Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: schantist on April 17, 2009, 08:06:01 PM
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Hi guys,
I'm looking for a new set of pickups for my Eclipse. I've already been through a set of BKPs (HD bridge and CS neck) which didn't cut it for me at all;
HD was too tame and loose for rhythm stuff and the CS was great for fast solo stuff still sometimes too "cold" to get the singing leads I want (Music style: Melodic Death metal on a Engl Powerball rig)
Since then I've used double EMG85s with the 18v mod, which nailed the tight yet warm rhythm sound I like, but sounded a little too synthie-like when playing on the higher frets.
I'm thinking about a set of calibrated Nailbombs, but I'd like to hear what you guys think.
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i use the same guitar with a calibrated miracle man set.
awesome.
better then the emgs that were originally in it. mine also has 500K pots and a 22uf sprague orange drop cap replacing the old pots for the active electronics.
sounds tight, modern. the body of the ltd tames the bass of the MM a bit find.
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From what you described i could see a nailbomb working out well.
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i use the same guitar with a calibrated miracle man set.
awesome.
better then the emgs that were originally in it. mine also has 500K pots and a 22uf sprague orange drop cap replacing the old pots for the active electronics.
sounds tight, modern. the body of the ltd tames the bass of the MM a bit find.
I forgot to mention that I'm pretty partial to Alnico-pickups, never really digged the attacky sound of ceramics.
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same here.
i went from a gibson 498T in a gordon smith to BKP emeralds and then rebel yells in a les paul.
I like the miracle man though, I was put of using it for ages because it was ceramic. I wouldnt use a ceramic pickup like a miracle man in my les paul though
although, this thread is making we want to try out nailbombs
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how could you possibly find cold the CS neck???
anyway i'd say that nailbombs could do the trick. in bridge, at least... if you want something warmer than CS you could try the neck warpig... neck nailbomb is bright and very clear, much more than cold sweat.
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how could you possibly find cold the CS neck???
anyway i'd say that nailbombs could do the trick. in bridge, at least... if you want something warmer than CS you could try the neck warpig... neck nailbomb is bright and very clear, much more than cold sweat.
Maybe it's really just me and my half-deaf pair of heavy metal ears :wink:...
Let's say the CS didn't deliver the warm and singing tone I like in a neck P-up like e.g. a Duncan '59.
I already considered a NB bridge + a Riff-Raff or Crawler neck, but as I said,
I tried to mix'n'match before and it was a complete failure, so I thought I can't go too wrong with a calibrated set.
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duncan 59... so you basically want a muddy pickup! ;)
to stay in the contemporary range you could like the warpig neck, i'd say, very warm.
but maybe an hot vintage or vintage could suit best your taste... the 59 is a vintage voiced, mild pickup... BKP substitute could be a mule, for example, or a wax potted stormy monday... alnico II pickups are the warmest and smoothest around!
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Maybe it's really just me and my half-deaf pair of heavy metal ears :wink:...
Let's say the CS didn't deliver the warm and singing tone I like in a neck P-up like e.g. a Duncan '59.
yes, you're deaf! :? :lol:
I had both in the same guitar on neck position
the '59 is the most dead, cold, sterile sounding neck pickup I ever had (including stock pups!) :x
no volume, no mids, dead treble, no sustain, muffled and hollow sounding
even the clean tone was cr@p
my mij les paul sounded like a $50 acoustic guitar on both cleans and leads
I played another one in another mij les paul (an edwards) and it was a bit better/brighter, but still scooped and the highs sounded almost "ceramic"
I never cared for neck pickups too much before, but the fact that it sounded worse than stock pickups really annoyed me
even the gibson 496r (ceramic) neck pickup I have now, which is and kinda hard still sounds way more organic
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Metal, am we?
Then get a c-pig bridge and a miracle man neck
The highest outputters in those positions in the range.
If they arent metal enough for you, you then you must be a T-1000.
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As someone who owns and loves his Nailbomb bridge pup, looking at your description of the HD as too loose for rhythm, I'm not sure it's a nailbomb you want here. Have you considered a Cold Sweat bridge?
I know it's ceramic, but it's voiced to give a progressive take on a vintage tone. The tightness will be there, with the depth of tone to be able to really scream when pushed into more prog areas.
Something to consider at least...
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Metal, am we?
Then get a c-pig bridge and a miracle man neck
The highest outputters in those positions in the range.
If they arent metal enough for you, you then you must be a T-1000.
Must be really really metal but the C-Pig seems a little too much outputwise, guess I'll go with the NB in the bridge.
What'd be a proper neck pickup to match it ? I'm looking for rather vintage tone, some kind of P.A.F. with an edge to it.
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Metal, am we?
Then get a c-pig bridge and a miracle man neck
The highest outputters in those positions in the range.
If they arent metal enough for you, you then you must be a T-1000.
