Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Players => Topic started by: dheim on December 27, 2008, 07:03:34 PM

Title: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: dheim on December 27, 2008, 07:03:34 PM
updated on 7/3/2009: added BKP Painkiller bridge/neck

updated on 1/3/2009: added BKP Holy Diver bridge/neck, BKP PiG90 neck

updated on 29/1/2009: added BKP Cold Sweat bridge/neck, BKP Mississippi Queen bridge/neck, BKP Sultan middle, SD Alternative 8 bridge
scroll posts for more clips

this is a comparison clip of almost every neck pickup i have (i've not included the ones i plan to change next month with a huge load of BKPs!), and as a bonus i've recorded the same clip with some bridge pickup too. this "test" covers lead sound in a mix.

i made things so that you can put the files in your winamp playlist and arrange them in block for direct comparisons... i added an intro and a quick outro to give everything a sense (i suggest you download at least the intro track, it's the same backing riff but it has synths into it and it's quite nice... :)). ah, of course, the riff itself it's taken from a paradise lost song, "ash and debris". and i love it.  :)
rhythm guitar is played  with my SA2020 with a SD JB in bridge pos.

neck pickups:

BKP nailbomb (ibz S320 - mahoganey)
BKP warpig (ibz RGR321 - basswood)
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup comparison! :)
Post by: dheim on December 27, 2008, 07:08:41 PM
neck pickups:

EMG 60 (LTD EC1000 - mahoganey)
Gibson '57 (gibson Les Paul Classic Antique - mahoganey)
SD Pearly Gates (ibz SA2020 - mahoganey)
SD Jazz (epi Les Paul Gothic - mahoganey)

Title: Re: the GREAT pickup comparison! :)
Post by: dheim on December 27, 2008, 07:11:11 PM
neck pickups:

DiMarzio PAFpro (ibz S470 - mahoganey)

bridge pickups:

BKP nailbomb
BKP warpig
EMG 85
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup comparison! :)
Post by: dheim on December 27, 2008, 07:12:13 PM
bridge pickups:

Gibson '57 plus
SD Alternative 8 (Ibanez S470 - mahoganey)
BKP Mississippi Queen (Dean Cadillac - mahoganey)
BKP Cold Sweat (Gibson SG61 - mahoganey)
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup comparison! :)
Post by: roland_rat on December 27, 2008, 08:37:48 PM
Hi lovely playing and a intresting comparision. The Nailbombs are the winner for me.  I always forget how smooth sounding and harmonically rich they can be.   I really should not have viewed this post I have a guitar with pearly gates bridge and alco II neck.  I though the pearly gates sounded one of the better non bare knuckle but the bare knuckles sound harmonics are in another league and im so thinking thta I should upgrade. 

Thanks for doing the comparision.

Gareth
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup comparison! :)
Post by: dheim on December 28, 2008, 08:58:36 AM
pearly gates are very PAF oriented, while nailbombs have got the widest midrange i've ever heard in a pickup... they're too different for a direct comparison, i think... but of course you're right, they've got an extremely rich and articulated sound... in a couple of weeks i'll order cold sweats, holy divers and mississippi queens, but i plan to buy another set of nailbombs in the future, i love them!
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup comparison! :)
Post by: reguv760 on December 28, 2008, 09:56:04 AM
Thanks for doing a Paf Pro neck comparison as most of my other neck pups on my Ibby's are "Paf Pro" based...
Definitely dig the Nailbomb neck though!

Reg
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup comparison! :)
Post by: dheim on January 29, 2009, 10:25:30 AM
neck pickups:

BKP Cold Sweat
BKP Mississippi Queen

middle pickup:

BKP Sultan (Ibanez S470)
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: dheim on January 29, 2009, 10:38:14 AM
a couple of words about the update

of course this is not the kind of tones i bought Mississippi Queens and Sultan pickups for, and i doubt that anyone would... i added them to this shootout just if anyone is curious...
I swapped the SD A8 i had in another guitar with the SD JB once set in the ibz S470, and i suspect there's still a lot to do with pickup height, it used to sound a bit better before.

modeling tends to flatten differencies between pickups, and THIS lead tone in particular is quite obtrusive in tonal terms... anyway i still can hear a lot of harmonic diversity...

Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: WITH FULL DISTORTION on January 30, 2009, 10:06:19 PM
Hails Man
thats a completely awesome post
iwas really looking forward to hear an EMG 60 neck.
how do you describe its tone?
did you ever play an emg 60 A neck?
hAILS AND THANKS
Going to listen to all clips and post my thoughts.
JP
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: WITH FULL DISTORTION on January 30, 2009, 10:28:49 PM
My favorite clips, in  particular order.

NECK
emg 60
Paf Pro
nailbomb
Warpig
CS
jazz neck(i didnt like its bass, but the middles and highs are excelent and sing a lot)
gibson 57(ounds like the 500t )



Bridge
Nailbomb
warpig
emg 85
gibsn57 (didnt like it at all)
CS neck
SDC8 is too dirty. Q: (

PS - do you have a emg 81 neck clip ? i would love to compare it with the 60 and all the others
JP
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: dheim on January 31, 2009, 07:27:36 AM
PS - do you have a emg 81 neck clip ? i would love to compare it with the 60 and all the others
JP

no... i had an 81 bridge, but i swapped it with the 85. i heard some clip of the 81 neck but i didn't like it at all, too thin and distorted. after all i didn't like it in bridge, that's where it's supposed to shine...
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: Infliktor on February 04, 2009, 12:05:47 AM
Thanks dheim, great post!!!!
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: dheim on March 01, 2009, 01:29:53 PM
new pickups!

neck and bridge Holy Diver, guitar is a U.S.Masters Hornet Performer

neck and bridge Painkiller, guitar is an Ibanez S470
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: dheim on March 01, 2009, 02:20:38 PM
neck BKP PiG90, mahoganey Epiphone LesPaul Goth
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: _tom_ on March 01, 2009, 02:34:03 PM
That neck pig 90 sounds great :) When I get enough cash, I was thinking of getting my neck MQ either rewound or replaced with a Pig 90 version to match the bridge one I have.

Really nice playing btw.
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: dheim on March 07, 2009, 02:24:03 PM
new update! added painkillers!
scroll UP for the new files
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: MerlinTKD on April 28, 2009, 04:01:58 AM
Man, these are fantastic! Firstly, that part is absolutely stuck in my head now!  :lol: But also, it's such a great way to compare pickups... even though the guitars are slightly different, so much is consistent that a one-to-one comparison is easy to make. Even though the Painkiller in my guitar sounds different than the one in yours, I can hear where the similarities are, in how they're voiced. It's easy, then to compare that to the other pickups, to see how they're voiced, what the qualities are that set them apart. Thank you so much for doing this!

Now... how about doing some with the Miracle Man bridge and neck? :D
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: the prince of shred on April 28, 2009, 07:21:18 AM
i second all of the above  :lol: ^ mm shootout clips added please  :P
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: dheim on April 28, 2009, 07:51:22 AM
there's a little problem... i did this shootout using a... ehm... "custom" copy of cubase sx3...
now i'm using a retail cubase essential 4 and, as a result, the... ehm... "custom" protection system of my sx3 doesn't work anymore, and being my new version a downgrade from my previous one i can't open files made with the sx3.
so, unless i find a way to use agin the sx3 this shootout is over. i could redo it, of course, but then i should re-record everything to avoid obvious bias on new recordings...
Title: Re: the GREAT pickup shootout! :)
Post by: MerlinTKD on April 28, 2009, 12:34:05 PM
DOH!  :oops:

I understand... been in a similar, er, quandary. Kudos to you for retailing, despite the sacrifice.

Of course, selfishly, I'm hoping you find a way to "get custom" again! ;)