Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: LaoTzu on August 16, 2012, 06:05:57 PM
-
will these go well together? im thinking either a nailbomb bridge or a holy diver. ill be fitting them into a Jp100 sterling musicman http://www.brightonguitars.co.uk/sterling-jp100-tbk?language=en¤cy=GBP&utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=products (http://www.brightonguitars.co.uk/sterling-jp100-tbk?language=en¤cy=GBP&utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=products) i want to be as versatile as possible aswell as have a great lead tone on the bridge pickup for rock/80s metal tones (think dio, toto,Rush, satriani, vai etc.) and the neck pickup to be warm bluesy ala gary moore. i listened to the nailbombs and they have a very flat sounding eq nothing my ears go ahh i like that. its more of a pickup you have to work hard with to get a good sound. which isnt a bad thing. but when i want to pickup this guitar i wanna just play a chord and go ROOOCK!!!. i do want alot of dynamics as im going to be running it through my cornford roadhouse 50 watt + zilla fatboy cab. which has soo much bass. so bass from a pickup wont be a major concern.
so do the mule and the holy diver go well together?
-
I was torn between the Nailbomb & Holy Diver originally. I'm doing up both ibanez's with BKP at the present time and I decided on the Naibomb. I felt the soundclip of the Holy Diver sounded flat to me. Compare the Progressive clips of Nailbomb/Holyy Diver/Alnico Black Hawk, and you'll see what I mean. Actually, compare the alnico black hawk and nailbombs prog. clip and you'll hear the Nailbomb has so much more presence and cut. I found the A-Black Hawk to sound bland. But then again that's my opinion. Everyone has their own taste.
-
I don't know if the holy diver and the mule will pair up nicely, but if you want something that screams rock you might want to check out the VHII or the emerald. A set of holy divers might work on their own. A lot of forum members really like the HD neck.
-
I was torn between the Nailbomb & Holy Diver originally. I'm doing up both ibanez's with BKP at the present time and I decided on the Naibomb. I felt the soundclip of the Holy Diver sounded flat to me. Compare the Progressive clips of Nailbomb/Holyy Diver/Alnico Black Hawk, and you'll see what I mean. Actually, compare the alnico black hawk and nailbombs prog. clip and you'll hear the Nailbomb has so much more presence and cut. I found the A-Black Hawk to sound bland. But then again that's my opinion. Everyone has their own taste.
i was advised to go with the nail bomb from the guy on the phone. but listening to the sample clips and working as a producer i dont know if they compressed and/or eq'd them or not. so its hard to tell it would be nice if they had some sort of disclaimer stating what was done in the production process.
to me the nail bomb sounds chunky i want a bit more of a mid range bite. with a very sensitive playing dynamic aswell as rock to metalica type metal tones. or surfing with the alien type metal tones. basically my stunt guitar when im not using my strat. my strat is warm mellow tonefull i want something in contrast to that.
-
After spending all last night and today researching this forum, I believe the clips are all recorded on the same LP through an Axe=FX. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong?
And your second description to me (after researching) screams the Nailbomb :)
-
After spending all last night and today researching this forum, I believe the clips are all recorded on the same LP through an Axe=FX. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong?
And your second description to me (after researching) screams the Nailbomb :)
what kind of research?
-
After spending all last night and today researching this forum, I believe the clips are all recorded on the same LP through an Axe=FX. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong?
And your second description to me (after researching) screams the Nailbomb :)
what kind of research?
Well I spent all last night reading loads of threads comparing the Nailbomb to the Holy Diver. I like to play the same type of music as you and I originally thought the HD would be my best bet for this guitar. My style is very lead guitar based so the the HD's description sounded great regarding thickness, etc. But after a couple of hours, I read a few times that the Nailbomb has that bit of extra weight in the lows and low mids that give singlenotes that weight, whilst keeping aggression for rhythms.
I read a few threads were people said the HD was more versatile than the HD and vice verse, so I guess it's down to personal opinion aswell.
The clip which sold it for me though was this. Listening to loads of clips I found this one quite bright, but you get a very good idea of what to expect feel-wise and how organic it is from this.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=753161&songID=7821880&showPlayer=true
Again I haven't played them, I'm only speaking theoretical.
