Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: GuitarIv on September 14, 2012, 09:43:54 PM
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Hey guys, so I'm still saving money for a set of Bareknuckles for my Ibanez Beater and decided to take a chance and use the JB I had lying around after it was replaced by a Holydiver in my Strat. Took out the Invaders and put the JB into the Bridge. Turns out the Ibanez sounds ten times better with the little $%&#er and now I'm looking for a BKP pickup that is similar to the JB. Any suggestions? :)
Cheers!
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Imo the Holydiver is the closest thing to a JB /shrug lol.
What kind of ibby is it? basswood/mahogany or alder? with a mapleneck + rosewood or maple fingerboard?
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HD all the way for the bridge.
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Holy Diver.
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It's an Ibanez RG 350 MZ with a Basswood Body, a Maple Neck and Maple Fretboard. And I know that the HD is close to the JB, but I want another pickup for the Ibby since I already have a HD in my Strat, so anything that sounds close to the HD but maybe more aggressive?
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I would love to try a VHII in an Ibanez, but that is not aggresive. Nailbomb is though.
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Well I'm pretty happy my search so far is getting more and more towards the Nailbomb. Still unsure if Alnico 5 or Ceramic. The JB sounds great and is A5 and the Invaders sounded cr@p and are Ceramic. Seems like the Alnico Nailbomb should fit. Thoughts?
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Don't forget the Rebel Yell too.
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Don't forget the Rebel Yell too.
This. The rebel yell is pretty much the Holy Divers unidentical twin. Great for the same sort of music and based on a similar voicing, they just behave and sound slightly different characterisically.
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HD's or RY's. But, if you haven't played the VHII you will be impressed.
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Alnico if you go nailbomb for sure.
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I wouldn't count out ceramics cause of the invader lol. Some pickups just don't work in basswood and some do. The most fun I've had with my basswood guitar was with the miracle man pickup. Followed closely by my A5 warpig and my VhII's.
But if you want something like the HD but more aggressive I'd have to say nailbomb with the A5 for a more balanced and organic sound. Like the HD but it's more aggressive with its midrange. The ceramic nailbomb one will sound very 90's metal with a boosted and in your face treble. It is aggressive though lol. But i think with a maple neck and board you'd want the A5 nailbomb or something that has a fatter or bigger type of low end. No personaly Experience by the way :( Just going on too much of reading these forums lol.
Edit : Just for giggles check out the Mule. Balanced, Organic, articulate open and very versatile so you never know. It's on my next pickup to buy list 8)
Here's a metal clip of it : http://soundcloud.com/nolly/snuggles-tenzing-norgay
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If not the Holydiver, then the Rebel Yell
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If the JB sounds great why change it ? My main guitar for years has a JB and it is a wonderful pup in the right guitar. As much as I like my current main guitar with RYs in it my old SG Junior with a JB still sounds terrific. The JB was Seymour's masterpiece.
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If the JB sounds great why change it ? My main guitar for years has a JB and it is a wonderful pup in the right guitar. As much as I like my current main guitar with RYs in it my old SG Junior with a JB still sounds terrific. The JB was Seymour's masterpiece.
But the RY is better!
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Thanks for all the answers so far. Well I have to agree that the JB is by far the best Duncan Pickup imho. It seems to fit well in almost every guitar. However it's a standard spaced one and the Ibby needs a tremspaced PU and as said it was just a temporary solution, right now I have the too small JB in the bridge and a hole in the neck cavity and the RG looks like a beat up 80's hair metal axe by now, which I personally like :P
Now it seems to narrow down to a Alnico Nailbomb and a RY. I'm afraid the RY might be a little too bright?
However for the combinations I think about are either the A-Bomb with an Emerald Neck or the RY with a VHII in the neck (Nolly from Periphery/RSF and Dez from TSF seem to prefer this combination).
Enlighten me with your wisdom :)
Cheers!
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Don't forget the Rebel Yell too.
This. The rebel yell is pretty much the Holy Divers unidentical twin. Great for the same sort of music and based on a similar voicing, they just behave and sound slightly different characterisically.
yes and no really. they do have a similar voicing, but they sound alot different. the holy diver has a full low end, where as the rebel yell does not.
