Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Twinfan on November 14, 2008, 11:34:01 PM
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I'm thinking of trying a set of Cold Sweats in one of my thicker/darker sounding guitars. Will they tighten the bass (without increasing it) and add some highs?
Or should I be looking at something else???
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I don't know myself, but Mr Hellstyle has done a very thorough review of the CS on this thread which I just happened to be reading earlier:
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=13608.0 (http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=13608.0)
And this one today has a comparison with the HD which clarified a few things for me:
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=14878.0 (http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=14878.0)
I definitely like the sound of the CS bridge, and I want to get one for... something. Quite possibly the Mira. Not so sure the CS neck will be to my taste though.
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The calibrated set in my PRS Custom 24 w/rosewood neck really made a difference to it. Bridge has lots of definition (presence, I suppose, rather then treble), tight bass but still a very rounded tone. Neck I don't use much but has much the same characteristics. Good combination of fatness & clarity, blows the PRS HFS/VB set out of the water as the CS set was Tim's replacement recommendation. I'd love to hear them in something like a Les Paul!
I've not tried the Holy Diver. That's interesting me though as I've got a 7 being built and the current front-runner for p/us are the Cold Sweats. If the HDs are fatter without losing too much definition then I may be tempted that way although you can't lose with the CS. Very versatile....
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I love my cold sweat; outside of the vh2 and riff raff its my fav pickup. Although i had to find the right guitar for it. It didnt do anything for me when i had it in my esp mirage super strat, but when i repaced the RY in my LP custom with the cold sweat it was a vast improvement - just sounds imense!
I'm not quite so keen on the HD, but that may be because its in a wolfgang and i guess i just prefer the tone of a les paul in general.
I would say that the HD is more focused and the CS has a slighly more open feel (even though its ceramic!)
MY LP was quite a dark sounding guitar and for some reason the RY just didnt cut it in there (despite the plentiful supply of upper mids)
Might be worth going ceramic for that extra bit of push and cut - i guess it depends which guitar you had in mind and ultimately what sound your're after!
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I'm thinking about my McCarty Korina #2. It's up for sale, but what with the credit crunch nightmare bobbins that fills the news :roll: no-one is buying.
Thought I might try and enjoy it myself instead with something vintage-y but different. A bit more cut would be good for this particular guitar, so maybe the CS set is the way to go?
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I'm thinking about my McCarty Korina #2.
Thought I might try and enjoy it myself instead with something vintage-y but different. A bit more cut would be good for this particular guitar, so maybe the CS set is the way to go?
That seems a great idea to me! Especially since you've got the stock #1 McKorina as a reference point, why not try something different in #2.
Just a thought Dave, have you tried, or considered trying, your VHIIs in #2? I'd be very interested to know how that sounded.
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I've not considered swapping the VHIIs as I'm really happy with them where they are in my Jackson Dinky. That's also a band guitar, so I can't have it out of action without pickups for a period of time! I think they'd work pretty well to be honest but I fancy trying something else.
I think the Cold Sweats are the way to go then. Vintage with attitude sounds like what I'm looking for and the ceramic bridge will be something very different for me. If a little scary.....
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SC in a McKorina? That could be epic. More contempory & hotter then the McCarty pickups with the responsiveness of the wood. Oooh! I'd like to hear about that!!
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Could well be a nice combo I think....
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Hi Dave,
I can only talk about the Cold Sweat neck I had. Nice pickup im not sure I would call it vintage sounding though. Its fairly bright. I sold my neck pickup to help fund buying my patrick eggle berlin. I love the guitar, however I do miss not having tried the pickup a little more. I think its one of them pickups that you will fit and either love or hate it and chances are not much in between.
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Cheers matey. Was it bright because it had loads of treble, or because it didn't have much bass????
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I love my cold sweat; outside of the vh2 and riff raff its my fav pickup. Although i had to find the right guitar for it. It didnt do anything for me when i had it in my esp mirage super strat, but when i repaced the RY in my LP custom with the cold sweat it was a vast improvement - just sounds imense!
