Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: shatoutofhell on April 09, 2009, 11:21:50 AM
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Hi all
Am new to the forum, so please bear with me :)
I have the above guitar with stock ESP LH-150 B&N pickups.
I am learning to play, but am keen to get the best tone I can within the limitations of playing and setup. My amp is a Vox Valvetronix AD50VT-XL with the high gain amp modellling.
Is it worth investing in a set of painkillers at this level of experience and equipment? Please be honest :)
Thanks,
Jon
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hi and welcome!
i'd say yes.
you have got a cheap but nice and honest guitar, a pickup change will certainly give you a better sound and an extra encouragement to improve your playing...
sound comes mostly from hands, if you've got better gear and still sound dull at least you can understand better what you should change in your playing style!
and painkillers rule! :)
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what kind of music do you play (well, i think metal, but what kind of metal)? what are your favourite guitar tones?
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My honest answer would be that the investment is not worth for you. :(
And this is not a question of cost :
1/ I think you need a 100% valve amp before taking some BKP in order to let them express their best qualities
2/ BKP are very sensitive pickups (sensitive to the wood, to your playing, to height adjustment, to everything). Don't know if all theses 'details' would help if you are just beginning to play guitar.
3/ I do not own a PK but this one is said to be one of the clearest, surgically precise and tight BKP (in the contemporary range), so much so that it would expose your playing alot (not the best thing to quickly nail a pleasant tone if you start playing, imo, even if the positive point is that you will learn and improve faster with a pickup that show no mercy to approximative techniques..
4/ so if you want to go with BKP, then maybe go for another choice in the range....
But wait for more wisdom from the BKP masters of this board...and welcome to the BKP fan club ! :drink:
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what kind of music do you play (well, i think metal, but what kind of metal)? what are your favourite guitar tones?
What I listen to mainly is black/death/gothic/power/thrash metal... started back in the 80's with Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, etc.
What I'd like to achieve is the ability to get a good death metal rhythmn tone, along with some power metal goodness too.
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My honest answer would be that the investment is not worth for you. :(
And this is not a question of cost :
An honest view, great
1/ I think you need a 100% valve amp before taking some BKP in order to let them express their best qualities
I had originally planned to get a Bugera 333XL-212 but the credit crunch put paid to that. I plan to go half stack, valve head based, if my playing warrants it.
2/ BKP are very sensitive pickups (sensitive to the wood, to your playing, to height adjustment, to everything). Don't know if all theses 'details' would help if you are just beginning to play guitar.
Fair comment.
3/ I do not own a PK but this one is said to be one of the clearest, surgically precise and tight BKP (in the contemporary range), so much so that it would expose your playing alot (not the best thing to quickly nail a pleasant tone if you start playing, imo, even if the positive point is that you will learn and improve faster with a pickup that show no mercy to approximative techniques..
A double-edged sword then :)
4/ so if you want to go with BKP, then maybe go for another choice in the range....
Okay, thanks for your input.
But wait for more wisdom from the BKP masters of this board...and welcome to the BKP fan club ! :drink:
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A double-edged sword then :)
Exactely, so watch your hands... :twisted:
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dr. vic expressed the same perplexities i had answering to a similar thread some time ago... BKPs are very clear and, for this reason, not beginner-friendly... BUT, and here i'll answer directly to his points,
1) this is not entirely true. i have got a live rig with tube amp and analogue effects (the only digital element being a delay/reverb rack DSP), but play and record at home with a full digital modeler, a PODxt. and pickups make A LOT of difference in modeling too
2) this is, on the other hand, absolutely true. there's plenty of more forgiving pickups out there. consider them like sport cars... if you drive them well you go faster, but it's harder to keep them on track!
3) i agree on both points. definitely double edged.
4) i think you could try first some "easier" pickup in the metal range... i was thinking about warpigs. enough tight not to drive you out of time, not so tight and "in your face" to leave you helpless if you're less than precise... and enough warm to drive away the coldness of your guitar
i'd say that the extra value you'll have changing the stock pickups can be achieved with every aftermarket product, not necessairly BKPs.
i was curious to try them and after that i equipped every piece of wood in my house (tables and chairs included :P) with them, but before i was quite happy with Duncans, i'd say...
and one last thing... i've got a bugera 333xl head and it rocks!
