Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: eighteen-0-nine on July 08, 2012, 02:42:56 PM
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I'm buying myself a new Ibanez S Series on Monday. For anyone that isn't familiar with them, it's a very thin Mahogany Body with Maple Neck & Rosewood Fingerboard.
I posted a thread last year were I was looking for an HSS setup for the Andy Timmons style genre, but that was Alder & Maple, and I never saw that through. I'm now looking for that same sound but with HSH.
I was thinking maybe an Abraxas bridge with an Emerald Neck. But no idea as of yet what for the middle.
Anyone got any opinions on this choice? Or any advice? I just want a great, vocal, lead tone. But a neck pickup that has great cleans, but also takes to solo tones.
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Maybe you should wait to hear the stock pickups dude. Might be decent pickups. You might get a better idea and better advice when you hear it stock.
Your original choice could work, as would a pair of Mules, Black Dog bridge + Riff Raff neck is great combo in my LP. Even the HD, with a great fluid solo tone or VHII would be a great choice. Numer of options for you available. Maybe if you post a youtube video up of something similar to what you want would help.
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I've played the pickups as I had the same guitar but in a different colour. They're just too suited for metal.
I'm kindaa just after a fantastic, organic, vocal, vintage, open tone from bridge. And great cleans from the neck, but with the ability to handle any gain thrown at it.
It's going to be my Andy Timmons style-of-music guitar. Whilst the Holy Divers a great lead pickup, it's too compressed for what I'm after here. Thing with this guitar is that the body is really thin, so it's a fairly bright sounding guitar.
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Hmmm.....been playing my Black Dog Les Paul alot recently, might work in the bright S Series. The Mule in the neck would be my choice. For bridge, either Mule, Black Dog, Abraxas or even the VHII. Interesting to see if other member have other options.
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Well going to order this week, so I'll hopefully come to a decision. I only thought of the Abraxas as Nolly speaks highly of it for them tones.
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To be honest, for what you describe, I think the Abraxas bridge and Emerald neck sounds like a fantastic combination. I can't think of another combination that I could in all honesty say is a definite improvement. Maybe try a Slowhand to go in the middle?
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To be honest, for what you describe, I think the Abraxas bridge and Emerald neck sounds like a fantastic combination. I can't think of another combination that I could in all honesty say is a definite improvement. Maybe try a Slowhand to go in the middle?
Yh, it's the middle which has stumped me. I don't know whether to just use it as a dummy coil and do the BKP Ibanez 5way wiring. Or actually get a mddle coil and do the Egen wiring. Too many options haha
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I don't know much about those Ibanez guitars, but I'd imagine with that construction it will (as you mentioned) be pretty bright despite the mahogany body.
I think Abraxas/Emerald sounds like a good choice. The Alnico IV magnets will give a bit of sweetness, I don't think you want anything harder-edged for your musical style.
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+1, Abraxas and Emerald should be a great choice
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Abraxas is a good choiche, cause this pickup is able to do Satriana- and Timmons-styles, but still has an organic open vintage-PAF-character. The extra mids will do well in a thin mahogany body. For the neck the Emerald is an obvious choice, but I should not rule out a Mule- or an RR-neck as well. I like the Mule-neck very much. It handles gain terrific.
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crawler
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crawler
Wow......spanner in the works there dude. :)
So many options, just wondering if any of the pickups mentioned would NOT sound bad or are they all good.
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What would you say the differences between the Crawler and Abraxas are?
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The Crawler has more output and mids, especially center mids. Overall it sounds a bit darker. That is true for both the bridge and the neck model. I have tried both in the same guitar.
Cheers Stephan
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Been playing about with ideas the last week, and I just wondered, how does the Abraxas hold itself with gain? Does it mush out, or does it stay articulate? I just like to let rip once in a while, kind of when a song climaxes.
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I have Mules and a Crawler, and the Abraxas sit right between them. My experience is that every BKP handles gain well. The Mule-bridge is stellar with a lot of gain, I can testify. I don't have the Abraxas, but it should handle gain with authority.
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I've got a mahogany body, 1piece maple neck + indian rosewood sevenstring.. I've currently bought a blackdog 7 for the bridge position - it is amazing.. really amazing full bodied sound.. for those who think a BD won't cut it in metal applications- wrong.. what I have noticed is that the BD gives me just the right amount of gain/cut/clarity/body..
I've been playing a crossover of genres.. using clean/crunch/full out metal and in combination with my MB mark 5 it's plenty tight and I have not experienced any dramatic changes in gain levels.. i do not need any boost, nothing.. i'm really enjoying the combination and I'll be swapping out the PK neck pickup in short time i hope.. for something alnico 5 based, medium/lower output as well to match the combination..
Ive had an emerald in the bridge position just before I changed it.. emerald was a slightly more sharp with sharper cut and maybe a faster response as it does not have that uberfull bodied.. it had a lot more upper spike/trebles which some may like and some not.. it reminded me of an alnico version of the painkiller i used to have as the first pickup but with less piercing trebles..
It's also important what amp you use, what music you play and what you are looking for.. good luck, it's really about trying it out..
I'd recommend you the BD,HD and Abraxas for your style..
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Well at the moment, I'm going to be doing a lot of writing through my Line 6 Pod and KRK monitors. I've been debating over this last week. For a couple days I was thinking the Nailbomb/Cold Sweat combo. Now I'm just lost with what to go for haha.
I'm going to playing a lot of metal. Not modern, more 80s Glam like Danger Danger, etc. But also wanting this guitar to write a lot of instrumental stuff as well.
It was so easy to decide before I got the guitar. Now I've got it, I'm taking it very serious haha.
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The Crawler has more output and mids, especially center mids. Overall it sounds a bit darker. That is true for both the bridge and the neck model. I have tried both in the same guitar.
Cheers Stephan
that's why I recommended it over the abraxas
timmons signature pickup is medium-high output, quite mid heavy and darker voiced
not really a hot paf voiced pickup