Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: JTL on December 05, 2005, 09:54:04 AM
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Hi!
I've been thinking of changing a pickup / or the pickups of my Gibson Les Paul Studio.
I love the clean sounds already but for high gain metal it's useless (tons of feedback and the sound is far from tight). My amp is a Laney VH100R.
I have been using a Jackson RR-Pro with EMG 81/85 pickups and been pleased with the high gain tone but I have grown to hate that damn floyd-bridge. Is it even possible to get a high gain sound as tight and good from my Les Paul?
I'd like to keep the neck pickup of the Les Paul and just replace the bridge pickup. So I would play all the cleans through the Pauls original pickup and just replace the bridge pickup with a monster pickup for high gains.
The pickup would be used for fast thrash metal - lots of fast palm muting etc.
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Id check out the warpig or the miracle man.Sound clips are in the players room.
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Id check out the warpig or the miracle man.Sound clips are in the players room.
Okay.
About the soundclips, it's quite hard to get a real image of the pickups cause most of them are through a Pod XT and dont involve thrash riffage. :)
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Id check out the warpig or the miracle man.Sound clips are in the players room.
Okay.
About the soundclips, it's quite hard to get a real image of the pickups cause most of them are through a Pod XT and dont involve thrash riffage. :)
True, the soundclips will only tell you so much.And not everyone can record with a cranked valve amp but they will give you a general idea.
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Id check out the warpig or the miracle man.Sound clips are in the players room.
Okay.
About the soundclips, it's quite hard to get a real image of the pickups cause most of them are through a Pod XT and dont involve thrash riffage. :)
True, the soundclips will only tell you so much.And not everyone can record with a cranked valve amp but they will give you a general idea.
Yeah, true. It's just that it would be quite nutty to order a pickup from another country without being sure.
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Both the Miracle Man and Warpig are sometimes thought of as "EMG killers", putting up all the heat and gain of 81s and 85 (I forget which is more like which) but with the vibe of passive pickups.
The Miracle Man is the shredmeister, and has great definition at high gain. It does use a ceramic magnet (in the bridge) for that, so though it's very tight at gain, it won't clean up quite as nicely as an Alnico pup would.
The Warpig has a similarly insane metal output, but geared more towards brutal low-end chug. With an Alnico magnet, it's not as tight and defined as the Miracle Man, but it cleans up very well (check the clips!).
If you want to shred, go for the MM; to thrash/chug, use the 'Pig.
There are also a few lower output BKPs, either ceramic or Alnico depending on what you want, that are voice for metally things of one kind or another (I wonder if the now-in-development Painkiller might work for you?).
In case of doubt, mail Tim @ BKP :)
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Welcome to the forum!
I'd be more than happy to make a quick thrash clip for you using my Miracle Man equipped guitar.
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A note about some of the soundclips, keep an eye out for Tim's clips, they are generally Les Paul's through JCM800's for the humbucker's, no modelling, no digital intervention, just pure valve tone.
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Both the Miracle Man and Warpig are sometimes thought of as "EMG killers", putting up all the heat and gain of 81s and 85 (I forget which is more like which) but with the vibe of passive pickups.
The Miracle Man is the shredmeister, and has great definition at high gain. It does use a ceramic magnet (in the bridge) for that, so though it's very tight at gain, it won't clean up quite as nicely as an Alnico pup would.
The Warpig has a similarly insane metal output, but geared more towards brutal low-end chug. With an Alnico magnet, it's not as tight and defined as the Miracle Man, but it cleans up very well (check the clips!).
If you want to shred, go for the MM; to thrash/chug, use the 'Pig.
There are also a few lower output BKPs, either ceramic or Alnico depending on what you want, that are voice for metally things of one kind or another (I wonder if the now-in-development Painkiller might work for you?).
In case of doubt, mail Tim @ BKP :)
Thanks for the tips. :)
Welcome to the forum!
I'd be more than happy to make a quick thrash clip for you using my Miracle Man equipped guitar.
Cool, thanks!
A note about some of the soundclips, keep an eye out for Tim's clips, they are generally Les Paul's through JCM800's for the humbucker's, no modelling, no digital intervention, just pure valve tone.
Gotta check them out.
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Welcome to the forum!
I'd be more than happy to make a quick thrash clip for you using my Miracle Man equipped guitar.
Cool, thanks!
I'll try to make one tonight for ya.