I'm not quite so keen on the HD, but that may be because its in a wolfgang and i guess i just prefer the tone of a les paul in general.
I would say that the HD is more focused and the CS has a slighly more open feel (even though its ceramic!)
MY LP was quite a dark sounding guitar and for some reason the RY just didnt cut it in there (despite the plentiful supply of upper mids)
Might be worth going ceramic for that extra bit of push and cut - i guess it depends which guitar you had in mind and ultimately what sound your're after!
I don't think the Cold Sweats are necessarily 'better' than the Rebel Yells in a dark sounding Les Paul Custom (if you want a cutting sound).
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If I remember right the pickup was fine for bass not huge ammounts but enough for me. I found the pickup very trebly. In the right guitar I think cold sweats will be absolutly great but for me I never quite found the right guitar for the pickup to shine. I miss the cold sweat pickup I had and do contemplate from time to time buying a calibrated set. Guess I might at some point.
Hope it helps
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Cheers matey. This particular guitar is thick sounding and slightly bassy, so Cold Sweats sound perfect for it....
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Just thought i'd mention that i stuck with RY in the neck position; not dissing the RY bridge pickup; just didn't seem to work in that guitar per my tastes (seemed to lack a bit of definition and bite the further up the register i went).
But you cant go wrong with CS, it is a BK after all!
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Nolly has a CS in his blackmachine. He says it's basically a nailbomb but with fewer winds. He's got one with 2 rows of screws though because it used to be a warpig, so that probably increases the bass a bit
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But you cant go wrong with CS, it is a BK after all!
+1. Can't go wrong with any BKP :)
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Right, I've been having a long hard think about this today and I've decided I'm going to go for VHIIs instead. I'm a bit nervous about ceramic pups, and the guitar in question has a lot of acoustic output so hot pickups might be too much. I want a cleaner tone with good treble and not too much bass, so VHIIs seem to be the way to go.
Philly Q - I'll let you know how they turn out ;)
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Excellent! Are you just going to take the plunge and buy a set, or test it out with your existing ones?
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I'm going to buy another set with nickel covers :)
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Great choice going for the VHIIs. Those are the one and only pickups I'd still try one day in a Les Paul...I guess they're going to kick some ass.
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I hope so! I've just emailed Tim et al to check it's a good choice for what I want....
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How do the Vh11 compare to the huge sound of the Mules??
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If I remember rightly they're a bit cleaner and not as fat, but a touch hotter?
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Sounds an intresting choice. I will be very intrested to here how it works out. :shock:
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I have a Cold Sweat in my Indie (alder) I think it sounds amazing for my Metal music. Even with other genres as I tend to flutter about the place. However I disagree with opinions on it's clean channel. I use my C-Warpig for cleans.
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Right - info from Tim is in and without any prompting from me he says Riff Raffs or Cold Sweats :?
I've got Riff Raffs in my SG already, so for the sake of something different I think I'm back on the original Cold Sweats plan! I'll let you guys know how it works out...
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Don't be scared by the ceramic and convince yourself out of it again!
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Don't be scared by the ceramic and convince yourself out of it again!
+1
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I won't. Something different is good.
Keep saying it.....
Something different is good, something different is good......
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Order them now, then don't look back :P
I am even thinking of CS in my les paul to replace my MM
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I won't. Something different is good.
Keep saying it.....
Something different is good, something different is good......
I think it'll be fun to have something that really is different. :)
I believe most of the time we tend to go chasing "the tone in our heads" so we end up getting bright pickups for dark guitars, dark pickups for bright guitars, single-coils that sound a bit more humbuckerish, humbuckers that sound a bit more single-coilish... and everything ends up sounding kinda the same.
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Good point Phil - I'm guilty of that.
CSs it is then. Let's go a bit more modern and metal for the br00talz!!! :lol:
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I believe most of the time we tend to go chasing "the tone in our heads" so we end up getting bright pickups for dark guitars, dark pickups for bright guitars, single-coils that sound a bit more humbuckerish, humbuckers that sound a bit more single-coilish... and everything ends up sounding kinda the same.
