Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Reeven on March 27, 2008, 01:37:37 AM
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So, I've listened to many, many sound clips, and I think I've decided that the Rebel Yells are the way to go for me. However, with shipping included, the pickups would likely end up being more expensive than the guitar I'd be putting them in. Would I need to buy a better guitar to take full advantage of these pickups?
Here's what I have now; Epiphone SG Elitist G400 Vintage : http://www.zzounds.com/item--EPIG400V
(I know, I know, it's not the flashiest, but it's the first guitar I ever got, and the one that needs the most improvement.)
I'd be playing it out of a Roland 30 Watt Cube: http://www.roland.com/products/en/CUBE-30/
I wouldn't want to finally get my hands on these pickups, only to find that they aren't going to sound very good with what I have. Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
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However, with shipping included, the pickups would likely end up being more expensive than the guitar I'd be putting them in. Would I need to buy a better guitar to take full advantage of these pickups?
I just put 300e on pickups for a guitar that runs about 600e new these days, and mine is almost 10 years old. But, I love the guitar and the BKP pups made it feel new again :) So for me, it was definitely worth the cost!
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many a time i've spent more money pimping a guitar than i brought it for :)
as zf says - its worth it if you like the guitar
you might want to get some sort of valve amp though.
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The amp is very important on the sound you can get...
I use to think: get a nice amp, then upgrade the guitar... But I don't know your amp, so...
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Thanks for the responses! I just wanted to make sure my guitar would give me the full "power" of these pickups, so I'm glad people here seem to think they'll work just fine.
What kind of amp would you guys recommend? I looked up Valve and saw this; http://www.zzounds.com/item--VOXAD50VT
I don't want anything massive, and even that is getting a bit higher than I'd like in terms of price, so would something like that work for the Rebel Yells? Reading up on it, it looks like it's certainly a step up from the Roland I have.
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+1 for the tube amp upgrade first, unless you're playing only in your house at low volume.
I have a Vox AD30VT at the moment, which is OK but has it's drawbacks and apparently also reliability issues. I'm upgrading to a better Tube/SS hybrid shortly - a Kustom HV 30 or HV 65.
Link here for the Kustom HV 65
http://www.zzounds.com/item--KUSHV65
I had a Cube 30 for a few years and to be honest I'd recommend changing it - before you change pickups.[/img][/url]
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I guess you may want to look into the orange tiny terror and if its your kind of thing, seems to be highly rated for the small valve amp market
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I guess you may want to look into the orange tiny terror and if its your kind of thing, seems to be highly rated for the small valve amp market
I liked the TT but if you haven't got any pedals (like me) it's going to be expensive to get your rig going.
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Thanks for the responses! I just wanted to make sure my guitar would give me the full "power" of these pickups, so I'm glad people here seem to think they'll work just fine.
What kind of amp would you guys recommend? I looked up Valve and saw this; http://www.zzounds.com/item--VOXAD50VT
I don't want anything massive, and even that is getting a bit higher than I'd like in terms of price, so would something like that work for the Rebel Yells? Reading up on it, it looks like it's certainly a step up from the Roland I have.
Will you be wanting to use the amp for line out recording? If so the AD15/30/50/100VT range are of no use, as the tube emulation is placed after the line out. Any vrecordings come out as very thin
This is by design, to cut costs. The older, and more expensive, Vox AD60VT and AD120VT don't have this drawback but do (allegedly) have reliability issues.
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Right now I'm only playing in my basement at low volumes for practice, but I think I've finally found a friend to play live with, so with the hopes of getting out and playing, I think something more than 30 watts is pretty much neccesary.
I'm skimming reviews for the Vox and seeing either positive reviews or shockingly negative ones, all saying that the amp is great until it fails. You're right, there seem to be some serious reliability issue with that brand.
I was planning on doing some recording with whatever I get. Does the Kustom HV65 have a solid line out sound to it? It looks like quite a cool amp, even if the price is pushing it. If I went with this one, would you recommend the foot pedal?
EDIT: I found the HV65 on eBay for 245$. Used, obviously. The seller has 99.7% positive feedback. Has anybody ever bought an amp off eBay? I'm curious to hear experiences, positive or negative, about it. If you guys think it's a safe move, I'm probably going to go for it.
