Pariah Supernaut Humbucker Set
One does not simply say Supernaut without invoking images of Tony Iommi and Black Sabbath. Kids these days most probably think the song belongs to Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, or 1000 Homo DJs. Get out of your mom’s basement, younglings, and find yourself some OG vinyl by the way of Sabbath’s Vol 4 album. Youngsters will know the album as the one with the 1972 cover of Kelly Osbourne’s 2003 chart-topping “Changes”.
Anyhoo… the Supernaut humbucker is Pariah’s big brother to their Supernaut P90 pickup. Let that soak in for a minute. As we know the seminal, classic Iommi tone originated from his Gibson SG loaded with a P90 going into a Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster and on to a Laney amplifier.
Still, people expect a tidal wave of tone slamming them back into a brick wall. Does Pariah’s Supernaut humbuckers do that? You bet your sweet bippy, it does. In fact, I am finding the Supernaut to be the most impressive humbucker set from Pariah I’ve put to the test so far. Let’s take a look at why.
The humbuckers I am checking out are black open coil with short mounting legs and 4-con lead wire. Of course, Pariah can set you up with just about any of the garden variety options available. They can also work with you on custom designs for humbucker covers.
The Superanauts are in a double-hum gitfiddle with Bourns push-pull pots, a Switchcraft jack, and a Switchcraft 12120X 3-way toggle. Each pickup is wired for series/parallel operation.
Expecting to be pummeled against the melon with a dense log, imagine my surprise when the Supernaut is incredibly well-balanced. The lows are bold and punchy without wandering in to sludge territory. The high end is rich and much more organic that I expect from a ceramic magnet. There is a growling roar in the midrange that helps to focus the lows while adding presence to the highs.
The neck position Supernaut is a dastardly joy to behold. This bad boy holds it together like a champ. No muddy, boomy mess here. Considering the massive DC resistance and the double row of filister screws, there is a healthy amount of transparency to the voicing. This is a great option for hard rock and heavy blues lead work. A metric ton of sustain and a nice clarity in the areas where many get nasally.
In all fairness, the Supernaut is going to knock you down on your regular clean amp setting. There are these wondrous things on an amp called knobs. HaHa! Or you can wire up the pickups for split or parallel configurations. Since I’m going with parallel here, I can say the Supernaut reveals a lush character going through a clean amp. Full, without being too big. The highs are clear, but not spanky. Of course, I’m betting you’re not looking for something glassy from the Supernaut… so you’re golden.
Let’s lay some peepers on some specs:
Supernaut Bridge
Series – 23.72 K
Inductance – 14.103 H
Split – 11.958 K
Split – 11.764 K
Parallel – 5.939 K
Magnet – Ceramic
Supernaut Neck
Series – 21.8 K
Inductance – 12.47 H
Split – 10.918 K
Split – 10.889 K
Parallel – 5.46 K
Magnet – Ceramic
Whoa! You might be thinking those are some scary numbers. Nah, not at all. There’s a lot going on with how the sausage gets made. And your pickup guru won’t tell you what’s in the special sauce any more than the butcher will tell you what’s inside the casing. LOL! You just need to think about how tasty it is!
The Supernaut humbucker set is intended for metal, thrash, and stoner rock. I find that it is going to be good for just about any style of rock you throw at it. You can find this, and all currently available Pariah Pickups offerings on their website.
For reference, the Pariah Supernaut humbucker pickup set evaluation was conducted with a Fractal Axe-Fx II XL+ featuring Celestion Impluse Responses and Fractal MFC-101 MIDI Foot Controller. Real cabs used are Marshall 1960B cabs with Celestion Vintage 30s and G12M Greenbacks.
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