Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: aris17561 on February 18, 2013, 12:17:27 PM
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Hello guys , I have a jcakson sl2h... For some reason no pickup fits best to this guitar... It had jb... Its not good... Compared to an esp horizon , it sounded shite... I changed a lot of pup like tb -5 , invader , emg 81-60 , and more and nothing make the guitar sounds good... So the last one is a duncan distortion. To be honest the guitar now sounds good... But... I wanna give a try to bare knuckles , that everyone says that if you try bk you never go back...
So any set of pup for metal , iced earth , nevermore , drop tunings dream theater , not so high high output cause my apms are very ver high gain , ( evh 5153 , mesa dual rectifier ) , clear and with more resonance and less presence ?
The duncan distortion is ok but it still sounds a bit treblly and not so clear... I had a vhii but i didnt like to be honest !!! lots of treblle and mids for an alder body guitar...
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This is just screaming Holy Diver. Exactly what you described.
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This is just screaming Holy Diver. Exactly what you described.
This is just screaming Holy Diver. Exactly what you described.
The only thing that problems me is that holy diver has a lot of treble and mid and I am afraid that it will have a lot of presence because Jackson has alder body and it is already bright guitar . I don't know if this thought makes any sense .
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This is just screaming Holy Diver. Exactly what you described.
This is just screaming Holy Diver. Exactly what you described.
The only thing that problems me is that holy diver has a lot of treble and mid and I am afraid that it will have a lot of presence because Jackson has alder body and it is already bright guitar . I don't know if this thought makes any sense .
The Holy Diver has a very warm and smooth high end. When I got it I had to boost the treble like crazy on my amp and my EQ pedal to get the sound I liked.
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This is just screaming Holy Diver. Exactly what you described.
This is just screaming Holy Diver. Exactly what you described.
The only thing that problems me is that holy diver has a lot of treble and mid and I am afraid that it will have a lot of presence because Jackson has alder body and it is already bright guitar . I don't know if this thought makes any sense .
The Holy Diver has a very warm and smooth high end. When I got it I had to boost the treble like crazy on my amp and my EQ pedal to get the sound I liked.
Thanks man ... About low end ?
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Low end is a bit less then a Nailbomb and a Miracle Man. For alder the Diver could be the ticket though if you need strong centermids.
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Low end is a bit less then a Nailbomb and a Miracle Man. For alder the Diver could be the ticket though if you need strong centermids.
So for more resonance I have to go with nail bomb I guess right ? I like resonant sounds . With bowls ...
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If you mean by resonance more bass, I think the NB has a bit more lowend. But the NB has brighter and more agressive topend then the Diver. Some forummembers stated that the NB is great for riffing, but that the Diver has the better solotones for progmetal. Both are tight enough in most cases. There are users here on the forum that can give a better comment on this. I hope they chime in.
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If I may borrow the thread for exactly the same reason - what BKP for my SL2H? My Soloist is quite dark and there is very little presence to worry about. Tuning down a mere whole-step while retaining clarity requires some serious tweaking and EQ'ing - which I have to reverse afterwards in order to make my other guitars sound good. The neck pickup always sound good, maybe due to being positioned closer to the bridge than usually is the case with 24-fretters. (The bridge pickup, OTOH, is rather far away from the saddles)
I've tried D-Activators - they were surprisingly dull and choked on the bass;
JB - ok, especially with a ceramic magnet (A8 makes it a low-mid monster, exactly not the choice for this guitar), but not great;
Duncan Distortion - it does not scream in this guitar, the mids are a bit overbearing;
Duncan Custom - the best passive so far, bass a-plenty but great snarl in the upper-mid region and has much more bite than the DD, could use just a tad less bass and better string separation at the low end;
EMG 81, 81X - the voicing is nice, I like the resonant frequency, but the tone overall is bland and uninspiring;
Blackouts AHB-1 - huge sound, clearer than EMG 81 actually, crazy output and silent operation. I may turn back to these if I don't find a great passive set for my needs.
I don't require much, just a clear, articulate tone at D standard at the lowest. I've been looking at Cold Sweat set or maybe a Miracle Man. No real chance of trying them out. Thanks for any help, and sorry for hijacking :oops:
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D standard is not low enough to start worrying about articulation or tightness.
It seems you like to like "looser" pickups as you preferred the alnico counterpart to the SH-6, which is the JB and you like the Blackout AHB-1 which in my experience has more bass, output etc over the 81 which makes it sound muddy and messy. I would go for the Nailbomb.
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Duncan Custom - the best passive so far, bass a-plenty but great snarl in the upper-mid region and has much more bite than the DD, could use just a tad less bass and better string separation at the low end;
I don't require much, just a clear, articulate tone at D standard at the lowest. I've been looking at Cold Sweat set or maybe a Miracle Man. No real chance of trying them out. Thanks for any help, and sorry for hijacking :oops:
guess you might enjoy the ceramic nailbomb, then
it sits right between the duncan custom, cold sweat and miracle man voicings
more articulation than a sh-5, darker and more gainy than a cold sweat, punchy but not as bassy as a miracle man
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Thanks for the input :) I'll check out the C-bomb first. I indeed seek for a bit looser pickup than, say, EMG81 or the Aftermath. In other words, I prefer my pickups had some lower frequencies ;) But clarity first.
