Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Fole 666 on August 05, 2012, 01:11:42 PM
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Hi everyone! I'm from Italy so forgive my bad english!
I wanted some BKP for a loooong time, and now my girlfriend said next month she's gonna buy me a set for my birthday but i'm still not sure what I want....I just got a LP Custom that I absolutely love and I'm gonna put them in there.
With my band we play a mix of stoner/doom (most of all), psychedelic 70's rock/blues and early 80's hardcore punk, if it doesn't make sense here's our new youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCoffeenBand
That was played with my other LP, a Standard 2008 with a JB in the bridge and a BBpro in the neck.
What should i choose? Keep in mind that i absolutely need a very dynamic PU because i don't use pedals or anything for gain changes, just the volume pots of the guitar straight in a cranked up modded Marshall.
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You'll want something bassy and with lots of mids but with top end presence.
I'd look at the Black Dog, Holy Diver or if you're really into that sludge and doom stuff then the Warpig.
If you like the JB then you'll ADORE the Holy Diver. It's what the JB always wished it could be but isn't. More clarity, more low mids, less harsh but still a lot of sweet top end presence and VERY versatile.
The Black Dog is very much like a lower output HD but with a touch more bass and mids and slightly softer attack.
The Warpig is obviously much higher output and GREAT for sludge but still rather versatile. Lots if clarity and very good at hard rock riffing... Think Black Sabbath or Motörhead. Phillip Campbell actually uses it in one of his main guitars.
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And Nailbombs?
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And Nailbombs?
Nailbombs may be suitable but they have a very "90s metal" feel. They may not suit the 70s and 80s music as well as the other pickups I recommended.
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I'm a little scared the HD may sound a little too 80's from what i gather from the site....But i was already conidering it.
The War Pigs are too much high output for my taste.
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The Nailbombs, especially the ceramic version, should do it. Keep in mind it's agressive, has some topendsizzle and quite some output too.
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I think the original recommendation, Black Dog or Warpig, is what I would I have thought to be suitable.
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So the options are:
-nailbomb set
-holydiver set
-holydiver/black dog
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This is a tricky one. The 70's material suggests something more vintage hot and possibly even vintage so the Black Dog seems like a good call but maybe not so much for the doom stuff. The 80's era material naturally suggests the Holydiver, as does your reference to the JB and the Holydiver is certainly the most versatile pickup I've used but it's possibly a bit too smooth and '80's Metal' for hardcore punk. If the Warpig is too OTT the Nailbomb could be a great option as it's very aggressive and tight, which I think would cope well with the stoner/doom and punk material but I can't see it being as effective with your 70's Rock/Blues music. Another one I'd throw into the mix is the Miracle Man for no better reason than I recently got one and I'm amazed at how good it is. It has enough edge and aggression for your heavier stuff without being as outright aggressive as the Nailbomb and it also has some of the smooth 80's characteristics of the Holydiver but it has a bit more 'attitude' that may suit you better for the punk songs. Like the Nailbomb, I think it may struggle a bit more with 70's Rock/Blues but it's not as bad as you may think. I've played Free, Buzzc--ks and Eagles with mine before and it's been fine.
I've sat looking at this screen for 5 minutes now wondering how to do everything you want and when I usually suggest a versatile pickup, my default position is the Holydiver as it's so damn good at so many things, but not this time. As your original post suggests that most of your time is spent on the heavier end of the spectrum, it makes sense to use a bridge pickup that has a bit more aggression but has some versatility as well. For that reason, my first choice would be the Miracle Man and my second choice would be the A-Bomb.
I'd go for something completely different in the neck so that you have the widest possible palette of sounds so for that reason I'd make my first choice for the neck an Emerald, closely followed by the Cold Sweat.
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Thanks for the good advices! Looking at the site I saw that a really heavy band like Godsend use pretty vintage output PU like VHII and Black Dogs, so maybe I'm really in need for advices!
Giving you a little more info on my sound so you can better judge, what i'm looking after is a neither absolutely vintage nor modern sound, something in the middle with whom i can be able to do some heavy riffin on the bridge PU (think Down, Tool, Saint Vitus, AIC, Neurosis, Mastodon stuff), good fat bluesy fuzzy solos on the neck PU and both PU have to clean up really really well at the roll of the pot to get my crunch and clean sounds.
Using just a single channel head and nothing in between both PU must have a robust output, especially in the bridge.
The Miracle Man would seem a smart choice but I don't like ceramic PU that much from previous experience, I'd rather go with two A5.
