Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: mkh02 on November 30, 2010, 05:04:41 PM
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Hey guys!
I am new to this pick up replacement thing and one of the guys in my band has used Bare Knuckle's in the past and highly recommends them so here we go...
I have an american standard strat and have recently joined a Deep Purple Tribute band. I feel I want to upgrade the stock pick ups but i am unsure as to which ones to go for.
I generally like a fair amount of gain but want something that will retain picking dynamics. Playing through a Carvin legacy 100w up to a 4x12 Marshall Cabinet loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's.
Any advice as to what the best choice would be? Should I consider a humbucker or are the single coils worth looking at? I use an ibanez jem and les paul in my other band so maybe I have enough humbuckers lol?
I am also going to buy a Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster in the next month, any thoughts on the Dimarzio YJM?
Any help would be grately appreciated.
MKH
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Tim recommended Slowhands to me for a Richie Blackmore vibe.
I'm not disappointed with them in this regard! (I have a baseplate on the bridge)
edit: you might also want to look into a treble booster pedal
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Hahahaha, I'm sitting here, reading out of my psychology book, and waiting on an Yngwie Strat to come in the mail right now. I should be getting a knock at my door in proooooobably about 1-2 hours. It was supposed to come yesterday.
I hear the Trilogy Suites are not suited well for the Yngwie tone, and are totally different beasts. I've also heard from a few that his DiMarzio's sound a bit better than his new Seymour Duncan's.
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I would think the Trilogy Suite would be a good choice for Blackmore
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I would think the Trilogy Suite would be a good choice for Blackmore
I think so too, but depending on the amp Slowhands could do the job too.
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When I started reading this thread I was thinking Slowhands but I can't comment on Trilogies.
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Yep, as said, Trilogies or Slowhands will get you where you want to go.
Slowhands have a fat mid and plenty of low end, but retain the traditional stratty top end you expect to hear from a single coil.
Moving up to the Trilogies, the treble response smoothes out noticeably, though I would say the low mids aren't as fat as with the Slowhands. The Trilogy bridge is close to a P90 in sound - very fat and powerful but still easily distinguishable from a humbucker.
Personally I'd recommend Slowhands as your first port of call since they are more dynamically responsive. For some extra power in the bridge position you might want to do as gwEm has done and opt for the zinc-plated steel baseplate.
I hear the Trilogy Suites are not suited well for the Yngwie tone, and are totally different beasts.
I wouldn't say that at all. What is different is the approach to achieving that tone. Yngwie's pickups are generally very traditionally stratty in sound, and he relies on his smooth technique to achieve the fluid lead sound he's renowned for. The Trilogies are voiced so that a player can get a similar sound through their own rig with minimal change to technique.
Similar deal with the Irish Tours for example - Rory and SRV both used stock strat pickups but got their tones through a combination of massive strings and brutally heavy right hand technique. The Irish Tour set gives you a slice of that big sound by means of their extra output and gritty voicing, so you can use more comfortable string gauges and not have to go all UFC on your guitar every time you play :lol:
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Similar deal with the Irish Tours for example - Rory and SRV both used stock strat pickups but got their tones through a combination of massive strings and brutally heavy right hand technique. The Irish Tour set gives you a slice of that big sound by means of their extra output and gritty voicing, so you can use more comfortable string gauges and not have to go all UFC on your guitar every time you play
I agree totally. Even the splitted second position (I have a Crawler in the bridge of my strat, combined with two IT's) sounds quite bold/thick on my Rockerverb 50 (clean channel). The drivesettings are even fatter, but still with all the singlecoil-character. Great pickups.
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One thing I have found out is that YJM's DiMarzio HS-3 is a staked humbucker, where as the Trilogy Suite's are all regular single coils.
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I hear the Trilogy Suites are not suited well for the Yngwie tone, and are totally different beasts.
What is the source for this info? Reading the specs of Dimarzio/SD Yngwie models against BKP Trilogies?
The Dimarzios Yngwie used were pretty low output, and quite smooth sounding also. He just slams the Marshall's input with that DOD overdrive pedal.
I own a neck model of the trilogy suite pickup, and can definitely hear the Yngwie thing. Like his neck sound, it's thick and smooth. But not polite, it can be aggressive. It doesn't get muddy.
