Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: math2014 on October 14, 2005, 01:05:45 PM

Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: math2014 on October 14, 2005, 01:05:45 PM
Hi all,

First of all congrats for the great forum (wealth of info) as well as another fine UK product (BKP).

I was told by many UK friends of mine that BKP is the way forward if you want a super quality pickup in a fair price, so here i am.

I have a Tokai LS85Q Lespaul, using the stock Gotoh MKII pickups. I play for almost a year (steep progress curve though), and the music i play is mainly the following:

LedZeppelin (blackdog,moby dick, rover, ocean etc.), Jethro Tull, Deep Purple (Smoke, Burn,Black night), Black Sabbath (NIB, hole in the sky), GnR, Cream, ...and in general this 60s 70s classic hardrock. I sometimes jam on some heavy stuff like Tool, Saliva, Metallica etc, but my main priority is music from the likes of Page, Iommi, Slash...

I was told that a pair of black dogs would be ideal for what i want to do. as well as a pair of 59/59, 59/JB, or A2p/A2p. But my preference is to get something made in the UK, so i look for BKP.

Basically my issue with the bridge pup (Gotoh MkII vintage paf) is that it sounds a bit "weak" or thin sometimes, something strange for an LC30II amp with a hotplate and a tonebender fuzz pedal (ok with the fuzz on it sounds super).

So how much better is a BKP vs the Gotoh stock pups (any tokai users?).

Which pup would give me ideal tone (Page, Iommi, Slash, Cream) but will be versatile enough to do heavier stuff (Tool) given ofcourse a good OD/DS pedal?

Thank you in advance for all the replies and i apologise for the long and newbie-ish post.

Yannis
Devon, UK
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: steve on October 14, 2005, 01:22:10 PM
Welcome to the forum,

For the Zep stuff the Black Dog would be your best bet,or for a more versatile pickup check out the Mule.It will do great classic rock tones and really drives when boosted by a O/D pedal.Hope this helps.
Steve.
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: steve on October 14, 2005, 01:30:26 PM
Oh,and they blow away the other makes mentioned!
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: carlaz on October 14, 2005, 03:23:27 PM
Steve has, I think, pretty much summed it up.  The Black Dogs are (obviously) made with a Zep vibe in mind, though the Mule is the all-around classic PAF sound pickup that will also heavy-up nicely when you crank it up and dig into the strings.

Check out the various clips in the Players section.
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: Ratrod on October 14, 2005, 03:55:39 PM
A set of Crawlers would also work well. They'll do all the classic stuff plus all the modern stuff too. PAF on steroids. Just as versitile as the Mule but with more power and midrange.
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: willo on October 14, 2005, 03:57:18 PM
yeah, i think _tom_ actually did a demo of Lateralus by Tool with his epiphone lp with mules. i also did one with some VHII's (but its quite gain-y)
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: math2014 on October 14, 2005, 04:49:59 PM
Thanks for the replies guys.

So to sum it up, will the black dogs do what i want and heavy up nicely for Sabbath, Tool etc? Also will they give me a decent AC/DC and GnR tone?
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: Steve-Mr Pig 2U on October 14, 2005, 04:57:26 PM
For the versatility you’re after I would go for the Mule set. Check out the various sound clips in the player’s room and let us know what you think!
Welcome to the forum!
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: math2014 on October 14, 2005, 05:04:38 PM
Quote from: Steve-Mr Pig 2U
For the versatility you’re after I would go for the Mule set. Check out the various sound clips in the player’s room and let us know what you think!
Welcome to the forum!


Thanks Steve, unfortunately i was only able to find 1 black dog clip, and a few mules. Ideally i would love to hear clip of BD on mild (LedZep) to high-ish (Sabbath Tool) gain. Isnt the Black dog similar to the mule just with a tad higher output?
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: Steve-Mr Pig 2U on October 14, 2005, 05:08:38 PM
Yes, Its got a touch more bass and a fuller mid range, with a slightly more agressive edge from the Alnico V magnet.
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: math2014 on October 14, 2005, 05:10:57 PM
Quote from: Steve-Mr Pig 2U
Yes, Its got a touch more bass and a fuller mid range, with a slightly more agressive edge from the Alnico V magnet.


