Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: LP_LOVER on May 15, 2009, 01:22:50 PM
-
Well, I don't know how to start... :lol:
At first my luthier only installed the CS neck, to see if it sounded better combined with the HD bridge. Well, the CS sounded a lot stronger, clearer and way more 'even' than the older HD neck. The HD neck sounded bassy, dark and loose in comparison with the CS neck. The HD bridge was still louder, it was a serious problem. Then I finally decided to get rid of the HD bridge too, to see if the CS bridge would be as great as the neck pickup. It was! A HUGE improvement over the HD bridge. Much more clarity, power, dynamics, it just has everything. Again: extremely well balanced.
Verry happy!
-
Win 8)
-Zaned
-
Nice review & glad you found the right pickups in the end (& that they were BKPs! :))
Your experience matches mine (http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=16737.0) with my LP Std Goldtop which weighs ~11lbs. The HDs were too dark, loose & lacked clarity. NBs were an improvement but CS is what this guitar needed.
Slightly off topic, but the HD set that I took out ended up in my LP Std VB which only weighs ~8½lbs & the difference is astounding. They sound absolutely wonderful in that guitar.
-
That's cool to hear Antag!
Honestly I think it's kind of funny: most people find the CS neck to be darker and warmer than the HD neck, or even darker than most other 'medium hot' neck pickups. Well, I find the CS neck to be the clearest neck pickup I've ever tried in my LPC. The HD was definately darker. My other Les Paul Standard (chambered) has a calibrated set of Mississippi Queens, which sound great in that guitar, but still not as clear as the Cold Sweats sound in my heavy LPC. It's kind of amazing. I can even hear that middle position 'quak' with heavy overdrive (when both pickups are on); it's pure madness.
-
Very interesting review : nice to see how you started with that harsh- thin-quite-unexpected-issue on both Mule and RY, to finally end up with a CS in that 11lbs guitar with no swiss cheese holes. :lol:
Anyway thanks mate ! And have fun ! :guitar4:
-
Well, it's justice for me personally and for my # 1 strange LPC (Silverburst).
-
Had the same experience with my les paul! I dont think theres a better pickup for les pauls!
-
Well, I don't believe in 'the best pickups' for Les Pauls, since every Les Paul is different. It's still the individual piece of wood that makes the tone, character and sustain. Even a 3-piece maple top can make that little difference in the overall tone or take the differences between a rosewood board and ebony board...there are lots, lots of other factors that influence the tone of a Les Paul. No two guitars are the same.
Like Antag said, the Holydivers sound great in his LP Standard VB (which weighs 8,5 lbs). I believe they do, if Antag says it. BKP's are great, if they're in the right guitar.
I've had a dog once (a cr@ppy LP Studio) that never came alive, even not with BKP's. It was just a dull piece of wood. Sold it.
My SB LPC has always been great; very full, rich, thick, bassy tone with great sustain. The Cold Sweats just seem to be the right fit for that guitar, without sounding harsh or trebly. The guitar still sounds thick, warm and bassy.....just extremely well balanced with the Cold Sweats :lol:
I love the guitar even more than I already did before.
-
That's a great story - glad you found the pickups for that one :D
-
Thanks AndyR :)
I'm as happy as a baby!
-
I second everything
but the holy diver was also AWESOME in my les paul (for different purposes, of course) and clearer on high gain non-palm muted chords
and definitely NOT dark on near standard tunings
-
That's interesting Eric. The HD's were good in my lpc, but never great. Too much low-mids, lack of real clarity.
-
I have a few LP's and have gone through the same issues with some of them. I didn't find a good home for the Abraxas set until I put them in my Hamer Sunburst where they just came alive. My lightest Les Paul is the original 53 conversion, this loved the black dogs so much that I've never thought of changing them. My goldtop had an Emerald/Mule set in it but when I changed to the PG Blues it became jsut what I wanted in a blues/rock way (the Emerald/Mule set works great in my Zemaitis metal front clone). My chambered standard was OK with the Emerald/mule set but when I went to a Riff Raff/Stormy Monday set then sounded even better. My latest LP has a full Emerald set in it and I will be picking it up next week (it is a custom build from Will Scott in Pembrookeshire, and is a mahogany body with a custom neck and wrap around bridge and 25.5" scale). Another set that I really like is an AV Mule/Stormy Monday. I have this in a Zemaitis Pearl top and it sounds great for classic rock.