-Zaned
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One thing I have found out is that YJM's DiMarzio HS-3 is a staked humbucker, where as the Trilogy Suite's are all regular single coils.
That's not really here nor there to be honest - the YJMs are voiced like a single coil, not a humbucker.
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Thanks for all the help guys!
Ok so torn between the Trilogy Suite's and the Slow Hands. Will keep the Dimarzio's in the Malmsteen Strat when I get it.
I hear what you are saying about the slow hands however I like more gain in my sound as I like to control the dynamics of it and prefer a highly overdriven/distorted sound for chord and lead work. I also like the soaring highs that higher output pickups can give. It's hard to describe the tone in my head that I want lol!!
I like a well rounded tone not glassey or too trebley.....like enough gain to scream out notes if put enough right hand into them.
Obviously I dont want to be playing a muddy mush of notes but from what i gather the Trilogy's will still be well defined in my effects mix.
Was thinking about putting zinc plates on all 3 pickups..any thoughts?
Once again I am so impressed with all the quality replies! Thanks guys!
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Was thinking about putting zinc plates on all 3 pickups..any thoughts?
It's possible of course even if I didn't find it "useful" or necessary. Usually Strats tend to sound thin or if you may I'd like to use this famous Monty Python word "TINNY" with the bridge pickup. Baseplate gives you more "woody word, GORN!" from the bridge pickup. No more tinny Strats :)
Neck pickup alone sounds fuller, fatter and round(er) than middle or bridge pickup. That's because of its position in the Strat. Strings have bigger movement around neck pickup than around bridge pickup. Therefore I wouldn't have baseplate on neck pickup. It could always go over the top in output compared to bridge pickup and start to sound muddy or too fat. And since R. Blackmore really didn't have the middle pickup... there's no need to have baseplate on that either.
This is just my 50 cents to this issue. If you wish to have 'em all with baseplates it's alright, but consider having higher output strat-set altogether then. I think that baseplate suits the bridge pickups the best.
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^Yep, I agree with this.
mkh02: From what I'm understanding, a set of Trilogies would suit you very nicely indeed :)
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I think so too. For Malmsteen-tones Trilogies seem just right.
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Thanks for all the advice again guys!
So gonna go for the trilogy's!
What is the point of stock polarity or RW/RP?
Is it worth going for? What you all think?
M
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RWRP makes positions 2 and 4 hum cancelling, and also gives those positions a cleaner, smoother and more scooped sound. It's a cool option for the hotter strat sets since they are a lot fatter in the mids than your average singles - this way you can access some of the wonderful "hollow" sounds you get from more traditional strat pickups.
The downside is that the having a reversed polarity means the pickups' magnets exert a "tug of war" on the string, with the bridge and neck pickups pulling in the opposite direction to the middle pickup. This does reduce sustain marginally, but it shouldn't be of major concern. RWRP is more or less considered standard for strat sets.
Stock polarity will give you more top and bottom end extension, as well as being fuller in the midrange. You will of course lose the hum-cancelling effect in positions 2 & 4, but the trade-off is arguably improved sustain.
FWIW, I've played RWRP and stock sets back to back in the same guitar, and the difference in sustain is not a deal-killer in anyway. It'd be unnoticeable in the vast majority of situations.
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Thought I'd comment, as I have just fitted a Trilogy Suite to my Charvel strat.
I'm using an Egnater Renegade, and an HBE Germania 44 treble booster as my stock sound.
Still getting used to the Trilogies; they're very different to the Blackguards and Mules that have been the staple of my sound for a couple of years.
I have baseplates on bridge and neck.
Still playing with pickup heights etc.
Bkackmore - yes, definitely. Very, VERY much so.
Yngwie - yeah, although I'm struggling to get the creamy neck sound (probably more shitee technique than anything else). Neck pickup height adjustment will help here, I suspect.
The real gem for me here is positions 2 and 4 - they are INSANELY good. Really incredible - full, rich, warm and biting all at once.
middle position is very middle position strat - i have it set relatively low.
Bridge pickup actually has a bit of a 1980's glam metal vibe going on. I just kept playing the main riff to "Unskinny Bop" on it over and over again, and grinning!
Not a great review, still getting used to them. Gonna put a YouTube clip up as soon as possible.
Mark.