Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: braintheory on November 06, 2010, 09:48:05 PM
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I know this question has been asked a million times, but how do these two pickups compare to eachother? I am looking for a tele tone similar to the one in the guitar solo of Sympathy For The Devil. I love how that tone is so sharp and biting. Some people may call it shrill, but to me it sounds great. I don't want the high end to be to smooth or rounded.
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The Brown Sugar will give you substantially more top end with its lower DC resistance and polysol wire.
If you want to take it a step further, the Country Boys will give you a brighter tone again.
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I would consider Blackguards too. They have the raunchy bite you want for this type of music.
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Yep, the '68 stagger set specifically will give you that very bright CBS-era sound if that's your thing, while the '55 stagger will give similar treble response with a bit more body and output.
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will the country boys sound weak or mushy under too much gain? Also I heard he blackguards sound stratty which is something I don't want.
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It's only the Flat '52 set that has the slightly strat-like sound in the neck position, which is an authentic reproduction of the design and tone of the pickups briefly made in that year.
The rest of the Blackguard series will deliver the unmistakeable tone you expect from a tele.
The Country Boys don't have much low end so they shouldn't mush up, though the Alnico V mags in the other tele sets mentioned will give you a noticeably more powerful sound.
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So how do the blackguards sound compared to the country boys? Also, how else does the brown sugar sound different from the boss between having more top end?
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Which out of the Blackguards are you referring to? There's 4: the Flat '50, the Flat '52, the '55 Stagger and the '68 Stagger.
The Brown Sugars are more forward in the mids, while The Boss's have a woody, slightly scooped midrange character with more low end. The Boss set also has the more compressed feel you'd expect with the hotter wind.
To me, it seems like the Brown Sugars are the most natural choice for you. As the name suggests, it was definitely created with that Stones sound in mind.
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I asked Tim about the Brown Sugars for my tele, cause those I choose initially for blues/rock stuff. Tim nevertheless recommended the BG50's. They have enough output to drive an amp and they sound very good with pedals. Solo's no problem. Watch the Roy Fulton vid.
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BG50s are great. I swear by them - as do a few others on here!
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BG50s are great. I swear by them - as do a few others on here!
So do I. I think they are more versatile then any other telepuppie.
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The Brown Sugars are more forward in the mids, while The Boss's have a woody, slightly scooped midrange character with more low end. The Boss set also has the more compressed feel you'd expect with the hotter wind.
i'm not sure i agree they have a scooped mid-range character, and nor does BKP "Classic Tele sound with extra weight in the mid range for driving rhythm and cutting lead."
anyway, i do agree they aren't the right choice here. the boss has a more 80s hard rock feel. brown sugar or bg flat 50
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i'm not sure i agree they have a scooped mid-range character, and nor does BKP "Classic Tele sound with extra weight in the mid range for driving rhythm and cutting lead."
anyway, i do agree they aren't the right choice here. the boss has a more 80s hard rock feel. brown sugar or bg flat 50
Hmm, maybe scooped was a bad choice of wording - it does have rather severe connotations. Certainly compared with the Brown Sugar I found it had notably more midrange grind and growl.
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Have you been doing a lot of Tele playing recently, Nolly? :D
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Sure have! Plus got to spend a day with Ray (the chap that winds all of the tele pickups) at the manson's show.
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which of the bk tele pu's has the most grind?
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Piledriver, but that pickup is far away from the classic tele sound. I'd stick to BG50's.
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I do want a traditional sounding tele, but I also want some grind and aggression. Also, to me a traditional tele has a unique metallic crisp sound in the bridge position that I have never heard in other guitars except teles. Will the country boys and bg's have this signature metallic quality in the bridge? In the clips I heard these two pickups did not have it at all. They both sounded too warm and refined and almost stratty. To me a traditional tele is rawer and more raunchy. However, the clip I heard of the Brown Sugar had a little bit of that metallic bite, but not as much as would want and still did not have that rawness.
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I do want a traditional sounding tele, but I also want some grind and aggression. Also, to me a traditional tele has a unique metallic crisp sound in the bridge position that I have never heard in other guitars except teles. Will the country boys and bg's have this signature metallic quality in the bridge? In the clips I heard these two pickups did not have it at all. They both sounded too warm and refined and almost stratty.
The BGF50s bridge on my Tele doesn't sound "stratty" at all - it's all about grind and raw power, even on a rosewood/alder '62 RI. Now it doesn't have any of the ice-pick syndrom of the original pup, but this is not something I would complain about ;)
The neck (old BGF50s wind - think it's now the 52 set neck AFAICT) is indeed kinda stratty but I like it. YMMV.
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If it's absolute textbook Tele you want, try the '55 Stagger set.
If you want traditional Tele with extra grind and power go for the Brown Sugars.
If you want a ferocious treble response, go for the '68 Stagger.
If your Tele doesn't sound like a Tele with those sets, it won't be the fault of the pickups ;)
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Amen!
