Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: fatbagg on January 14, 2009, 07:06:27 PM
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Ok, lemme start with my equipment...
Guitar--- A usa mahogany bodied ml with ebony fretboard, mahogany set neck, and a 1/4 in spalt maple top (a softer maple in comparison).
Amp--- A cornford roadhouse set for very fat, midrangy rich lead tones.
Thats it, no effects outside of a tc reverb in effects loop and a badass wah up front.
My stles of playing would include artist such as--- Joe satriani, Andy timmons, Guthrie govan, John petrucci, other instrumentalists...
Tones Im into are different than most of those artists though...In the band I play in, I am 99% of the time playing lead guitar...sometimes hopped up blues, sometime heavy oldschool rock type stuff, spacey guitar oriented weirdo rock, and of course shred head super monster licks.
I really love a full midrangey tone, good bass, but not boomy or muddy. Im not a big fan of bright/brittle/harsh treble side. When I play, all my amps are set with bass around half (maybe a bit under) mids at full on, and treble just under half.
For lead styles of music to help me cut through I was suggested the painkillers...
I hear they have lots of midrange, and a very tight bass response (sounds good)...but I want to make sure from players that I wouldnt be walking into treble trouble. I am not a metal players, and I need a high output pickups for lead runs and doodling that can keep me upfront..
Whatcha think dudes?
If it helps, I really dig andy timmons tone, guthrie govan tone, and any tone with an immediate pull on the mids and harmonic intensity.
I need a pickup that can track quickly with faster right hand picking/technique, but wont get bright and harsh after 3-7 hours of rockin ass.
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Tones Im into are different than most of those artists though...In the band I play in, I am 99% of the time playing lead guitar...sometimes hopped up blues, sometime heavy oldschool rock type stuff, spacey guitar oriented weirdo rock, and of course shred head super monster licks.
I really love a full midrangey tone, good bass, but not boomy or muddy. Im not a big fan of bright/brittle/harsh treble side. When I play, all my amps are set with bass around half (maybe a bit under) mids at full on, and treble just under half.
For lead styles of music to help me cut through I was suggested the painkillers...
I hear they have lots of midrange, and a very tight bass response (sounds good)...but I want to make sure from players that I wouldnt be walking into treble trouble. I am not a metal players, and I need a high output pickups for lead runs and doodling that can keep me upfront..
Whatcha think dudes?
Hey Fatty :)
I used to run Painkiller on solid mahogany body Gibson Explorer. Mahogany set-neck but with rosewood fretboard. For me the Painkiller was all good there in the bridge position. It did open up the sound without sacrificing the low end. Bass side wasn't muddy at all, really focused. Mids were explosive but that was just like I wanted. Your EQ setting looks pretty much like mine. I usually have bass on 2 o'clock, middle on full and treble at noon or around 1 o'clock. I play pretty much pop and rock in a band but I also like to jam along with blues, rhythm'n'blues and other rootsy stuff. Even some jazz but that's neck pickup thingy :)
Painkiller is sort of "high output" pickup, but I guess it'd suit your needs. It can drive your amp on nice overdrive tones but still stay clean when you want it. It has power, low end is tight, mids really yell out of it and highs are clear but not harsh.
I'd give it a try.
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Any advice I could give hinges on my knowledge of the sound of your amp, which is zero.
So I'll give a couple of vague pointers instead
The sounds you want are, I think, achievable and even well, with a PK. However, this is subject to the kind of gain you use and the voicing of your amp. The PK is the second most powerfull BK and there isnt much in it. Through a powerball, 5150, uberschall, VH4, herbert, deliverance, etc (amps of note I've played mine through) its can so very easily be savage and crushing. You clearly dont want that BUT, its general characteristics could lend themselves well to what you do want.
Its dynamic, precise (as hell), middy (as hell on an hellish day), tight (as hell the first day back at work after halloween), articulate (as martin luthor king after having a dictionary injected into his brain), fat (as a mcdonalds adict on a burger bender) and generally, in character, up your street. BUT the power of it has to be taken into acount: It hits hard (as Mike Tyson on a quiet night in with his wife) and is indeed explosive (as the proverbial fat man).
So, if your amp is modestly gainy and not a total psychopath (the PK becomes a thrash and death psycho in high gain metal voiced amps) then go for it. If not, then crawler, holy diver, black dog et al are what I think you should look at.
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Quote{ The PK is the second most powerfull BK and there isnt much in it. quote}
What is the most powerful BK pickup then?
Thanks,
Geoff
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Quote{ The PK is the second most powerfull BK and there isnt much in it. quote}
What is the most powerful BK pickup then?
Thanks,
Geoff
The Warpig AFAIK. Thats why I got one!!
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Cool I have one on its way too! What is the most powerful single coils BK?
Geoff
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Ok...well My cornford is very...hmmm...british voiced, semi bright good mids...Not a super metal amp, as I dont play much metal...but LOVE heavy chords. The amp with gain cranked gets a very...oldschool rock attitude, but not enough for fluid lead work...it has a gain boost which pushes another preamps stage, which can get me into van halen mode/ satriani mode (maybe not quite as much gain?). Its got probably half the gain on modern heavy style amps (uberschall, herbert, any diezel). lme than a loestar but not as much as a mark 2 or 4.
