Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: LMCollard on July 21, 2009, 12:13:54 PM
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Hi all. I've a problem : I have a strat with 3 beautiful Trilogy suite pickups :D, but I recently took the decision to put
a humbucker in neck position... the problem is that I dont really know which one choose : painkiller, cold sweat, MM (i heard it was the "best" with the Trilogy's), nailbomb, warpig... There are too many choices :( . So I ask you which one should i get ( i like Pantera, Megadeth, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Dream Theater... sorry its very large :?)
Thank You, BKP roxx! :D
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In the neck position! I would think that it will over power the singles! I would be asking Tim on this one.
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even with the high output of the Trilogy suites i think all of the humbuckers you named would be over powering
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Yeah, are you sure you meant to type "neck" position? Single coil bridge & middle + Humbucker neck seems a very odd pickup configuration...
Assuming that you actually meant "Bridge" position for a standard HSS config, & that your strat has an alder body, I'd say Holy Diver - balances great with Trilogy mid/neck, sounds fantastic in alder & covers all the musical ground you want.
So, please confirm which position you're putting the humbucker in & what your strat is made of... :)
EDIT: Perhaps a picture would be helpful here. This is what we mean by a standard HSS pickup config:
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/george204/th_ASt_MMS.jpg) (http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh23/george204/ASt_MMS.jpg)
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& welcome to the forum BTW...
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The MM would definitely work well with the trilogy set if it were in the bridge, but would definitely be entirely too overpowering in the neck. If you are interested in a neck humbucker, maybe a VHII?
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Ok i understood, i thought the humbucker must be placed in neck pos .
So if it was in bridge position, the MM is the best for me ?
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Nailbomb should fit in well I would think, great bridge pickup.
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Like I said earlier, it all depends on what woods your guitar is made of.
Assuming alder or ash, I'd say NB would be a far better choice than MM. I had an MM bridge in my alder strat (in fact, that's it in the pic above :)) & it was OK, but the NB I swapped in there is a far better match for that guitar. But I still stand by my earlier comment that the Holy Diver is a great match for Trilogy mid/neck, sounds wonderful in alder & covers all the musical requirements you listed.... :)
Perhaps we should approach this a bit differently: What is it about the Trilogy bridge that makes you want to replace it? What do you want more/less of? What doesn't it do for you?
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In full distortion, i trained a lot to be clean with those pickup, but it's always dirty ! so i thought (for solo's rather i remind), changing the trilogy neck for a NB or MM was a good choice, but if it's better to change the bridge Pickup.. :)
I have an alder strat-like.
(Excuse me for the spelling, im french)
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Oh my god, i made a little mistake :D, i mixed up bridge and neck position, yeah i want to put a humbucker in BRIDGE position :)
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If the guitar is alder, then definitely Holy Diver. Nailbomb's a close second, and the MM would most likely be too shrill.
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Bienvenue au forum de BKP :)
J'ai pensé que vous avez voulu dire "bridge" plutôt que le "neck" :)
Tellement encore je dis "Holy Diver" ou peut-être "Nailbomb". Vous avez besoin de "midrange" en alder et le HD est plus souple que MM.
S'il vous plait excuser mon français - je suis pars l'école plus vingt ans :)
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I didnt know the selection of the pickups depended so much of the wood :o
I dont like Dio, but if its the best pickups... in fact i cant play with the sound of the artists
i quoted if i cant put the right humbucker because of the body's wood
( excuse me if im not clear)
good french ^^ btw.
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Is there a topic for the "correspondance" between woods and pickups in this forum ?
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PS: is ther any topic for the "correspondance" wood/pickup in this forum ?
There have been many started, but none finished. If you have any questions about specific pickups, I'd suggest asking around on the forum or emailing Tim. But the general rules are:
Mahogany: thick sound, works best with ceramic and moderate output alnico pickups. Hot AV pickups generally cause a muddy situation, unless maple is added to balance things out.
Alder: balanced sound, brighter and thinner than mahogany, works best with alnico pickups. Moderate to slightly hot ceramics may work well, but anything hotter in terms of ceramic will give you that lovely "nails on a chalkboard" sound.
Maple: Quite bright sound, quite heavy, generally found only on necks, body tops, and fretboards. All-maple bodies actually work well with ceramics, despite both being rather bright. They also work well with low to moderate alnico pickups.
Ceramic: Bright, quick response, extremely clear. Great for extreme distortion, but not too great for cleans, which can sound cold and sterile. Great for cutting through the mix when there are other instruments to consider.
Alnico: Slightly warmer, organic, sweet. Cleans are great, as well as crunch and distortion. I found that some of the BKP alnico pickups can actually distort rather far before losing clarity, but will still be slightly less clear than ceramic.
THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: Listen to your instrument when shopping for pickups. No two slabs of mahogany (or alder or basswood or maple) are the exact same, and don't expect them to be. If you have an alder guitar that's rather dark, hotter ceramics may be for you, just like hotter alnicos may work well in certain mahogany guitars.
ALWAYS REMEMBER: When in doubt, ask Tim. He makes the pickups, so he knows what works best in what.
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Thank you, like this i wont have to ask Tim or anybody else :).
Excuse me, i repeat, but i wont play with the sound of my favourite artists if im obligate to put
a humbucker i maybe dont like (if their name are good choose ^^) "because" of my guitar's wood, no ?
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So i can play megadeth, pantera and vai with a Holydiver ? :lol:
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So i can play megadeth, pantera and vai with a Holydiver ? :lol:
Yes, easily
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Cool, thank you all to reply : )