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Welcome to the forum!
I'd be more than happy to make a quick thrash clip for you using my Miracle Man equipped guitar.
The SPLAWN! We want the SPLAWN! :P
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I have a pig and a MM. The pig has the edge in gain, but still a little less than an 81 (which I also have: in a box after it was kicked out by the miracle man!).
The 81 sounds more compressed than either. Thats quite a big aspect of its tone.
To try and give you an idea of the tonal ballance of the pickups, we'll say for argument sake that the 81 is 5/5/5 B/M/T. If thats true then the MM is 7/4/5ish. Its heavier, its midrange is smoother and darker, it has more highs but they tend toward an organic high mid than a sizzly trebble. Beautifull lead tone, it soounds like a less overexcited 81, really smooth and clear and a little backed off on the gain.
The pig I have in quite a differenct guitar, so a comparison is harder, but its maybe 15% more powerfull with more low mid guts than shear bass response. Which it has plenty of as well, but its a similar amount to the MM. It sounds heavier by virtue of a big bass, growling mids, biting treble and focused but clear tone. Its maybe 7/5/3ish. The MM is tighter than the pig, but the pig sounds bigger and more brutal.
Hope this helped a little.
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I've not played many of the metal pickups, just the Warpigs. I didnt really like them (waits for flame-age!), they were too bassy for what I like (mind you the amp was pretty quiet). From the soundclips I've heard though, a bridge Miracle Man sounds ideal! Lots of tightness there. Check out Guit-art-ist's clip for the ultimate in tightness!
That being said, I have a Mule loaded LP Custom (Epi though), which I play everything on, classic rock, metal, whatever. Makes you work a bit harder, but its worth it as it makes you a better player :D Probably not tight enough for metal if I'm being really picky.
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That being said, I have a Mule loaded LP Custom (Epi though), which I play everything on, classic rock, metal, whatever. Makes you work a bit harder, but its worth it as it makes you a better player :D Probably not tight enough for metal if I'm being really picky.
If you boost the signal with an OD pedal before it hits the amp, the Mule can make some really heavy sounds. It's true that it's not a real metal pickup, though. When you're playing metal with the Mules, it's really in your hands whether you'll sound 'metal', while the 'metal pickups' like the Miracle Man or the Warpig will help you with tightness, compression, and aggressive tone.
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You dont like the might warpig?
:shock: :shock: :gib:
:wink:
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^ from what you say about tightness, from all i hear, i'd have to say the miracle man is probably the one you want- but i'll have to defer to the guys like mark (MDV) and TO who've played them...
and fwiw, i thought the laney vh100r was pretty tight when i tried it...
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^ from what you say about tightness, from all i hear, i'd have to say the miracle man is probably the one you want-
And I tend to agree. But I will definitely make a thrash clip tonight. Nothing too long, I don't have the time to program a lot of drums, but it'll get the point across ... ;)
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Okay, I've just mixed the clip. I've posted it up in the Players Forum so that there will be no problems with anyone listening to it. Details as to what I used to record the clip are posted over there as well.
Enjoy!
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=25898#25898
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^ from what you say about tightness, from all i hear, i'd have to say the miracle man is probably the one you want- but i'll have to defer to the guys like mark (MDV) and TO who've played them...
and fwiw, i thought the laney vh100r was pretty tight when i tried it...
okay.
yep, the Laney VH100R is pretty tight, but not with Les Pauls stock pickups. :)
I was just thinking that would the Miracle Man or the Warpig really be worth it? cause it would be double or even triple the price compared to the Swinesheadpickups. A warpig would be 122,50£ and a warthog would be 45£. :?
Okay, I've just mixed the clip. I've posted it up in the Players Forum so that there will be no problems with anyone listening to it. Details as to what I used to record the clip are posted over there as well.
Enjoy!
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=25898#25898
thanks for that clip. sounded good! :wink:
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well, i have a warthog, and it's very very good- but i haven't tried any bk's (yet! :twisted: ) :(
i think the general consensus, around any of the other forums i'm on is, swinesheads are EXCELLENT value for money, and very, very good (they beat the cr@p out of any dm's or sd's i've tried by quite a bit!)- but if you have the cash for bareknuckles, they're the ultimate.
and fwiw, the warthog isn't really a metal pickup. You'd want the xbucker for that- but it's maybe not the "tight" sound you're after- it's meant to be very bassy and chuggy, for want of better words... EDIT: it's certainly not muddy though, from what i hear
if you have a gibson les paul, i'd say it's worth bk's, IMO... if you had a £200 or £300 guitar, i'd say swinesheads (that's my philosophy, anyway)- i'mn definitely going to get some bk's, but i'm waiting till i get a kickass guitar to do them justice!
