Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: guitardude on July 21, 2009, 05:45:33 PM

Title: need help choosing pickups
Post by: guitardude on July 21, 2009, 05:45:33 PM
i need help choosing a pickup. my guitar has an alder body with maple neck and rosewood fretboard. i am looking to replace the bridge humbucker. i am looking for warm low end and fat highs and mids. i mainly play hard  rock like van halen and ozzy. i hope you guys can help?
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: syr2012 on July 21, 2009, 05:53:27 PM
Maybe a VHII or Black Dogs?
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: guitardude on July 21, 2009, 05:56:36 PM
looking around on this forum i seen some people say the VHII was on the bright side. is that true?
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: guitardude on July 21, 2009, 09:08:29 PM
i dont often like really high output pickups but what about the HolyDiver and Nailbomb?
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: IntenseJim on July 21, 2009, 09:59:57 PM
looking around on this forum i seen some people say the VHII was on the bright side. is that true?
IMHO a tad brighter than a PAF or Black Dog (which I looooooove) but I'd describe it as more 'open' sounding with stronger mids. 

...to my ears.
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: syr2012 on July 22, 2009, 12:04:51 AM
I have a Holydiver, it's quite warm and middy, and very thick. I think the nailbomb's a bit sweeter, but both should be able to amply cover your needs. The Diver, however, is known to be at home in alder, though, so I'd suggest that.
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: guitardude on July 22, 2009, 01:00:21 AM
at second look with the HolyDiver what is all the stuff about transparent highs? not sure that is what i want as for i am looking fat highs.
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: guitardude on July 22, 2009, 01:06:04 AM
i looking for something along the lines of dare i say a dimarzio super distortion but a less output and better. will the holydiver be like that?
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: syr2012 on July 22, 2009, 02:13:58 AM
i looking for something along the lines of dare i say a dimarzio super distortion but a less output and better. will the holydiver be like that?

It'll definitely be better than the super distortion and since it's AV instead of ceramic, it's most likely a bit cooler and the cleans will definitely be much, much better.
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: kevinr on July 22, 2009, 12:36:44 PM
I have both Holydivers and Nailbombs, and I would say without doubt that the highs are thicker and sweeter with the Nailbombs.
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: LMCollard on July 22, 2009, 03:15:07 PM
i mainly play hard  rock like van halen and ozzy. i hope you guys can help?
If you like the current ozzy sound ( so with Zakk Wylde ), the MM is far away better, with a sound like EMG's
but for "cleaner distortion" like van halen, i can't help you and i let the pros answer you
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: syr2012 on July 22, 2009, 03:26:46 PM
i mainly play hard  rock like van halen and ozzy. i hope you guys can help?
If you like the current ozzy sound ( so with Zakk Wylde ), the MM is far away better, with a sound like EMG's
but for "cleaner distortion" like van halen, i can't help you and i let the pros answer you

Unless your guitar is dark, stay away from the MM. It would be entirely too bright and may make you miserable. If you want a ceramic, consider a cold sweat or painkiller, though the cleans on the latter are not very clean.
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: LMCollard on July 22, 2009, 03:32:57 PM
Yes, i heard some CS, they are f****** amazing :p
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: ericsabbath on July 23, 2009, 12:25:53 AM
i mainly play hard  rock like van halen and ozzy. i hope you guys can help?
If you like the current ozzy sound ( so with Zakk Wylde ), the MM is far away better, with a sound like EMG's
but for "cleaner distortion" like van halen, i can't help you and i let the pros answer you

Unless your guitar is dark, stay away from the MM. It would be entirely too bright and may make you miserable. If you want a ceramic, consider a cold sweat or painkiller, though the cleans on the latter are not very clean.

the cold sweat is brighter than the miracle man
the miracle man has a higher treble peak in the high strings, but it's not brighter than the cs
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: syr2012 on July 23, 2009, 12:59:14 AM
i mainly play hard  rock like van halen and ozzy. i hope you guys can help?
If you like the current ozzy sound ( so with Zakk Wylde ), the MM is far away better, with a sound like EMG's
but for "cleaner distortion" like van halen, i can't help you and i let the pros answer you

Unless your guitar is dark, stay away from the MM. It would be entirely too bright and may make you miserable. If you want a ceramic, consider a cold sweat or painkiller, though the cleans on the latter are not very clean.

the cold sweat is brighter than the miracle man
the miracle man has a higher treble peak in the high strings, but it's not brighter than the cs

I thought the painkiller was the brightest, then the miracle man... Well, my mistake. I think the only way for me to provide an accurate evaluation of the ceramic line is to TRY THEM ALL! If only my wallet allowed...
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: ericsabbath on July 23, 2009, 01:10:54 AM
I thought the painkiller was the brightest, then the miracle man... Well, my mistake. I think the only way for me to provide an accurate evaluation of the ceramic line is to TRY THEM ALL! If only my wallet allowed...

I almost did that:lol:
didn't try the c-pig and c-bomb, though

I think how some frequencies respond to picking can be confused with brightness sometimes
the painkiller has a "brighter low end", but overall balanced, while the miracle man has more high end but it's darker on the low end and mids, and the cold sweat has "brighter mids" and less bass, so it usually sounds brighter than the others
they're not a world apart from each other, though
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: syr2012 on July 23, 2009, 05:48:06 AM
I thought the painkiller was the brightest, then the miracle man... Well, my mistake. I think the only way for me to provide an accurate evaluation of the ceramic line is to TRY THEM ALL! If only my wallet allowed...

I almost did that:lol:
didn't try the c-pig and c-bomb, though

I think how some frequencies respond to picking can be confused with brightness sometimes
the painkiller has a "brighter low end", but overall balanced, while the miracle man has more high end but it's darker on the low end and mids, and the cold sweat has "brighter mids" and less bass, so it usually sounds brighter than the others
they're not a world apart from each other, though


(sorry for the brief hijack)
Do you think an overwound MM (to tame the high end) would work in the bridge with a bridge HD placed in the neck?
Title: Re: need help choosing pickups
Post by: ericsabbath on July 23, 2009, 08:29:21 PM
Do you think an overwound MM (to tame the high end) would work in the bridge with a bridge HD placed in the neck?

probably
the neck version of the miracle man placed in the bridge position already sounds a bit like an overwound version of the diver
it's fatter, a bit more compressed and darker, but similar to the diver
so I guess the bridge diver in the neck might work even better than the MM neck