hid the names. I would have chose the Alpha and Omega before this video. But through this video I consistently like the Nazgul and the Black winters the most. This demo really helped me out. I really liked other pickup comparisons with the A&O but I think I really need to give the Nazgul and Black Winters a second thought.
Thanks for your feedback and happy my comparison helped. The A&O is still a great choice, especially if you have a darker sounding guitar it can help bringing clarity to it, on a balanced or bright sounding guitar my personal fav is the Nazgul which I would choose over the A&O.
Thanks for you're response! I'd like your input for this question. I have a baritone stratocaster. The neck is roasted maple and rosewood fretboard, the body is roasted swamp ash. What pickup in this video do you think would sit best with those woods? I'm really liking the Black Winters for it. I like that they have a lot of mids.
@@CC-8891 The Black Winters could be a great fit for your Strat. As a maple-swamp ash guitar normally has a balanced overall sound with quite some presents and, especially due to the swamp-ash body, not too many mids. If you liked the sound of the BW set in my video you shouldnt do anything wrong here.
@@MassiveSoundProductions what brand and model guitar do you have the Black Winters in? It's the most gorgeous guitar I've ever seen. It looks very much like a PRS but I know it's not.
@@CC-8891 It's a Mayones Regius Core which I can highly recommend! Comes very close to my perfect guitar :D. You should try one if you have the chance, they make fantastic guitars.
Thanks allot for your great feedback :)! Just got a new guitar last week which is equipped again with the Nazgul and sounds absolutely amazing. It's a great sounding pickup especially for all styles of modern metal :D
@@MassiveSoundProductions Im quite new to the game. I have an Ibanez 121dx in poppel, a very cheap guitar. I don't know if its bright or dark sounding though. What pickup would you recomend for black and death m? :) And thank you for the review. Subscribed.
@@daginn896 Thanks allot for your great feedback and even more for the Sub :)! It's not easy to exactly recommend without hearing your guitar in person. Your ibanez has a poplar body with a bold on maple neck, which should be a well resonating guitar. I would probably choose either the black winter or nazgul for the type of sound you are after. Keep me updated on how you decided :)
Thanks Tommy for your feedback and happy you like the comparison :)! That’s an interesting point you have on the JB and you are absolutely right that it doesn’t seem to cut through as well as some of the other pickups in this situation here.
I've had JB's in two different guitars now. The first was my old late 80's Charvel Model 2 (Installed around 1990), the second is an LTD MH-100 I have currently. Great on old school metal, solos, and cleans. I have the Nazgul in a Jackson that I use for chunky rhythms on one side, and I use a DiMarzio Crunch Lab for the other channel in an identical Jackson.
Thanks Michael for your comment and lovely axes you have with your Charvel/Jackson and LTD. Never tried the Crunch Lab but there will be a huge DiMarzio comparison coming in the near future as well with overall 6 or 7 DiMarzio pickups. My personal favorite btw. is the Titan
@@sgg74 For me there is no clear winner as it also depends on the guitar and from what tone you are after. E.g. the Omega has allot of highs and therefore I wouldnt recommend it into a bright sounding guitar as it just gets too much then. Currently I would choose the Nazgul most of the time as its frequency spectrum is very well balanced but still has this modern touch in his voicing
@@MassiveSoundProductions thank you. I was wondering between nazgul and black winter. Which one is the muddier? I have tried omega, but ended up with Ragnarok on one of my guitars. Looking to replace another guitar set now. :)
@@sgg74 In general I would say the BW is more muddy as it's is very much mid focused with less highs, actually slightly similar to the Ragnarok from what I know. Nazgul is more balanced with more highs.
Great comparison! I'm surprised by how well the JB held up considering a lot of people say it doesn't work for low tunings. Isolated, I like the Omega the best, and sits nicely in the mix, I think it would sound really good for a single guitarist band. The Nazgul cuts through the mix maybe a little bit too much for me, but would be complemented nicely by the JB. Black Winter is my favorite in the mix though, sounds brutal without getting too shrill like the Nazgul can get.
Thanks allot Zackery for your great feedback, happy you liked the comparison :)! Fully agree to what you said on the JB, it's an alltime classic and swiss knife which works in surprisingly many situations really well. Maybe not as modern sounding like the others but still great even for modern low tune metal :D
@@MassiveSoundProductions Mine too, ordered one, thanks(you basically sold it to me). I had, have the Fred from Dimarzio since 2001 and it is totally cool, especially for accents, articulation, but since i am on "a standard" it doesnt deliver anymore for death metal material, too muddy and i want more clear tripplet support, also for thefirst string at moderate distortion(amp cranked) levels and hope the Nazgul might help. But for everything else Alnico all the way, thats my m"modern" compromise, never active, kils chords, but ok, first time a ceramic..looking forward to check it out.
Just did a quick watch on my phone and boy initially they all sounded the same, but clean sound do differ them as do the full overdriven chords. And finally JB was that familiar sound in a mix. I am sure more nuances will be revealed when I give it a second go with headphones, but just wanted to share my first impression.
Thanks Thomas for your feedback, happy you like my little comparison 😊! The JB is a total classic which I still like allot. I believe it’s the pickup I have the most in my axes 😅. If you want a slightly more modern voiced alternative I would recommend the Nazgûl 🤘
Its interesting to see so many different opinions. I've listened through headphones (Beyer DT990), and to me personally Omega sounded the best, the fullest. Black winter and JB sounded almost identical, but i liked black winter just a tiny bit more, but overall i could barely tell the difference, and both sounded very mid scooped, which is very strange considering their EQ curves. And Nazgul sounded least impressive
Thanks for your interesting feedback Silverisss. It seems that there are very different opinions about which is the best sounding of these four pickups. I like them all and would be happy with each result both in a live as well as a recording situation. Btw. I use the Beyer DT990 very often for tracking guitars or even sometimes for mixing if I don't want to disturb my neighbours ;).