EDIT: and i play in D Standard, if that helps
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the alnico pig isn't hotter than a nailbomb, just more compressed, which actually makes it feel less aggressive
it's no more saturated than a regular medium high output duncan, like the jb or the ceramic custom
it's fat and growly with a fair amount of top end, but not some invader or motherbucker muddy mess
it will do all the bands you mentioned pretty well
the miracle man sounds amazing for Down and Mastodon, by the way
I also played Alice in Chains on a live jam a couple weeks ago with my bandmates miracle man loaded PRS MCarty and it actually did the job quite well, although it a holy diver or rebel yell would do much better
BKP's tend to sound good at any situation
you just gotta adapt your playing or settings to what you're playing
and no, the holy diver doesn't sound "too 80ish"
the nailbomb does sound 90ish, and that's why it sounds great for Down, Tool and some edgier Alice in Chains songs
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The Miracle Man isn't like any other ceramic pickup you're likely to have tried I assure you. It may be ceramic but it's a lot warmer, smoother and more organic sounding that I found to be the case with the JB. Like you I generally prefer Alnico pickups as the tone is so much better but the Miracle Man has been a revelation to me. It just has soooo much more tone, warmth and character than the JB. I'm finding that I'm really looking forward to those songs we play where I use the Miracle Man far more than I ever used to and the more I'm playing it, the more I'm liking it. I think it's the smart choice for you because you'll get all of the benefits of the ceramic magnet but keep a lot of the tone of an alnico V. The only time you really notice it's ceramic is when you play completely clean because at that point it's not as good as alnico but for everything else it's awesome. That one tiny flaw is why I suggested something completely different for the neck. The name 'Miracle Man', the inevitable association with active EMG's and the ceramic magnet put me off the Miracle Man for ages but giving it a try is one of the best decisions I've ever made.
If you want something more aggressive, go with the A-Bomb. If you want something smooth and sweet, go with the Holydiver. If you want the 'smart choice' that has a blend of both those qualities, go with the Miracle Man in the bridge and something different in the neck.
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So basically what you both say is Nailbombs for full on aggression, Holydiver for a smoother and more versatile solution or Miracle Man/Black Dog (or similar) for a aggressive bridge/vintage neck combo?
Mmmm, it's hard to choose! The tone i'm looking for is something neither vintage nor modern, not full on metal but still very heavy. Listen to this and you'll get what i'm aiming for:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MOvk-dNLRY
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If the Warpig is too OTT the Nailbomb could be a great option as it's very aggressive and tight, which I think would cope well with the stoner/doom and punk material but I can't see it being as effective with your 70's Rock/Blues music.
(...)
I'd go for something completely different in the neck so that you have the widest possible palette of sounds so for that reason I'd make my first choice for the neck an Emerald, closely followed by the Cold Sweat.
I have great results for 70s blues-rock/hard rock/etc with the ABomb bridge + Mule neck on my SG.
edit: just listened to your last clip... Sounds rather modern to me (but I'm an old fart :mrgreen:) but I can get such tones from the ABomb bridge on my amp's SLO-inspired channel.
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It's a big, thick sound that in many ways suggests Warpig but that's a lot of bass in a guitar that has a hell of a lot of mahogany in it. The ceramic version will cut through better but you'll sacrifice some versatility and it's very powerful indeed for someone who doesn't want something too hot and I'm mindful that this clip is only one of the styles you originally mentioned. Conversely, the Holydiver may be a bit too 'polite' for you and will need a boost for a lot of what you do.
That brings me back to the A-Bomb and Miracle Man. Both are tight enough, hot enough and aggressive enough for what you want. The A-Bomb has a real sizzle to it in a way I've described before as 'edgy' and 'hairy' but your guitar has a lot more mahogany than mine which should help to tame that element of it. That clip, although very heavy, was actually quite smooth, which suggests the Miracle Man more to me but I will qualify that statement by saying that although I've owned both pickups, I don't play Les Pauls. Based on what I do know, I'm pretty much certain that the Miracle Man will work for you and I think the Nailbomb might too. The experience of BigB would suggest it would.
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Yeah, of course that sound cover only the stoner/doom part, that's basically what i want my cranked sound to be like. Then when I need some crunch or some bluesy solo I'm just gonna roll down the pots.
