# Dimarzio Titan vs. BKP Juggernaut



## capac (Jul 1, 2017)

Hey, 

I just wanted to buy a set of titans and thought it might be worth considering bare knuckle juggernauts.

I wanna put them in my Mayones Duvell (mahogony body, maple neck and top, bolt on). I'm looking for a bit fatter sound than the nazgul which I don't really like. 

Nazgul is too bright, not enough low mid, just harsh. How dynamic are titans?


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## jerm (Jul 1, 2017)

I've heard the Titans are pretty compressed.

You might want to consider the Black Winters which are amazing in mahogany. 

If you want another BKP option the Painkillers, Nailbombs, or Black Hawks would also work well.


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## capac (Jul 1, 2017)

I actually own black hawks (used to own aftermath), but they are too compressed for what I'm looking in this guitar, also a bit hot.

Aftermath is a lot better than nazgul in every way. They are just a bit ice picky.

Painkillers are to bright and nailbomb a bit to classically voiced for my taste.

I'm looking for something aggressive that is a bit more versatyle than nazgul and has more body to it.

I'm aftraid black winters are really compressed like nazgul (more than black hawks).


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 1, 2017)

I think you'd like the black dogs, they're quite aggressive sounding and are also pretty versatile ime. They have this fantastic evil sounding snarl that you can't really find with a lot of pickups. The guitarist from devildriver uses them and I love their rhythm tone. I guess if you want aggressive and fat though, the alnico warpig would be a good option. Titans are very very tight sounding, they're basically like a modded d-activator or a more mellow aftermath if that makes sense. The bridge doesn't have the clanky metallic mids like the aftermath and also isn't icepicky, but I wouldn't call them a fat pickup in anyway. Juggs have a nice chunky sound while still being relatively tight, though they have a distinct vocal quality (kind of like a cocked wah) that I really wasn't a fan of.


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## jerm (Jul 1, 2017)

Warpigs if you want something thick but extremely tight and not super compressed. They're hot but they're very versatile.


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## cmtd (Jul 1, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> they have a distinct vocal quality (kind of like a cocked wah)



That is an excellent, simple way to describe my thoughts on the juggs. I have them, and I really really like the cleans they produce, but they aren't my favorite modern metal pickups. I'll also hop on the warpig train, they are my favorite high gain BKP that I have tried. I have no experience with the titans however.


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## AkiraSpectrum (Jul 1, 2017)

KnightBrolaire is on the money when it comes to the Titans. Very tight, focused, compressed, and relatively even sounding. More versatile than a Nazgul for sure, and in some cases I would say they have more 'body' as the Titan bridge has a nice chunkiness to it when palm muted but they are not at all 'open' or 'wide/large'.


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## oracles (Jul 1, 2017)

My only issue with the Titan is that I found it really anaemic unless I was tuned to C standard or lower, anything above that had no body or structure to it at all. 

The Juggernaut sits firmly among my top five "worst pickups I've ever tried" list, I can't think of a single thing I liked about it. It was tubby, almost "bloated" sounding, I couldn't get them out fast enough.

If you're going BKP, the ceramic Nailbomb/VHII combo is the best I've found from them, the Emerald neck is a good shout as well. 

In the DiMarzio camp, I'm pretty partial to the D-Sonic/Air Norton set, it covers a ton of ground but doesn't lack anywhere.


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## capac (Jul 2, 2017)

I think warpigs might be just too hot, I'm not a fan of super hot pickups, but I like to have some juice if it makes any sense (medium-midhigh output).


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## chopeth (Jul 2, 2017)

C-bomb the worst pickup in the world, run as fast as you can if you don't want to hurt your ears... Juggs on the other hand are amongst the best ever, versatile, deep, chuggy. Can't help with the Titan, sorry.


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## Silence2-38554 (Jul 2, 2017)

chopeth said:


> C-bomb the worst pickup in the world, run as fast as you can if you don't want to hurt your ears... Juggs on the other hand are amongst the best ever, versatile, deep, chuggy. Can't help with the Titan, sorry.



It's completely dependent on the guitar they're going into. For example, I have an Ibanez with a trem that I've tried countless pickup combinations in (including Juggs) and the C-Bomb in the bridge sounded the best. In my strandbergs, the Juggs rule and in my custom 7 string Juggs were the worst match ever & now I have Impulses.

Point being, all guitars are going to sound their best with different pickups. 

In your situation, I would avoid the Titans. They are super compressed & a bit shrill. Sort of like DiMarzio's Aftermath. From what you describe, I'd be tempted to recommend the Juggs but we need more information. What scale length is the guitar? What tuning do you generally play in? What is the fretboard made out of? 6 or 7 string?