-
From your description and the guitar you're I'd be tempted to go for the HD set. I use a Cornford Roadhouse with a RY equipped guitar and I know how good the amp EQ is for fine tuning your sound. I'm forever messing around with the EQ on my amp, particularly the mids and treble, just to appreciate all the different sounds I can get.
-
I think the HD is thick, whereas the Nailbomb is weighty. I could be wrong though. I'll have experience with the NB in a couple weeks. Just deciding on whether it's the NB neck I want as well.
-
how about a rebel yell?
-
My 2c: I have a Mule neck/Holydiver bridge set in my SG Supreme, and honestly, while the Mule sounds great on it's own, it's nowhere near as agressive as the Holydiver. It sounds very sweet, warm and round, but lacks cut and bite (compared to the HD). Initially, I had a Mule set in this guitar, which sounded good and very balanced pickup to pickup, but the bridge Mule didn't work well with the maple top and ebony board. The HD replaced the bridge Mule and now I'm considering a neck HD. First I thought it would be nice to switch to a lower output neck pickup for clean tones and I could always boost it with a pedal for more gain. But the feel changes radically when going from bridge to neck pickup. Now my gut tells me that matched sets give the best results.
-
I feel that the HD neck has a very vintage-ey vibe to it. Have the HD set in my Les Paul and my Strat and although the bridge is quite aggressive, they cover a lot of ground really well and don't sound out of place in any of the guitars.
The neck pickup on my Lester still sounds like the clishee Les Paul neck pickup, but with a better balance regarding the bridge HD.
-
I could easily have said RY myself because I'm a big fan and they're the only BK buckers I own. However, mine are in a Gibson Firebird Studio - huge lump of mahogany, set neck. The impression I've got over the time I've spent on this forum is that for the 80's rock sound in a Gibsonish guitar go RYs, for a similar sound in a Strattish bolt-on go HDs. A sweeping generalisation I know because plenty of folks seem to love HDs in their LPs. I don't recall anyone on this forum putting RYs in a Strat type guitar but I came across this which sounds great:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHqiuF36mc8
-
I could easily have said RY myself because I'm a big fan and they're the only BK buckers I own. However, mine are in a Gibson Firebird Studio - huge lump of mahogany, set neck. The impression I've got over the time I've spent on this forum is that for the 80's rock sound in a Gibsonish guitar go RYs, for a similar sound in a Strattish bolt-on go HDs. A sweeping generalisation I know because plenty of folks seem to love HDs in their LPs. I don't recall anyone on this forum putting RYs in a Strat type guitar but I came across this which sounds great:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHqiuF36mc8
they do sound really nice maybe too much character from the pickups? as in no matter how you play it will still sound a certain way. where as i like character but i want my playing to come through.
-
My 2c: I have a Mule neck/Holydiver bridge set in my SG Supreme, and honestly, while the Mule sounds great on it's own, it's nowhere near as agressive as the Holydiver. It sounds very sweet, warm and round, but lacks cut and bite (compared to the HD). Initially, I had a Mule set in this guitar, which sounded good and very balanced pickup to pickup, but the bridge Mule didn't work well with the maple top and ebony board. The HD replaced the bridge Mule and now I'm considering a neck HD. First I thought it would be nice to switch to a lower output neck pickup for clean tones and I could always boost it with a pedal for more gain. But the feel changes radically when going from bridge to neck pickup. Now my gut tells me that matched sets give the best results.
can you go into how it was having the mule and the hd bridge together. like jumping from one tot he other is there a huge amount of difference? can you get away from going from a mule ryhtym tone to an hd bridge lead rockin tone. without much of a spike in volume increase?
-
can you go into how it was having the mule and the hd bridge together. like jumping from one tot he other is there a huge amount of difference? can you get away from going from a mule ryhtym tone to an hd bridge lead rockin tone. without much of a spike in volume increase?
In a nutshell, the HD bridge is quite agressive while the Mule neck is mellow. In fact, for my taste, it's too mellow. Going from HD to Mule can get you lost in the mix and you have to step on a boost pedal to get the same amount of output/saturation. If you set up the neck Mule as your main tone then going to the HD bridge will give you more output, cut and aggressiveness but also a harder feel with more compression.
