Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: GuitarIv on October 30, 2012, 11:37:49 PM
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Hey guys
as soon as I have the money I will buy my bassists Jackson DK2M off of him as he doesn't use it anymore and the poor thing rots in his basement, so I need some advice on the PUs I'll be getting for it. It's a 2010 MIJ Model with an Alder Body, a Maple Neck and a Maple Fretboard. The Duncans actually sound good in it (Jeff Beck Bridge, Jazz Neck) but lack the clarity and character I love about them Knuckles.
Lowest I would go would be Drop C, I play mostly in E or D-Standard, Thrash Metal, Death Metal and Melodeath (Old School Metallica, Death, Sylosis, Decapitated). I've been thinking about a Painkiller in the Bridge and a Coldsweat in the Neck (Tight Riffing, Fluid Sweep tones), but I'm afraid the PK might be a little bit too bright. Right now with the JB the guitar has enough highs but still retains enough body and depth, so maybe a tad more mids would be nice without loosing the full bottom end.
Thanks in advance and cheers! :)
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Bump
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If you think the Duncans are OK, how about a Holydiver set? They're a broadly similar type-match to the SDs.
If it was me, I think I'd go for a set of Cold Sweats.
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Have you tried an aftermath bridge yet? Sounds fantastic in my Poplar body, maple neck custom and I play almost exactly the same stuff as you. It's also surprisingly nice clean and holds up extremely tight. Never gets fizzy as you might expect.
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sylosis guitarist ditched the emgs, jb and even the painkiller for the holy diver
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Eric, Twinfan: I've been thinking about Holydivers, however I already have one in my Strat (and I love it) so I'm thinking about something completely metal and different for the Dinky.
I know most people associate the Aftermath with "Djent" (inluding myself in the past) because of it's dry sound and the popular use of Misha Mansoor from Periphery, however I've heard and seen lot of clips that show that the AM is absolutely no one trick pony, however it might be a bit too modern for me. I don't want a Nailbomb since I don't like the 90s metal sound (don't get me wrong, I don't own the pickup but read a lot about it here on the forum and heard loads of clips) and I'd ditch the Miracle Man because as said, the Jackson might use somewhat a tad more mids.
So right now Painkiller or Aftermath. Other suggestions?
p.s.: Eric, I talked to Josh, the new Album (Monolith) is recorded with a Les Paul with a Holydiver set and a JCM 800 modded by Dan Gower. Sounds killer! :)
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I thought Aftermath when I saw you say early Metallica.
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I have the same guitar and I too am thinking about changing out the pickups. I play different music though so can't offer too much advice on that side :lol:
I don't mind the Jazz in the neck to tbh, 1 of the nicer Duncan neck pickups. The JB in the bridge however is far too nasally with my mid heavy amps and cabs. I have a set of Holy Divers in my Eggle and am thinking of switching them into the Jackson to see how they go.
If that fails I'm thinking of either Aftermaths or Blackhawks.
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Brow, might do the same thing, try out my HD in my Strat in the Jackson. ^^
So... any other suggestions besides the AM and the PK?
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You want more choices?
That just makes it even harder to choose!
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You want more choices?
That just makes it even harder to choose!
Nah, Aftermath and Painkiller as choices are just fine, I just wanna know if those two would be suited for the guitar considering the woods or if I'll have an overkill in some frequencies :P
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Blackhawk if you want a more modern Jazz neck.
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Everytime i hear a warpig whether it be ceramic or alnico in a alder/maple combo it is like pure metal heaven lol. Same thing with holydiver but for 80's metal.
Personally i'd go with a ceramic warpig. The tightness of alder with the maple neck will be perfect match in my opinion with the massive low end and angry crunch of the Cwarpig for what you want to play. The highs/mids are very balanced in the sense that they are present but not emphasized like the aftermath and painkiller.
This is my favorite clip that might give an idea on what i'm saying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTtr4cqLWsM
As always just my 2 cents :)
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Ok fellas, update:
I took out the JB and the Jazz and replaced them with my Duncan Invaders I had once in my Ibanez, turns out they sound surprisingly good in it. It's always astonishing how much wood affects tone, as my RG has a Basswood Body and an all Maple Neck and the guitar sounded horrible with them, the Alder Body of the Dinky seems to make a huge difference.
However the Jackson has now nice grit, lots of low mids and bottom end to it and still cuts well. Leaving me with another Idea: the Ceramic Warpig.
There's a video Keith Merrow did, comparing the Warpig to the Invader and the Aftermath to the Distortion, the Warpig seems to be similar to the Invader, just clearer and tighter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFjMGHuNpOg&feature=relmfu
So to narrow down my decision:
Ceramic Warpig - Similar to the Invader, just better. However I'm still afraid it might get a bit too flubby (as the lows of the Invader are already intense, it's labeled with Lows: 7/Mids: 8/Treble: 4 on the Duncan Website: http://www.seymourduncan.com/comparetones/view/55 and the tone chart of the C-Pig says it has more lows than mids) and that it might not cut like the Invader. I don't know why or how, but the Invader cuts brilliantly allthough it has so much lows, I let my bass player riff on the Jackson, went outside our practice space and you could still hear the guitar perfectly without loosing any important frequencys through the Walls.
Aftermath - Very tight, very clear and percussive with nice mids and not too overbearing highs like the JB tends to have them. Then again I'm afraid it might sound too dry and "djenty" for the kind of music I play
Painkiller - For the same reasons as the Aftermath, but eventually not as "dry"? Then again not sure if the mids could be overkill.