I also disliked the Nazgul when I tried it. Too much output, not the best note separation. The Jugg is a low mid monster, my only hesitation with the set would be if your Duvell is a 25.4" scale 7 string. If that's the case I would maybe actually recommend the C-Bomb.


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## Grindspine (Jul 2, 2017)

capac said:


> I'm looking for something aggressive that is a bit more versatyle than nazgul and has more body to it.


That actually sounds like the Duncan Distortion to me, or, if you would like to got a bit less extreme, the Omega.

In comparison, the Distortion is a bit hotter, thicker, and has a bit more fizz on top. The Omega is backed off a bit and very versatile. It still snarls, but does not get quite as gritty as the distortion can get. Neither has the extreme ice pick attack of the Aftermath. Neither is as anemic as the Titan can get.

I have not really sat down with a Juggernaut enough to compare that fairly to the four above.


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## capac (Jul 2, 2017)

This one is a 6. I tune to drop C and sometemies drop the low string to A.

Mahogony body, maple neck an top and rosewood board.

I agree about nazgul - too thin and shrill, not enough seperation and fattnes, compressed.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 2, 2017)

Grindspine said:


> That actually sounds like the Duncan Distortion to me, or, if you would like to got a bit less extreme, the Omega.
> 
> In comparison, the Distortion is a bit hotter, thicker, and has a bit more fizz on top. The Omega is backed off a bit and very versatile. It still snarls, but does not get quite as gritty as the distortion can get. Neither has the extreme ice pick attack of the Aftermath. Neither is as anemic as the Titan can get.
> 
> I have not really sat down with a Juggernaut enough to compare that fairly to the four above.


The omega is an excellent pickup, very versatile, and I lovvve that snarl. Not really what I would consider a fatter pickup imo, though definitely a bit thicker than the nazgul.


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## capac (Jul 2, 2017)

Omega is actually even more money than BKP... Considering it's not even hanwound, it's hars to justify the cost.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 2, 2017)

capac said:


> Omega is actually even more money than BKP... Considering it's not even hanwound, it's hars to justify the cost.


if you're willing to experiment, a pegasus loaded with a ceramic mag will get you really close to the sound of the omega. It's super easy to swap magnets.
Otherwise I'd say look into the black dog or alnico warpig.


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## capac (Jul 2, 2017)

I like the attack I get from ceramic pups, so I definetely prefer those.

How hot is c-pig compared to black hawks? I'm afraid it's too hot...

In Europe, there is 50eur difference between omega and pegasus, so if you take the pricce of the magnet into account, it may be a better idea to just get the real deal.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 2, 2017)

capac said:


> I like the attack I get from ceramic pups, so I definetely prefer those.
> 
> How hot is c-pig compared to black hawks? I'm afraid it's too hot...
> 
> In Europe, there is 50eur difference between omega and pegasus, so if you take the pricce of the magnet into account, it may be a better idea to just get the real deal.


I don't know how hard it would be to get magnets in europe but in the usa I can get one from mojotone for 3$ (not including shipping). I don't have experience with the black hawks but I'm pretty sure the warpig will be hotter.


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## nicktao (Jul 2, 2017)

Titans or D-Sonic + AN would sound choice in that setup. I've got both in my RGAs and JPs and they slay. I was really surprised by how good the D-Sonics sound, I especially dig the 7 string version.

If you're looking for versatility, Titans is the way to go. They're killer at metal, but the coil-split cleans you can get are lush. If you do any sorta ambient, spacey cleans or dig 1975-esque stratty, funky pop, you'll love these. They work in every application, metal, rock, pop, ambient, they're currently my favorite. I didn't really dig the juggs as much as these tbh. 

Cold Sweats / PKs + VHII / would also work there.


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## getowned7474 (Jul 2, 2017)

Like KnightBriolaire said, the Titans sound like a more natural sounding D-activator to me. The D-activator was very compressed and had a brittle top end. The Titan fixed all the problems I felt the D-activator had. It's still a tight "metal" pickup but fairly balanced and not too compressed in my opinion. More compressed than a PAF of course but a lot less so than some hot pickups out there. 

It manages to be very percussive and tight but still well rounded and usable for cleans and leads. I have the Titan in my drop C guitar with a air norton neck and is what I would call my "perfect" tone, for that tuning at least. I'm sure it depends on what guitar it's in though.


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## capac (Jul 3, 2017)

Interesting... What about bkp cold sweat? Are they too scooped?


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