-
id really love sound clips from these two together
-
I think they're just too far away from each other on the sound spectrum to be a really good match. I would rethink this and stick mainly to a more vintage area or a more contemporary area. Vintage and vintage hot pickups can pair really well together and get some sweet tones, and some contemporary and vintage hot pickups work well too. Is the mellow neck sound more important to you or is the aggressive bridge sound more important? I would pick one and then go from there.
-
I think they're just too far away from each other on the sound spectrum to be a really good match. I would rethink this and stick mainly to a more vintage area or a more contemporary area. Vintage and vintage hot pickups can pair really well together and get some sweet tones, and some contemporary and vintage hot pickups work well too. Is the mellow neck sound more important to you or is the aggressive bridge sound more important? I would pick one and then go from there.
maybe a hd neck are they alright?
-
If you want something vintage sounding but a better match for the HD then you'll really enjoy the emerald. They work excellently together.
-
If you want something vintage sounding but a better match for the HD then you'll really enjoy the emerald. They work excellently together.
+1 for that, Emerald does match well with quite a few contemporary pickups. However, like Troy said earlier, I too think that matched sets are just your best bet overall as they were made to match up. The HD is a very vintagey pickup like others have stated and playing with volume and tone knobs can easily take you into Mule territory if need be.
-
If you want something vintage sounding but a better match for the HD then you'll really enjoy the emerald. They work excellently together.
+1 for that, Emerald does match well with quite a few contemporary pickups. However, like Troy said earlier, I too think that matched sets are just your best bet overall as they were made to match up. The HD is a very vintagey pickup like others have stated and playing with volume and tone knobs can easily take you into Mule territory if need be.
i do love how the neck sounds on the neck mule tho from the clips it sounds like thats the right neck humbucker. as for the bridge im not so sure. coz i want it to scream rock. so far its the nailbomb (which is chunky, doesnt cut through the mid range as much as id like) the holy diver (which sounds Rock, i wonder about pinch harmonics and riffage i really want the bridge to cut through but not tear your ears off like a fender amp, think intial cut into your face then a nice after effect.) the rebel yell (to me it sounds great but the sounding great thing covers alot of the playing so im not so sure on the dynamics of the thing as im all about the playing is in the fingers.)
i checked out the emerald it doesnt make me feel a connection to the sound.
for pure tone i love the mules but for a more in your face rock/metal sound on the bridge id like something like an amplified Mule with more hair around the edges.
-
If you want something vintage sounding but a better match for the HD then you'll really enjoy the emerald. They work excellently together.
+1 for that, Emerald does match well with quite a few contemporary pickups. However, like Troy said earlier, I too think that matched sets are just your best bet overall as they were made to match up. The HD is a very vintagey pickup like others have stated and playing with volume and tone knobs can easily take you into Mule territory if need be.
i do love how the neck sounds on the neck mule tho from the clips it sounds like thats the right neck humbucker. as for the bridge im not so sure. coz i want it to scream rock. so far its the nailbomb (which is chunky, doesnt cut through the mid range as much as id like) the holy diver (which sounds Rock, i wonder about pinch harmonics and riffage i really want the bridge to cut through but not tear your ears off like a fender amp, think intial cut into your face then a nice after effect.) the rebel yell (to me it sounds great but the sounding great thing covers alot of the playing so im not so sure on the dynamics of the thing as im all about the playing is in the fingers.)
i checked out the emerald it doesnt make me feel a connection to the sound.
for pure tone i love the mules but for a more in your face rock/metal sound on the bridge id like something like an amplified Mule with more hair around the edges.
The HD is excellent for riff age and cuts through easily. The rebel yell is excellent and will not "cover up your playing". It makes your tone better, not your playing. If anything, bkps make mistakes and how you use your fingers MORE evident. The whole "tone is in the fingers yet I want a new pickup" is a bit contradictory.
I stick by the suggestion of an Emerald neck and holy diver bridge if you want that vintage neck sound but a slightly more powerful and modern bridge tone. The emerald is jut an overwound vintage style pickup and the AIV magnet will make it sound rather similar to the mule.
-
If you want something vintage sounding but a better match for the HD then you'll really enjoy the emerald. They work excellently together.