@@MassiveSoundProductions You're welcome. I listened to a lot more examples, and made the conclusion that i like Black Winters the most out of all the popular options, so will probably try those out at some point, just need to figure out what neck to pair it with, as the BW neck seems a bit too hot for me. And yeah, great choice! DT990's are the best headphones for audio, it was scietifically proven. By some dude on youtube. I switched from sony 7506 which i used for a few years, and after trying out the DT990's i realized i was destroying my ears, threw the sony's out and i couldnt be happier about this decision
I can't find black winter pups covered like that anywhere...do they still make them? The blackened ones are cool...but I'd rather have the covers...would look amazing and probably sound more like what I want....a little darker for a bright sounding guitar
Thanks allot for your comment Evan! Fully agree, on a brighter sounding guitar the BW set is a fantastic choice. Unfortunately the covered BW set doesnt seem to be available anywhere and might be only available on a custom request. My Mayones came stock with this set and I tried to find another one but wasnt successful as well :(
5:02 nazgul vs 5:23 black winter 5:44 nazgul vs 6:05 black winter 6:27 nazgul vs 6:49 black winter 6:35 nazgul vs 6:56 black winter I clearly hear in the second sample that nazgul is much more baritone than black winter. The latter has a slightly bigger low-end (more loud), but at the same slightly lacks in somewhere in mids where nazgul shines, adding more evil sound to it. Both are great and I cannot myself choose which one I prefer. I have just installed nazgul and will try black winter in a few days. But I already think I will want both of them, what a pity. Perhaps, we should have a combo of these two. Aside from the second sample, it is really hard to nitpick the difference.
exactly well spotted, for what i wanted, better tripplet, more crsip, the black winter (5:23) would be a tat (almost like a ceramic vs alnico difference) better but in 5:44 aso (wow to the chord attack) it shines. I picked the Nazgul because of my affinity for the name, the look and because it was 30 bugs cheaper on amazon. and still is likely to be crisper than my current dimarzio fred
The Nazgul absolutely blows my mind. Its like a JB but more tight and percussive. I have prs se custom 24, the 85/15s are great but the bridge is lacking. Its to paf style, to fluffy and loose. Bought myself a nazgul/sentient with discount for 236 euros. I think im going to be really happy with this upgrade.
Neck pickup version please! I like to do a lot of 'pretty' type ambient stuff as well as heavy, would love to know how the neck matches of these stack up and which bridge pickup has the most/least versatility. I get the impression the Nazgul is designed to push maximum distortion out of everything.
Thanks for your comment ReddenDoom. The Nazgul has the extra modern aggressiveness in its voicing which I like allot but surely highly depends on what you are searching for. I already have plans for some more of these pickups comparison videos this year, e.g. Bareknuckle and eventually also for one about neck pickups :)
I really don't think there is enough difference, but I can detect a little mid boost in the Black Winter Pups. I have Black Winter Pups on my hand built PRS. NAsTy!
Thanks Timm for your comment and agree, you can definitely hear the typical Duncan sound on all of them. The BW has these special growling mids which I like allot on guitars which aren't tuned down that much.
The Nazgûl sounds really great but the Black Winter had the most body of all of the choices. In the cleans as well as in the distortion. My money is on the BW. 🔥🤘🔥
Looking for a set of Seymour Duncan pickups for Doom, Stoner, and Sludge Metal dropped tuned to B standard and drop A. Need a set that will play well with medium to high gain fuzz pedals. I have the JB SH-4 in my Japanese Fender Strat and I'm glad to know its getting love on several YT videos in comparison to these other SD pickups made for Metal. I would love to see videos using different SD pick ups using a fuzz pedal playing some Stoner Doom. I think the Nazgul sounded best for that, better than the highly popular middie Black Winter. Even the Omega pickups may sound good.
Hi Carl, thanks allot for your comment. The SH-4 which you have in your Strat already is a great sounding pickup. So my question would be, what exactly are you currently missing in your sound? From what you write and describe my feeling is that the Nazgul might be a great fit for your Strat and what you are doing but if you want some more highs the Omega could be a great choice as well!?
@@MassiveSoundProductions, currently I have a set of EMG 81/60X's in my PRS Custom 24. When I installed it, I was playing a lot of Thrash and Death Metal ( thats what I use for my Japanese Fender Strat now). I had the PRS set up for drop tuned and using thicker strings. I was thinking since I have the "X" series EMG's installed on the PRS, it would be fine. The EMG's do well with the distortion and a couple of fuzz pedals I have, but has trouble with Big Muff Pi and Fuzz Face type boutique pedals I use, it sounds way too trebly and over powering no matter what I try to do to calm it down, especially when using my Cabzeus cab simulator. I want something not too bassy, kinda middie and treble, but not high output treble like the active EMG's are. Most dirt pedals when playing doom have the highs turned down, especially with the BMP op amp type. This is my dilemma.
@@CTripodi1965 As much as I like the EMGs and some other active pickups in certain situation I'm not huge fan of them in some mid-gain situations and when I need more dynamics in sound. Overall I'm generally more into a good passive pickup and choose them 99% over active ones. The Nazgul is a very well balanced, modern sounding pickup in my opinion and the frequency spectrum just feels right without any frequencies particular missing or maybe too much.
Question, for the SH-4, would I get 2 identical SH-4's for bridge and neck, or do you recommend something different? I see they sell SH-4's and SH-2's in a pack.
Thanks for your question :)! I don't want to name it in the comments to keep it interesting and people can still guess which one is which but please check out the video again, at the last chapter all names are revealed.
Playing them on different guitar is hard to differentiate what each pickup actually sounds like. Pickup comparisons aren’t relatable. But they all sound really good 👍🏼
Thanks for your comment Matthew! In principle you are right, but these guitars acoustically sound as close as they potentially can, as they not only are constructed using very similar materials/woods (construction is maple dominated with an ebony fretboard, especially the three Regius are more or less the same) but when I bought them I (of course) selected them to my liking which reduces the difference in sound as well. If you would ask me I would say 90% of the sound difference in the video comes from the pickups and only 10% from the different guitars. You can still hear the characteristics of the different pickups very very well :)
Aloha! Thanks for this demo set, as I don't do much down tuning and prefer the classic 80s metal, prog metal and classical metal (think Tina S and Moonlight Sonata). I prefer the Invaders, Black Winters and the JB or A8 and 59 or Jazz (exact pairing depends on the tonal characteristics of the guitar the pups are installed on). The JB is the most used bridge HB in my guitar herd. They all have great versatility across many genres, both under distortion and clean.