LOL, I'm laughing real hard now :lol:
You're definately right about that.
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Good idea to keep the other PRS Dave (I'd never sell a guitar like that!). I've got a pair of Cold Sweats in a LP copy and they are amazing pickups. They can do the low gain stuff well and we all know the neck cleans are really nice. But wind up the wick on the amp and they can almost match the Miracle Man. The sustain on the Chinese Richwood mine are in goes on for ever. In a quality guitar like you have it will turn it in to a beast! If your in a hard rock band i'm sure it will come in very useful. When i go to jams the other guitarist always wants to play my Richwood. Which suits me as his guitar sounds wank.
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Cheers Johnny! It would be a shame to sell it, as I really like it, so something different pickup-wise will justify me hanging onto it ;)
Mrs Twinfan has decided Zebras will look best, so that's what I'll be ordering tomorrow....
(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r267/junkacct/McZebra2.jpg)
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Mine a zebras too 8) That thing is going to be a rock monster!
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Mrs Twinfan has decided Zebras will look best, so that's what I'll be ordering tomorrow....
Hmmm, hadn't considered open coils, they do look good on the McKorina! :)
I'm going with covers for the Mira though, I think they'd suit the black finish.
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Hi,
I have the CS set in an otherwise stock McCarty. A lightweight and resonant, warm but clear guitar with a good deal of midrange. The Cold Sweat was recommended by Tim and it was definitely the right choise! It's aggressive and has cut, but you'll never describe it with the word 'harsh', with my guitar.
Interesting note about choosing the pickup for a guitar :) And often very true!
I had both of my current electric guitars for a good while before deciding that I'll replace the pickups. It wasn't a change just for the sake of change, it was because the guitar was not sounding like I wanted it to and the vision had cleared (over time) what I wanted the guitar to sound like.
Another interesting thing in achieving goals with guitars: if your guitar has a tight bass (like a lot of maple wood which tends to tighten BOTH the bass and the highs) and you choose a bottom heavy pickup for it, you'll get a different flavour than if you have a guitar with a lot of loose bass and pair that with a very tight pickup. Both combinations will more or less have the same amount of bottom end, but in the first case, that bottom will be tighter..and the same thing of course applies for the other frequence areas too :)
-Zaned
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I put the Cold Sweat set in my BC Rich Mockingbird and they sound great in there, It is a fairly light (SG weight), mahogany guitar. I have also heard them in alder bolt on and in a Schecter neck through. They sound very nice and not creamic at all in the brdge - a lot more organic sounding than you might be expecting. That said, turn it up and they really can drive the amp with a great dynamic yet precise tone.
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Really looking to hearing how these will sound now!
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All sorted - order placed :D
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I was listening to Motley Crue's latest album (the wasnames of los angles or whatever :?) anyway I thought that the opening tracks first power chords were very like the sound of Cold Sweats. They're extremely versatile I find.
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A quick update on the Cold Sweats in my McCarty Korina.
I went to fit them last night and realised what I thought were long legs on the original pickups were in fact 'medium' legs. So the long leg Cold Sweats I ordered wouldn't fit in the bridge. Doh! I spoke to Tim this morning, and the legendary customer service from BKP kicked in and he's going to swap them over for me :) It means rebuilding the pickup, so many thanks to Tim for agreeing to do this!
As I'd already fitted the neck pickup when I found out my mistake, I gave it a try ;) First impression is that this pickup has a bit more 'shove' than the Mule/Stormy Monday/VHII/Riff Raff pickups I've had before. Due to the high treble voice of the Cold Sweat this didn't become muddy or indistinct. Quite the opposite in fact, it was very clear and coped with gain very well. At first I though it was a bit hot and edgy and I was unsure I'd chosen the right thing for me, but after comparing it to my stock McCartys (another korina and also a maple/mahogany) it was just 'more of the same' and I really liked it. Like the description says really - "The tone is enormous with a detailed intensity and incredible amounts of high end cut and fluid sustain"!!
