Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: shampoch on November 25, 2012, 02:30:08 PM
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Looking for some advice on a great 80's Rock Humbucker for a bolt-on guitar. I currently own over 70 guitars and can't get away from the DiMarzio Tone Zone as the best for the tone inside my head. However I must try Bare Knuckles and now is the time. Any Suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
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Holydiver without a doubt.
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HD or a VHII, which is great in a bolt-on too.
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If the Tone Zone has the tone you want, why change?
I'd go with HD though if you do decide to change.
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If the Tone Zone has the tone you want, why change?
I'd go with HD though if you do decide to change.
I will keep my Tone Zone loaded guitar as is. The BK's will go into another guitar project. - thx!
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Btw, is all the stuff on the website you posted yours? :o
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Yes...I have been collecting for some time now, too many regrets from trading and selling early on. No Bare Knuckles yet however...
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I just have to say, that is an AWESOME collection! You must have some deals set up with accessory companies for things like strings and straps and such, because all that would cost a pretty penny to keep stocked!
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Yes...I have been collecting for some time now, too many regrets from trading and selling early on. No Bare Knuckles yet however...
Nice collection you have. BKP's will improve the sound of your guitars. I had a Tonezone myself and I find that BKP's are really a step up in clarity, dynamics and depth.
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I am looking hard at the VHII but wondering about the output being almost half of the HD? Anyone experience the VHII?
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I am looking hard at the VHII but wondering about the output being almost half of the HD? Anyone experience the VHII?
DC-resistance is not the same as output. I have the VHII in a Fender American Series HSS-strat and the output not much lower then the Crawler in my custom swampash MXG-strat. It's an open and punchy, rock/hardrock/even oldschool metal pickup with a lot of pickingdynamics and it cleans up great too. The solotones are wicked when you dig in, Voicing is balanced. Treble is there, but not earpiercing. It's a stunning pickup.
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Telerocker is correct. You have to take wire gauge into consideration, too when it comes to output. The Holydiver's wire is a lot thinner than the VHIIs. Thinner wire has more DC resistance.
As regards DiMarzio vs. BKP: to my ears the high power DiMarzios I tried (Super Distortion, Tone Zone, Breed) all had very dark midrange and a lot of sizzle. The Holydiver has less of both and I feel it is a lot clearer and more articulate. It also has less actual output. If you want something close to an 80s sound but with more output than the Holydiver, look to the Miracle Man, which will give a bit more punch and cut compared to the Holydiver.
Cheers Stephan
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We get a lot of questions here about the output of BKP's. Maybe BKP could introduce an outputscale on their website to give visitors an indication.
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dude that's a killer collection. and it makes me feel less bad, too :lol:
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I've got no useful comments to make, but mighty impressed by your guitar collection - and your photography!
Makes me feel less guilty too. :lol:
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Nailbomb is very similar to Tone Zone, just sounds better!
I use both/either in all of my guitars.
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IMO - the Nailbomb needs a really bright sounding guitar to excell - or else the extra low mids it has makes it sound a bit sludgy.
Another vote for the VH2 as a great all-round 80s rock pickup - especially the first half of the 80s, whilst the Miracle Man suits the tail end of the 80s when guitar sounds got a bit more saturated.
If the guitar were a bit dark or beefy sounding or you like a crisp sound then the Cold Sweat might appeal - although if Tone Zone suits you already then maybe not = look at Miracle Man instead
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Having very bright guitars; bolt-on, 25.5, maple necks.... I will stand by the Nailbomb to TZ comparison. Either pup in the same guitar will EQ nearly identical, and both pups share the affinity for pinch harmonics and controlled feedback. I concur with Feline that I do not like the Tone Zone in anything but bright guitars as it gets muddy fast.
The TZ has a higher output than the Nailbomb, but the wondrous thing about the Nailbomb is that it generates a high gain tone that sounds as if it has more output than it really does. Nailbomb sounds better clean than the ToneZone. Nailbomb in the bridge with a single coil in the neck creates a great middle position clean tone, whereas the Tone Zone because of the high output gets a little overbearing in this application.
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I concur with Feline that I do not like the Tone Zone in anything but bright guitars as it gets muddy fast.
At the risk of repeating myself for about the twentieth time :oops: , the TZ was horrible in an SG and a Gordon-Smith LP Junior type.
But I can imagine it being a lot more suited to a bright bolt-on.
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I concur with Feline that I do not like the Tone Zone in anything but bright guitars as it gets muddy fast.
At the risk of repeating myself for about the twentieth time :oops: , the TZ was horrible in an SG and a Gordon-Smith LP Junior type.
But I can imagine it being a lot more suited to a bright bolt-on.
I had a Tonezone T in a Yamaha Pacifica Mike Stern-model. I don't like to bully other brands, but it was one of the worst pickups I had, I'm afraid. It did'n't work for me. Muddy, weak dynamics, cleaning up made it flat in tone, etc.
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If it helps guys, the Pickups will go into a bolt on Wolfgang type guitar, lightweight, and I will be splitting the coils as I do with another tone zone equipped guitar. I am leaning toward the VHII based on the Van Halen tone is what I am really after. The feedback here has been fantastic by the way....
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If it helps guys, the Pickups will go into a bolt on Wolfgang type guitar, lightweight, and I will be splitting the coils as I do with another tone zone equipped guitar. I am leaning toward the VHII based on the Van Halen tone is what I am really after. The feedback here has been fantastic by the way....
You will love the VHII, especially the noteseparation, punch and picking dyamics, even with highgain.
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...after all your feedback and much thought going to go with the Holy Divers! I am sure it wont be my last set of BKs.
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To be honest, the VHII and Holy Diver would both work.
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The Diver is a good choice too.
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Yep, the Diver never lets down.
But it needs time to settle with you and the guitar, adjustment - wise.
(Actually, the one I have in my LP sounds thinner, in the Band mix, than the one in my Ash/ maple Strat. Acoustically, the Strat is brighter. Almost sure it's a height/ polepiece issue)
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...after all your feedback and much thought going to go with the Holy Divers! I am sure it wont be my last set of BKs.
+ 1
The Tone Zone really is difficult to compare, I haven't found another pickup that sounds like it. It is probably the only DiMarzio humbucker I can not only stand, but also appreciate.
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the alnico MM has close specs and voicing to the tone zone
they won't make it in 53mm spacing, though
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they won't make it in 53mm spacing, though
What pickup?
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they won't make it in 53mm spacing, though
What pickup?
The alnico Miracle Man. It's actually the MM neck model, so only available with 50mm spacing.