Must be really really metal but the C-Pig seems a little too much outputwise, guess I'll go with the NB in the bridge.
What'd be a proper neck pickup to match it ? I'm looking for rather vintage tone, some kind of P.A.F. with an edge to it.
i've got no experience in hot vintage BKPs, the only thing i can tell you is to avoid NB neck, it's the opposite of the tone you described...
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i thought the nb was supposed to sound quite modern..... and a coldsweat like a vintage vibe but plus's of a ceramic with a tight bottom end etc...?? sounds like the nb might not be quite right.... for u...
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Feels like this thread is going into a wrong direction, let's see...
I'm not looking for an all-out vintage set of pickups, here's what I have in mind.
Bridge: modern tone, preferably Alnico (although the idea of a MM set is growing on me more and more),
tight bottom, good deal of mids (esp. lower mids), smooth highs and not too bright.
Not too compressed (my Powerball compresses my sounds more than enough)
Neck: a more vintage tone still matching to a contemporary bridge Pup outputwise,
not a bright über-articulate shredder tone but warm and open
Style : Melodic Death Metal
General direction of sound : the typical Göteborg-style tone (e.g. In Flames, Soilwork)
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i beleive mm meats ur description there ....(but idk much...)
n a neck well kinda sounds like coldsweat but :roll: holy diver??
someone??
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did you ever try a booster with the diver?
that is the key to get awesome metal tones with it
it was wonderful with the wylde overdrive I had (output maxed, drive zero, tone 6)
it gave that metal edge and extra sustain
just take some gain out of the amp
it surely gets as metal as my guitar did with the emg 85, but sounding like a guitar not like a synth :lol:
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did you ever try a booster with the diver?
that is the key to get awesome metal tones with it
it was wonderful with the wylde overdrive I had (output maxed, drive zero, tone 6)
it gave that metal edge and extra sustain
just take some gain out of the amp
it surely gets as metal as my guitar did with the emg 85, but sounding like a guitar not like a synth :lol:
Never tried actually, never heard 'bout somebody boosting an Engl neither...
but the HD's gone anyways, so it's my +1 take on BKPs
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Never tried actually, never heard 'bout somebody boosting an Engl neither...
people don't boost amps
people boost guitars :good:
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Strange, I always thought that a booster pushes the amp's preamp section a little harder to tidy up your tone...
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I wouldnt bother boosting a powerball.
It doesnt like it.
Its already got what boosts give - clarity, top end, tightness.
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Its already got what boosts give - clarity, top end, tightness.
Very true...
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Its already got what boosts give - clarity, top end, tightness.
Very true...
now you're missing the point
you boost the pickups signal, not the amp
HD was too tame and loose for rhythm stuff and the CS was great for fast solo stuff still sometimes too "cold" to get the singing leads I want
where is your tightness now? PDT_045
my bandmate has a fireball based 100w amp
it is one of the tightest and definitely the gainiest amp I've heard
it does work well with his miracle man unboosted, and it works really well boosted too
but the holy diver is no near as powerful, tight, focused or aggressive as the miracle man
a boost really makes a LOT of difference with that pickup through any amp I've played
that's where it truly shines
as I said, you boost the pickups signal and response, not the amp
so if you didn't like it before trying it, you still didn't try it at its best
I have a heavily modded Framus Cobra and a Peavey Rockmaster
both are tight as frak, and the holy diver always worked WAY better boosted
you can get all the things you're missing about the EMG 85, but with real tone
ps: I'm Lord Hellstyle using my friends account at work (don't remember my own password :lol:)
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Its already got what boosts give - clarity, top end, tightness.
Very true...
now you're missing the point
you boost the pickups signal, not the amp
HD was too tame and loose for rhythm stuff and the CS was great for fast solo stuff still sometimes too "cold" to get the singing leads I want
where is your tightness now? PDT_045
my bandmate has a fireball based 100w amp
it is one of the tightest and definitely the gainiest amp I've heard
it does work well with his miracle man unboosted, and it works really well boosted too
but the holy diver is no near as powerful, tight, focused or aggressive as the miracle man
a boost really makes a LOT of difference with that pickup through any amp I've played
that's where it truly shines
as I said, you boost the pickups signal and response, not the amp
so if you didn't like it before trying it, you still didn't try it at its best
I have a heavily modded Framus Cobra and a Peavey Rockmaster
both are tight as frak, and the holy diver always worked WAY better boosted
you can get all the things you're missing about the EMG 85, but with real tone
ps: I'm Lord Hellstyle using my friends account at work (don't remember my own password :lol:)
Thats a fireball, not a powerball.
Powerballs are tighter and more in-your-face to begin with.
They DO like EQs in the loop. You can tighten the hell out of a sound like that.
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As I said, the HD is gone...