Black Dog : more bass, fuller mid range? hmm sounds like ideal to me. Could i pm you?
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: Steve-Mr Pig 2U on October 14, 2005, 05:12:53 PM
Yep, feel free.
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: math2014 on October 14, 2005, 05:23:42 PM
Quote from: Steve-Mr Pig 2U
Yep, feel free.


pm sent Steve
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: Skybone on October 14, 2005, 06:32:57 PM
Hi again Yannis,

You know my feelings on the matter, GO WITH THE BLACK DOG's! ;)

Saying that, my other Love Rock is now wearing a pair of Emerald's, and it sounds sweet too.

Personally, I think you'd be best off with either the Black Dog or the Emerald, but I really feel that the Black Dog will suit your needs perfectly! ;)

Have fun! :D
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: Skybone on October 14, 2005, 06:34:07 PM
Hi again Yannis,

You know my feelings on the matter, GO WITH THE BLACK DOG's! ;)

Saying that, my other Love Rock is now wearing a pair of Emerald's, and it sounds sweet too.

Personally, I think you'd be best off with either the Black Dog or the Emerald, but I really feel that the Black Dog will suit your needs perfectly! ;)

Have fun! :D

PS. Here's a link to an old clip that I did, it's a bit on the heavy side, but hopefully it should give you an idea.

http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=547
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: math2014 on October 14, 2005, 06:58:30 PM
Great clip Murray i dig it, sounds dark like Iommi, am i right?

Yannis
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: PhilKing on October 14, 2005, 11:58:10 PM
Another one to think about would be the Riff Raff.  This gives the AC/DC tone, but can also push a valve amp nicely.  I have a clip of it in the players forum.

Also check out the VHII (early Van Halen 'brown' sound) and the  Abraxas - this is a new pickup with the classic early Santana tone - again there are clips of these in the players forum.
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: Skybone on October 15, 2005, 09:43:47 AM
"Great clip Murray i dig it, sounds dark like Iommi, am i right?"

Erm, 'fraid not mate, it's one of mine.

That was through a PODxt, but if you put them through a cranked amp, they sound really sweet, with a real cutting mid in there that would mean you never get lost in the mix again!
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: math2014 on October 15, 2005, 10:39:33 AM
Quote from: Skybone
"Great clip Murray i dig it, sounds dark like Iommi, am i right?"

Erm, 'fraid not mate, it's one of mine.

That was through a PODxt, but if you put them through a cranked amp, they sound really sweet, with a real cutting mid in there that would mean you never get lost in the mix again!


Well i thought that the tone signature reminded me of Sabbath, the tune itself was original and VERY nice, i ll try to play it today :D
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: Skybone on October 15, 2005, 03:40:58 PM
Sorry, crossed wires (I'm good at that today!  :? ).

Thanks.
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: math2014 on October 18, 2005, 07:05:16 PM
ok, after the quick research i did so far, my gut instinct says black dogs :)

I think Tim's advice would be invaluable on this one.

By the way, can you get the BKP logo on the pickup covers as standard? I saw a few of them like this at a nearby guitar shop and they looked super!
Title: BKP for a Tokai LP? which ones?
Post by: Skybone on October 19, 2005, 12:29:22 PM
And I'd say go with your gut instinct. I did, and was well pleased I did when I got the Black Dog's in my Love Rock.

If you go with covers (mine are open zebra coils), you do have the option of either logo'd or plain covers. Personally, I'd get them without the covers, but that's just me. I bought a set of Emerald's with covers, which are now in my other Love Rock, and they sound excellent as well.