Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: blackie on March 28, 2012, 11:52:40 AM
-
Hello and greetings from Greece,
A review of VHII for anyone who's interested...
I received the pickup yesterday and installed it imediately...but before that allow me to give you an idea on how I got to buy this pickup(I think it's more important than a review on sound).
The guitar was,is and always will be an alder charvel star with maple fb and locking tremolo.As far as pickups,I have been a SD Custom fan for ages...I have tested a quite big number of pickups(some of them were BK,I'll come to that later). I always loved the rhythm sound of that pickup and I still do...I even like it better than BK Miracle Man that I tried a few years ago...As I mentioned earlier I am using only one guitar and one pickup,so I demand a lot from it...even though I enjoed MM's EQ it was too gainy and it was impossible to control it with the volume knob(I use it A LOT).Next BK was the nailbomb...I don't know if it's me but I think that nailbomb lacks caracter...It's a very even pickup,able to play a lot of stuff but it just lacks something in my guitar...right after the "failure" of MM and Nailbomb I returned to the SD and DM pickups...factory standards...
DM Super Distortion-too much gain,lacks definition
SD Distortion-too much gain,shril highs
SD 59-TOO MUCH bass and scooped mids
SD Custom custom-lacks bottom end,highs,mids get easily muddy
SD JB-lacks in every single way...nuff said...
So I got back to Custom which was the pickup I had before any change.The problem remained though...not a great lead sound,not bad but not amazing and I couldn't clean it up nicely...it kinda silenced the mids leaving the highs hitting your ears...
The VHII was again a bet for me...at the beggining I was pretty afraid of trying such a low output pickup...and I was right in some way...you need to change the way you play and the way you hear the sound...It's more open that the compressed high outputs but not as loose as the 59...the lead sounds ame FANTASTIC and the rhythm is crazy good too...I found out that I like the custom's amp settings with this pickup...the volume knob now work great and since I am using one channel only gets the job for me.The mids are very present,the highs are nice,not mellow,the harmonics are AMAZING,better than custom's...
It's in the honeymoon period but I think I have a new favorite...
I faced one single problem:I nail the pickups directly to the body and the pickup corners made the pickup too bid to fit inside...I had to use a tool to make it fit by cutting the corners but everything is good now.
Maybe I'll come back in a few weeks if I have anything else to say about VHII,after the honeymoon...
I hope my english is readable...I have been told that I am loosig the language's feel...
-
glad you like it!
the VHII is on top of my GAS list
I have a gibson lp studio with a custom/'59 set and I can't stand them :(
the '59 sounds dead and the custom is all mushy and oversaturated
impossible to use in a single channel and makes quite hard to dial my amps
-
glad you like it!
the VHII is on top of my GAS list
+1
Mine too! :D
I already have a VHII bridge I bought ages ago and (surprise surprise) have never got round to fitting. That'll go in a Strat or Tele - soon! I'm also thinking of getting a VHII set for my Mira X.
From all the descriptions it sounds like the perfect combination of vintage and modern. I keep hearing that word "open" which really appeals to me, and I also like what I hear about it working well for coil-splitting and series/parallel.
-
Very nice review. I praised the VHII in my ash Fender American Series strat in another thread. It's one of my fav's.
-
The VHII bridge is also on my GAS list.
Cheers Stephan
-
Since you like the review,allow me to give you some feedback...
I dont's know if it's me but the pickup likes one channel amps or use of one channel out of many...
With the volume knob at 75% I get the main tone and at full volume the solo tone...(a la Vito Brata)
Beware...I have to "fight" with this pickup all the time...it's so bl@@dy amusing...you can nail the VHII-WACF tone and by tightening up your hands you can play Iced earth's Pure Evil...with the same damm settings...without changing anything...But as I said you need a lot of practice...that I haven't done much...but it's quite intriguing...
-
DM Super Distortion-too much gain,lacks definition
SD Distortion-too much gain,shril highs
SD 59-TOO MUCH bass and scooped mids
SD Custom custom-lacks bottom end,highs,mids get easily muddy
SD JB-lacks in every single way...nuff said...
same experience here.I´ve purchased a "Riff Raff" (bridge) which I like very much :D
The next order will be a VHII.Nice review, helped a lot !
-
great pup, love mine. hope things aren't too uncomfortable in greece with all the 'austerity' & 'bailouts' which is merely
a way of recapitalizing stupid french & german banks !(oh i forgot it's a pick up thread)
your english is great.
-
DM Super Distortion-too much gain,lacks definition
SD Distortion-too much gain,shril highs
SD 59-TOO MUCH bass and scooped mids
SD Custom custom-lacks bottom end,highs,mids get easily muddy
SD JB-lacks in every single way...nuff said...
same experience here.I´ve purchased a "Riff Raff" (bridge) which I like very much :D
The next order will be a VHII.Nice review, helped a lot !
Believe me you won't regred it...
the harmonics are INSANE!!!!!!!