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The RY is bright and doesn't have HUGE amounts of low end. However, the brightness smooths out a lot as you wind the wick up on your amp. The RY is definitely a giggers pickup more than for a home player. If you want a lot of low end it's probably not the right choice for you. BUT - in a band context it produces a wonderful crunchy mid range that sounds gorgeous. My band consists of vocals, bass, drums and me on guitar. We produce a big, thick sound with a great blend between the guitar and bass. Personally I don't like too much low end in the guitar sound because that's why we have bass players. I certainly don't feel I'm missing anything when I play riffs on the low E and A strings. It's not far removed from the JB on the low notes but has more clarity.
Remember what Steve Steven's said about his signature pickup ' It's so full of clear bottom and perfect pick attack. '
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well... the holy diver doesn't have lots of low end either
just a fair amount of lows, full midrange and tamed top, but still bright enough
the nailbomb has more bass, less mids and more top edge
the diver is still the closest to the jb
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I see... there was another thing I noticed while browsing Nollys Formspring. The Miracle Man. He has so far suggested the HD, the Nailbomb and now that I read it the Miracle Man for RGs. As said I don't want the HD as I already have it. A-Bomb is on my mind right now. Opinions on the MM?
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Bump
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Opinions on the MM?
Compared to the HD it has slightly more output, bass and highs, at least in the guitar I had both pickups in.
Cheers Stephan
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The MM is definetly a keeper in basswood. It does have drawbacks though. Dead sound for cleans, low end was super tight as $%&# and bit compressed sounding. I also found it to be a one trick pony at what it did.... but
If you like a sick distortion tone and powerchord your way to victory and don't mind what i said previous it is an AWESOME pickup lol. Low end is big and bold, Mids are focused and smooth and top end is sharp and present without ear peircingness. It doesn't have the in your face attitude of the VHII or the ceramic nailbomb but it's not in the background like the holydiver and the A5 warpig.
It doesn't have scooped mids but in my opinion the lows and highs are just naturally higher. It's a pickup that I wish i didn't have to sell but times were tough at the time :(.
Anyways that's just my opinion from what i remember of it. 2cents given :)
Oh yea it has a pretty good split sound too.
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Okay, so the final decision is between the Miracle Man and a Ceramic Nailbomb.
I need Thrash/Melodeath/Death Metal Tones.
Then again, not to sterile cleans would be nice, but my Ibanez is meant to be a metal axe for me anyway.
Fire away!
And cheers! for all the answers so far :)
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If its between those 2 it just depends on how aggressive you want it to sound mostly. The more aggressive one being the CNB.
Also how fat or thin does your axe already sound? The MM is gonna have more low mid then the CNB. But the MM is a tight as tight can get lol. So the CNB will probably end up being more open sounding. The CNB in my opinion will also sound more present in the highs then the MM and be a little more versatile then the MM.
I would say CNB just because I remember how my basswood guitar sounded before i started modding it with stuff. Was very mid fat sounding and lacking top end clarity and that's what the CNB will most likely give. But i remember trying a Basswood maple/maple ibanez at a store. Thin acoustic sound so then I'd have to say the MM if thats the case. Haven't tried the CNB yet even though it's sitting on my desk as we speak lol. Been working too much to take the time to try it out.
Also another thing to consider is open coil vs covered. I think nolly did a vid for youtube on that and how much it can effect the tone.
2 cents and have fun with the new PU w/e it is :)
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Well, thanks for all the answers so far, I still have time left before I order a new pair of BKPs so I will just nerd around on the forum until I decide between the MM and the CNB ^^
Cheers!
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So which BKP did you order?
Im thinking about the same thing. MM or NB. I have a basswood strat with a Floyd Rose Bridge. Been thinking of getting a BKP to put in the bridge. :D
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Neither... yet. It's gonna be a Blackhawk Set with a ceramic Bridge. Tim recommended them.
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Hey guys, so I'm still saving money for a set of Bareknuckles for my Ibanez Beater and decided to take a chance and use the JB I had lying around after it was replaced by a Holydiver in my Strat. Took out the Invaders and put the JB into the Bridge. Turns out the Ibanez sounds ten times better with the little $%&#er and now I'm looking for a BKP pickup that is similar to the JB. Any suggestions? :)
Cheers!
Honestly, after hearing Nolly's tutorial of both alnico and ceramic nailbombs, I'd say the Alnico Nailbomb is the closest I've heard to a JB, and seems to have clearer mids