-
That's interesting Eric. The HD's were good in my lpc, but never great. Too much low-mids, lack of real clarity.
The Cold Sweats really feel like they're custom-made for my lpc. It's the tone I had in my head, both clean
and distorted. The guitar sounds big, bassy and thick by nature, but now it's 'clearer' and even more powerful
than before....
It can't get any better than this.
Ain't it just wonderful when things come together? 8) My guitar with CS set is warm by nature too, no peaks in the high end. No mud though..which all leads to a very articulate yet thick outcome. With aggression!
-Zaned
-
Absolutely! 8)
0,0% mud.
-
Just like to add my praise for the Cold Sweats. If I have to be pidgeon-holed I suppose it would be "old skool" so it was with some trepidation that I ordered a set of CSs for my PRS Standard 24 particularly after reading that Twinfan didn't get on with them in his PRS McCarty...(although I was relieved that Philly who bought them likes them). As all my other BKPs are alnico (Crawlers, Riff Raffs etc.) I was not expecting great things .... I couldn't have been more wrong! Power, clarity, sustain - they are an ideal match for this guitar. As it's a Standard there's no maple top so it tends to be warmer and shows no sign of being clinical or sterile like Twinfan found with his McCarty. Combined with the excellent PRS features (volume and tone controls that really work, coil tapping etc) they give a great variety of sounds...I was particularly surprised with clean/single coil sounds.
-
Nice add Tellboy! Glad that they're the right fit for your PRS! I bet they'll sound warm, since there's no maple top on your PRS.
-
I wonder if they'd be a match in my PRS Custom 24... hmm
VH2's are my favourite pickup by far, but I might have to check out the Cold Sweats, at least the bridge. Hmm.
-
I wonder if they'd be a match in my PRS Custom 24... hmm
VH2's are my favourite pickup by far, but I might have to check out the Cold Sweats, at least the bridge. Hmm.
Being a fellow PRS owner, I can say that my McCarty handles them magnificently. The CS set, that is. However, your custom has less mahogany and hence typically a brighter tone. Might work or might not work, depending on what you're after..
-Zaned
-
It depends whether your PRS Custom is a bright or a dark guitar. Mine is a darker sounding one. When I bought this guitar they had two Customs: one was a antique sunburst which was very pretty but had a harsh top end. The other - which ended up being my guitar - was a raspberry which has a smooth top end and exceptional sustain in the high registers. Even though it has a warm basic tone the HD works well in it.
All that CS talk makes me want to try one in that guitar and move the HD over to my alder strat ...
-
Just to throw in my two penneth ;)
I did like the Cold Sweats for the metal stuff, they were great for heavier tracks. I needed clean and crunch tones too and while the CSs were very good, they just weren't quite right for me. I'm very picky about my tone, and have really specific requirements, and the Holydivers just do "it" better for me.
For aggressive rock, the CSs are great!
-
Darkbluemurder:
If you think your guitar needs more clarity and cut, then the CS might fit the bill. You'll never know how they sound, untill you try them out.
-
Just to throw in my two penneth ;)
I did like the Cold Sweats for the metal stuff, they were great for heavier tracks. I needed clean and crunch tones too and while the CSs were very good, they just weren't quite right for me. I'm very picky about my tone, and have really specific requirements, and the Holydivers just do "it" better for me.
For aggressive rock, the CSs are great!
Yeah, I can see how they might not be suitable for some. These are personal tastes :) I don't know about your experience, but the stock McCarty pickups weren't right for me, although they stayed in the guitar for quite a while. I just grew to dislike them.
I like a certain cut and I was never able to get it with the stock pickups, without sounding harsh.
