Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: alendon on December 03, 2009, 08:25:00 PM
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I'm looking for a set of bk's for my Gibson vee . Just looking for some suggestions for a billy gibbonsesque tone.
Kinda nice and smooth and compressed with enough kick to get the amp going.
Running through a Marshall jvm 2 50watt half stack...
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I would go for either Stormy Mondays or a Mule set if you want off the shelf options
The Stormy Mondays have an alnico 2 magnet and will have a smooth tone whilst the slight overwind on the mules will give that late 50s tone that Pearly Gates had .
Both will sound good in a V in my opinion (Vs and Explorers both seem to favour vintage spec ALNICO pickups or High Output CERAMIC pickups best for the tone to cut through and have clarity)
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What about the abraxas set???
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Remember seeying AndyR saying he can get a tone very Billy Gibbons with his Mississippi Queen, I think it is on a Explorer
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Is it a mahogany V or korina?
That'll make a difference...
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Is it a mahogany V or korina?
That'll make a difference...
It will to a certain extent but even with Korina : I'd favour vintage spec ALNICO pickups or High Output CERAMIC pickups
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Is it a mahogany V or korina?
That'll make a difference...
It will to a certain extent but even with Korina : I'd favour vintage spec ALNICO pickups or High Output CERAMIC pickups
There are special exceptions of course, but my experience is the same as Feline.
The Abraxas wouldn't be my first choice for a mahogany V.
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I would think that mules would fit the bill
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I only mentioned the woods as some mahogany can be really thick and dense sounding, so you may want to brighten it up. Korina is generally a bit more airy from my experience.
In a korina V, I think Black Dogs would be great for Gibbons tones.
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I only mentioned the woods as some mahogany can be really thick and dense sounding, so you may want to brighten it up. Korina is generally a bit more airy from my experience.
In a korina V, I think Black Dogs would be great for Gibbons tones.
They would work as well
I think the Abraxas would cut it too but I usually steer towards to more vintage territory
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Remember seeying AndyR saying he can get a tone very Billy Gibbons with his Mississippi Queen, I think it is on a Explorer
Fernando remembers right! :D
Following on from above posts though, my Explorer is a very warm and thick sounding guitar.
I wasn't really sure what I was going to get out of it with MQs, but it's kind of an all-rounder, and one of the things that comes out is "Billy Gibbons" ... not his more recent album tones, I don't go that messy, think pre-Eliminator...
Not sure this would work in a V though? Folks seem to lump V/Explorer together (I always did), but I've heard enough about Vs on here now to know that they can be slightly tricky for comparisons (with an explorer) over what works/doesn't...
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Not sure this would work in a V though? Folks seem to lump V/Explorer together (I always did), but I've heard enough about Vs on here now to know that they can be slightly tricky for comparisons (with an explorer) over what works/doesn't...
I think there must be subtle differences between SGs, Vs and Explorers due to the different shapes and the way the body mass is distributed, but there's still that all-mahogany, set-neck family resemblance (I'm talking about traditional Gibson types, not spin-offs/copies with through-necks, Floyds etc obviously).
There'll still be lots of variation between individual guitars, but they sound more like each other than they sound like a Les Paul.
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Its a 1993 all mahogany 67 reissue ......its currently got a gibson 496r at the neck and a bkp miracle man in the bridge but im going to put the MM in a different guitar......and probably hang onto the 496r as a spare for emergencies...
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I think a V has a pretty individual sound. The big old body rout and large tight scratch plate with pups mounted in give it a touch of semi acoustic tonality. I've got Mules in my 81 and am very happy with them. As for a BG tone, to my ears the guitar covers this area more than adequately.
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I couldnt agree more with the semi acoustic thing...its the reason i love my vees so much :D would a stormy monday in the neck balance with a mule in the bridge well or would i be better off with a mule calibrated set? i like my neck pickup to be nice and clean and smoooooth with a bite at the bridge..
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Yeah Alendon I'm pleased you recognised that quality because I don't think it ever gets lauded. A V is a wild guitar not only for it's looks, but for it's strange and positively left field tonality. I really can't comment on the merits on a SM in the neck as I have no experience of said pickup, but my calibrated Mule set works in spades. All I can say is a Mule neck is indeed smooth and clean and lets face it this is a calibrated set and specifically designed to work together. All I can say is that in my three Knuckled guitars it was in the V that it made the most massive difference. the range of tones expanded massively. My experience of Gibson pickups is to say the least underwhelming.
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Well I've bitten the bullet and ordered the mules set with nickel covers.can't wait to get em in the v !!
On the subject of the vees tonality.the one I'm fitting the mules in has the most wonderful acoustic resonance ,really piano like on the low E,A and D and on the top 3 it just sings.:p
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Fill yer boots alendon me old sonner. I can't believe you'll ever regret it. I never saw myself with a V, but when my one appeared in a local guitar shop for £750 my nephew needled me to get it so I checked the value on the net and Silverbursts from 81 were valued at at least double that so I took the plunge and I've never regretted it. V's are supercool.
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indeed they are my friend...ive been playing since 1985 and wanted one from day one ....after a silverburst myself...saw a 79 silveburst on ebay recently but it was a bit dear and i thought a little dubious originality wise....but hey the ones i have are awesome guitars so i cant complain....the other one i have has a miracle man in the bridge and is just brutal!!! The one with the mules will fit nicely between that and my tele.....
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The mules are fitted and sound heavenly!!! just what i was looking for and the nickel covers look way cool too!!!
thanks everyone for your invaluable opinions,experience and advice...its much appreciated as always.......my tele is next for the bkp treatment :P :P :P :P :P :P
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Now you'll have to get a strat with Apaches to nail the La Grange sound!
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i guess i could forgo a holiday next year lol :P :lol: