Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Dave Sloven on September 03, 2013, 04:15:13 PM
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While I am happy at times with my A-Bomb I am also finding it quite limited in an SG, in stark contrast to what people say regarding it being versatile in other guitars (e.g., Les Pauls). It might be that my SG is quite bright in the mids compared to some others, I don't know, but after lots of adjustments I've come to the conclusion that it might be too abrasive in character in that guitar for playing a lot of the stuff I play (especially the metal stuff). I find it good for the punk and hardcore stuff that I play but not so great for metal and for most rock besides AC/DC (I think it does that fairly well, if you don't mind a slightly hardcore edge to your AC/DC type stuff). It might also be the case that I would have been better off with a ceramic magnet in the bridge for this application.
These issues are magnified somewhat by my amp, which tends to emphasize the low mids.
I am considering getting a Miracle Man bridge pickup for this guitar (even though exchange rates are sliding and BKPs are getting more expensive for us) as I've read here in various places that the MM is ideal for the SG. I certainly think it might benefit from its more 'scooped' characteristics. Hopefully it's a bit more versatile. I have a Cold Sweat in the neck position which I think might work well with a MM, and it handles my needs vis-a-vis cleans. I don't use the A-Bomb for cleans much at all, even though it sounds okay for that, simply because the CS sounds so good clean.
I'd appreciate your thoughts. I figure I might get a cheap guitar like the recent Epiphone Les Paul Junior with the humbucker in it (I can get these for $200) and put the A-Bomb in that for a punk axe. I NEVER use the Cold Sweat when playing punk stuff, it's all bridge. The extra meat in the body of the LP Jnr might bring out some of the versatility of the A-Bomb that I'm not getting at the moment.
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I never found the A-Bomb to be all that versatile either and had the same issue as you with a very edgy sound to it. I can't imagine a ceramic version beiong more versatile than alnico. I changed it for a different pup but always felt it would do better in something like a Les Paul. You'll find the Miracle Man a LOT smoother than the A-Bomb. I still wouldn't rush to call it 'versatile' though as that's more the Holydiver but I'm sure I recall reading somewhere that an SG is about the only guitar a Holydiver doesn't work in.
Have you thought about a Cold Sweat bridge to go with the neck version you like so much? The bridge is more open than the A-Bomb and packs quite a punch. As a bridge pup I think it's probably rather underated on here. The only other one that leaps to mind is the Rebel Yell, but I've never tried that one myself.
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Thanks for the reply. It's basically what I've been thinking.
What I am also wondering though is whether a 6-band EQ on the front end might be worth trying before spending $200 on another pickup? I can get one of these second-hand here for $75 (including postage). The value of this option would depend of course on the value of the EQ even if I do change pickups, but the real issue for me here is that I really do like the sound of the A-Bomb for punk and hardcore music, and I'm wondering if I might be able to cut some of the middiness of the SG before it gets to the pre-amp of my Peavey? With a high-gain amp like that you have to be very careful with what you put in the front end. I'm also getting a 10-band EQ for the effects loop, but that is for shaping the sound coming out of the pre-amp and cutting out some of that Peavey high-end fizz (apparently dumping the 16K frequency gets rid of most of that) but I am thinking that an EQ before the amp might be a good investment, even if I end up using it just as a lead boost.
Any ideas? I realize that the EQ will not change the basic character of the pickup but it might help it act more like a C-Bomb when I need it to.
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I boost the mids on my 6260 with a Boss GE-7, sounds good to me. The Miracle Man is a completely different pickup than the Nailbomb so don't buy thinking its like a Nailbomb but more scooped.
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I'm just gonna chime in here quickly as I'm busy as hell learning till next week but didn't fail to notice this thread:
Basically from my understanding the Miracle Man will have nothing in common with the Nailbomb. I do own the MM as you know AO, never played the Nailbomb but judging from soundclips, the common opinion and the reviews here on the forum I can pretty much tell you that. Whereas the NB is described as 90s metal with the "hairy" character (can't find a better word for it right now) and has that "punk edge" you describe, I found the Miracle Man to be very organic and warm sounding for a ceramic PU. It sits somewhere in between the Warmth of my Holydiver and the Modern Sound of my Painkiller with the difference in the voicing of course. I don't miss any mids, they are not absent but the lows and low mids together with the highs are just more pronounced. It chuggs like a mofo and screams on leads, great for Thrash and Death Metal without going ultra modern. Amazing pinch harmonics and cutting high end. Don't know how it will sound in a SG, but it has turned my Strat into a mean old school Metal machine.