I can't wait to get them back and try the pair out now, especially that ceramic bridge....
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glad you didn't pussy out of ceramics ;) and nice job tim!
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Not trying to jump in before Dave gets his CS bridge (no really I'm not :P ), but as mentioned elsewhere, I've borrowed a set of Cold Sweats from Hunter (thanks again CJ! 8) ). Today I finally tested them out in my Tokai SG.
Before changing the pickups, I played the SG with the stock Tokai vintage-style pickups - it does typical PAF tones, great AC/DC on the bridge pickup but a little thin maybe. I also compared with my PRS Mira, which is probably about the same output-wise but sounds a bit bigger and warmer (a bit too warm on the bridge pickup really, not enough crunch).
The first thing I noticed with the CS set was the extra power, but they're not super-heavy at all. The bridge is tight like the Rebel Yell, but without so much midrange - it's more balanced, I'd say. There is a bit of ceramic "edge" to the sound; with some distortion and the tone on 10 you hear the pick hit the strings and high notes have a bit of a "wah" sound. Clean, it can be slightly harsh, but in a good way - notes sound really snappy, there's even a bit of Tele-like quack.
I've said loads of times that I thought the neck pickup might be too bright, but it's not - it's a really good match for the bridge (I should never doubt Tim! :lol: ). Again, it's tighter than a vintage pickup - you can't get that loose, almost mushy tone on the low strings, but there's still plenty of bass in contrast to the bridge pickup. It's still a warm neck pickup sound, but with the "presence" turned up. I think it's a good jazz tone actually, because it never gets muddy. It's probably not the ultimate pickup for that really sweet, singing neck tone but it gets pretty close.
These are just first impressions - my hands are hurting, haven't played for weeks! Tomorrow I want to compare the SG+CS with some other guitars. But the CS set is definitely most excellent! :D
(Apologies to Hunter if he reads this, as he's already seen the above waffle in a PM)
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Top stuff Phil - can't wait to get mine back next week :)
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hmm that sounds really good Phil, Rebel Yell without all the mids could be perfect for modern rock type stuff :)
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It's certainly not scooped or anything like that, but there isn't that big push in the mids.
I used to think I liked a lot of midrange, but for the bridge pickup I'm starting to prefer a clearer, more balanced sound.
Not sure I'd like the CS in a Strat, but it's really good in mahogany.
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Zebras are the way to go. 8)
(Although because I've got zebs in my PRS may mean that I'm biased)
I'm waiting on a tone report with interest!! :D
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What would happen if someone put Alnico 5 in the Cold Sweat?
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What would happen if someone put Alnico 5 in the Cold Sweat?
I'm NOT saying the Cold Sweat sounds like the Duncan Custom, but I guess it would be the equivalent of taking the ceramic out of the Custom, replacing it with AV and getting the Custom Five...
... so slightly rounder treble and a bit of a mid scoop?
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What would happen if someone put Alnico 5 in the Cold Sweat?
You'd have an underwound Nailbomb. So a Nailbomb with less output and low end.
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What would happen if someone put Alnico 5 in the Cold Sweat?
You'd have an underwound Nailbomb. So a Nailbomb with less output and low end.
Low end? hummm didn't get it...
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What would happen if someone put Alnico 5 in the Cold Sweat?
You'd have an underwound Nailbomb. So a Nailbomb with less output and low end.
I don't think so
I think alnico 5 would scoop its mids out
the nailbomb has a very middy winding
but an alnico 5 painkiller would probably get close to the bomb
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What would happen if someone put Alnico 5 in the Cold Sweat?
You'd have an underwound Nailbomb. So a Nailbomb with less output and low end.
I don't think so
I think alnico 5 would scoop its mids out
the nailbomb has a very middy winding
but an alnico 5 painkiller would probably get close to the bomb
I know for a fact that the ceramic nailbomb is in essence an overwound Cold Sweat, so I reversed the logic.
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I believe the sweat has a paf style winding but with thinner wire (43 awg?) and ceramic mag
usually, regular paf winding + alnico 5 = scoopness