Thanks for your comment Lanaka! The JB is also the most used pickup in my guitars and for me still the ultimative swiss knife which delivers in so so many different guitar music styles 😃. Btw. bought my first pair of Invaders recently and hope to install them in the not too far future to test them 😊
@@MassiveSoundProductions Sweet looking foward to seeing what ye think of the Invaders! Won't say anything now that'd influence yer initial impressions.
@@TheGhostGuitars I'll keep you updated and let you know as soon as I found the right guitar for the Invader look (I have the Synyster gates version). Maybe I will do another comparison video with four different Duncans somewhen in the future too 😊
Where did you get covered black winters? I was gonna buy the MG 5766 because I like the look of them but I already on black winters and listening to comparisons the EMGs aren’t nearly as good sounding so would be a lot of work to have pick ups that doesn’t sound as good. Anyway is that the old black nickel covers that they used to make and you just put them on there?
Thanks for your comment Dustin. If I had to decide between EMGs and the Black Winter the choice would be easy as I’m generally more on the passive pickup side and the BW set is just nailing it. The BW set with the black cover came stock in this Mayones, unfortunately couldn’t find them elsewhere like this as well.
winter imho is the best, 2nd - sh4 nazgul seems to be good, but on the 3rd reef it is completely illegible. Omega doesn't have a way to put it... punch or something, something is missing in general in any case, great content
Thanks for your comment Justin and absolutely agree, I like all of them quite allot as well. My personal favorite is the Nazgul but it highly depends in which guitar and which situation (e.g. tuning) you are.
Thanks for your comment :)! There are definitely good reasons why the JB even after so many years on the market is still one of the most sold pickups out there.
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Crazy how after all this time the JB is still so balanced
Thanks for your comment Anthony and fully agree! I still love the JB as it manages to nail so many different styles.
The best!! They are still the best balance of bright mids bite and cut. Theyre a fantastic thing to have
Would you recomend a JB for bridge? And paired with what other on neck? To get a good metal creak tone
of course! I would recommend the jazz or the 59 but also have you tried any of the bare knuckle stuff or the fishmans? they might be better suited for what you're looking for! @@mfconstructor
Jb4 is the winner! It would be sooo nice if we could know the height/wiring style capacitor and values for pots/setting of pole pieces. Thanks
This is great layout! Thanks for making us trust our ears, man! For me, the mid-forward sound of the Black Winter is what does it. All four sound great, but that makes the sound I want. Great sound comparison, man! Thanks for putting this up! Also, those are some TASTY riffs.
Wow, thanks Craig for your amazing feedback...happy you like the comparison and my riffs 🤘😊! And agree, the mids from the BW sets are extremely tasty 😋
It sounds so boxy here! It definitely requires an EQ in the amp or post. It can’t be pleasant as-is, it is too imbalanced. It sounds good otherwise, once the boxinness is reduced.
Nazgul and black winter! Thanks for the comparison
Thanks Nadir for your fantastic feedback and happy it was interesting and of help to you :)!
Great vid! I'm really surprised I'm not seeing more love for the Omega in the comments. I really leaned towards it for distorted tones.
JB still works for me. As far as a ceramic magnet pickup goes, I’m really digging the Nazgul. But the JB is a classic for a reason. Versatility. Awesome video! Thanks for all the work you put into it.
Thanks allot for your comment and great feedback :). Fully agree with your view on the all time classic JB. It still works great in allot of scenarios. My personal fav is the Nazgul as it fits even better in a modern Metal production und overall sounds very homogenous.
The Jb's are still the standard imo. Can't go wrong with them.
Great comparison! The Nazgul sounds fantastic here, and am very surprised with the Omega. Great job 👍🏻
Thanks so much James for your great feedback! The Nazgul with its very balanced frequency spectrum is my fav Duncan in most cases and the Omega is always a great choice if you are searching for the little extra brightness and if you want to cut through the mix/band sound. Great to have these choices 😊
but on the 3rd reef it is completely illegible
Man! I liked the Black Winter way more than the rest on all the examples I´m kinda surprised. BTW great vid thx for sharing .
Thanks allot for your feedback and happy you liked my video :). The Black Winter set has these tasty roar and pleasing mids which I like as well. Can be a bit too much sometimes but in the right guitar they can be a win :D
@@MassiveSoundProductions how would they work in an all mahogany body 6 string neck thru guitar
@@YungPariah if you're mostly into a growling mid-voiced sound the BW set could be the right choice for you. It`s a great combination together with a mahogany body but might be too much dependent on your amp or how the rest of your band sounds like.
@@MassiveSoundProductions ahhhh thats perfect for me then
Thank you so much! Picking up some Black Winters now!
Thanks allot for watching and happy it was of help to you deciding the right one :D! The BW set is definitely the king of mids
Wow! This is the best comparison on the internet! Excellent job! Subscribed! That Omega that cuts through the mix but... Nazgul wins it for me.
Wow, thanks so much for your insane feedback 🤘. Omega indeed is a cut-through-monster and Nazgul my fav too.
Nice comparison. I like the loud mids of the black winter.
Before knowing which was which, my impressions were: “definitely 1 and 4 are the winners for me”. “Maybe number 4 even a tad better than 1”. “2 too harsh”. “3 has a very strong high mids peak, it probably is the JB”. To my surprise, the JB was number 4! Actually not that much of a surprise: it’s always been a wonderful do-it-all pickup!
Thanks for your interesting comment Giulio! And fully agree, the JB is just the ultimate Swiss knife pickup which has proven over a long time that it just fits right in allot of styles. I also like the Nazgul allot which is also a very well-balanced pickup. The Omega especially makes sense if you want to cut through in a mix/band context and/or when you have a dark sounding guitar which screams for some additional highs and the BW when you search for that special mid growl.
Thank you for going the extra mile with this comparison. Subbed. And this video just reassured what I already thought;
Thanks so much Shea for your fantastic feedback, happy you liked my little comparison and it was of help for your decision on the BWs. Enjoy this amazing pickup sets 🤘
So how did that swap go ? I just bought a set of Black Winters which I'm planning on putting in an old ltd Viper 301 that I've never really been happy with pups for. It started with the EMG HZ. I swapped out the bridge for an 81, which was cool, but then eventually tried some BKP Boot Camp. Pretty sure it's a True Grit in the bridge, and a milder one in the neck, but never really like them. Too weak and that guitar wants a heavier pup. Planned to go back to EMG 81/60, but never got around to it. Discovered the BW tonight and found a set for a good price. How you like yours ?