Cheers
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Have you thought about a Cold Sweat bridge to go with the neck version you like so much? The bridge is more open than the A-Bomb and packs quite a punch. As a bridge pup I think it's probably rather underated on here.
Not by me :)
The CS bridge is a great pickup and this was exact my first thought when I read this thread. It is scooped in the low mids somewhat but has enough center and high mids so that it does not sound thin. It worked great for me to open up a middy sounding guitar.
Cheers Stephan
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Yeah cheers Stephan I have given some serious thought to a Cold Sweat bridge and in fact when I went to my BKP shopping cart I found that I had added a CS bridge there about a month ago. It could be a great option but for an SG I am thinking that the Miracle Man might be a better choice for the styles I play. It could certainly handle Ozzy and Sabbath songs and as we worked out in the thrash thread it does a great job of that. I have no intentions of selling the Nailbomb but I think it would be better used in another guitar, possibly a single pickup guitar or a guitar in which I don't use the neck pickup (and hence don't need to worry about changing it). I have found the A-bomb to be fantastic for hardcore music and I would be keen to keep it for playing that sort of stuff, and I have also found it to be good for doing punkish covers of classic rock stuff from Rose Tattoo to AC/DC and even Accept.
I find myself in two minds though regarding the choice between a CS and MM bridge. I know both will work well in my SG due to their mid-range 'scoop' (for want of a better term). I'm just not convinced regarding the CS for thrash. I'm wondering who's got a CS bridge in an SG and what they found it to be best at. I'm happy with the CS neck for cleans and leads in this guitar and I get the feeling that either the CS or MM bridge will be a good match with it. In my guitar the CS actually sounds louder than the NB, as I had to lower the NB quite a bit (and raised the pole pieces) in order to give a clearer sound, so I imagine that I can get the MM to match quite well with the CS neck by adjusting the height, and maybe the volume difference between it and my CS neck will be less?
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I sent the following message to Ben at BKP:
I have bought a couple of sets of BKPs, one Warpig calibrated set which is doing well in my Epiphone Explorer, and a Cold Sweat neck + alnico Nailbomb bridge combo in a Gibson SG.
I think I may have expected too much 'versatility' from the Nailbomb. I have found it to be excellent for some styles that I play - hardcore, hardcore-influenced metal, and some hard rock - but the mids of the SG combine with the mids of the nailbomb to make it less useful for a lot of the metal stuff that I play, and which the CS neck is good for.
I tend to really only use the bridge pickup for hardcore stuff, so I am thinking of moving it into another guitar specifically for that (another Gibson, or an Epiphone or Tokai copy) and getting something else for the SG to go with the CS neck.
I started a thread about this on the BKP forum. I started off asking about the Miracle Man as a match for the CS neck, which a lot of people supported, but the Cold Sweat bridge was also suggested.
I have read that both of these are safe choices for an SG. Is this correct? I am fairly confident that the CS/MM combo will work, and the calibrated sets of course work well together.
The main issue for me is style, and possible overlap with my other BKPs.
Clearly I will be able to put the NB into something to handle hardcore stuff, and it will also do certain thrash styles well (but not all). That guitar will be in E or Eb standard
The Explorer with the Warpigs has the down-tuned death metal, grindcore, and doom metal stuff covered, and it works well with the Sabbath songs in C#. I can also get Venom sound out of it in C# with some EQ.
What I would like my SG to cover are the styles of bands like Celtic Frost, Sodom, Destruction, Accept, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Ozzy, and maybe some Saxon, Thin Lizzy, or Iron Maiden. I'd also like it to cover stuff like Kiss if possible. These would all be in E standard or Eb.
I think I was too ambitious hoping to cover these styles together with the punk and hardcore styles with the Nailbomb.
Please give me your opinions on which bridge pickup would suit, especially for the SG, which seems to be finicky.
I should underline that the Nailbomb has not been muddy, it just has an extremely aggressive middy character that makes it great for hardcore but not for these styles. I moved the pickup up and down for weeks and I have it now in the best possible spot (I have also adjusted the pole pieces) but it still retains this character. It is brilliant for RDP, The Exploited, Poison Idea, and other bands of that style, as well as Sepultura.
I'm using 500K CTS pots and a full vintage-style harness with paper in oil WD Music caps.
I got the following reply:
Hi David,
It does sound like you'd benefit from a ceramic magnet pickup. The Miracle Man and Cold Sweat bridges have pronounced mid-scoop which could work for you.
They are both bright and tight (from the ceramics), but the MM is thicker and a lot more powerful. The CS bridge is crisper and very clear - a real 'Pro' choice.
You offered quite a range of bands - classic and very heavy, but it looks like you focus on the more extreme end of styles. With that in mind I reckon the Miracle Man bridge would suit very well.
Kind Regards,
Ben
I'm tending toward Ben's suggestion of the Miracle Man. That said, for this particular guitar I am really playing in standard tuning pretty much all of the time, and I am wondering if people here have experience playing stuff such as I indicated above - "Celtic Frost, Sodom, Destruction, Accept, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Ozzy, and maybe some Saxon, Thin Lizzy, or Iron Maiden" - with the Cold Sweat and/or Miracle Man bridge pickups. With the exception of Celtic Frost, who have a very dark sound (which I attempt to get with the tone knob on the A-Bomb, and basically get half way there, and could possibly get all the way there with something like an MXR 6 band EQ before the distortion stage of my pedal board) the bands I listed don't seem too extreme to me (maybe I have been listening to grindcore for too long!).
I am wondering whether the Miracle Man can handle all of those. I suspect it would be good for most or all of them before the 'maybe' but probably not those that come after it. I find the A-Bomb does a pretty terrible job of Iron Maiden and I suspect the MM might too. Not that I play that kind of stuff too much, and I probably would be better of with a set of Riff Raffs or even a Strat for playing that, so maybe it's too much to expect. I can see how people end up with lots of guitars ...
These are the two main tones that I'd like to get from this guitar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXfv2nJ6WT4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXfv2nJ6WT4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAH5sxv71V0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAH5sxv71V0)
But I'd also like to get this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4n9PUj6YFA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4n9PUj6YFA)
& this:
Ozzy - 'Crazy Train' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVovq9TGBw0#)
EDIT: Now I am tending toward the Cold Sweat again!
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OK ... I think what I am looking for is something close to a DiMarzio Super Distortion or Ibanez V2 in terms of reproducing those '80s tones ... maybe even a Dirty Fingers style pickup ... everything seems to be pointing toward the Cold Sweat bridge pickup - is that like a 'new & improved' version of those pickups, or sitting somewhere in the middle of them?
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Well for "80's tones" I would think the Holy Diver would be perfect and probably be good with the cold sweat, I think the HD can do practically anything I throw at it, I mostly play brutal death metal with it so that gives you an idea.
All three of those albums were probably recorded with EMG's (Sodom definitely), Celtic Frost probably and Slayer has used EMG's forever and their tone has mostly been the same, so the MM is probably what you want.
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Thanks, I appreciate the reply and your ideas
Actually the Celtic Frost albums were recorded with an IC-50 Iceman (the cheap bolt-on neck version) with the stock pickups (probably V2s). I don't know what Sodom and the others were recorded with. In general though I worry that if I get a MM I will have two guitars with very hot pickups and not a lot of choice in tones. The HD is tempting but elsewhere here I have read bad reports with them in SGs, and the same with Crawlers and A-Bombs (although the latter is more mixed). Given that I will eventually put the A-Bomb in something else for hardcore purposes (it's excellent for that) what I think I probably need is a pickup that (1) has an excellent reputation in SGs (so far all reports with both CS and MM in SGs are excellent) & (2) can handle the spectrum of rock and metal tones not covered by my other pickups. With my Explorer I can tuned it up to Eb or even E in a pinch (perhaps with the Dunlop Heavy Core 11s set) but mainly I am using that in D standard to C standard (and maybe drop C if needed). I have the really brutal death metal stuff covered with that pickup. I would however like a pickup that can stretch into Celtic Frost and Sodom territory as well as covering stuff like the Sykes era Thin Lizzy sound and even Iron Maiden, so I am definitely leaning toward the Cold Sweat, although this is the third time now that I have been tempted by the Miracle Man and I'm sure I will get a set of MMs one day in the future, perhaps in a Les Paul or even an F-spaced one in something like a Jackson Soloist.
