Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Brow on December 29, 2010, 11:20:01 AM
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Hey guys.
I got an alder bodied (I think) BC Rich Gunslinger Retro Reissue a few months ago and I'm looking for pickup suggestions for it for 70s and 80s Rock, I don't play anything too heavy.
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/Browsif/Guitars/SDC10414.jpg)
This question unfolds a bit so you may have to bare with me a bit! :lol:
After reading on here I'd pretty much guessed that I wanted a Miracle Man in the bridge and a Trilogy in the neck, so I spoke to Tim about it. Tim recommended a Holy Diver and he also said 'because it's pretty much THE pickup for 80s Rock'. Now, I've spoken to Tim every time I've bought a pickup or a set (15 so far) and he's never steered me wrong, but his suggestion does throw something up in the air for me:
I already have a set of Holy Divers in my Patrick Eggle Climaxe guitar
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/Browsif/Guitars/DSC02698.jpg)
So now I have a decision to make. These are my options as far as I can see:
Get a Holy Diver for the BC Rich and 'double up' something I have in another guitar. Not really a problem if it's the best pickup for the job, just something I've never done before.
Move the bridge Holy Diver from the Eggle over into the BC Rich and get something new for the Eggle (Tim recommended an Aftermath).
Stick with my original idea of a Miracle Man, or something else altogether, for the BC Rich. Any suggestions?
Sorry for the long winded post!
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Holydivers do sit really well in Berlins, also you could try a Blackdog, which works well with the HD neck.
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Holydivers do sit really well in Berlins, also you could try a Blackdog, which works well with the HD neck.
Thanks!
The guitar I have is more or less a prototype of what the Berlin would become, apart from it has a Floyd and is made of completely different woods :lol:
I pulled the Eggle out yesterday during a jam and it sounded great, so I think I'll leave it as is and just get what'd fit the Gunslinger best.
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I'd go with your original thought of an MM. Matt77 has one in a Strat and it sounds top!
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It's a Gunslinger mate. Go for the MM and ride the lightning! :)
WR
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Why not put the holy diver into the BC Rich to see what it sounds like? Then decide on what to do once you've tried that- if it sounds better in the BC Rich, keep it there and get something else for the Eggle. If not, put it back in the Eggle and consider something else for the BC Rich.
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As a general rule of thumb, I'd never go against Tim's advice. If he says Holy Diver, then the Holy Diver is probably the best pickup for that guitar. He may have a better suggestion for the Eggle and besides, in the Eggle you have a Holy Diver set and in the BC Rich it would be paired with a Trilogy Suite so you do have something different.
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Thanks for the posts guys.
Tims advice has always been spot on for me every other time I've asked him, but just thought i'd put it out there to see what others thought :)
The Gunslinger is Alder and the Eggle is Ash/Anegree, so even with the same pickups in they won't react in the same way I guess.
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I've got a Miracle Man in my yellow Gunslinger Retro and am really happy...
..but you have now got me thinking about what the Holy Diver might sound like.... :?
My advice:
As you already have a Diver equipped guitar I suggest the MM
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The Miracle Man is a really scooped sounding METAL pick-up. I play a Splawn Quick Rod which has an extremely pronounced midrange, so the MM works great for me. I think that it depends a lot on what kind of amp you're using.
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The Miracle Man is a really scooped sounding METAL pick-up. I play a Splawn Quick Rod which has an extremely pronounced midrange, so the MM works great for me. I think that it depends a lot on what kind of amp you're using.
I use a Quick Rod too with a 2x12 with V30s, so there's no lack of Mids as you can imagine! 8)
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I dont find the Miracle Man that scooped
It has a slight notch in it's frequency that I find sounds great through a Marshall type amp
Would kill thru a Splawn
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you better listen to Tim
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you better listen to Tim
So you'd advise against a Miracle Man then?
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The Miracle Man is a really scooped sounding METAL pick-up. I play a Splawn Quick Rod which has an extremely pronounced midrange, so the MM works great for me. I think that it depends a lot on what kind of amp you're using.
