Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: ztikmaen on May 19, 2011, 04:15:45 AM
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So do you guys have Humbucking guitars, one for cleaner stuff, and one for drive? Because I'm wondering if I should go the other extreme of the spectrum (I'm going to get a guitar with soft/clean pickups that come with it) and go for a Holy Dier or something? I was originally going to chose the Abraxas but I wondered if I should go for a hotter set. I still want tone and no scooped mids etc... Or is my original plan of Abraxas Bridge and Black Dog Neck good enough?
P.S To those who know that I overthink, just pretend that I'm somebody else -_^
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Ooh and I've always been curious as to how versatile Warpigs are :]
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haha - you do overthink it...but I would be a hypocrite if I judged anyone for that :D
I think that pickups (BKPs especially) can all be played clean or with any amount of gain and sound quite good. High output pickups may be better suited for high gain applications, and lower output ones may work better for cleaner/bluesier stuff. But I have no doubt that the Holydiver can probably crank out some mean blues solos and we all know from clips that the Mules can play modern metal like nobodies business.
Medium output pickups do this better than any others though, and I have read (although never actually tried) that the Abraxas are some of the most versatile BKPs out there, they will be great for any style you want to play!
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Cool thanks Oilpit. When people need a reasonably hot pickup, do they ever "play it safe" and choose a pickup that will be capable of delivering more power than they need? I've always wanted some mean high output soloing tones but if I couple that with soft jazzy pickups in another guitar, I fear that the space in between will not be filled in.
I don't play any metal at all, only hard rock max. But I do want some beef and power while retaining organic tone. That's why I originally thought of the Abraxas (although the Warpig may clean up all right...?)
The softer pickups in the other guitar are *apparently* prone to getting muddy at higher gain settings, which is why I want a yin for the yang :P
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Each of the BKPs I've had so far, has been e.g. bad for cleans. Not by far. And they respond very well to tone/volume controls, which makes the tone tuning a lot easier too. There is generally a difference in the pick attack and voicing between high output and low output pickups (especially if the former has a ceramic magnet). Depends on the player, guitar and the music which is the best..
You could also try this approach: go with lower output pickups, but use a booster when you want higher output.
-Zaned
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Well I'd probably leave that booster on :D
Thanks for the feedback Zaned
So it would be better to boost a soft pickup than tone down a high output pickup?
And what were you saying about pick attack? So if I want more pick attack I'd be better off with a higher output pickup?
What's the biggest differences between high and low output pickups?
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I just crank the gain on the amp, I more and more dislike boosters. I find even the BD has enough signal to get the preamp cooking.
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Open dynamic pickups like BKP's clean up very well, you can play the amp's gain with your guitar's vol. knob. I think you first have to determine what kind of tone you're looking for. I see you asking about the same questions in different threads. In one of them I recommend the calibrated Abraxas-set. This is hot enough to drive your amp, but still has that open vintage PAF-tone, which will clean up well. Don't forget the quality/tone of the amp is important too.
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What I'm looking for:
Bridge - Powerful PAF tone that is rather compressed with nice kids. I do still think the Abraxas is roundabout what I'm after.
Neck - Warm with not too much pick attack (the Abraxas seems to have a fair amount of this "edge") but not mud up under gain. I was thinking possibly a Mule but people say they can get muddy? And is what I'm saying about not wanting too much pick attack but no mud a contradiction? :/
I run through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe LE. This comes with a rather stupid drive mode but the cleans are fantastic. I don't believe there is a gain knob on the clean channel. I just use the Hotcake to overdrive the amp. Unfortunately I don't often get to play very loud, and although I guess I could turn down the master on the amp and turn up the output on the pedal, the volume knob is like a switch on the amp -__-
Although my amp is no Marshall, I think the pedal and upgraded speaker make the drive tones nice enough. I usually play with a standard of (for humbucker guitars) slightly fuzzy overdrive in the bridge/neck, but I NEVER use the bride for cleans, only the neck and middle. I want some epic pristine cleans...
Thanks heaps guys
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I canīt talk about the Abraxas, but I am fairly certain that the Mule neck will deliver what you want. Certainly warm, vintage and smooth with mild pick attack. If you put it at the right height it wonīt get muddy too easily as well, only if you put it too close. I donīt have a mud problem with mine and I like to crank my Orange Tiny Terror to the max at times and also go pretty heavy on my MXR Fullbore Metal pedal.
Of course itīs no bridge PU, it is a smooth and warm thing, but it has that BKP clearness to it.
Also amazing for cleans.
Thatīs my personal 2 cents.
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Wow thanks Kiichi, that's a great reply :D
And actually... After playing my guitars I think I've come to the conclusion that I dont need more guitars... So I *may* even just replace all the pickups with BKPs. Omg. That sounds like serious effin fun. I WILL keep in mind like people said to go slow and make sure that I like BKPs first (I'm sure I will). I won't be getting them all at the same time. Firstly will be the Flat 52s and a couple of Humbuckers.
So! These are some pickups that I want to end up having (mixed bag of ideas):
Abraxas Bridge
Mule Neck
Possibly Black Dog neck
MAYBE even a Humbucker sized P90 set... :O
Ok ok... I'll stop myself before I explode with some serious PAS
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Oh and is it possible to order normal P90s and request them to be in humbucker size? Because I saw somebody bought a humbucker sized Pig '90
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Oh and is it possible to order normal P90s and request them to be in humbucker size? Because I saw somebody bought a humbucker sized Pig '90
I think there may be some limitations because the size of the coil under the humbucker cover is slightly different from a P-90. But it would do no harm to ask!