That JB just stands out. The Black Winter is second for sure. Those two together in one guitar will be awesome!!
Still one the best comparisons of SD pickups
Thanks for this!! I've been faced with the choice of installing these models in a custom build. I've used JB's in the past and loved them, but from what I'm hearing, I'm liking the BW's or Nazgul's better. they just have a certain mid sizzle that the JB's don't have, especially the BW's, where the Nazgul seems a bit more dry or controlled. For me I think the Nazgul would fit good for a Rhythm played guitar, definitely suited for d'jent or chugging or just riffing. Where as the Black Winters would probably be nice for a mean lead tone.......... Just what I'm hearing anyway.
Thanks for your great feedback Scott and you summarized it pretty well. See it very similar and my personal choice dependent on my needs would be exactly the same. I was still surprised how well the JB competes even in such a relatively modern Metal sound contest. As I'm doing mainly rhythm the Nazgul is my preferred choice but the BW has these nasty mids which are amazing for leads or for standard tuning.
Thank you just bought a set of JB based on your review. Installing into the bridge position of my Sire S7 FM Blue to add more mid-range.
Happy to hear my video helped. Let me know how you like the JBs in your axe 🤘
Excellent comparison! I appreciate the effort put into this, great job man and thank you!
Thanks so much for your great feedback Danny, happy you like the little comparison video 😊
Interesting! I own Nazgul pickups currently and love them, but was surprised at how just how underwhelming I found them in comparison to the Omega and Black Winter in the blind test. Might be changing pickups here in the near future. Great job!
Thanks nunchakupapi for your great feedback and that my comparison was of help :). I think I know where you coming from and why you prefer the BW and Omega, who have a bit more character over the Nazgul. I still like the Nazgul as it's a very well balanced choice.
Same. I went black winters and they’re awesome. Also have a JB/59 and like them in person on my amp and tone.
So they are all great,. Which i think we all knew., but anyway,.
With slight nuances I'd go with Black Winters.
Can't go wrong with any of these.
Great clarity and great job Author 👍
thanks allot Jonster for your great feedback and fully agree, they all sound amazing and have the typical Duncan voicing 😃with only some small differences.
Interesting comparison. Black winter are very different from the others.
I got now a set of nazgul 7 strings second hand. I am looking forward to compare them to the pegasus set!
Thanks for your comment Alberto! Agree, the Black Winter set is pretty unique, especially in its mid voicing. I never had the chance to hear the Pegasus set but I very much like the Nazgul Set, let me know how you compare both when you received the Nazgul set :)
@@MassiveSoundProductions Surely will!
Great comparison and video, thanks for doing this. I was surprised by the Nazguls, I didn’t expect to like them so much. I loved them and the good old JB. The only difference I picked up especially in the mix is slightly more highs in the Nazgûl and slightly more mids in the JB.
I'm really digging the Omega and JB, great cleans and a punchy almost round high gain. Great comparison!
Thanks allot for your great feedback Jimbo Slice! The Omega with it's present treble voicing is for sure the most mix-ready Duncan I have played and seeing how long the JB is selling well it's next to the EMG81 probably the ultimate classic metal pickup. I also like the other two allot in the end it really depends which guitar you have and which sound you are after :)
@@MassiveSoundProductions definitely agree! I came in expecting to like the black winter the most. Although I do like the BW and Nazgul I noticed they don't seem to bounce as much, maybe a little stiffer feeling compared to the Omega and JB. In a weird way the Omegas voicing with it's presence reminds me of an Invader with the low end cut out. Very distinct
@@JimboSlice44 Fully agree on what you say about the Omega. Their frequency spectrum seem to be designed to emulate a tube screamer pedal which also cuts the deep lows and boost the highs to make room for drums and bass :D. With three guitar players in the band Holcomb needs to find a way to still cut through ;)
Love the omegas but looking for a fuller sounding pickup and I think the black winter is my way to go !
Great work, Thanks !
That mid push, clarity, definition and brightness in the Omega definitely stood out in the mix, and makes me even more excited for the A/O set to arrive. And honestly, for my preferences, made the JB seem really lackluster, possibly the least favorable side by side comparison it’s ever been in.
Thanks for your comment JP Massaro and many congrats to your A/O set...it's a killer pickup set for all modern metal sounds 🤘
The Seymour Duncan sounded the best 😂
Would agree 😂
all sound similar and great! probably gonna get either of the 4 🎉
Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of these 😎
Amazing!
I love my JB pickups😅
What an excellent video. Just what I needed as I am shopping for passive pickups for my cheaper guitar right now to upgrade. Thank you bravo!! (I think the Jeff Becks sound best, followed by the Nazguls, then Black Winter, then Omega last)
I'm a current Nazgul owner, and it holds up so well in the low tunings. I actually was preferring the Omega in the blind test because of that extra snarl it seemed to have, but then the extra mid push from the Nazgul really made it stand out in the mix.
Thanks allot for your feedback GetMe OuttaHere, that's exactly what I feel as well. Love the Nazgul for its well-balanced modern sound 😎
Yeah I have the 7 string version with a sentient in the neck. Sounds MASSIVE, its clarity and palm mutes are heaven.
Is the Nazgul good in standard too?
@@Algocalmin_ it's a lot like the JB I feel. It's good in every tuning but especially dropped. The lower notes and much better EQ'd through it than a lot of other pups.
@@ItsSauIGoodman Thanks!
Great comparison mate. Lowered my opinion of the black winters a lot and really opened my eyes to a sleeping giant in that nazgul. I had looked at the Omega but really got an unbiased look and can see how the high end articulation is a little prettier on the omegas ( not surprisingly) but that nazgul fucking shreds
Thanks for your great feedback and happy the comparison was useful for you 😊! I just installed another Nazgul in the bridge of one of my guitars and again extremely happy with the result. In the end it's of course a matter of taste and which sound you are after, e.g. if you want more transperency (Omega) or looking for more mids (BW), they are IMO all great in their way 😎🤘
Nazgul is epic!!! I have it in my Ibanez RG Prestige from 2002., I play mostly heavy, neoclassical and it just destroys everything (I don't use neck pickups or tone pots!). It delivers clean but massive riffs and solos are clear and round/full, also natural and pinch harmonics, they scream and you get them so easy out of your guitar with Nazgul! My fav. pickup ever, and funny thing, I discovered it by accident, haha! :D
@@kanazyr Thanks for your comment! I can completely underline what you said about the Nazgul which is exactly what I feel as well. It's just a fun pickup and a pleasure to play with 😃🤘
For high distortion omega is great but so does Nazgul. Black winter has the best note separation. I have a bridge one for my prs baritone. There is virtually no noise other than tone. It’s fantastic and almost sounds active when you want but passive when you need it for cleans.