I use a Quick Rod too with a 2x12 with V30s, so there's no lack of Mids as you can imagine! 8)
You homie, ditch those V30's and get an Eminence Governor and an Eminence Manowar. The Quick Rod was literally voced for these exact speakers. Ditching the V30's in my 2x12 for this set was a great idea. Treeeeeust me.
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you better listen to Tim
So you'd advise against a Miracle Man then?
The Miracle Mans really tamed that ice picky sound for me. YMMV but I think its a perfect match.
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You homie, ditch those V30's and get an Eminence Governor and an Eminence Manowar. The Quick Rod was literally voced for these exact speakers. Ditching the V30's in my 2x12 for this set was a great idea. Treeeeeust me.
I actually chose the V30s! :lol:
Before I got my Zilla Fatboy 2x12 with V30s I had a Marshall 1936 with the G12-75Ts and that didn't suit the amp at all.
I'll deffo bare those inmind if I get another cab though or if I suddenly change my mind on the V30s 8)
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Brow - I'm seriously suggesting either the Aftermath or the variant of the Am with just the single row of screws
Was playing again tonight and it has the80s vibe down 100%
I have it in an Ibanez S series - so not so vey different to the Gunslinger
Tonights playing was Schenker, Ratt, Motley Crue and Dokken and it sounded great through a modified Marshall sound (so not unlike your Splawn
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Brow, in all seriousness as my first reply was a bit light.
I play an American Strat alder body maple/maple neck, just like your Gunslinger except we have different shaped headstocks and my bridge is a Callaham and yours is a Floyd. I use V30's too, but confess they are in an x-pattern with 75's (1960B fwiw), however the V30's are the dominate.
I use Bogner amps fwiw. I've had five different BKP in the bridge of my guitar, some had an upper mid presence that would not go away no matter what. I think it could be a gamble because if the AM has a strong upper mid presence (in your guitar) that happens to lock on with those V30's, ouch ya?
The upper mid notch that Feline noted earlier about the MM, is spot on, that notch is in the perfect place for our woods IMO. The HD would work great in your guitar and it's my next to try in the future. IMO you're deciding between alnico or ceramic, a rock guitar that is thick & organic or screams like a wild bitch.
WR
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Brow, in all seriousness as my first reply was a bit light.
I play an American Strat alder body maple/maple neck, just like your Gunslinger except we have different shaped headstocks and my bridge is a Callaham and yours is a Floyd. I use V30's too, but confess they are in an x-pattern with 75's (1960B fwiw), however the V30's are the dominate.
I use Bogner amps fwiw. I've had five different BKP in the bridge of my guitar, some had an upper mid presence that would not go away no matter what. I think it could be a gamble because if the AM has a strong upper mid presence (in your guitar) that happens to lock on with those V30's, ouch ya?
The upper mid notch that Feline noted earlier about the MM, is spot on, that notch is in the perfect place for our woods IMO. The HD would work great in your guitar and it's my next to try in the future. IMO you're deciding between alnico or ceramic, a rock guitar that is thick & organic or screams like a wild bitch.
WR
Ah - interesting point about the V30s
I use Celestion Sidewinders exclusively and they have a very flat/even frequency response through the range and so I get away with a few more liberties.
It does maybe mean that I hear the sound of the pickup/guitar/amp in a truer sense than if i used V30s (which I find I'm not wild about).
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Cheers for the new posts.
WhiteRam made a good point about the V30s having a big slab of mids to them and paired with my Splawn (which also has a big slab of Mids and clarity to it), the AMs may just be a bit too much.
If that's the case, then the slightly mid notched Miracle Man may suit well too?
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I think the miracle man will work incredibly well.
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I kinda agree with Tim that an HD is the obvious choice, and it won't sound the same as in the Eggle so I wouldn't worry about having them in both.
However, if you want something a bit different for the sake of it, the Miracle Man would certainly be a fun pickup to try in there. :)
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Hey guys.
Thanks for the new posts.
I've sat and thought through what BKPs I have and realised that the only ceramic pup I have is the Cold Sweat in an Ash bodied Strat, so I think I'll give a Miracle Man a go in the BC Rich and see how I like.
Ceramics are a bit out of my 'comfort zone' (couldn't think of another term!) so I'll give 1 a go and see how it works.