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Oh and is it possible to order normal P90s and request them to be in humbucker size? Because I saw somebody bought a humbucker sized Pig '90
I think there may be some limitations because the size of the coil under the humbucker cover is slightly different from a P-90. But it would do no harm to ask!
Ok I've asked Tim, just waiting for a reply.
These are my possible outcomes: (Upgraded Tele is a given)
a) Buy new humbucker guitar and buy one set of Humbuckers (hot or not depends on the pickups that come with it)
b) Don't buy new guitar and upgrade my two Humbucking guitars with two sets of Humbuckers. One hot and one not
c) Don't buy new guitar and upgrade my two Humbucking guitars with a set of P90s and one with Humbuckers. Average/balanced humbucker sound and average/balanced P90 sound. This options sounds most interesting and diverse to me personally
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Oh and is it possible to order normal P90s and request them to be in humbucker size? Because I saw somebody bought a humbucker sized Pig '90
I have one of these :) Even with a ceramic magnet :)
Its amazing.
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Oh and is it possible to order normal P90s and request them to be in humbucker size? Because I saw somebody bought a humbucker sized Pig '90
I have one of these :) Even with a ceramic magnet :)
Its amazing.
Wow, sounds intense... You should put it in a GoldTop to give people a shock :D
In terms of P90s, I think I'm leaning towards the Nantucket... I was looking at the Supermassive and Stockholm but the Stockholm's clean demo is kinda below par :/ Can't really concentrate because the guitar is out of tune
If I go for the P90s, I want a vintage, compressed, and middy sound in the bridge.
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Well I'd probably leave that booster on :D
Thanks for the feedback Zaned
So it would be better to boost a soft pickup than tone down a high output pickup?
And what were you saying about pick attack? So if I want more pick attack I'd be better off with a higher output pickup?
What's the biggest differences between high and low output pickups?
I can't really put that pick attack into words :) It's a matter of compression too, which high output pickups tend have more of. And it's very dependent on the guitar too, what kind of a tone it has and what you want to highlight/suppress with the pickups.
When choosing pickups, I tend to go for a pretty balanced sound; warm but clear, and with bite when I want it. And still keeping in mind what I feel that particular guitar excels at. After I've accomplished that, I've noticed that I can play pretty much anything with it :) Not that I would choose my cold sweat equipped PRS McCarty to play Hank Marvin; I'd choose my alder bodied strat with slab board '59s for that. It can still rock hard after Hank has left the house.
About boosting, different amps just react differently to that. Try getting a highish gain hard rock tone from a vintage plexi and low output pickups. But use a booster, and you have something that's been used for more recorded hard rock tones than can be counted. Modern amps tend to have enough gain by themselves, but a booster can still bring you different flavours..if the amp likes boosters. Some don't.
I do like the woody, dynamic and honest tone of low output pickups, that's the direction I've leaning to lately. Which probably means I'm getting more guitars and BKPs in the not so distant future 8)
Hmph. Hopefully some of that makes sense.
-Zaned
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Yeah, totally makes sense
So I guess for me, choosing a neck humbucker is hard. I don't know if I should choose a big wide open clean pickup, or a more compressed and pick-attack-y powerful one that doesn't mud up. I guess (from what I hear) that a Mule is the perfect mid point. But I was wondering if I should go EVEN softer and go with a Stormy Monday or PG Blues (although the PG sounds like a bit of a funny one)... After all, my neck pickups are almost exclusively for my cleans
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So do you guys have Humbucking guitars, one for cleaner stuff, and one for drive?
My Vox Custom 24 has Crawlers neck and bridge, and my SG now has a Mule neck and NB bridge. Both work fine from pristine cleans (with special mention for the SG / Mule neck which is just incredible when it comes to clean tones) to over the top gain levels.
Now if I could afford it, I'd get me some ES335-like semi-hollowbody with Stormy Mondays just for clean / slight bluesy overdrive tones.
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So instead of one for drive and one for clean, you kinda went more for the "different flavor" approach?
Sounds good... I'm imagining what it would be like to have three guitars that had really nice cleans AND drive sounds in the variation of singles, P90s, and Humbuckers :O
Whole spectrum right there apart from semi hollows
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So instead of one for drive and one for clean, you kinda went more for the "different flavor" approach?
Well, it wasn't really a "rationale decision" kind of process. The Vox has been my one and only guitar for about 20 years and it's so much part of me that I couldn't let it go, despite the (newly acquired) SG being by now my #1. Now having two "compatible" (even if somewhat different) guitars is a good thing - at least you have a decent backup for gigs.
Sounds good... I'm imagining what it would be like to have three guitars that had really nice cleans AND drive sounds in the variation of singles, P90s, and Humbuckers :O
Whole spectrum right there apart from semi hollows
FWIW, I also have a Telly for the fenderish singlecoil tones, and thanks to BKP it also happens to sounds as good from clean to heavy gain, but it doesn't get that much use. And yes, some P90s axe would be a nice addition to my rig, but I just can't afford another decent guitar ATM and I'm rather a "one-guitar-to-rule-them-all" kind of guy anyway ;)
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Thanks BigB, hopefully I can make those awesome irrational like you :D
Oh btw, how much hotter is a Black Dog compared to a Mule? I want one of those, possibly a Stormy Monday, in the neck with an Abraxas bridge. But I'm guessing the Stormy Monday may be too mellow