And even though it's a low output pickup,it's EQ gives you great amount of punch as cuts nicely through the mix without annoyings highs...
Get it...
-
great pup, love mine. hope things aren't too uncomfortable in greece with all the 'austerity' & 'bailouts' which is merely
a way of recapitalizing stupid french & german banks !(oh i forgot it's a pick up thread)
your english is great.
thanks...it's the feel of insecurity and the large percentage of unemployment that makes things "uncomfortable"...We need to remain calm...and be positive...(back to the pickup thread now!)
-
I love the VH II....have them in all my guitars...best pickup ever :D
-
Since you like the review,allow me to give you some feedback...
I dont's know if it's me but the pickup likes one channel amps or use of one channel out of many...
With the volume knob at 75% I get the main tone and at full volume the solo tone...(a la Vito Brata)
Beware...I have to "fight" with this pickup all the time...it's so bl@@dy amusing...you can nail the VHII-WACF tone and by tightening up your hands you can play Iced earth's Pure Evil...with the same damm settings...without changing anything...But as I said you need a lot of practice...that I haven't done much...but it's quite intriguing...
They are very touchsensitive and dynamic. It expresses very much the way you play.
-
Great review! Makes me want to buy a VHII bridge. I"m definitely putting the VHII neck in an upcoming 7 string build; it's pure sex for soloing under high gain, along with its other great attributes. I have a superstrat that has yet to be assigned pickups among other things: Mahogany back, flamed maple top, JEM copy, neck is still to be built. A VHII set may be in order here; most of my axes are metal based and I'd like to dive into vintage hot pickups for a change. They still gotta be able to push it hard, but I'm looking in a different direction with this one. Thanks for the review again, it's a big help!
-
Nice review, I´m kinda between deciding what to go with for my LP, I have a VHII neck and a RY bridge, but they don´t work too well together. Wondering which counterpart I should get, since I love both...
-
Found this thread on Google.
Yep I'm ordering this pickup next week.
I have a prs with an all maple neck and I tryed a frankenstein pickup that I'm actually giving away. But it very close to what I was looking for in terms of sound. I'm looking for more classic crunch with a high end. Any how can't wait!
-
Nice review, I´m kinda between deciding what to go with for my LP, I have a VHII neck and a RY bridge, but they don´t work too well together. Wondering which counterpart I should get, since I love both...
Really!? :shocked: What don't you like about that combination? I have a RY bridge / VHII neck combination in a lump of mahogany instrument and for my purposes, it works quite well. But, you know, different guitar, different amp, different playing style...
-
Nice review, I´m kinda between deciding what to go with for my LP, I have a VHII neck and a RY bridge, but they don´t work too well together. Wondering which counterpart I should get, since I love both...
Really!? :shocked: What don't you like about that combination? I have a RY bridge / VHII neck combination in a lump of mahogany instrument and for my purposes, it works quite well. But, you know, different guitar, different amp, different playing style...
Doubt there will be an answer after 3 1/2 years mate xD
-
Nice review, I´m kinda between deciding what to go with for my LP, I have a VHII neck and a RY bridge, but they don´t work too well together. Wondering which counterpart I should get, since I love both...
Really!? :shocked: What don't you like about that combination? I have a RY bridge / VHII neck combination in a lump of mahogany instrument and for my purposes, it works quite well. But, you know, different guitar, different amp, different playing style...
Well. I cannot comment how those two pickups work together but can understand that they might not be someone`s taste. For example I think that VHII neck wouldn`t be my cup of tea either. I have only an experience with CS neck and even CS lack that edge and cut for me in mahogany guitar, a little bit too smooth without the bite. VHII seems to be even darker and rounder and smoother.
-
Well. I cannot comment how those two pickups work together but can understand that they might not be someone`s taste. For example I think that VHII neck wouldn`t be my cup of tea either. I have only an experience with CS neck and even CS lack that edge and cut for me in mahogany guitar, a little bit too smooth without the bite. VHII seems to be even darker and rounder and smoother.
VHII has a really warm and round clean tone but it has nice highs, especially when split.
Undergain, it has a nice bite in the high end which becomes more pronounced the more gain you bring on tap. The pickup is very dynamic and responds extremely well in terms of pick attack.
The VHII has a more gritty sort of tone, similar to a Nailbomb, while the Rebel Yell is very 'consonant', open, and 'smooth' sounding. The Rebel Yell bridge pickup has way more midrange and it is much brighter when clean, but I will admit that I almost never use a bridge pickup for cleans. The Juggernaut Bridge PUP is the only exception to this rule for me. When I buy a bridge pickup, I am concerned how it will handle gain, and perform for both rhythm and solo work. So, my primary interaction between the VHII and the Rebel Yell is while both pickups are under a medium amount of gain where the tone is somewhat compressed but still very dynamic enough to clean up well if you back off the pick attack or volume pots.