Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Alex on March 03, 2012, 06:39:09 PM
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I bought a new guitar, used. It's a reliced ESP strat. So far I'm still in the "honeymoon phase" and loving it - hopefully that feeling will hold.
Best of all, it already came with Bareknuckle Pickups: two trilogy suites and one sinner (in the bridge). It isn't the choice I would have picked straight from the selection (probably Irish Tours or Slow Hands), but I'm all the more amazed at them. That is quite a versatile bridge pickup.
Also, I feel that for the first time my T-Rex overdrive works really well with a guitar and I see the sense behind overdrive pedals with overdriven amps much more now. Also, fortunately, the 60hz hum isn't a problem, thanks to the BOSS NS-2, which, again, I have on my pedal board but rarely used to switch on.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/theonlywarlock/Guitars/s_IMGP3455.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/theonlywarlock/Guitars/s_IMGP3457.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/theonlywarlock/Guitars/s_IMGP3458.jpg)
the bad thing is that my wife only "allowed" this purchase on me promising to sell two other guitars until summer. It's a tough one, but I think the Voodoo LesPaul will have to go along with another one.
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very nice :)
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Very nice indeed!
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Looks cool!
Is it an MIJ model? And is that a Wilkinson VSVG tremolo?
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Your wife 'allowed' you! Grow a pair of balls man. ;)
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Nice guitar btw.
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Looks cool!
Is it an MIJ model? And is that a Wilkinson VSVG tremolo?
Err... it's an ESP.
And it's a wilkinson by Gotoh. What does VSVG mean?
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Nice !Could you tell us more about the Sinner ?I've heard some good things..
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Looks cool!
Is it an MIJ model? And is that a Wilkinson VSVG tremolo?
Err... it's an ESP.
And it's a wilkinson by Gotoh. What does VSVG mean?
Alright, keep your hair on! I don't know everything there is to know about ESP, for god's sake. :roll:
VSVG is one of the tremolo systems made by Gotoh for Wilkinson. I don't know what it means, any more than I know what VS100 or VS400 means....
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Your wife 'allowed' you! Grow a pair of balls man. ;)
PDT_003
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Looks cool!
Is it an MIJ model? And is that a Wilkinson VSVG tremolo?
Err... it's an ESP.
And it's a wilkinson by Gotoh. What does VSVG mean?
Alright, keep your hair on! I don't know everything there is to know about ESP, for god's sake. :roll:
VSVG is one of the tremolo systems made by Gotoh for Wilkinson. I don't know what it means, any more than I know what VS100 or VS400 means....
I meant to say I have no clue what "MIJ" means either.... :? Just like VSVG.
I know its a one-piece maple neck and an alder body though.
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Big congrats on your NGD. Seems like a nice score. I would def. go for some lower output pickups as they would suit my style better, but I hope you enjoy the Sinner and the Trilogies.
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Nice !Could you tell us more about the Sinner ?I've heard some good things..
So far I love it, but it's a very different animal compared to the typical metal humbuckers. If you add a lot of gain (and it does take very well to that) it gets into metal territory, but it still has a different feel and sounds still a bit like a single coil. Less gain and the single coil character with what I call "squishiness" becomes more apparent. I like it BECAUSE it is different and that is why I got this guitar in the first place - it's very different from my other guitars.
Because I only had the guitar for a short time it is difficult to comment on it and unlike the Miracle Man, for example, this is the only guitar I have those pickups in (whereas the MM I had in three different guitars).
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Your wife 'allowed' you! Grow a pair of balls man. ;)
Shhh, I might be interested in the LP...
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Please test more and tell us more about the PUs, I am very interrested in those.
So far they sound very interresting, but further experience and all would be nice.
Oh and congrats^^
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I meant to say I have no clue what "MIJ" means either.... :? Just like VSVG.
I know its a one-piece maple neck and an alder body though.
MIJ = Made in Japan.