Maybe mine was just messed up (I know I'm being blasphemous right now :D), here's the thread containing the review from the dude who bought my HD/CS set:
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=16484.0 (http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=16484.0)
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Thats a fireball, not a powerball.
Powerballs are tighter and more in-your-face to begin with.
They DO like EQs in the loop. You can tighten the hell out of a sound like that.
it's not a fireball
its preamp section is based on the fireball (only 2 channels, I think)
what makes the powerball tighter is the larger transformers and higher power
my friends amp has a SLO100 based power amp and it's the punchiest amp I've heard live, along with the framus cobra
and seriously... if it was any more in your face than it already is, it would be used for demolition, not for music :lol:
never heard any ENGL that sounded as tight and punchy as his amp
the fact is that the holy diver works better with a boost, at least for metal
that's almost obligatory
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Quite contrary to my experience, mate. With some amps its night and day (uber, 5150, jcm800 etc), some not so much. The PB, hardly at all.
Till someone else thats boosted a powerball (and had good results) comes along I aint budging on this ;)
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Quite contrary to my experience, mate. With some amps its night and day (uber, 5150, jcm800 etc), some not so much. The PB, hardly at all.
Till someone else thats boosted a powerball (and had good results) comes along I aint budging on this ;)
I'll repeat
you don't boost the amp, you boost the pickup signal
some pickups will barely change (very subtle difference with the miracle man, for example)
the holy diver has a fat voicing, but not really a strong output
there's no logic in saying "oh my pickup sounds weak, cold and loose" and then"oh my amp doesn't need a boost, cause it's tight and hi gain" :lol:
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Rubbish.
Same guitar, same pickups, same cab, same day, same room, same temperature, same humidity, same 808 into an uber made the uber sound awesome (instead of loose and dark), and a deliverance sound livelier and less dry, and did little to nothing to the PB.
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and it was a holy diver, right? :shock:
i'm not discussing if amps react different to boosters
that's obvious
what i'm talking about is how the holy diver changes, no matter what amp
peaveys and engls are way less responsive to boosters, but they do change the tone, specially if the pickup is not really hot or tight by itself
he said that the pickup didn't sound as tight as he wanted through that specific amp and others did
so if he didn't try a booster with THAT pickup in that same amp, he can't assume that it won't make any difference because "powerballs are tight and boosters do nothing for them"
some common combinations may sound like shiteeeee, while others not-that-logical combinations can be great (like a miracle man on maple body or mid heavy 5150s through ultra middy heavy speakers)
but you can't make solid assumptions without trying it in at least close situations
I always thought that a holy diver would be the greatest thing in an SG (I should have listened to our Master), and it didn't sound good
sounded weak and muffled and dark
and it didn't make any sense to me, since I had it in two fat les pauls, and one of them had exactly the same wood grain/resonance/voicing/tone of the SG and was a way fatter and darker sounding guitar (plus a imbuya top that darkens everything a lot), and the diver sounded AWESOME in that les paul
maybe the extra wood "pushed" the pickup harder or something
I never could understand that, but that's a fact
if Tim says that something might not work well, is not because he can calculate all the factors and results, but because he obviously tried it before
it's like someone wrote some kind of gospel on guitar forums and most people just repeat stuff like "VHT and Mesa Mark amps are tighter than anything" and "Bogners are built like a tank and Framus are built like shiteeee with cheap parts", "Diezels are tight and hi fi", "Triple XXXs are not even close to the JSX", "death magnetic tone is great cause its got Diezels and Diezels are awesome and I can get exactly the some tone through mine", and "Marshalls can't do metal" without any kind of related experience
and when they actually try them, they have their minds already so made up, that their ears stop working or something
here in brazil, for example, it's hard to convince anyone that there are better amps than Rectos, even if you prove it to them, cause they think that a "Mesa is a Mesa" and nothing can be better than that
lol gotta work, c ya
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It was a painkiller, which doesnt change the fact that your point lies in ruins, dark lord!
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No, wait, it was a c-pig.
Still.
Point. Ruins. Bwahahahahahaha. Etc.
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This has meanwhile become kinda off-topic, but still:
Tim's recommendation is a NB bridge and a Mule in the neck.
But now back to the main event :D...
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This has meanwhile become kinda off-topic, but still:
Tim recommendation is a NB bridge and a Mule in the neck.
do that then...
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do that then...
Of course I'll do that then, Tim's proposition overrules everything
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do that then...
Of course I'll do that then, Tim's proposition overrules everything
so say we all. (lesson learned)
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do that then...
Of course I'll do that then, Tim's proposition overrules everything
So say we all.
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It's for the GREATER GOOD.
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Just one last thing, when he says Mule he means the regular A-IV one, right ?
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yes.
And Enjoy ! 8)
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Unless he says otherwise, yes. Just the 'default' option.
Then again, you could always ring him. You'll get it done in less than 10 minutes.