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Tell me more about the 68 BG's. Will they have that piercing sound like in sympathy for the devil. A lot of people don't like that piercing sound, but I love it. I noticed that the boutique tele bridge pick ups that I have played like the lollars sounded too mellow and refined, but I have yet to try the bk tele pickups. Only the fender tele pickups had the tele sound I had in my head, particularly the custom shop nocaster. However, I still feel like I can do better than fender pick ups. Also what do you mean by icepicky? Do you mean that the treble notes were too shrill or piercing? Would you consider the tone in Sympathy For The Devil's guitar solo icepicky? If that is icepicky than I want it. For some reason my ears like really bright tones.
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The '68s are very trebly pickups, in keeping with the early CBS-era instruments. The bridge is weaker than the Country Boy, but has an AV magnet so does feel like it can push a little harder.
Honestly though, the majority of pickups are designed to not be as bright as you're going for. If you get yourself a Brown Sugar set, you'll have the mid grind you want, and if you want more treble you can simply dial in more on the amp. Also, have you considered getting a treble booster pedal?
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Will any of the bk tele pu's at least be as bright and sharp as the fender tele pu's. If they can be as trebly as the stock pu's in teles like the nocaster, 52 reissue, american standard tele, and mexican standard tele then that is good enough for me. I am definitely looking for a classic tele sound, but if none of the bk tele pu's are as bright and metallic as the fender tele pu's then IMO they are not authentic sounding tele pickups and are not capturing the true essence of a telecaster and rather they are going for their own sound, which is not a bad thing, but not what I'm looking for. I think that metallic sound in the bridge is as important to capturing the true tele sound as is that piercing treble. One of you said the BG's won't be as icepicky as the real tele pu's. I'm still not 100% sure what icepicky means, but if means what I think it does then I think the bk tele pu's should have because otherwise they really missed the mark in making vintage tele pu's, unless of course I have the wrong definition of icepicky. I don't mean to sound like I'm saying negative things about bk tele pu's because I have no idea since I have never played and even if they don't have that signature tele sound they still may be amazing pickups in their own way, so don't get the wrong idea. Thanks for the help. Also I don't think I need a treble because all the fender tele pickups I played had enough, only the non-fender boutique pickups I played lacked the treble, but they still were better quality pick ups and to me sounded much better, but just did not sound like a traditional tele to me.
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Sorry I made a few silly typos let me rewrite the ones with typos:
-but if it means what I think it means then I think the bk tele pu's should have it.
-because I have no idea since I never played them
-Also I don't think I need a treble booster because all the fender tele pu's that I played had enough treble
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I think you are getting confused about the Blackguard series. It's a collection of 4 very separate pickup sets, that are each extremely authentic recreations of notable Tele pickups.
The Flat '50 Blackguard set that people have referred to as not icepicky are replicas of the pickups found in the original Broadcaster guitars, which were wound rather hot at around 10.5kΩ. It's not the bright and "metallic" sound you're referring to at all, but it is an accurate reproduction of the pickups from that brief period.
The '68 Stagger Blackguard set that I mentioned earlier is very bright, so if that's what you're after it's a good choice.
The '55 Stagger Blackguard set is pretty much the definitive Tele tone, as I described earlier.
I think this thread has given more than enough information for you to be able to make a decision :)
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the BG50 and 55 provides true tele tone from the fifties and are easy to tailor on your amp to your flavour. I think the '68 is something special, since is - as Nolly says - way brighter. I could be a good choice, but I think the other two have more punch and grind. If you like nocaster-tones, they are the way to go.
Keep in mind that the secret to make different tones on a tele is in the toneknob of the guitar. I often play my Tele with the toneknob just on half, by example for fat rythmchops. When you go for the '68, just experiment with the toneknob to find the sweet spots.
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So could the BG 50 and 55's sound as bright and sharp as the fender nocaster pickups with the tone knob all the way up? Also you think the 50 and 55's will be better choices than the 68 because of the extra grind and punch?
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Yes, I think the '50 and '55 are more versatile and deliver telespank, depending on the amp you use. Anf when I mean spank: bright but no razorblade.
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How do the BG 52's compare to the 50's and 55's?
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How do the BG 52's compare to the 50's and 55's?
Here's the best info I've seen about the four different Blackguard sets:
http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/newsletters/2010-10-28_aftermath.html (http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/newsletters/2010-10-28_aftermath.html)
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Hi,
I cannot coment on the blackguards I have no experience there. I have two guitars with tele pickups in. The first as a set of yardbirds and the 2nd one a boss bridge irish tour neck. First off for a vintage sounding tele pickup do consider yardbirds as well. They are my favourite bare knuckle pickup very versitile and sweet sounding both clean and overdriven. The boss bridge pickup can go into slightly heavier territory has compared to the yardbird. Clean not quite as good but can do some metal. For me I think it works better with a marshall tone amp as oppossed to a fender (though this could be just me).
For me I would look at yardbirds, blackguards and brown sugars.
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How do the BG 52's compare to the 50's and 55's?
Here's the best info I've seen about the four different Blackguard sets:
http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/newsletters/2010-10-28_aftermath.html (http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/newsletters/2010-10-28_aftermath.html)
Excellent. Needs no further comment, besides that I love the BG50's.