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I've never bought an amp off of ebay, sorry.
I believe that the Kustom HV series has XLR line out capability, to emulate the speaker. Their site has a few video clips of the HV 65 that sound pretty good and in general Kustom seem to be well regarded.
As far as the Vox ADxxVT series is concerned it does look like they have serious reliability issues. It does sound great for the cash but I'm crossing my fingers that mine keeps working until I can sell it :wink:
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Wow, after hearing some samples, I think I'm sold on the HV65. I'm going to do some research on the seller, and people's experiences with buying amps from eBay in general, but if I can get this thing for that cheap of a price, I'm going for it for sure.
Now, the next step is getting those pickups.....
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Has anybody ever bought an amp off eBay? I'm curious to hear experiences, positive or negative, about it. If you guys think it's a safe move, I'm probably going to go for it.
No, but I'm selling one this week (that's not a sales pitch :wink: ).
I'm a little worried about shipping it, but an amp is such a heavyweight object it's not as if the couriers can chuck it around carelessly. I think (hope?) it should be safe enough if it's well packed.
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Has anybody ever bought an amp off eBay? I'm curious to hear experiences, positive or negative, about it. If you guys think it's a safe move, I'm probably going to go for it.
No, but I'm selling one this week (that's not a sales pitch :wink: ).
I'm a little worried about shipping it, but an amp is such a heavyweight object it's not as if the couriers can chuck it around carelessly. I think (hope?) it should be safe enough if it's well packed.
That's my big worry. I don't want that sleek looking amp I saw online to come home all bruised up.
There's a return policy though, I'm thinking I'll take a chance.
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I found "your" amp on eBay. It looks like the seller has sold loads of amps previously (especially Kustoms!), so they should know what they're doing with packaging etc.
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I have bought an amp off Ebay. All I can say is to look for the obvious things such as sellers feedback. In my case I had no problem and I nabbed a bargain too.
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Thanks, that's certainly reassuring. I think I'm going to make sure I have the money and go for it. Thanks for all the help picking the amp!
I just want to triple check first though, the wood or anything like that on my guitar ( http://www.zzounds.com/item--EPIG400V ) won't hinder the sound of the Rebel Yells? If it isn't already obvious I've never altered any of my guitars like this, e.g. swapping pickups, or doing anything much more complicated than changing strings. I'm planning on getting my guitar fully serviced before the pickups get put in, so I'd love to know any adjustments you guys would recommend.[/url]
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So my new Kustom HV65 finally arrived!.....broken. They sent it back yesterday. I should have a new one tommorow or Thursday.
Also, I should be ordering my pickups tonight. Just wanted to say thanks again for all the help.
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Reeven:
Rebel Yells are naturally bright sounding pickups to cut through all the mahogany and thick wood from a Les Paul.
The SG-400 has a rosewood fretboard and all mahogany bodie (without the maple cap that Les Pauls have), so I definately think they're the right pickups for the guitar to make it clearer and more balanced in sound.
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So my new Kustom HV65 finally arrived!.....broken. They sent it back yesterday. I should have a new one tommorow or Thursday.
Also, I should be ordering my pickups tonight. Just wanted to say thanks again for all the help.
That sucks :(
Oh well at least you get a replacement.
I hope you enjoy the pups. I've upgraded my gear constantly this year and each time the BK's sound better and better. You probably won't get the best of the pups until you've got them in a custom built guitar through a custom built amp and cab. Until that lovely day though you'll find your pups will give you the best of what you've got.
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Don't forget about the fingers.
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Reeven:
Rebel Yells are naturally bright sounding pickups to cut through all the mahogany and thick wood from a Les Paul.
The SG-400 has a rosewood fretboard and all mahogany bodie (without the maple cap that Les Pauls have), so I definately think they're the right pickups for the guitar to make it clearer and more balanced in sound.
Nice. :D
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You can email Tim at tim@bareknucklepickups.co.uk if you want to be 100% sure about your pickup choice.
My guess is:
Rebel Yells or Riff Raffs.
RY's: modern SG sound.
RR's: classic SG sound.