EDIT: I don't mean that bk's won't work in or improve a £200/£300 guitar- of course they will! But IMO if I'm willing (and I am! ;) ) to spend around £150-£250 (depending on pickup config.) on a set of pickups, I'm also willing to spend £600+ on a great guitar to make the BK's even better!
now i just need the "headbang" icon...
hope that helps!
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As dave knows I have Swinseheads in one of my guitars and like them alot (Xbucker/warthog). They arent as good as BKPs though. And it seems a little cheeky to talk about them as direct competitors for BKs on the BK boards. These are BKs boards after all, not a general forum.
Or are Tim and co unconcerned by the competition? I think so...actually, I think I remember Tim saying so! But it still seems cheeky, if you wanna talk swinsheads, or whatever, PM me or post on UG or HC or something, unless one of the BKP dudes gives a thumbs up to talking about the competion in threads like this?
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As with everything in life, you get what you pay for, you can pay half, but you'll get half the quality.
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to be fair swineshead dont compete with BKP really. they clearly say they want to cater for the lower budget market, and give a better sound for the price than the big brands.
i see bareknuckle as making the ultimate no-compromise pickup therefore the price is accordingly.
i tried both, it seems like a few guys here have, and they both do what they say.
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to be fair swineshead dont compete with BKP really. they clearly say they want to cater for the lower budget market, and give a better sound for the price than the big brands.
i see bareknuckle as making the ultimate no-compromise pickup therefore the price is accordingly.
i tried both, it seems like a few guys here have, and they both do what they say.
Well said!
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^i never meant they were a direct competitor for the bk's. The guy asked about swinesheads, and i gave him my honest opinion. I didn't bring them up.
And i said from all I hear, Bareknuckles were better. I also stated that I was planning on getting some too! EDIT: i also recommended that he get bk's!
what's the problem? Sorry if I caused any offence.
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I didnt think you did, dave. Cause offence that is.
Fine, as long as the seals broken on the swinseheads, the xbucker is a very good metal pickup. Its cant do anything else, mind, but its very good at what it does. it has a tight and powerfull bass response, a med/high mid thats quite low-middy and a clear high end that gives enough bite to ballance out all the lows in the sound and not get muddy. It sounds very 'ceramic' and is a little less powerfull than a warpig, but not much. Chugs really accentuate with it and its leads are fluid.
It has a complete lack of useable lower gain sounds.
Ok, back to BKP mode ;).
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^yeah, i figured maybe you meant the guy who brought them up in the first place, mark- to be honest, he isn't going to get an honest answer- everyone here is going to be biased, more or less! ;) (pretty much everyone registered here is going to either have BK's, or (like me) be GAS-ing (or should that be PAS-ing? ;) ) for them...)
anyway, from all I hear, the bk's pwn the sh's in the versatility stakes- at very least for the metal pickups (and I don't doubt for the warthog too).
EDIT: i edited my original post on the SH's versus BK's for clarity
and FWIW, after reading gwen's excellent post properly (sorry, i kind of went into defensive mode without good reason, I apologise) I agree with those sentiments entirely.
Now i just need a cheers emoticon (get on it, BK, i'm speechless without it! ;) And the headbang one, while you're at it ;))
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hi, i have a Miracle Man in the bridge position and the Mule in the neck position in my LP Studio :) you should get that combo its great! :D
heres the link to my clip i posted. :D :D :D
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2090
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I ordered myself a Miracle Man. 8)
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^sweet! Hope you like it!
i answered your thread on HC as well!
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I ordered myself a Miracle Man. 8)
Cool! I'm sure you will love it!
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Nice one, Im shure you will be pleased.
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I use a MM-bridge in one LP, and it's GREAT for metal.
The MM have high output, but still remains clear and focused.
It has a smooth roundness to it without beeing too dark.
It has NO fizziness or spiky harsh top-end, like many other ceramic pickups do have.
It might be a bit too much for bluesy stuff, but for rock and metal? Killer!
T.
www.trendkillerweb.com