The one thing I've learned out of my first BKP purchase (the CS/NB combo) is that hoping to cover every style I want with one guitar is a complete pipe dream. I think that made it very difficult for BKP to recommend a pickup combo to me too. I think I need a few guitars - even if a couple of them are just upgraded cheapies like Epiphones for stuff where the pickup 'takes over' due to its high output) - to cover all of the styles I like to play.
Thankfully I am not too obsessed with the blues - and if anything my interests there are more covered by my acoustic dreadnaught - that I need a vintage pickup guitar at the moment
GAS :?
EDIT: I've always been curious about the Slayer=EMG comments because I don't remember it that way (and I'm old). EMGs I thought came in when they started using ESP guitars, which was later than Metallica. According the following long-winded bunfight over at the SD forum it seems that the early stuff was done with DiMarzios back when they used BC Rich guitars (before it was sold and became rubbish).
http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?239150-SLAYER-question-What-pickups-were-used-by-Kerry-and-Jeff-on-Reign-in-Blood (http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?239150-SLAYER-question-What-pickups-were-used-by-Kerry-and-Jeff-on-Reign-in-Blood)
EDIT:
I sent another email to Ben with a link to Celtic Frost's 'Dethroned Emperor' from the Morbid Tales album and basically stating that that tone was the heaviest one I am looking to get out of this guitar:
I am gravitating toward the matched set idea, having had a very positive experience with the Warpig set.
Given that I have a very powerful amp with a strong mid-range cut even with the mids turned right down (a Peavey 6534+), and a guitar with very pronounced mids (an SG Standard) a more scooped pickup would match up well. At the moment I just have way too much mids for anything other than hardcore.
If the Cold Sweat bridge works very well in SGs then I am tending toward that. The only thing that has ever had me a little concerned with the CS is that advice regarding mid-range (in terms of output) pickups in SGs. I'm assuming that was more in regard to alnico pickups? As I said from an output standpoint the alnico Nailbomb has been fine, and not muddy at all. It's just very hairy and chainsaw like, which is amazing for playing hardcore of course but doesn't suit a lot of other stuff.
The stuff that I would be playing on the more 'extreme' end of the sound spectrum is Celtic Frost. The way I approximate that sound with the Nailbomb is to roll the tone knob right back. I also find that the CS neck sometimes gives a better Celtic Frost sound than the Nailbomb even when rolled back, although it's not quite right. If the CS bridge is closer in sound to the CS neck but with some of the qualities of the MM it might work well for that. The actual rig used by Tom G Warrior was the cheapest (bolt-on neck) version of the Ibanez Iceman (the IC-50) through a tube screamer (which I have) and a JCM800, with the standard pickups in the Ibanez, which were the Super 70 (maybe these were also called Flying Fingers?) or V2. I'm wondering if the Cold Sweat could *approximate* this sound (even if it needed a 6-band EQ before the tube screamer)? Other than that I think the sounds I want from this guitar are a bit of a no-brainer for the CS: early Judas Priest, early Slayer, early Ozzy, basically a whole heap of late '70s and early '80s metal sounds (before the EMG era). I'm worried that I might end up with two guitars with really hot pickups (i.e., this one and my Explorer and the Warpigs) plus a punk axe (whatever I put the Nailbomb into) and nothing that can cover these metal styles ranging from Scorpions to the early German thrash bands.
Do you think the CS can get this range of sounds, or do you think they are right out its range?
Here's Ben's reply:
Hi David,
Yes the Cold Sweat bridge works well in SGs. The Cold Sweat bridge is quite different in design to the neck - the main difference is the magnets. If you need scooped mids, clarity and versatility, then the CS bridge will offer that. I listened to the clip - no problems there. Also fine for 70s/80s hard rock/metal.
Kind Regards,
Ben
Following Ben's reply and what I have thought about and read here I think I'm going to put an order in for a Cold Sweat bridge so that I have a matching set. I've joined the 'calibrated set' club with two sets now, a Warpig set and now a Cold Sweat set. I may install just the A-bomb in the bridge of another guitar with one pickup (e.g., a Les Paul Junior or SG Junior, or a Kramer Baretta) or if it has two pickups I might eventually get a matching Nailbomb set. In this particular guitar I found that the Cold Sweat neck and A-bomb did not match that well, just because the A-Bomb was so punkish and the Cold Sweat is so smooth. They feel like you should be playing different styles with them. The bridge never felt right with this neck pickup as the neck pickup does not suit hardcore at all.
1 x 6 String Cold Sweat humbucker - Covered Bridge
Bridge Spacing: 50 mm
Conductor: 4
Leg: Long (1/2")
Cover: Chrome
Etch: Bare Knuckle Pickups Etch
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The MM is awesome in SGs. Loved it in mine. Only changed it because I wanted at least one guitar without a high gain pickup (though I still have a MM).
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The MM is awesome in SGs. Loved it in mine. Only changed it because I wanted at least one guitar without a high gain pickup (though I still have a MM).
That's pretty much why I am avoiding the MM. My other guitar has Warpigs in it and now I'll have a A-Bomb looking for a new home. I need something that can do other things besides brutality and aggression, but can still bring it (at least to a thrash level) when needed. I have grindcore, death metal, funeral doom, and hardcore covered between the other pickups. The SG is also such a nice looking guitar I probably wouldn't trust it around my punk friends anyway, they'd probably spill beer all over it and smack into it with their studs :D
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I am wondering if people here have experience playing stuff such as I indicated above - "Celtic Frost, Sodom, Destruction, Accept, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Ozzy, and maybe some Saxon, Thin Lizzy, or Iron Maiden" - with the Cold Sweat and/or Miracle Man bridge pickups.
I've played all of these with both the Cold Sweat and Miracle Man. My first choice to cover all of these styles would be a Holydiver but as I indicated earlier, I'm not sure it works in an SG. Of the Miracle Man and Cold SWeat, I'd choose the Miracle Man for Sabbath and Ozzy but probably edge towards the Cold Sweat for Priest, Saxon, Lizzy and Maiden. The Holydiver kinda sits between them, which is why it would be my first choice in any guitar other than an SG but I may be wrong and it would work fine. Anyone tried a Holydiver in an SG?
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I agree with Slart and would suggest a Holydiver if the guitar in question wasn't a SG. Deciding between the Cold Sweat and the Miracle Man however, I'll vote for the MM. Great pinch harmonics, chuggs like a mofo, screams on leads and has a quite organic character for a ceramic pickup. Plus I'm using Slarts Miracle Man in my Strat by now :lol:
p.s.: I never thought it would happen, but the MM is slowly starting to replace the Holydiver as my favourite BKP...
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When I first looked into pickups for the SG I saw a post on here - which I saw again recently when I was looking over discussions before getting this new one - saying that the Holy Diver was a disaster in the SG, that the mids in the guitar just made it very mushy or something. It wasn't a case of overbearing but clear mids, which is what I have at present, which works for most hardcore styles, but rather just mush. I read something bad about the Crawlers as well. The Painkiller was also excluded because the mids were simply too harsh apparently. The A-Bomb was one of those 'works in some, not in others' pickups. On the whole I'd say it works in mine, but perhaps the combination of the characteristics of the guitar, pickup, and AMP (remembering that I have a 6534+, the most middy of the Peavey 6505 family of amps and also a high-gain beast quickly sent into overdrive by a hot pickup) gave me that result.
When I first bought the SG there were plans to sell the Explorer but then reading posts here I started getting GAS for a Warpig or Miracle Man! I was also discovering that one guitar couldn't cover all of the stuff I like to play, especially given that much of it is in C#/C standard tuning. So I needed a guitar that could cover all of that brutal stuff like Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, Napalm Death, or Ahab, as well as Venom, Black Sabbath, and Electric Wizard. I stopped trying to cover that ground with the SG. The basic problem in the set-up of my SG was that I was trying to cover too much ground, and so I went with what I thought would be most versatile (turns out it wasn't so versatile, at least with my guitar and amp) and combined it with what I thought would be the neck pickup that would be my favourite, the Cold Sweat (being a lover of the work of John Sykes and seeing people using it here for all kinds of applications). The problem is that the Cold Sweat is not a great match for the Nailbomb, at least for the way the Nailbomb sounds in my setup. The Cold Sweat bridge will of course work with the Cold Sweat neck and together in this guitar they should cover the rock area that the Nailbomb is just too brash for and that metal territory not currently covered by the down-tuned Warpig-equipped Explorer.