Please help me out guys, hope I could explain my desires a bit better. I attached a pic (in cr@ppy quality) to show off the hopefully soon to be complete family :D
Cheers
p.s.: CanadianMetalhead, thanks, good to hear that the C-Pig would fit. Still I'd like to hear some more opinions ^^
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Well if your looking at the aftermath and painkiller and think they might be overkill why not the rebel yell? Same sorta thing imo but with the A5 mag :)
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I want a ceramic magnet for the Jackson ^^
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One thing you could do if you bought either the aftermath or painkiller is when you buy either of em to also get a .022uf cap. I just installed one on my basswood guitar and it somehow made the Cbomb in there sound organic and smoothed out the highs. This is also with 1 meg pots so i was like "WTF" lol.
Just throwing it out there /shrug.
EDIT : By the way. The Cbomb might be a good alternative to the AM or PK. It's a bit smoother then both of them. Slight mid scoop and the lows will probably be the same as either of them.
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c-bomb should be more bass heavy than both AM and PK
the a-bomb and even the cold sweat definitely are
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A PK is likely to be pretty grindy compared to a JB in that guitar. More mids, sure, but you may find them comparatively harsh and spikey and stabby in the high mids. Hard to predict for sure, but I've heard it happen in similar guitars.
Aftermath is a better bet. C-Bomb will probably be too smooth in the mids and its highs are a kind of tailed off. A-Bomb moreso.
I havent tried the holy diver, but frankly I dont think any of the BKs I have tried fit the bill (which in the conteporaries is all of them except the HD and blackhawk, inc c-bomb and c-pig), and from what I hear about it and have heard of it, its a decent bet.
After that, given the requirements and the guitar (very importantly) I'm surprised the miracle man hasnt been mentioned yet. Its not known for a preponderance of midrange, but its very responsive to different guitars in that regard, and I've had them in acoustically bright instruments and they've given a lot of mid presence. And, crucially, they have the possibility (in the right guitar) for screaming highs and high mids that some of the sounds you want require. Were it a mahogany instrument with a rosewood board I wouldnt recommend it, but it should work for what you want in what youre putting it in.
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So the Aftermath might be to middy, no one said too much besides CanadianMetalhead about the C-Pig yet and the Miracle Man could work? I'm even more confused now :?
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I'm even more confused now :?
My work here is done.
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I agree with MDV. Alder guitars can be very middy you have to be careful with them.
I have also used a miracle man in alder and it worked exceptionally well more so than the aftermath which seemed quite honky in alder.
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So the Aftermath might be to middy, no one said too much besides CanadianMetalhead about the C-Pig yet and the Miracle Man could work? I'm even more confused now :?
Man Cpig is way to go for alder/maple...No doubts...Miracle man sounds more trebly with sharper highs and itīs tight as hell in that wood combo...With Cpig itīs nice balanced as it ads low end and tame some highs...Personaly I like MM better in mahogany...
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I have a Miracle Man in an Alder bodied maple/maple Gunslinger and it's great for that 80s hard rock/metal sound I like.
I never mentioned it myself as I have no idea if it'd work for the type of music you mentioned as it's a fair way off from what I know about :lol:
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I see, so that leaves me with either the C-Pig or the MM. Any ideas for a matching neck? Since those two are really high output I guess a Coldsweat Neck for Fluid Sweeping isn't possible... suggestions?
And cheers for all the help so far guys :)
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I have a Miracle Man in an Alder bodied maple/maple Gunslinger and it's great for that 80s hard rock/metal sound I like.
I never mentioned it myself as I have no idea if it'd work for the type of music you mentioned as it's a fair way off from what I know about :lol:
I had MM in alder/maple wood combo before Cpig and there was nothing wrong with it...But with Cpig itīs just better...Guitar has also ebony fingerboard so that may be reason why it had that twangy highs...You know 2 guitars with same wood specs may not sound the same...
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I have a Miracle Man in an Alder bodied maple/maple Gunslinger and it's great for that 80s hard rock/metal sound I like.
I never mentioned it myself as I have no idea if it'd work for the type of music you mentioned as it's a fair way off from what I know about :lol:
I had MM in alder/maple wood combo before Cpig and there was nothing wrong with it...But with Cpig it´s just better...Guitar has also ebony fingerboard so that may be reason why it had that twangy highs...You know 2 guitars with same wood specs may not sound the same...
Sorry for double post...PLEASE DELETE IT....
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I see, so that leaves me with either the C-Pig or the MM. Any ideas for a matching neck? Since those two are really high output I guess a Coldsweat Neck for Fluid Sweeping isn't possible... suggestions?
And cheers for all the help so far guys :)
The MM neck as far as I know is like a hotter more fluid CS. However the CS will stil match up with the MM.
I'm not sure about the Cpig as I only ever tried it on its own and found it too boomy and overgained.
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Thanks a ton guys. Well I still have more than enough time before I get the PUs so I will decide between the MM and the C-Pig.
Cheers!
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Got an answer from Ben:
"Yes it does sound like the Miracle Man is the one for you based on your email. I have heard players mix the Miracle Man bridge with a Cold Sweat neck. Obviously the CS is a lot lower in output to the MM neck, but it is still quite fat and is not a vintage model. You will get more versatility from the pair. Something like a Nailbomb neck would balance better for output and tone and still offer something different to the MM neck.
Kind Regards,
Ben"
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I would have no compunction about pairing a CS with either. I had one with a c-pig for a while, it balanced fine.
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Thanks! Always amazed about the great help the BKP community here offers :)
Cheers guys