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Again, I still cant really say that well without knowing your amp, but from your desriptions I think the PK has a bit too much inyourfaceness for you.
I'd back off a bit and go for nailbomb. That should get you where you want to go. As would crawlers.
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Again, I still cant really say that well without knowing your amp, but from your desriptions I think the PK has a bit too much inyourfaceness for you.
I'd back off a bit and go for nailbomb. That should get you where you want to go. As would crawlers.
with Master Yoda, for the first time, agree I do :D
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Again, I still cant really say that well without knowing your amp, but from your desriptions I think the PK has a bit too much inyourfaceness for you.
I'd back off a bit and go for nailbomb. That should get you where you want to go. As would crawlers.
with Master Yoda, for the first time, agree I do :D
:o
Darth Hellstyle, good in you I can still feel! Coming to the light side you are :lol:
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Good Lord! Did that just happen?
PDT_023
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All i know is i love my Painkiller in my ESP LTD EC-1000VHB.
Its the right ammount of output with the righ ammount of balanced tone with boosted mids for me.
Im gonna take a little mod i did on my tone knob to increase my output again, as i put a 100K resistor accross the .22uF cap for a lttle sort of Greesebucket sort of thing.
Brilliant for the Satch/Petrucci stuff, as i play that sort of stuff as well.
The Painkiller is a really dynamic pickup to me.
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cool. I play very aggresivly in a rock guitar oriented way...but my tone is not as vicious or as lethal (brutal is the new word?) as modern tones...but I like hot pickup that $%&#in rip.
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Yes, Roo, I know!
Fatbagg, you'll get all that from a nailbomb too. No disrespect at all intended to ESPiperium, but if the PK is all you've played then you cant really know (not a jab at you, just logic).
If you got the PK you'd probably be really happy. If you got the NB I think you'd be happier still.
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Yes, Roo, I know!
Fatbagg, you'll get all that from a nailbomb too. No disrespect at all intended to ESPiperium, but if the PK is all you've played then you cant really know (not a jab at you, just logic).
If you got the PK you'd probably be really happy. If you got the NB I think you'd be happier still.
I have to say that Nailbomb is REALLY picky on height adjustment. I noticed that on my Les Paul when I used to have "heavier p.u. setup" in it. I practically kept adjusting it up and down, up and down for like days before I've got it right. With Painkiller on Explorer RI, I didn't have such "problems" at all plus PK really opened up the full-mahogany solidbody axe. I used to run both guitars, both pickups to Fender Deluxe Reverb, Hughes & Kettner Trilogy, Ashdown Peacemaker 40, Marshall JCM800, Marshall JTM45 (re-issue) and VOX AC30 (with Blue Speakers).
Lately I have found my sound from The Mule, Stormy Monday and Black Dog. All three are my favorite Bare Knuckles.
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Yes, Roo, I know!
Fatbagg, you'll get all that from a nailbomb too. No disrespect at all intended to ESPiperium, but if the PK is all you've played then you cant really know (not a jab at you, just logic).
If you got the PK you'd probably be really happy. If you got the NB I think you'd be happier still.
I have to say that Nailbomb is REALLY picky on height adjustment. I noticed that on my Les Paul when I used to have "heavier p.u. setup" in it. I practically kept adjusting it up and down, up and down for like days before I've got it right. With Painkiller on Explorer RI, I didn't have such "problems" at all plus PK really opened up the full-mahogany solidbody axe. I used to run both guitars, both pickups to Fender Deluxe Reverb, Hughes & Kettner Trilogy, Ashdown Peacemaker 40, Marshall JCM800, Marshall JTM45 (re-issue) and VOX AC30 (with Blue Speakers).
Lately I have found my sound from The Mule, Stormy Monday and Black Dog. All three are my favorite Bare Knuckles.
Alas the nailbomb is the only bk that I took an instant dislike to, so it didnt really make it to the height adjustment stage. i.e, I cant comment!
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Alas the nailbomb is the only bk that I took an instant dislike to, so it didnt really make it to the height adjustment stage. i.e, I cant comment!
set the torches ablaze and pour oil on the straws, we've got an heretic, here! :lol:
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I love my Nailbombs, but +1 on the hight adjustment thing. Took me ages to get it right, even then Jonathan sorted it out for me during a fret dress and set up.
But it's damn good now!
Mark.
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either i was just lucky or i'm loosing wonders that after all i don't know to need, because i love NB tones!
honestly i've got to say that my luthier did all the job, but it met my tastes, after all...
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Once youve figured out the height you want for a pickup.....To balance your pickups , plug your guitar into something with level meters, such as a 4-track recorder. Play each string individually, and adjust the pickup height until the level of each string hits the same point on the meters. Typically, you'll have to lower the bass side of the pickup. If your guitar's overall output is quieter than what you had, simply turn up your amp to compensate. The benefit here is string-to-string-clarity.