Thanks Brett for you comment! I'm slightly jealous about your PRS Baritone 😉. From what I know the PRS guitars sounds acoustically I can imagine very well that it matches great with the Black Winter set. I like the agressive mids on them allot.
The Nazgul had the best distorted tones and the SH-4 had the best cleans imo. I'd go Nazgul myself because I play more often with distortion than not and the cleans are still pretty damn good, if not quite as nice as the SH-4.
Thanks for your great comment Magneto! That's exactly the reason I choose the Nazgul for my last two pickup-swaps. Mainly a distorted type of guitarist and the well-balanced but still modern sound of the Nazgul is exactly what I'm searching for 😃
How are the black winters in like D-standard? Maybe too high gain.
Depends on what tone you are after. They have little more output then the others but this is something you could compensate on the amp setting.
@@MassiveSoundProductions we actually play black metal but usually don’t use that much gain believe or not. In my other guitar I have bare knuckle ragnarok which feels perfect.
I don’t want it to become too sharp and toneless.
You really made that Nazgul shine!
Thanks M LG for your great feedback, happy you like the sound of the Nazgul in my video :)! I generally really like the pickup.
Great video man
To me, nazgul is amazing, in the second place alpha Omega, third place JB and the last place black winter, 'cause the sound is very loud in the mid frequency.
Greetings from Mexico
Thanks for your fantastic feedback Kilian! I just put another Nazgul in one of my guitars and again love it allot 😃. The BW indeed has quite allot of mid freq which you either like or hate. Many greetings back from Germany to Mexico
Hahah thank you for confirming that I’m not crazy. I have a sh-4 and I bought a nazgul to replace it but didn’t want buyers remorse. I came in this video thinking number 1 blew everything else away only to confirm it was the nazgul 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Thanks allot Taylor for your feedback and happy the video was helpful 😊! Even though I like all four pickups and think they all do a great job I slightly prefer the Nazgul with its modern, overall very balanced overall sound.
Wasn't #1 the omega?
@@georgeforeman89 #1 is the Nazgul, #2 Omega ... from around 3:15 you can see the pickup names :)
This is an excellent comparison man. Thanks
Wow, thanks Josh for your fantastic feedback, happy you like it 😊🤘
Great video! I assumed Black Winter and JB will be my favorite and they were, but initially I thought pickup #2 was the Black Winter (I did get JB correct though! haha).
Thanks for your great feedback Matchless 😊! This was definitely a tough one and if I wouldn’t know I’m not sure if I would get them all right. You can still hear in all of them the characteristic Duncan sound.
Omega and black winter sounded the best all around to me
Thanks for your comment Jason. You definitely like the two pickups with the most prominent character :D
Loving the accented low mid of the Omega
The clean tones all sounded great with your set up, but thanks for not spending too much time with the cleans, we all know what we came here for.
Thanks allot for your great feedback Christopher 😊! I’m mainly a distorted Rhythm guy so naturally you won’t find too much clean sounds here 😜
Great work - that's a perfect comparison. I used studio headphones and high resolution to listen to this clip. The JB sounded the best to my ears, followed by the Black Winter. The Omega was underwhelming and the Nazgul is a no. I never thought I would like the JB this much, and yet here we are.
Thanks allot Vadim for you great feedback and comment. Agree, the JB is a great pickup and deserves to be an alltime classic which still works fantastic in almost every situation :D
Well... came here to harden my impression of the Black Winter and now I'm pretty mutch torn between the Winter and the Nazgûl...
Someone has some experience or recomandations for me? For a direct mount guitar (maybe convert to a framed Mount if it dousn't look like s**t) and mostly D and dropD tuning.
I believe you can’t go wrong with either the BW nor the Nazgûl. The question is if you want a little more mids (BW) or treble (Nazgûl). If you already feel the guitar sounds very present with allot of high end I would probably go for the BW. As you don’t play extremely down tuned the BW should still have enough high end to cut through. I like them both allot 🤘
@@MassiveSoundProductions
Ah. Thanks for answering.
That was really helping.
Just noticed a Tipo... ~_~ I ment Drop C not Drop D, but I this your statement still stands on this one.
I think I'll sleep on night over it and decide then.
Thanks again. 🫡
@@falconsh92 You're very much welcome. And yes, with drop C my statement should be still valid. Especially if your guitar is already pretty transparent the BW is a great choice. Independently, both are fantastic pickups which I like allot
It’s funny, I prefer different pickups depending on the riff/style. 2 and 4 really stand out to me overall, but the cleans on 3 and clarity when driven on 1 are excellent.
The PRS you’ve got Omega’s in is absolutely stunning by the way!
Thank you, well done comparison. I liked the Nazgul the most here, second maybe the JB (which stands for Jazz/Blues i think ;)) The Black Winter sounds different than the others
Thanks for your great feedback and comment! The Nazgul is my fav Duncan too but the JB is just a classic choice. The BW has these growling mids which sometimes work great but sometimes can imo be a bit too much dependent on the natural sound of the guitar.
Great new intro!
btw, black winter would be my choiche :)
Thanks Niko 😊. Thought I would need a short one for these type of videos 😉
The Black Winter has very unique mids which I enjoy as well. My fav is still the Nazgul which is a great, well balanced choice for modern Metal 🤘😎
Great pickup comparison video - thank you
Thanks for your fantastic feedback 🤘
Black Winter and Nazgul are pretty amazing
I just bought a set of Black Winter for 20 bucks on reverb What a deal LOL. They have the Nazgul set for same price at this time Just FYI.