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All the best to you Brow, hope it works great in your BC Rich. I can share with you that I had a CS bridge in my alder body maple/maple neck and it was worlds apart from the MM, the CS was great when tuning down from E standard, however the MM likes all the tunings. :)
I found the MM to be more rich & organic than I had imagined, it's the best ceramic I've ever heard, I think you'll enjoy it, no worries of it being close to the CS. Also in my rig the MM loves the V30's more than my Greenback quad. Have fun,
WR
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All the best to you Brow, hope it works great in your BC Rich. I can share with you that I had a CS bridge in my alder body maple/maple neck and it was worlds apart from the MM, the CS was great when tuning down from E standard, however the MM likes all the tunings. :)
I found the MM to be more rich & organic than I had imagined, it's the best ceramic I've ever heard, I think you'll enjoy it, no worries of it being close to the CS. Also in my rig the MM loves the V30's more than my Greenback quad. Have fun,
WR
Cheers!
I'm hopefully calling Jonathan at Feline Guitars tomorrow to order a Miracle Man and a Trilogy Suite 8)
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I'm probably late, but the Black Dog would be a good choice then for something different that still fits the guitar well. It isn't that far from the Holy Diver in terms of EQ.
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I'm probably late, but the Black Dog would be a good choice then for something different that still fits the guitar well. It isn't that far from the Holy Diver in terms of EQ.
I have a Black Dog in a Gordon Smith Les Paul style guitar and really like it. I want soemthing a bit more OTT for this guitar though.
Thanks for the suggestion though!
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I'm hopefully calling Jonathan at Feline Guitars tomorrow to order a Miracle Man and a Trilogy Suite 8)
Awesome, if you've never had a Trilogy Suite in the neck of an alder/maple, you're in for a treat from one end of the sonic spectrum to the other. I just got mine dialed in about 2 days ago, there's no way anybody can wind a pickup that goes from 1971 to 2011, but I guess they can! Holy Smokes! Enjoy! :D
WR
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Awesome, if you've never had a Trilogy Suite in the neck of an alder/maple, you're in for a treat from one end of the sonic spectrum to the other. I just got mine dialed in about 2 days ago, there's no way anybody can wind a pickup that goes from 1971 to 2011, but I guess they can! Holy Smokes! Enjoy! :D
WR
I had a Trilogy in the neck of an old Jap Charvel, but that was a basswood (I think) body with a rosewood fretboard.
I always sounded ok but I never really bonded with the guitar so I sold it on when I started modding my old Jap Strat for twin humbuckers and a Floyd.
I'll be taking the guitar in for a setup after I've received the pickups, so I'll report back after it's all sorted :D
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Spoke to Jonathan @ Feline and pickups are ordered! 8)
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Spoke to Jonathan @ Feline and pickups are ordered! 8)
Exciting for sure, the wait for mine wasn't bad at all coming to the States but always drives me mad waiting :lol: you'll probably have yours pretty quickly.
Ya, when you mentioned about having a TS in a rosewood board in the past, I thought about how it would sound as I've been playing mine, the maple board just makes these pickups spectacular IMO no question.
I'm so impressed with the TS, they won't do is that early '50/'60's thing as it could be, but they do give that sound a strong go in a modern way. I look forward to hearing how all works out for you. :)
WR
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Exciting for sure, the wait for mine wasn't bad at all coming to the States but always drives me mad waiting :lol: you'll probably have yours pretty quickly.
Ya, when you mentioned about having a TS in a rosewood board in the past, I thought about how it would sound as I've been playing mine, the maple board just makes these pickups spectacular IMO no question.
I'm so impressed with the TS, they won't do is that early '50/'60's thing as it could be, but they do give that sound a strong go in a modern way. I look forward to hearing how all works out for you. :)
WR
Yeah, I don't mind that the TS won't do the 50s/60s strat thing as I have other Strats that will cover that side of things :)
I also have a TS in the middle of a pair of nailbombs in my Ibanez S470, which does have a rosewood board, but it also has a mahogany body so not really the same to compare.
Looking forward to getting them fitted and blasting them through the Splawn :D