What pushed me against the Miracle Man for the SG was that I already had Warpigs in my other guitar, and then it would be covering a lot of the territory that I'm already covering. There's also the whole thing of it covering the ground of an EMG, and I can pick up an LTD Viper 400 here for $700 (half price) with an 81/85 set if I really want it, but with what I've done to the Explorer it seems a bit redundant.
When I asked about Miracle Man for the Explorer a few people said that the Warpig would be a better option - including Ben @ BKP - so I went with that. If I had an SG as the second guitar though it might have been a more difficult choice, as both pickups have an excellent reputation in SGs. I might have gone with the MM set then as they are cheaper and look more 'stock' (which I like in SGs, not so worried about in the Explorer) without the double set of screws/bolts. Listening to that guitar now I think the A-Pig was an excellent choice.
Actually Guitar IV my ideas on the Miracle Man would be to get one for a superstrat of some kind later, as that is the one thing I am missing, a guitar with a 'whammy' such as the Floyd Rose. For that I would need a F-spaced pickup and I might even go for the HSS set-up with Sinners like you have. To me that's more appealing than getting another SG or a Les Paul. I'm thinking I may put the A-Bomb into one of those cheapy Epiphone Les Paul Juniors (I'm not worried about the flat top) if the wood resonates right, otherwise into some kind of SG, maybe an Epiphone or Tokai. BTW, have you tried an A-Pig? That might be your next favourite BKP!
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I see your problem there mate, but I have to object in terms of the Miracle Man being like an EMG 81. In fact it sounds nothing like it, it has this unique "bipolar" voicing I never found in another pickup before and from the BKPs I own the Painkiller (I own an 81 as well) sounds the most like it, even Tim said the PK is the model that resembles the 81 the most (from what I remember reading). But the again the Cold Sweat might be more versatile as you point out.
Some people say the Blackhawk does the "passive with the active sound" job as well, but I never played one.
As far as the A-Pig goes: yes I played one in a mates axe and really enjoyed it, rich fat sound with lots of "juice" and in some terms it reminded me of the Holydiver. I like "juice" in my pickups :lol:
p.s.: A Superstrat with a Floyd and a HSS setup is really something wonderfull. Very versatile with that distinct 80's look ^^
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Yeah, I didn't mean to start on that MM vs EMG debate again, I just meant that in terms of its applications it tends to cover very much the same ground. I'm actually old enough to remember when active pickups were a novelty and started coming into the metal scene, roughly around 1988. The first album that featured it to my memory was And Justice For All ... , but I think Effigy is right in saying that Sodom's Agent Orange album sounds like it was recorded with EMGs in late '88 or early '89. They caught on very quickly, and became the sound for a while. Other bands like Slayer took them up when they went to ESP guitars like Metallica and various guitar companies started using them. I don't remember a strong culture of people retrofitting different pickups into guitars, at least in the thrash and death metal scenes, but some might have had custom guitars set up with EMGs. In any case from '89-'95 EMGs were pretty much it, and the MM seems to me like a pickup that tries to fill the same space but with a passive design and characteristics (i.e., not as dry as the EMGs). Personally I hate a lot of those albums recorded with EMGs, it got stale after a while, like producing death metal albums at Morrisound in Tampa - everyone was doing it. I like the idea of a HSS superstrat with Sinners and a Miracle Man in the bridge, or alternatively a superstrat with a HH Miracle Man set, definitely with a Floyd Rose.
The Black Hawk and Painkiller sound interesting. I might suggest a Black Hawk to a friend who has been debating whether to go for a Painkiller or a Warpig for his new guitar. I've been curious about the alnico Black Hawk.