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Thanks for the input :) I'll check out the C-bomb first. I indeed seek for a bit looser pickup than, say, EMG81 or the Aftermath. In other words, I prefer my pickups had some lower frequencies ;) But clarity first.
I am seeking the same pickup . Lots lows , lots treble , less mids because evh 5153 has plenty of mids ... All these Duncan distortion offers me but the problem is that Duncan diatortion has not clearance . It's very dirty . I need the same voicing like Duncan diatortion but more clean distortion . Not so gainy ... So which is the final result ?
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Thanks for the input :) I'll check out the C-bomb first. I indeed seek for a bit looser pickup than, say, EMG81 or the Aftermath. In other words, I prefer my pickups had some lower frequencies ;) But clarity first.
I am seeking the same pickup . Lots lows , lots treble , less mids because evh 5153 has plenty of mids ... All these Duncan distortion offers me but the problem is that Duncan diatortion has not clearance . It's very dirty . I need the same voicing like Duncan diatortion but more clean distortion . Not so gainy ... So which is the final result ?
then you don't want the duncan distortion voicing at all :lol:
guess you would enjoy the miracle man or the ceramic nailbomb either
they have a fuller low end, clearer top and no midrange spike
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Thanks for the input :) I'll check out the C-bomb first. I indeed seek for a bit looser pickup than, say, EMG81 or the Aftermath. In other words, I prefer my pickups had some lower frequencies ;) But clarity first.
I am seeking the same pickup . Lots lows , lots treble , less mids because evh 5153 has plenty of mids ... All these Duncan distortion offers me but the problem is that Duncan diatortion has not clearance . It's very dirty . I need the same voicing like Duncan diatortion but more clean distortion . Not so gainy ... So which is the final result ?
The Distortion is all about upper mids and treble with not much bottom end, super high output and really harsh sounding ( people mistake that for "aggressive" )
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The Distortion is all about upper mids and treble with not much bottom end, super high output and really harsh sounding ( people mistake that for "aggressive" )
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Hey man you really have a great knowledge... I just check seymour duncan site and i saw that distortion has lots of mids and treble like you said , but then I realized that even with the exsessive mid-tre tone specs that duncan distortion has , the sound of my sl2h is still not bright...
According to that , my needs changed . I want a sound with big low end and brightness ? Do your recomandation now are changing ?
Thank you for your comments because I did that researsh .
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Big low end AND brightness in the BKP range would lead me to the Cold Sweat or Miracle Man (the first one being brighter).
I am still not sure what you actually seek. You have a bright alder body guitar and did not like many pickups you tried in it. Of those I only played two - the JB and the EMG 81 - both very thin sounding pickups to me despite of their high output. But that just goes to show that you don't need high output to get a fat tone - it's the right balance of frequencies what makes a tone fat.
You also mentioned that the pickup you liked most so far was the DD but you want a clearer more articulate tone than that. This makes it a bit difficult for me since I am not familiar with the DD. But after what I have read I believe the Miracle Man would be a good choice, combining high output and clarity.
Cheers Stephan
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Big low end AND brightness in the BKP range would lead me to the Cold Sweat or Miracle Man (the first one being brighter).
I am still not sure what you actually seek. You have a bright alder body guitar and did not like many pickups you tried in it. Of those I only played two - the JB and the EMG 81 - both very thin sounding pickups to me despite of their high output. But that just goes to show that you don't need high output to get a fat tone - it's the right balance of frequencies what makes a tone fat.
You also mentioned that the pickup you liked most so far was the DD but you want a clearer more articulate tone than that. This makes it a bit difficult for me since I am not familiar with the DD. But after what I have read I believe the Miracle Man would be a good choice, combining high output and clarity.
Cheers Stephan
the painkiller is the closest to the sh-6 specs and voicing, but his description sounds like a MM or CNB
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The problem here is (in my case at least), that the specs don't really describe the tone here. The bridge pickup in this guitar *should* be bright and snappy with the Floyd and the maple neck & ebony fboard, but it really isn't - the neck pickup OTOH is. My guess is, that the bridge pickup sits relatively far away from the bridge, thus resulting in a darker tone. I've had an ESP M-II with almost the same specs, and *that* guitar was bright and lively. The pickup was much closer to the string cutoff point as well. So it may not be quite as easy to recommend a bright and cutting pickup for this particular guitar. As mentioned before, I'd like to get it right the first time :)
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I had a set of C-Pigs in my SL2H and it sounded absolutely massive. IMHO the overall brightness of the guitar counterbalanced it perfectly.
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Firstly, your guitar may have alder wings but it's a maple neck-thru so it's the maple that will dominate the tone rather than the alder so it tends to be rather more middy than something like a Stratocaster that has a true alder body. I have an SL3 so fortunately I have some experience of some of the pickups you're considering:
Nailbomb - VERY tight and VERY aggressive when I tried it in mine. If you want a really hairy and aggressive sound, it's great but otherwise - no. I sent mine back and mine was Alnico V!!
