Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: TheyCallMeVolume on April 09, 2012, 05:36:07 PM
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Hey guys! I love my RY's so much that I've decided to get another pair in a different LP. Plain and simple, I want a pickup that will complement the Rebel Yell perfect. I want a pretty vintage-y tone, that's about it lol. I'm leaning towards the Riff Raffs, any thoughts or rec's?
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Any pickup in the vintage and vintagehot-range will do, but if you want something like a vintage RY then RR;s, perhaps even Emeralds.
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Will Riff Raffs take up too much of the same ground tone-wise as RY's?
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They're lower output-PAF's, but they are agressive/punchy, tight and bright, so in the direction of RY's. If you want something different you might want to consider VHII's.
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I´ve used both the RR, VHII and RY. The RY and RR are quite close in sound, except the output of course.
The VHII is very different, with more bass and a more scooped, cutting tone.
It gets really Slash-like in the neck if you want it, you kinda have to work for the tone if you know what I mean.
The RR and RY are really punchy, and easier to play.
Hope this helps!!
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Alright, cool. I love the RRs, but like I said I just don't want them to battle for the same ground as the RYs. So does that mean you think I should go for something different?
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Well, you said, you wanted something that compliments the RY, I would say the RR would do that. Its still a bit more vintage-like because of the different wire, the RR uses 42 gauge, and lower output, which is more typical for PAFs.
If you want to have something different, consider the VHII which has a more brown vintage tone to my ears.
To my ears the VHII is closest to an overwound PAF, since the mids arent so smooth and it has more lows.
I think the RR and RY would actually work with the same amp settings as well, if you use the two guitars on one gig.
The VHII again is quite different.
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Thank you! That's perfect, couldn't have done better! I guess that's pretty much what I wanted to know? So I lean back to the RR I gues....?
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:-)) Yeah, I guess :-)
Still your choice! If you like your RY, than you´ll like the RR IMO.
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Alright, so I guess now what I want to know is an example: The RR can't quite nail the really heavy tones a la Metallica while the RY can, and the RY can't nail that low gain vintage-y tone a la ACDC, but they can both get that middle gound well, a la GNR something in between ACDC and Metallica. Is this about right?
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Thats a good one...
I´ve been using the RY for quite a while now, and with the right amp, right settings, it can nail the ACDC tone. In fact, I´m playing Green Day and blues sessions with it as well as some metal madness. You can always turn the vol pot down y´know, and if you have BKP 550 pots, you can get everything out of your RY. Thats my experience.
The RR will need more gain from your amp, pedal or whatever to go heavy, it has a really tight and punchy tone, just check out the description and the sound demos on the homepage. It actually says that the RR is popular among heavy players.
GNR is no problem with both, I think your example is quite accurate if with the same amp and settings.
When RY+your amp=metallica straight away, then you would need a lil booster or a tubescreamer to get the same result with the RR.
Also, the RR will alway have more top end cut because of the lower wind and different wire.
Experience with the height and the pole screws to get your tone right, the RY does everything I want. Also, try the 50´s wiring, that will allow you to turn the volume down without loosing top-end, that should get you into the ACDC territory with the RY.
The RR is there straight away.
So middle ground is quite right i guess.
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Awesome, very helpful! During a set, I'll definitely be playing the RY's on the heavy stuff and vice versa for the RRs. One of my favorite things about the RYs is its versatility with the volume knob. Before I installed them, my pickups pretty much had on, half power, and off. Now a little twist of the knob takes you so many places!
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I don't think your audience are going to notice a great deal of difference between the RYs and the RRs particularly if you use a boost with the RRs. If I was you I'd be sorely tempted to buy another set of RYs or go for a completely different sounding pickup. I would imagine also that the RYs aren't going to sound EXACTLY the same from one LP to another.
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Richard is right, the guitar makes such a big difference.
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Cool, I'll keep that in mind. Believe me, I don't need to be convinced to get another set of RY's, but I feel as though it's a bit repetitive, and I don't exacty need this guitar to get into RY range and RY into the new pickup's range. I'm also looking at mules, or a RR/Mule combo. Thoughts?
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I´m not a fan of mixing up different pickups for different positions, a matched set is a matched set after all.
Haven´t tried the mules yet and I don´t intend to since I´m not a fan of the A4 sound. I would (and actually do) look elsewhere for a traditional paf copy.
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Well, the man himself, Tim, has spoken and he told me "without hesitation the RR set." Do I even dare go against his word? lol
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Haha!!! It sure would have saved me a lot of money if I listened to him the very first time!! :-D
Go with RR man!!! :-D
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I am just a tad worried about the cleans of the RR. I like really smooth, creamy lead tones, with no real hair or gain or bite on it. Is the RR still my neck pup if that's the case?
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I would not worry about that. Its a 60s kind of pickup, rather Chuck Berry-ish than Van Halen hair-ish if that makes sense.
If its too bright, you can always tame your vol pot to 300-400k with a resistor in parallel, that will take out some highs. Did that with my harsh BB Pros, made all the difference.
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I don't know if that's the clean I wanted though. Think Metallica cleans, like fade to black or nothing else matters. I'm worried RR won be that smooth.
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The RR will do that. Don't worry too much mate, it won't lead anywhere. You'll just end up spending money on an other pickup, but you'll get the RR anyway at one point as well. I tried 2-3 different pickups before I bought the suggested ones, it was just a waste of 300 quid...
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Alright cool, thanks for the help.
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No worries man!!!
I'm sure you'll like them!
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Sorry to bring this post back from the dead, but I'm still wavering a bit. I've definitely decided on the Riff Raffs, but I'm just wondering if it's worth it to just get another set of RY's. What do you guys think?
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Well...why don't you try dropping the Rebel Yell's you have into your other LP and see how you like it.
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Eh, I'm not that good at doing that, and I don't wanna drop $75 for installation just to try them out
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Yikes, that never even crossed my mind. Well…why not learn how to do that for yourself? It’s really not that hard, and having that skill will give you a lot of freedom to experiment in the future (and save you a lot of $). I just took a quick look on YouTube for you and there are a lot of videos there you could learn from. Go for it! You can do it!
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But then I beieve I'd have to put some money into tools and equipment for something I'd probably only be doing once or twice.
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It's a small investment. $20 will get you a soldering iron and solder. So you could save $55 in this instance alone. You will most likely be chasing tone for the rest of your life, so it's a skill that will keep paying you back. No pressure, just genuinely encouraging you to add to your skill set. Cheers, and good luck with your choice of pickups. If you got a different set from the RY's you could install each set in each of your guitars and evaluate which guitar is best suited for which set. That's a fun way to spend a Saturday (or any day). I look forward to hearing how it turns out for you.
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Well, while that is true, I still don't know whether to buy a RR or not. Yes, the RY could sound great in both, but it still isn't completely solving my problem.
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Anyone else? Could really use some help deciding.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D756154qUdo
Have you seen this ?
I love the sound of the RR. It's in the ballpark of the RY but more vintage sounding.
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That video is actually one of the reasons the RR is my pup of choice, along with the RY.