My amp is a heavily modded JCM2000 so while it sure doesn't sound like a Mesa or a 5150 still it's not a pure vintage sounding amp. It has a lot of gain on tap but it needs to be driven by the PU's in the high gain territory. Like you said my guitar (and the amp, i modded it in that sense) already has a lot of bass, the PU must be with a pretty even frequency response, a little bit mid pronounced maybe.
That leaves MM and ABomb for the bridge, and from the samples and description (and my preference for A5) I'm thinkin i'll go with the Bomb....
For the neck? Calibrated set or something more vintage like BigB suggested? A friend of mine said great things about the Mules...
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I think it's difficult to make a clear decision at this point so go with your gut. I found both pickups to be far better balanced on the EQ than the website would suggest but the A-Bomb is the brighter of the two while the MM isn't as scooped as you'd think but it does have a lot of lower mids to give it a thicker sound. Ironically, I found the ceramic Miracle Man to be warmer, smoother and more organic than the A-Bomb, to the point where it reminds me of many Alnico V pickups while the A-Bomb I found to be far more aggressive, tight and edgy than most ceramic pickups I've played.
For the neck, I wouldn't go with a calibrated set. Honestly, look at the Emerald or failing that, the Cold Sweat. Both are awesome neck pickups.
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sounds like a ceramic warpig job after the last video you posted
did a quick research and found out that shrinebuilder's guitarists use pretty high output lace pickups (19k and 24k ceramic models), apparently in SG style guitars
didn't know it was another Wino's band
he used to have super distortions on his main les paul custom
the holy diver has a similar voicing, but the feel is completely different and it's not as aggressive
maybe a ceramic nailbomb, but I'll keep the c-pig advice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC9oUtrfOiw
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yeah, but as i said that's not the only thing i play and i don't like extremely high output humbuckers with my amp...
I'm pretty convinced about the Abomb for the bridge, just have to decide for the neck!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T26RqvH3YBA
My God do Holydivers sound good in Custom!!
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That's one of the clips that got me onto the Holydivers. The Miracle Man is not that far away from that tone but has a bit more balls. The A-Bomb is quite different as it isn't anything like as smooth and it's that bit brighter but of course, its inherent aggression may suit the doom stuff you do. If you really like that clip, you'd be better going for either Holydiver or Miracle Man.
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That clip pretty much set me on a Holydiver calibrated set!!
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LOL, you keep bouncing between the two extremes without ever alighting on the one that combines the best elements of both. I'm a little worried you won't find the HD quite heavy or aggressive enough but there's no denying it has a really sweet tone and is certainly one of the best pickups I've ever played and it loves taking a boost too, which will help in what you're hoping to achieve. The Holydiver is possibly the best balance in a pickup between the tone of something vintage with the punch of something more modern. It's still my intention to put one in the bridge of my PRS, though another thread I've been looking at also has me thinking of an Abraxas :?
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I know, i know, it's just that from all the samples i heard the Nailbomb or the Holydiver are the one i like the most! I can't decide between the two, getting a third option will worsen my indecision!!
And i'd still have to find what to put in the neck with a MM!
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With the Holydiver, I'd go with the Emerald in the neck without a doubt. With the Nailbomb or Miracle Man I'd go with either the Emerald or Cold Sweat.
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I have 4 Lesters loaded with calibrated sets of BKPs. I use amps that typically enjoy a lower/modest output pup. For what it's worth, I gotta say the most character rich with biting attack and immense overtones in the mids would go to the Black Dogs. These can do all types of music, and they sound distinctive, rich, and warm - but very biting.
I've also got Emeralds, MMs, RRs, Nailbombs, etc. For my Lesters, the BDs for the aggressive style of playing are by far the sweetest.
Hope this helps.
V.
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Back from vacation! Well, my birtday is near and I'm still thinkin of an Holydiver set but not 100% sure...Black dogs are a possibility, but I'd still like a hotter bridge to drive my amp.
Lately we've been trying to tune in C# Standard and it sounds great, how would the HD react to this low tuning?
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I think Black Dog is your best bet. Don't let the vintage feel of it get to you, it can handle anything you're gonna throw at it.
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I think Black Dog is your best bet. Don't let the vintage feel of it get to you, it can handle anything you're gonna throw at it.
Really?! I like the samples but i was fearing 9.4K would be too little hot for my needs...
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I wouldn't let that affect your decision too too much. Plenty of people use BD's for the music you're playing. I personally love the sound of somewhat underpowered pickups going through a powerful rig. Gives you a great openness and organic feel that I love.
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I asked Ben and he says Nailbombs...