+1 for that, Emerald does match well with quite a few contemporary pickups. However, like Troy said earlier, I too think that matched sets are just your best bet overall as they were made to match up. The HD is a very vintagey pickup like others have stated and playing with volume and tone knobs can easily take you into Mule territory if need be.
i do love how the neck sounds on the neck mule tho from the clips it sounds like thats the right neck humbucker. as for the bridge im not so sure. coz i want it to scream rock. so far its the nailbomb (which is chunky, doesnt cut through the mid range as much as id like) the holy diver (which sounds Rock, i wonder about pinch harmonics and riffage i really want the bridge to cut through but not tear your ears off like a fender amp, think intial cut into your face then a nice after effect.) the rebel yell (to me it sounds great but the sounding great thing covers alot of the playing so im not so sure on the dynamics of the thing as im all about the playing is in the fingers.)
i checked out the emerald it doesnt make me feel a connection to the sound.
for pure tone i love the mules but for a more in your face rock/metal sound on the bridge id like something like an amplified Mule with more hair around the edges.
The HD is excellent for riff age and cuts through easily. The rebel yell is excellent and will not "cover up your playing". It makes your tone better, not your playing. If anything, bkps make mistakes and how you use your fingers MORE evident. The whole "tone is in the fingers yet I want a new pickup" is a bit contradictory.
I stick by the suggestion of an Emerald neck and holy diver bridge if you want that vintage neck sound but a slightly more powerful and modern bridge tone. The emerald is jut an overwound vintage style pickup and the AIV magnet will make it sound rather similar to the mule.
its not contradictory i just want the best pickups in my new guitar its what i do with my guitars customise them then play. im not too convince on the emerald neck tbh. doesnt sound as warm as the mule.
-
its not contradictory i just want the best pickups in my new guitar its what i do with my guitars customise them then play. im not too convince on the emerald neck tbh. doesnt sound as warm as the mule.
Sounds to me like you really want us to tell you that the neck Mule will work great with the bridge HD, so you might as well go for it. I gave you my opinion but I guess you should follow your gut :) I'm predominantly a rock player and I like to get some bite and sustain out of the neck pickup. I guess the neck Mule isn't the best choice for me but perhaps it will work out great for you.
-
its not contradictory i just want the best pickups in my new guitar its what i do with my guitars customise them then play. im not too convince on the emerald neck tbh. doesnt sound as warm as the mule.
Sounds to me like you really want us to tell you that the neck Mule will work great with the bridge HD, so you might as well go for it. I gave you my opinion but I guess you should follow your gut :) I'm predominantly a rock player and I like to get some bite and sustain out of the neck pickup. I guess the neck Mule isn't the best choice for me but perhaps it will work out great for you.
yeh its just that its alot of money to be wrong about
-
yeh its just that its alot of money to be wrong about
Absolutely! That's why I'm sharing my experience in hope that you will avoid making the same mistake I made. I love the neck Mule and I love the bridge HD. It just so happens that they don't work particularly well together in the same guitar. I don't have experience with other BKPs like the Nailbomb or Abraxas, but, on paper at least, some other models might suit you. Maybe you should be looking at the Abraxas set? As I understand, the bridge unit is a fat overwound Mule - still sweet with great cleans but can also get down and dirty. And the neck Abraxas is supposedly very close to a Mule (correct me please if I'm wrong). I know HTH is very fond of the Abraxas even for heavy stuff.
-
yeh its just that its alot of money to be wrong about
Absolutely! That's why I'm sharing my experience in hope that you will avoid making the same mistake I made. I love the neck Mule and I love the bridge HD. It just so happens that they don't work particularly well together in the same guitar. I don't have experience with other BKPs like the Nailbomb or Abraxas, but, on paper at least, some other models might suit you. Maybe you should be looking at the Abraxas set? As I understand, the bridge unit is a fat overwound Mule - still sweet with great cleans but can also get down and dirty. And the neck Abraxas is supposedly very close to a Mule (correct me please if I'm wrong). I know HTH is very fond of the Abraxas even for heavy stuff.
i was originally advised to put in the mule and the nailbomb apparently tim on the phone say they go well together even tho there output differences. so maybe it works in other guitars other than yours?
-
i was originally advised to put in the mule and the nailbomb apparently tim on the phone say they go well together even tho there output differences. so maybe it works in other guitars other than yours?
Perhaps it is only my guitar that's the problem... My opinion was also about the HD/Mule combo, not the Nailbomb. The NB/Mule set might work great as far as I know, but you asked for opinions regarding the HD/Mule combo and that's what you got from me - only an opinion :)
-
i was originally advised to put in the mule and the nailbomb apparently tim on the phone say they go well together even tho there output differences. so maybe it works in other guitars other than yours?
