Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Ruhruh on June 03, 2011, 04:14:40 AM
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I'm in the market for some pickups and I'm thinking I might run with some Bare Knuckles, I know a fair amount of people who speak highly of them and from the clips I've become pretty interested in these. I'm really just worried about throwing in some pricey pickups and disliking them, so to hopefully avoid that I'll share my current set up and situation.
Currently using a 1979 Gibson "the paul", which for those of you who aren't familiar is a stripped down Les Paul that uses a walnut body. The guitar itself has an almost overwhelming amount of bass, most likely from the choice of wood it's made up of, which is another reason why I'd like to try something else out that might be a bit more suitable. Currently it has some 490's in it which are just buzzy, undefined and more or less just have entirely too much bass in the mix. As far as amps go, I run both a Sovtek Mig-60 and a Framus Cobra in live settings, both are using cabs loaded with v30's. What I'm mainly looking for is something that will kind of counter the natural bass that the wood has, while remaining full and powerful. The gross buzz from the 490's is also upsetting. Seeing that I run one high-gain amp, I really don't see the point in using a pickup that will augment that and want to try to avoid it. I'd prefer a pickup that let's my amps do the work, so-to-speak.
The style of music I'll be using this in is basically fast paced, Hardcore/Crust Punk/D-beat type stuff. There are also some Stoner/Doom elements sprinkled about but they're not really done in live settings. I'm a fan of natural tones and while this may come as a strange statement, the guitar I was using as my main just prior to this one was loaded with EMG 81/85's and it let me maintain a natural amp tone. I know everyone will scoff at EMG use but I found them to be extremely balanced, high output pickups that allowed my amps to do what they do. While I could easily just throw some EMG's in this as well, it'd be nice to have an old Gibson with passive pick-ups.
Doing my own reviews of pickups and what is available, I can say that I'm sort of partial to "The Mule". So basically to summarize, I'd like something that will just let the guitar breathe, have a nice strong output seeing that I run two amps simultaneously and won't make a wood that is naturally bass heavy, a boomy and distorted mess. If anyone has any suggestions and so forth, let me know.
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I have no personal experience with walnut bodied guitars but from what I've read it seems they can be somewhat opinionated... But anyway: if you're looking for a vintage-voiced low-output bucker that might be able to cut thru a bassy guitar, I'd suggest the RiffRaff.
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Indeed, I believe that she may be a fickle beast. I'm actually looking for a vintage voiced, high output pickup.
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You'd best contact Tim. He'll sort you out. Incidentally a friend had one of those guitars and I loved it.
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Indeed, I believe that she may be a fickle beast. I'm actually looking for a vintage voiced, high output pickup.
I had a "The Paul SL" - mahogany, not walnut, but a similar sort of guitar with no maple top.
Not exactly "vintage voiced", but the Rebel Yell is worth considering - it's fairly powerful but lean in the bass so it won't sound muddy in your guitar. Cold Sweat would be good too if you don't mind a ceramic magnet.
Crawler, Holydiver, Black Dog, Abraxas(?), Emerald(?) are probably going to sound too bassy I would guess.
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I think you're all on the right track. Something like a RiffRaff or (a touch more modern) Rebel Yells.
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the cold sweat sounds great through a framus cobra
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Indeed, I believe that she may be a fickle beast. I'm actually looking for a vintage voiced, high output pickup.
Well, you were talking about The Mule which isn't specially high ouput ;) Now if you want to go for something hotter, perhaps the VHII, Emerald or - in a more modern style - the RebelYell, but I have no experience with any of these pickups. Aks Tim, as he will know better.
Also, you say the guitar has lot of lows, but how are the mids and highs, harmonic content etc ?
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Indeed, I believe that she may be a fickle beast. I'm actually looking for a vintage voiced, high output pickup.
Well, you were talking about The Mule which isn't specially high ouput ;) Now if you want to go for something hotter, perhaps the VHII, Emerald or - in a more modern style - the RebelYell, but I have no experience with any of these pickups. Aks Tim, as he will know better.
Also, you say the guitar has lot of lows, but how are the mids and highs, harmonic content etc ?
Mid and highs seem to cut in an average way I suppose. Depending on what amp I'm using and what it can do, I generally have to knock back the bass a considerable amount. If I'm using something that's a little "boomy" then I have to bring up the treble to an above average level. I did email the owner, Tim and he suggested a riff-raff or a ceramic nail bomb. I'm thinking the riff-raff.
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so you shouldn't discard the cold sweat
it's a lot like the c-bomb, but leaning towards the brighter and less fat tone of the riff raff
it delivers a very cutting, clear and crunchy tone, specially through the Cobra
you might find the riff raff too vintagey and soft
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I have no personal experience with walnut bodied guitars but from what I've read it seems they can be somewhat opinionated... But anyway: if you're looking for a vintage-voiced low-output bucker that might be able to cut thru a bassy guitar, I'd suggest the RiffRaff.
^ +1
exactly what I was thinking - the extra treble 'poke' will help the naturally bassy-heavy tone.
you might also consider VHIIs or Rebel Yells if you want something hotter, but not 'metal'.
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you might find the riff raff too vintagey and soft
What do you mean by soft? I assume you do NOT mean mushy or spongy right?
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Tim recommended to me a set of Riff Raffs for my solid mahogany Les Paul clone. He told me that the pickups are tight in the bottom end, but I can't say anything from experience because I haven't bought them yet :)
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you might find the riff raff too vintagey and soft
What do you mean by soft? I assume you do NOT mean mushy or spongy right?
not mushy, but it's slightly spongy, like a PAF should be
mine is definitely tight enough for most stuff, but it has a thicker custom magnet, so it's more percussive
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you might find the riff raff too vintagey and soft
What do you mean by soft? I assume you do NOT mean mushy or spongy right?
not mushy, but it's slightly spongy, like a PAF should be
mine is definitely tight enough for most stuff, but it has a thicker custom magnet, so it's more percussive
Hrmm, spongy might not be the best idea for a wood that is well, naturally spongy.
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Hrmm, spongy might not be the best idea for a wood that is well, naturally spongy.
That's part of the tone of these low-output vintage-voiced 'buckers, and it seems that it doesn't work that bad after all :wink:
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Hrmm, spongy might not be the best idea for a wood that is well, naturally spongy.
That's part of the tone of these low-output vintage-voiced 'buckers, and it seems that it doesn't work that bad after all :wink:
this
that's the point
it's smooth, but the clearest bridge pickup I ever had and has a ton of sparkly top end
I don't think it could ever sound muffled or muddy
it would sound quite tight through the OP amps, but doesn't sound like the OP is looking for something low output
I still recommend the cold sweat
it has a similar voicing, but much hotter, tighter and more cutting