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Depends.
BKPs, no matter which ones, sound a lot like the guitar they're in.
If the guitar sounds good, they'll bring it to life
If the guitar sounds bad, they might well just show you how shite it is.
I tend to put other pickups in guitars with poor accoustic sound.
So its up to you - cant tell from a make a model - does the guitar sound accoustically good?
And be honest with yourself, or you'll just be wasting money.
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well... I don't know about the MH-100, but the ltd horizon H-100 model was one of the worst sounding guitars I ever played :(
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well... I don't know about the MH-100, but the ltd horizon H-100 model was one of the worst sounding guitars I ever played :(
Well, it's something I cannot explain, but a friend of mine has a LTD horizon, with string thru body, (don't remember the exact model, maybe H-500, not sure) and I have to tell that...
(I know you all are prepared to :snipe: .... )
:lol:
... I founded the EMG81/85 very good in that particular guitar : it appeared to me that this combination LTD + EMG worked pretty well, still again, on that guitar which sounded good actually.
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well... I don't know about the MH-100, but the ltd horizon H-100 model was one of the worst sounding guitars I ever played :(
Well, it's something I cannot explain, but a friend of mine has a LTD horizon, with string thru body, (don't remember the exact model, maybe H-500, not sure) and I have to tell that...
(I know you all are prepared to :snipe: .... )
:lol:
... I founded the EMG81/85 very good in that particular guitar : it appeared to me that this combination LTD + EMG worked pretty well, still again, on that guitar which sounded good actually.
Accoustically shite guitar + emgs = best that guitars gonna sound (almost certainly anyway).
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I tend to put other pickups in guitars with poor accoustic sound.
So its up to you - cant tell from a make a model - does the guitar sound accoustically good?
I do think the guitar sounds pretty good acoustically, yes.
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well... I don't know about the MH-100, but the ltd horizon H-100 model was one of the worst sounding guitars I ever played :(
Well, it's something I cannot explain, but a friend of mine has a LTD horizon, with string thru body, (don't remember the exact model, maybe H-500, not sure) and I have to tell that...
(I know you all are prepared to :snipe: .... )
:lol:
... I founded the EMG81/85 very good in that particular guitar : it appeared to me that this combination LTD + EMG worked pretty well, still again, on that guitar which sounded good actually.
Don't wish to go with active pickups, but thanks for the insight.
I think I may take it to a local guitar tech, and see what options they are willing to share too.
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well... I don't know about the MH-100, but the ltd horizon H-100 model was one of the worst sounding guitars I ever played :(
Well, it's something I cannot explain, but a friend of mine has a LTD horizon, with string thru body, (don't remember the exact model, maybe H-500, not sure) and I have to tell that...
(I know you all are prepared to :snipe: .... )
:lol:
... I founded the EMG81/85 very good in that particular guitar : it appeared to me that this combination LTD + EMG worked pretty well, still again, on that guitar which sounded good actually.
the 300-500 models are so much steps ahead from the 50-250 models
emgs always sound like emgs, anyway
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Honest opinion? It's not worth it. Yet.
Only change things if you're looking for something specific. A very vague and general 'upgrade' isn't possible, and just because it's different doesn't mean it's better. You should change your current rig when you know exactly what you want, and right now that seems to be a nicer amp. And I would agree.
Think of your sound as a plate of food. The guitar and amp is the meat and potatoes. The pickups are the salt, pepper and gravy. You can change the input of those to the mix a lot, but at the end of the day you're eating meat and pototes ;)
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Not such a bad analogy (though I'd say that the guitar/pickup fusion, is more important than the guitar or the pickups independently)
Yeah, get your amp sorted before your pickups. Its much more important.
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Not such a bad analogy (though I'd say that the guitar/pickup fusion, is more important than the guitar or the pickups independently)
Indeed! :)