Oh man, this was an amazing deal 😱
I've been trying to decide which one i want to buy between Nazgul and Black Winter for weeks. I can't make up my mind. My favourites were #1 and #3 after listening to the hidden name part to finally see that those were nazgul and black winter haha
Thanks for your comment Simon, you can't go wrong with any of these two imo...it's great to have such fantastic sounding options 😃
I like that you hid the names. I would have chose the Alpha and Omega before this video. But through this video I consistently like the Nazgul and the Black winters the most. This demo really helped me out. I really liked other pickup comparisons with the A&O but I think I really need to give the Nazgul and Black Winters a second thought.
Thanks for your feedback and happy my comparison helped. The A&O is still a great choice, especially if you have a darker sounding guitar it can help bringing clarity to it, on a balanced or bright sounding guitar my personal fav is the Nazgul which I would choose over the A&O.
Thanks for you're response! I'd like your input for this question. I have a baritone stratocaster. The neck is roasted maple and rosewood fretboard, the body is roasted swamp ash. What pickup in this video do you think would sit best with those woods? I'm really liking the Black Winters for it. I like that they have a lot of mids.
@@CC-8891 The Black Winters could be a great fit for your Strat. As a maple-swamp ash guitar normally has a balanced overall sound with quite some presents and, especially due to the swamp-ash body, not too many mids. If you liked the sound of the BW set in my video you shouldnt do anything wrong here.
@@MassiveSoundProductions what brand and model guitar do you have the Black Winters in? It's the most gorgeous guitar I've ever seen. It looks very much like a PRS but I know it's not.
@@CC-8891 It's a Mayones Regius Core which I can highly recommend! Comes very close to my perfect guitar :D. You should try one if you have the chance, they make fantastic guitars.
the mayones is ash body with maple neck or ash swamp ash body with maple neck?
Hi Julian, Mayones mostly comes with swamp ash body and, in case of the Regius, 11-layer Maple - Mahogany - Amazakoe - Wenge neck
Very good comparison, I am quite surprised with the Nazgûl, clearly it’s the winner here in my opinion
Thanks allot for your great feedback :)! Just got a new guitar last week which is equipped again with the Nazgul and sounds absolutely amazing. It's a great sounding pickup especially for all styles of modern metal :D
@@MassiveSoundProductions it is indeed buddy, I have it in my mayones duvell and it’s very aggressive, what amp have you used for the comparison?
@@MassiveSoundProductions Im quite new to the game. I have an Ibanez 121dx in poppel, a very cheap guitar. I don't know if its bright or dark sounding though. What pickup would you recomend for black and death m? :) And thank you for the review. Subscribed.
@@borhksalduero9259 I believe I used the Archetype Gojira and Fortin NTS from Neural DSP here, which are my personal fav amp sims
@@daginn896 Thanks allot for your great feedback and even more for the Sub :)! It's not easy to exactly recommend without hearing your guitar in person. Your ibanez has a poplar body with a bold on maple neck, which should be a well resonating guitar. I would probably choose either the black winter or nazgul for the type of sound you are after. Keep me updated on how you decided :)
Nice comparison. The thing I notice the most is when doing the big distorted chords, the JB kind of disappeared.
Thanks Tommy for your feedback and happy you like the comparison :)! That’s an interesting point you have on the JB and you are absolutely right that it doesn’t seem to cut through as well as some of the other pickups in this situation here.
I've had JB's in two different guitars now. The first was my old late 80's Charvel Model 2 (Installed around 1990), the second is an LTD MH-100 I have currently. Great on old school metal, solos, and cleans. I have the Nazgul in a Jackson that I use for chunky rhythms on one side, and I use a DiMarzio Crunch Lab for the other channel in an identical Jackson.
Thanks Michael for your comment and lovely axes you have with your Charvel/Jackson and LTD. Never tried the Crunch Lab but there will be a huge DiMarzio comparison coming in the near future as well with overall 6 or 7 DiMarzio pickups. My personal favorite btw. is the Titan
My favorite was the Omega. Warm but separated in the clean, and still could hear note separation when chugging and in the mix. Awesome video!!
Thanks allot HogVlog for your great feedback, happy you like my little pickup comparison vid :)!
Great job! Love the Nazgûl and the Black Winter 🖤
Thanks for your great feedback, happy you like my comparison :D
Great comparison!!! Subscribed. I would love to see comparison between Schecter Appocalypse and San Andreas, and the Nazgul and Black winter from SD.
Thanks allot Stefan for your insane feedback and for subscribing 😊! There will be surely two or three more pickup comparison coming this year 😃
@@MassiveSoundProductions can't wait to watch them. Btw, which one is your favorite and why?
@@sgg74 For me there is no clear winner as it also depends on the guitar and from what tone you are after. E.g. the Omega has allot of highs and therefore I wouldnt recommend it into a bright sounding guitar as it just gets too much then. Currently I would choose the Nazgul most of the time as its frequency spectrum is very well balanced but still has this modern touch in his voicing
@@MassiveSoundProductions thank you. I was wondering between nazgul and black winter. Which one is the muddier? I have tried omega, but ended up with Ragnarok on one of my guitars. Looking to replace another guitar set now. :)
@@sgg74 In general I would say the BW is more muddy as it's is very much mid focused with less highs, actually slightly similar to the Ragnarok from what I know. Nazgul is more balanced with more highs.
I think they all sounded great. But Nazgul black Winter and even the JB kicked ass.
Nazgul is my go-to pickup for all modern sound but the Duncans are generally all a great choice
clean channel sounded pretty impressive on this guitar. Full/clean/balanced
Thanks Disciple for your feedback, happy you like the clean sound :)
Great comparison! I'm surprised by how well the JB held up considering a lot of people say it doesn't work for low tunings. Isolated, I like the Omega the best, and sits nicely in the mix, I think it would sound really good for a single guitarist band. The Nazgul cuts through the mix maybe a little bit too much for me, but would be complemented nicely by the JB. Black Winter is my favorite in the mix though, sounds brutal without getting too shrill like the Nazgul can get.
Thanks allot Zackery for your great feedback, happy you liked the comparison :)! Fully agree to what you said on the JB, it's an alltime classic and swiss knife which works in surprisingly many situations really well. Maybe not as modern sounding like the others but still great even for modern low tune metal :D
Black winter for me overall. But for dirty chords Nazgul was pure poison that I like )
The Black Winter has these nasty mids which I like as well. Overall the Nazgul is my personal favorite :)
@@MassiveSoundProductions Mine too, ordered one, thanks(you basically sold it to me). I had, have the Fred from Dimarzio since 2001 and it is totally cool, especially for accents, articulation, but since i am on "a standard" it doesnt deliver anymore for death metal material, too muddy and i want more clear tripplet support, also for thefirst string at moderate distortion(amp cranked) levels and hope the Nazgul might help. But for everything else Alnico all the way, thats my m"modern" compromise, never active, kils chords, but ok, first time a ceramic..looking forward to check it out.