Clean tones aren't cold sweats (bridge) forte, but they're quite OK though. BUT I can't see anyone buying them FOR the clean tone :)
-Zaned
-
Exactly Zaned, exactly. The stock McCarty pickups are generally not great, but in my McCarty Korina they sound pretty good so they're staying. The other 3 McCartys have had pickup swaps though ;)
-
Clean tones aren't cold sweats (bridge) forte, but they're quite OK though. BUT I can't see anyone buying them FOR the clean tone :)
-Zaned
I did actually; read my previous post...it's the first time (with the Cold Sweat bridge) that the clean tone sounds balanced in my lpc with the right amount warmth, cut, power and clarity. It doesn't feel like a hot ceramic pickup at all. It's classic and clear and I get the sweetest clean tones I've ever had before. The middle position sounds very, very sweet, well rounded and bell-like clean.
-
I might be a bit spoiled in the clean department, having a very nice strat with BKP single coil 'No. 1' -set :D But the middle position is GREAT on the CS set. Very very nice, I should have mentioned that. I must re-test the bridge alone with clean too, I have to admit that I don't play that pickup (alone) clean that much.
I do remember that I didn't think the clean tone in the bridge improved when I put in the CS set to replace the stock pickups..but EVERYTHING else did.
-Zaned
-
I have been wondering what your No.1 set is? :?
-
I have been wondering what your No.1 set is? :?
Getting off-topic, but what the hell 8) That's what Tim calls them, 'No. 1'. At least he did when I ordered them, he had been making them for a few months then. That was in last october.
Quote from Tim: "I think the Irish Tours might be a little too dirty and mid range heavy for an alder body/rosewood board-I have a new set of coils which I've been making now for several months(not officially released yet) based on an original '62 set to recreate the SRV tones-I think these will be perfect for you.They are alnico V and wound with heavy formvar wire. They don't have a name yet but I call them No.1's-same price as all the other sets."
In short, I was asking from SRV / Gary Moore tones, from a warm sounding strat.
-Zaned
-
Well, I don't know how to start... :lol:
The guitar (80's LPC ) weighs exactly 11 lbs, it's damn heavy. SOLID mahogany body (No swiss cheese holes in this pre-custom shop, limited edition Les Paul), mahogany neck, maple top, ebony fretboard. It's a big, bassy and warm sounding guitar naturally.
Here's a list of the pickups I tried in this LP:
- Stock EMG 85's
- Lollar Imperials
- BKP Mules
- BKP Rebel Yells
- BKP Holydivers
- BKP Cold Sweats
Well, the Lollar Imperials and Mules both had a great vintage character, but they just didn't cut it well. Both sets sounded too thin, harsh and just not balanced at all in my LPC. After these 'negative' experiences I tried the Rebel Yells...these sounded a lot more balanced, but still a bit too harsh and thin. ... Finally I took the gamble and I tried the Cold Sweats.
...clarity, power, dynamics, it just has everything. Again: extremely well balanced.
The distorted tone is literally out of this world. I was shocked when I turned the amps volume up...my rythm sounded sounded way stronger and clearer. The leads were insane: lots of bite and clarity with that violin-like sustain from the Les Paul body. No harshness at all. I won't ever change these pickups, ever.
Old thread but still germane and I'm amazed you found the RY thin. I put a Cold Sweat bridge in my LP Custom RI68 and it's definitely and improvement over the stock pup (? 57 Classic output around 8.4) but it's a bit strident with my Soldano SLO. In my LP Standard the Rebel Yells are fat punchy and I like the slightly rounded high end compared to the CS.
-
I found the CS neck to be waaaaay too bright in a swamp ash/maple Tele.
Works fine in a very dark sounding Wolfgang USA STP of mine.
-
Old thread but still germane and I'm amazed you found the RY thin. I put a Cold Sweat bridge in my LP Custom RI68 and it's definitely and improvement over the stock pup (? 57 Classic output around 8.4) but it's a bit strident with my Soldano SLO. In my LP Standard the Rebel Yells are fat punchy and I like the slightly rounded high end compared to the CS.
Most likely just the guitar. When I was considering pickups for my PRS McCarty, it was ultimately a choise between the CS and the RY. The RY has quite aggressive mids (upper midrange assault), and I see how it can be too much in some guitars.
-Zaned