What are the best pickups for modern and prog metal guitar tone? That depends on how you define modern and prog metal guitar tone.

Here’s how we define it.

While classic humbucking pickups can get “high-gain,” modern metal players need something different. Their highly complex playing demands a precise, tight tone. One that remains aggressive while emphasizing punch and articulation.

To us, artists like Periphery’s Mark Holcomb and Wes Hauch are perfect examples. Their tones require humbucking pickups that push their rigs into the perfect grind and stay exceedingly clear in the low end.

So it’s no surprise that both of their signature pickups join our Sentient/Nazgûl set on our list: The Three Best Pickups for Metal: Modern and Prog Metal.

Top 3 pickups for modern/progressive metal

1. Sentient/Nazgûl Humbucker Set
2. Mark Holcomb Signature Alpha/Omega Humbucker Set
3. Wes Hauch Signature Jupiter 6 Humbucker Set

Sentient/Nazgûl Humbucker Set

The Seymour Duncan Nazgûl/Sentient set is the embodiment of modern and prog metal guitar tone. Designed to tackle the lowest of tunings and most aggressive playing styles, these humbuckers set the bar for modern metal tone in a passive design.

Nazgûl

The Nazgûl is an unashamed, modern-metal pickup. Its bold output is terrific for pushing amps, pedals, and digital amp modelers. But the focus here is on a searing top end with detailed articulation. And the Nazgûl’s impossibly tight low end makes fast rhythmic passages and chugs downright percussive.

Sentient

The Sentient neck humbucker is the perfect complement to the Nazgûl. Believe it or not, it boasts a vintage-style, low output. Its lower power gives the Sentient great clarity that resides somewhere between our 59 and Jazz models. A lot of players love this humbucker for its liquid lead tones and gorgeous cleans.

Mark Holcomb Signature Alpha/Omega Humbucker Set

When it comes to modern and progressive metal rhythms, Periphery’s trio of 6-stringers is at the top of the pantheon. Call it djent, call it prog metal, call it whatever you want. But playing this style demands time in the woodshed and the right tone. So when Periphery guitarist Mark Holcomb hooked up with Seymour Duncan, we knew we had to deliver.

Alpha

The Mark Holcomb Alpha neck humbucker features a unique design. Eschewing typical neck humbucker inspiration, Holcomb wanted to combine the properties of a traditional bridge and neck pickups into one. The result is more mid-range punch and detail while still delivering full-sounding single-notes and cleans.

Omega

The Mark Holcomb Omega bridge pickup is also all about mid-range power. Like all of the pickups on our The Best Pickups for Metal: Modern and Prog Metal list, articulation is the name of the game. But with the Omega, it’s on the mid-range that Holcomb zeroed in. So if you want an aggressive bridge humbucker that still delivers a fat tone, you can’t go wrong with the Omega.

Wes Hauch Signature Jupiter 6 Humbucker Set

Wes Hauch is a guitarist’s guitarist. And he is widely considered one of the best players in modern and progressive metal. For proof, look at his work with bands like Alluvial, Devin Townsend, Thy Art Is Murder, and The Faceless.

Hauch is also a long-time Seymour Duncan user. So we had a good idea of what he was looking for when crafting his signature Jupiter 6 humbucker set.

The Jupiter 6 pickups differentiate themselves with bold-looking stainless steel rails, a custom winding, and mighty ceramic magnets. All together, they are high-output, take no prisoners pickups. And their string-to-string balance is unrivaled.

As we say on the pickups’ product page, the Jupiter 6 humbucker set “won’t make you play like Wes. But they will certainly help you cop his tone.”

Let’s talk tone!

If you have any other questions about finding the best pickups for metal, check out our Knowledge Base here. You can also email us here. And don’t forget to dig into the Seymour Duncan blog! There’s a ton of in-depth information on all of our different designs, how-tos, tone demonstrations, and a lot more.