That riff is sick!
Dang you are seriously underrated
Thanks so much for your kind words Cameron, this means a lot to me :)
Very informative video thank you, earned my sub!
Thanks so much Luis for your fantastic feedback and for your sub 😊🤘!
Just did a quick watch on my phone and boy initially they all sounded the same, but clean sound do differ them as do the full overdriven chords. And finally JB was that familiar sound in a mix.
I am sure more nuances will be revealed when I give it a second go with headphones, but just wanted to share my first impression.
very nice impression video
Thanks allot for your great feedback Bjørn!
my favorites are actually played in order hehe... Nazgul, Omega, Black Winter, JB. considering a Nazgul and possibly a Omega now hehe
Great playing!
Thanks so much Expatriate-Life for you insane feedback...happy you like it 😊!
It is such a pity the distortion pickup isn’t here.
Awesome demo! They all sound great, but I think the jb just slightly wins me over
Thanks Thomas for your feedback, happy you like my little comparison 😊! The JB is a total classic which I still like allot. I believe it’s the pickup I have the most in my axes 😅. If you want a slightly more modern voiced alternative I would recommend the Nazgûl 🤘
Its interesting to see so many different opinions. I've listened through headphones (Beyer DT990), and to me personally Omega sounded the best, the fullest. Black winter and JB sounded almost identical, but i liked black winter just a tiny bit more, but overall i could barely tell the difference, and both sounded very mid scooped, which is very strange considering their EQ curves. And Nazgul sounded least impressive
Thanks for your interesting feedback Silverisss. It seems that there are very different opinions about which is the best sounding of these four pickups. I like them all and would be happy with each result both in a live as well as a recording situation. Btw. I use the Beyer DT990 very often for tracking guitars or even sometimes for mixing if I don't want to disturb my neighbours ;).
@@MassiveSoundProductions You're welcome. I listened to a lot more examples, and made the conclusion that i like Black Winters the most out of all the popular options, so will probably try those out at some point, just need to figure out what neck to pair it with, as the BW neck seems a bit too hot for me. And yeah, great choice! DT990's are the best headphones for audio, it was scietifically proven. By some dude on youtube. I switched from sony 7506 which i used for a few years, and after trying out the DT990's i realized i was destroying my ears, threw the sony's out and i couldnt be happier about this decision
@@temorinkaari Keep me updated with your final pickup pair choice and how you like it in your guitar.
I can't find black winter pups covered like that anywhere...do they still make them? The blackened ones are cool...but I'd rather have the covers...would look amazing and probably sound more like what I want....a little darker for a bright sounding guitar
Thanks allot for your comment Evan! Fully agree, on a brighter sounding guitar the BW set is a fantastic choice. Unfortunately the covered BW set doesnt seem to be available anywhere and might be only available on a custom request. My Mayones came stock with this set and I tried to find another one but wasnt successful as well :(
Would the black winters work well for drop F tuning ?
I had 3 and 4 right, but couldnt tell 1 and 2
5:02 nazgul vs 5:23 black winter
5:44 nazgul vs 6:05 black winter
6:27 nazgul vs 6:49 black winter
6:35 nazgul vs 6:56 black winter
I clearly hear in the second sample that nazgul is much more baritone than black winter. The latter has a slightly bigger low-end (more loud), but at the same slightly lacks in somewhere in mids where nazgul shines, adding more evil sound to it. Both are great and I cannot myself choose which one I prefer. I have just installed nazgul and will try black winter in a few days. But I already think I will want both of them, what a pity. Perhaps, we should have a combo of these two.
Aside from the second sample, it is really hard to nitpick the difference.
exactly well spotted, for what i wanted, better tripplet, more crsip, the black winter (5:23) would be a tat (almost like a ceramic vs alnico difference) better but in 5:44 aso (wow to the chord attack) it shines. I picked the Nazgul because of my affinity for the name, the look and because it was 30 bugs cheaper on amazon. and still is likely to be crisper than my current dimarzio fred
@@KingCrimson82 I ordered a custom pickup which is the combination of both. Should arrive by the new year! :-)
The Nazgul absolutely blows my mind. Its like a JB but more tight and percussive. I have prs se custom 24, the 85/15s are great but the bridge is lacking. Its to paf style, to fluffy and loose. Bought myself a nazgul/sentient with discount for 236 euros. I think im going to be really happy with this upgrade.
I'll be mounting Blackened Black Winters on my Schecter Omen Elite 6. Stock Heretic pickups are not bad, but not good!
Congrats on the Black Winters, it's a fantastic pickup set and these will improve the sound of your Schecter allot 😃
Neck pickup version please! I like to do a lot of 'pretty' type ambient stuff as well as heavy, would love to know how the neck matches of these stack up and which bridge pickup has the most/least versatility. I get the impression the Nazgul is designed to push maximum distortion out of everything.
Thanks for your comment ReddenDoom. The Nazgul has the extra modern aggressiveness in its voicing which I like allot but surely highly depends on what you are searching for. I already have plans for some more of these pickups comparison videos this year, e.g. Bareknuckle and eventually also for one about neck pickups :)
That is a killer riff @ 5:45. Very good.
Thanks for your insane feedback Tim, happy you like it 😊!
Omega Sounded Awesome.
Cuts through extremely well 😎🤘
Black Winter was surprisingly nice sounding given the genre they were designed for. lol I thought it might be the JB at first.
I really don't think there is enough difference, but I can detect a little mid boost in the Black Winter Pups. I have Black Winter Pups on my hand built PRS. NAsTy!
Thanks Timm for your comment and agree, you can definitely hear the typical Duncan sound on all of them. The BW has these special growling mids which I like allot on guitars which aren't tuned down that much.