I wasn't sure whether all ESP Models are made in Japan or not - and I thought you were saying "It's an ESP, of course it's Japanese, duh!". :oops:
Apologies for the misunderstanding. Peace. :)
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Yeah, all things that say ESP on the headstock and not something like Grassroots or LTD or Edwards are MIJ at ESP's facilities. Love those ESP necks!
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great set of pickups, i have the same in a Mex strat. I did put the BKP 280k volume pot in mine with some fender no load tone pots, they bring out some high end that i felt was missing. Very versatile pickups, not just for rock/metal.
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Your lp please.
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Congrats with your ESP-twist on Blackie. Screams for Irish Tour or Slowhands.
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Your lp please.
I'll first try to shift the LTD baritone.
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I've now had quite some time to play it, so here are my impressions so far; I've spent some extra time on the pickups, since some people wanted more info on this. This is, of course, subjective, and I have used the pickups only in one guitar.
Guitar:
+ Neck: very nice. It plays really nice. I'm amazed at the high bends that are possible, but I think this is due to the fact that it's an ESP and not a Fender and that the Fretboard radius is very large, more like a superstrat in fact. It's also a tad chunkier than most ESP necks.
+ acoustic sound: rich and warm with that maple neck/strat clarity. I had expected a very percussive feel over a "legato-"kind of feel, but it is fairly neutral in both respects. I think it may be the alder body, but I'm not really sure what strats are usually made of, to be honest (swamp ash? basswood?).
+ build quality: great, and the recessed bolt-on provides nice access
- knob layout. Apparently this is normal for strats, but that volume know is always in the way somehow and TWO tone knobs.... I would have preferred two volume knobs and one general tone knob. I might change the layout at some point and remove the first volume knob.
Pickups:
+ The Sinner is a great beast and can get very heavy. It is very good at early Slayer/Metallica/Iron Maiden sound and gets very heavy. I played some Motley Crue/Dokken/Skid Row earlier today (not that I played it very well, though) and felt it really does some great 80s sounds as well. It's strength is the clarity and "deepness" on single notes and a very fast response (naturally that works well when playing faster). It also works very nicely with pick attack - hit harder and you feel it in the sound. It doesn't do styles such as In Flames, Pantera, Trivium very well and simply lacks the brute force for death metal, it isn't "abrasive" enough on the low end. While it has a very fast bass response (good), it does less well on bigger/complex chords under high gain (bad). It cannot match the string separation of an EMG81 or Nailbomb either, especially on heavily distorted rhythm sounds. That is part of its character though, I feel it reminds me a lot of Yngwie Malmsteen's heavier sounds. It cleans up ok, but I find the clean sound isn't that amazing (it's ok). Frankly, rolled down it isn't much better than the Nailbomb I have.
The biggest plus IMO of the Sinner is its uniqueness and "old school character", which is really cool.
+ Trilogy Suite, neck: very nice, great sounds for everything: clean, crunch, high gain. Love it!
+/- Trilogy S., mid: it's not bad, but simply not as nice as either the Sinner nor the neck TS. Admittedly a bit disappointed there - most of the time there is no reason not too switch to the neck position. On my old Ibanez RG I usually preferred the middle pickup over the neck pickup, so that's a bit unexpected.
- In between sounds. The neck/mid in between has some good tones, which sound different and very percussive (almost like out of phase), but the mid/bridge one just isn't anything to brag about.
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seems like you have a similar experience of the sinner to me :) i'd never even consider playing those technical br00talz styles and love my set. i think it does a great Scorpions.
i do find the sinner dominates the character of the mid+bridge position - no doubt because the wind is rather different. if your playing with gain i agree the chief reason for the middle pickup is the in-between positions, and also find with this set the neck+middle is the best. alot of guys who play more clean love the sound of the middle on its own for rhythm, which maybe i will grow to like one day (not so far though). i can see why you'd want a more vintage voiced pickup in the middle position for doing that kind of style.