Holydiver - Awesome. Warm and smooth and is actually a lot more balanced than the EQ chart suggests. Screams 80's Metal but is actually extremely versatile. It's my 'go to' pickup for most songs I play. I loved it in my SL3, though I've now moved it to a PRS.
Miracle Man - Contrary to what you might think, this is actually remarkably close to the Holydiver. It has that same '80's Metal' vibe about it and retains a lot of the warmth and smoothness of the Holydiver but is that little bit more punchy in the bass and screaming in the highs.
For the neck pickup, the Cold Sweat is an awesome choice but personally, ever since I got an Emerald, I can't see past it at all.
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Firstly, your guitar may have alder wings but it's a maple neck-thru so it's the maple that will dominate the tone rather than the alder so it tends to be rather more middy than something like a Stratocaster that has a true alder body. I have an SL3 so fortunately I have some experience of some of the pickups you're considering:
Nailbomb - VERY tight and VERY aggressive when I tried it in mine. If you want a really hairy and aggressive sound, it's great but otherwise - no. I sent mine back and mine was Alnico V!!
Holydiver - Awesome. Warm and smooth and is actually a lot more balanced than the EQ chart suggests. Screams 80's Metal but is actually extremely versatile. It's my 'go to' pickup for most songs I play. I loved it in my SL3, though I've now moved it to a PRS.
Miracle Man - Contrary to what you might think, this is actually remarkably close to the Holydiver. It has that same '80's Metal' vibe about it and retains a lot of the warmth and smoothness of the Holydiver but is that little bit more punchy in the bass and screaming in the highs.
For the neck pickup, the Cold Sweat is an awesome choice but personally, ever since I got an Emerald, I can't see past it at all.
Hey man are you sure about those you said about woods . Because here it says that it is alder body
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/jackson-sl2h-custom-usa-guitar (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/jackson-sl2h-custom-usa-guitar)
Even if my soloist has a maple body , it is too dark . Cause maple is very very bright . I want to play progressive metal . So you believe that a holy diver is for me ? I don't know why but even with Duncan distortion the guitar is still dark . My fender is way way brighter with a lil 59 in bridge position . Don't forget , big fat low end , and brightness . So simple ha ha ...
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Yep, I'm sure.
http://www.jacksonguitars.com/en-GB/products/search.php?partno=2803071875 (http://www.jacksonguitars.com/en-GB/products/search.php?partno=2803071875)
Because the guitar is a neck-thru design, the pickups are mounted onto the maple of the neck as it runs through the body, hence 'neck-thru-body' construction. When it refers to an 'alder body' it's actually referring to the bits of the body that are mounted either side of the pickups, on the maple neck-thru, hence the term alder wings. You'll see on the specification section that the 'neck-thru-body' is specified as 'quartersawn maple' and no mention is made there of the alder body. Because the pickups are mounted onto the maple of the neck, it's the maple that has the most influence on the sound of the guitar and maple is often characterised as being quite middy. Your Fender will be brighter because it's an all-alder body and the pickups are mounted onto alder which is a naturally brighter wood than maple.
Although maple is described as 'middy', I find that it's a difficult wood to get pickups to cut through. The Holydiver and the Miracle Man have been fantastic in my Jackson but the Holydiver still cuts through better in my PRS and that's mahogany! You'll find that an EQ pedal will make a big difference to your sound when using the Jackson.
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Yep, I'm sure.
http://www.jacksonguitars.com/en-GB/products/search.php?partno=2803071875 (http://www.jacksonguitars.com/en-GB/products/search.php?partno=2803071875)
Because the guitar is a neck-thru design, the pickups are mounted onto the maple of the neck as it runs through the body, hence 'neck-thru-body' construction. When it refers to an 'alder body' it's actually referring to the bits of the body that are mounted either side of the pickups, on the maple neck-thru, hence the term alder wings. You'll see on the specification section that the 'neck-thru-body' is specified as 'quartersawn maple' and no mention is made there of the alder body. Because the pickups are mounted onto the maple of the neck, it's the maple that has the most influence on the sound of the guitar and maple is often characterised as being quite middy. Your Fender will be brighter because it's an all-alder body and the pickups are mounted onto alder which is a naturally brighter wood than maple.
Although maple is described as 'middy', I find that it's a difficult wood to get pickups to cut through. The Holydiver and the Miracle Man have been fantastic in my Jackson but the Holydiver still cuts through better in my PRS and that's mahogany! You'll find that an EQ pedal will make a big difference to your sound when using the Jackson.
Oh I hate every pedal exists in the market m8 . Mmmm ok I love only the Maxon od808 to tight the dual rectifier . Ha ha a big thank you for all these information . I ll give a try to holy diver but I have in mind the black dog too .. Have you tried ? To be honest I am not sure that I need a high output pickup because evh 5150iii which I have has plenty of distortion and dual recto is dual recto , so I am thinking of getting advantage of the clearness of mid output pups . What do you think ?