Perhaps it is only my guitar that's the problem... My opinion was also about the HD/Mule combo, not the Nailbomb. The NB/Mule set might work great as far as I know, but you asked for opinions regarding the HD/Mule combo and that's what you got from me - only an opinion :)
yeh of course im just thinking in terms of different magnets and output. as there simular output.
-
FYI, the Rebel Yell is probably the most kickass pickup I've ever had experience with. It screams character and it will do whatever you want to do with excellent dynamics. I'm really not sure at all where you get the part about "covering up your playing"
-
FYI, the Rebel Yell is probably the most kickass pickup I've ever had experience with. It screams character and it will do whatever you want to do with excellent dynamics. I'm really not sure at all where you get the part about "covering up your playing"
some pickups add there own character to what your playing or a better word colouration so if you try to play differently with dynamics playing soft couuld be missed out on. added compression etc. it sounds more saturated with compression. thats what i meant
-
if you really want to go with your gut.
the emerald is very warm pickup. youve probably been listening to the bridge pickup which is very bright and cutting.
-
Managed to play a Holy Diver/Emerald combo yesterday and I was blown away. I really have to rethink some things. I love the Emeralds clean tone. I've now learnt not to take the BKP soundclips literally. Think I'm going to get them Battleworn :)
This is a clip of the Emerald neck I found which sounds fantastic
http://tonefinder.com/files/50-Minor%20Baby%20Blues-Bflatminor.mp3
-
Managed to play a Holy Diver/Emerald combo yesterday and I was blown away. I really have to rethink some things. I love the Emeralds clean tone. I've now learnt not to take the BKP soundclips literally. Think I'm going to get them Battleworn :)
This is a clip of the Emerald neck I found which sounds fantastic
http://tonefinder.com/files/50-Minor%20Baby%20Blues-Bflatminor.mp3
sounds very larry carlton! me likey :D cant hear much chordal work. i guess it really does depend on the player. i really want alot of dynamics in that case.
-
That is a great clip of the Emerald.. !!! Great tone and playing....
-
so should i get an emerald neck or a mule in the neck im pretty set on getting the holy diver on the bridge
-
so should i get an emerald neck or a mule in the neck im pretty set on getting the holy diver on the bridge
Emerald.
-
Emerald.
+1
-
after listening to the emerald again i can hear the santana/ larry carlton possibilities. it would be nice to have just some audio of a holy diver in the bridge.
-
This is a clip of the Emerald neck I found which sounds fantastic
http://tonefinder.com/files/50-Minor%20Baby%20Blues-Bflatminor.mp3
I like that! Anyone know what the guitar and amp were?
-
after listening to the emerald again i can hear the santana/ larry carlton possibilities. it would be nice to have just some audio of a holy diver in the bridge.
Search for Holy Dover clips on YouTube. There's o e clip in a les Paul custom with some guy playing his own instrumental. He He was using a suhr riot distortion pedal which is VERY smooth sounding. The Holy Diver generally sounds similar to that but slightly more aggressive and cutting... With his settings I imagine he'd have a very hard time getting good chord clarity... It's beyond me how he even got a bridge pickup to sound that smooth...
Anyway, generally speaking the Holy Diver is slightly more cutting and has better clarity, back down the gain and you get a down and dirty rock n roll tone but it is very capable of blues to due to its fat and smooth qualities and clean its great for funk and pop-rock.
-
after listening to the emerald again i can hear the santana/ larry carlton possibilities. it would be nice to have just some audio of a holy diver in the bridge.
Search for Holy Dover clips on YouTube. There's o e clip in a les Paul custom with some guy playing his own instrumental. He He was using a suhr riot distortion pedal which is VERY smooth sounding. The Holy Diver generally sounds similar to that but slightly more aggressive and cutting... With his settings I imagine he'd have a very hard time getting good chord clarity... It's beyond me how he even got a bridge pickup to sound that smooth...
Anyway, generally speaking the Holy Diver is slightly more cutting and has better clarity, back down the gain and you get a down and dirty rock n roll tone but it is very capable of blues to due to its fat and smooth qualities and clean its great for funk and pop-rock.
i will be splitting it too. do you think bareknuckles will ever do a sustainer?