I love how if you listen closely you’ll notice no change…just like every radio listener…
The Nazgûl sounds really great but the Black Winter had the most body of all of the choices. In the cleans as well as in the distortion. My money is on the BW. 🔥🤘🔥
Great choice, the Black Winter has these intense mids which are very tasty. Especially if you don't tune down super low I like them allot.
Looking for a set of Seymour Duncan pickups for Doom, Stoner, and Sludge Metal dropped tuned to B standard and drop A. Need a set that will play well with medium to high gain fuzz pedals. I have the JB SH-4 in my Japanese Fender Strat and I'm glad to know its getting love on several YT videos in comparison to these other SD pickups made for Metal. I would love to see videos using different SD pick ups using a fuzz pedal playing some Stoner Doom. I think the Nazgul sounded best for that, better than the highly popular middie Black Winter. Even the Omega pickups may sound good.
Hi Carl, thanks allot for your comment. The SH-4 which you have in your Strat already is a great sounding pickup. So my question would be, what exactly are you currently missing in your sound? From what you write and describe my feeling is that the Nazgul might be a great fit for your Strat and what you are doing but if you want some more highs the Omega could be a great choice as well!?
@@MassiveSoundProductions, currently I have a set of EMG 81/60X's in my PRS Custom 24. When I installed it, I was playing a lot of Thrash and Death Metal ( thats what I use for my Japanese Fender Strat now). I had the PRS set up for drop tuned and using thicker strings. I was thinking since I have the "X" series EMG's installed on the PRS, it would be fine. The EMG's do well with the distortion and a couple of fuzz pedals I have, but has trouble with Big Muff Pi and Fuzz Face type boutique pedals I use, it sounds way too trebly and over powering no matter what I try to do to calm it down, especially when using my Cabzeus cab simulator. I want something not too bassy, kinda middie and treble, but not high output treble like the active EMG's are. Most dirt pedals when playing doom have the highs turned down, especially with the BMP op amp type. This is my dilemma.
@@CTripodi1965 As much as I like the EMGs and some other active pickups in certain situation I'm not huge fan of them in some mid-gain situations and when I need more dynamics in sound. Overall I'm generally more into a good passive pickup and choose them 99% over active ones. The Nazgul is a very well balanced, modern sounding pickup in my opinion and the frequency spectrum just feels right without any frequencies particular missing or maybe too much.
Just ordered a set of BW to put in my Squire Affinity JM. Poor man’s Jim Root JM 🤘🔥🔥
Good choice. The Squier is still a great guitar and with the Duncans it will be a great sounding and playing axe 🤘
Question, for the SH-4, would I get 2 identical SH-4's for bridge and neck, or do you recommend something different? I see they sell SH-4's and SH-2's in a pack.
The Black Winters always sound like a whammy is engaged and cocked to a sweet spot.
Haha, true, that's def. a way to describe its voicing 😅
Which one was 2?
Thanks for your question :)! I don't want to name it in the comments to keep it interesting and people can still guess which one is which but please check out the video again, at the last chapter all names are revealed.
Awesome content!
Thanks allot LordKarasuman for your great feedback 😊...happy you like the video 🤘!
are those custom covers for the Black Winters?
Hi Anthony, the Mayones came stock with the BW set like this. I believe it was a custom order and they came directly from Duncan.
I want the full mix! Is this your track or something I could find online?
Playing them on different guitar is hard to differentiate what each pickup actually sounds like. Pickup comparisons aren’t relatable. But they all sound really good 👍🏼
Thanks for your comment Matthew! In principle you are right, but these guitars acoustically sound as close as they potentially can, as they not only are constructed using very similar materials/woods (construction is maple dominated with an ebony fretboard, especially the three Regius are more or less the same) but when I bought them I (of course) selected them to my liking which reduces the difference in sound as well. If you would ask me I would say 90% of the sound difference in the video comes from the pickups and only 10% from the different guitars. You can still hear the characteristics of the different pickups very very well :)
Aloha! Thanks for this demo set, as I don't do much down tuning and prefer the classic 80s metal, prog metal and classical metal (think Tina S and Moonlight Sonata). I prefer the Invaders, Black Winters and the JB or A8 and 59 or Jazz (exact pairing depends on the tonal characteristics of the guitar the pups are installed on). The JB is the most used bridge HB in my guitar herd. They all have great versatility across many genres, both under distortion and clean.
Thanks for your comment Lanaka! The JB is also the most used pickup in my guitars and for me still the ultimative swiss knife which delivers in so so many different guitar music styles 😃. Btw. bought my first pair of Invaders recently and hope to install them in the not too far future to test them 😊
@@MassiveSoundProductions
Sweet looking foward to seeing what ye think of the Invaders! Won't say anything now that'd influence yer initial impressions.
@@TheGhostGuitars I'll keep you updated and let you know as soon as I found the right guitar for the Invader look (I have the Synyster gates version). Maybe I will do another comparison video with four different Duncans somewhen in the future too 😊
Where did you get covered black winters? I was gonna buy the MG 5766 because I like the look of them but I already on black winters and listening to comparisons the EMGs aren’t nearly as good sounding so would be a lot of work to have pick ups that doesn’t sound as good. Anyway is that the old black nickel covers that they used to make and you just put them on there?
Thanks for your comment Dustin. If I had to decide between EMGs and the Black Winter the choice would be easy as I’m generally more on the passive pickup side and the BW set is just nailing it. The BW set with the black cover came stock in this Mayones, unfortunately couldn’t find them elsewhere like this as well.
Good to get a comparison but are these all in different guitars? If so too many variables to say it's down to pickup alone
winter imho is the best, 2nd - sh4
nazgul seems to be good, but on the 3rd reef it is completely illegible.
Omega doesn't have a way to put it... punch or something, something is missing in general
in any case, great content
Love my Black Winters. Have them in 2 guitars. Like a Distortion but more clarity and less of the annoying high end sizzle the Distortion has.
Thanks for your comment Matt! Agree, you can't go wrong with the Black Winters 😃
They were all pretty good- but the Omega sounded the clearest with a bit more bite.
Thanks for your comment Justin and absolutely agree, I like all of them quite allot as well. My personal favorite is the Nazgul but it highly depends in which guitar and which situation (e.g. tuning) you are.
JB still the king! I tried the Omega to change things up a little, and i miss my JB every day.
Thanks for your comment :)! There are definitely good reasons why the JB even after so many years on the market is still one of the most sold pickups out there.