What guitar rig should I use for the heaviest of death metal?(pickups,amp,pedals)?

Pickups - Active pickups like Seymour Duncan Blackouts, EMG 81/85, Rockfield Black Betty's, etc. Amps - Marshall is the "go to" amp for Metal. Run a good overdrive pedal in front of the dirty channel to make it even more brutal. Of course Blackstar and Krank make excellent metal rigs as well. Pedals - Just a good overdrive pedal. MXR Wylde Overdrive is a good place to start. A really good chorus pedal is a must have also. This will thicken up your sound.

Definitely go for an EMG85/81 pair of pickups. Dropping tuning by that much and wanting an amp to stand the grief you might be better off with a bass amp fitted with an equalizer. Have a play with the Boss virtual pedal board at http://www.bossus.com/go/vpb-2/ to see what sort of sounds you're after. Start with the Metalzone MT-2 in rhythm/metal mode.

They really cost but I use ENGL Steve Morse heads x 4 plus ENGL cabs x 8 for that full sound amps have 4 gain stages all of which can be combined via foot switch to incinerate the most die hard metal fan but.... they also go clean and loud too. built in reverb. about 800 watts of tube sound The only other rig I can think of to compare it to are HIWATTS. but they have no distortion to speak of. For metal I would get some EV peavy's. best guitar for metal is a flying V with the pickups ripped out and controls replaced with Dimarzio super distortions & 500 meg pots.

Hello there, I do hope Walter comes along and gives you some advice. He would be a great source of information for you. Metal is not my forte. In case Walter does not see this question, I wil give you my thoughts. If Walter answers and his choices conflict with what I say, go with what he says. He is the metal pro. Before I put any money into upgrading your guitar, I would definitely do something about your amp and speaker. What depends on how much you have to spend. If you have the money for a Marshall tube head and a decent Marshall cab (not a MG series), then look for one. The DSL is a decent tube amp and there are usually used ones around at a decent price (that is for a Marshall tube amp). If Marshall tubes are out of your budget, take a look at the B-52 head. You can frequently find them used for $100 to $125. Solid state, but decent sound for solid state. I run one through an old Marshall 1960 cab I have loaded with a pair of Eminence speakers (100 watts each) and a pair of older Carvin British Series speakers (100 watts each). I like the blend of those tones. I am not going to blow a speaker with that set up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccLzbtHlT-8&feature=related Electra Dynasty guitar? Is that the mid 80s V type guitar? I thought those were pretty good as they came. I think they are HSH. If you have the guitar I am thinking of, definitely upgrade your amp and speakers before you start swapping out pickups. You may find your guitar can sound pretty darn good as it is. If you do have an HSH and want to change the pickups, EMG actives are a great choice. A 81/85 set up is a good combination. I would probably leave the stock single coil in as a dummy (not connected). If you want a mid pickup, then get an EMG SA active single coil for the mid position. Later,