I certainly do love my Warpigs, and I love the A-Bomb too. They are great at what they do. I do need a pickup that can do some other things though, hence the Cold Sweat. I'm very much an '80s guy in terms of guitar sounds, and I doubt that I would be tempted by a vintage pickup, although I might get a Riff Raff set one day for something. Other pickups I'd really like to try are the Rebel Yell and Piledriver. I think the RYs are what I would get if I had a Flying V or Les Paul, and of course a Piledriver in a Tele. I also heard a clip of a Strat with a SSS Sinner setup and that really made my mouth water. I don't have much experience with Fenders but if I can find one with a neck I like I might get one some day. A friend let me play his Telecaster one day but the neck was too fat for my liking.
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You could say whereas the Holydiver is the early 80's, the MM is the later period. The HD has good cleans while I find the MM to be a one trick pony, at least regarding cleans vs. distortion. You get great high gain tones and can do rock when you turn down the volume knob, but the clean sound is rather meh.
The Painkiller sounds very gnarly, harsh and grinding in your face modern metalish, the cleans are imho still better than the ones you get with the Miracle Man but it's a lot more contemporary.
All in all there are a lot great pickups by BKP and too little time and money to try them all :P
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Yeah, I pretty much have the feeling that the Holy Diver, Cold Sweat, and Rebel Yell sets have the early '80s metal styles covered. I have a Cold Sweat neck already and the set has a solid reputation in SGs so that's a big part of my decision. I also wanted something that could do those '70s and early '80s Judas Priest sounds well, and I think it will do a good job of that. I think the Rebel Yell might also have been an excellent choice, although I would tend to want the matching neck pickup. I think one day I might put a set in a Flying V if I can. To be honest Dio etc is something I really like listening to but I've never found the motivation to try playing stuff like that, so that might be my least likely choice out of the three. It might be good for playing stuff like Candlemass though if fitted to a Les Paul, which I can imagine playing. But there's too many pickups for my budget to stretch to a guitar for each.
The most tempting ones for me besides what I already have are Miracle Man, Sinner, Rebel Yell, Piledriver, Pig 90, and Supermassive. A lot of single coils on that list!
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The BKPs I wanna get additionally to the ones I already have are the Emerald Neck and the Slowhand Bridge.
That leaves me with the following sets:
Painkiller/Coldsweat in my Jackson Fusion Pro: modern metal territory that I find great for contemporary sounds, technical metal and raw grinding death metal
Holydiver/Emerald in my Jackson Dinky: Great for 80's stuff or modern metal that has that edge to it, does blues as well and you get an amazing lead sound and early thrash metal tones
Miracle Man/Sinners in my Custom Strat: great for Thrash and Death Metal, pretty versatile and suited for fat (Sinner Neck) or screaming leads (Miracle Man) with the ability to chugg and produce contemporary clean sounds
Slowhand Set in my Custom Strat: as said I'm still missing the bridge SH, I already own the Neck and Middle PU, will wire those onto a separate scratchplate so I can switch sets in my Strat. I'm expecting all the Hendrix and Clapton like blues sounds from this :)
That should complete my tonal palette, although there are a lot more BKPs I'd like to try and get, I'm running out of guitars and owning more stuff would be overkill imho :lol:
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I've considered getting a Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster and shoving a Piledriver set into it. The guitars are cheap but sound good. If any of the pots, switch, or other wiring annoy me that's easily fixed for around $70 for a complete quality harness. Could get out of it with BKPs as low as $800 if I got a good deal on the Squier. That would cover various things, I've heard the Piledriver on videos playing blues and it sounded pretty good, and through my amp it would be good for black metal and 'blackened' tones in general, such as that Finnish and Swedish hardcore stuff. Plus it would just be the fun of having a Tele and looking like I was going to play some country music and then ripping into something completely brutal :lol:
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Hahaha, having a "blues" guitar and playing metal on it is always a nice thing, especially considering the baffled looks you get from the audience sometimes. It's the same with my Strat, I pretty much played everything on it depending on the band and style of music we did, ranging from cheesy ballads at an open air festival to generic metalcore in small pubs and Thrash and Death Metal in front of astounded friends. Good to have the Miracle Man in there now 8)
Good example for this is the Safety Fire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROR4KWUA9rg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROR4KWUA9rg)
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This is a video I made of a local black metal band that is basically a Strat, vocalist and drummer. The signal is split between two guitar amps and a bass amp.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmHTNAYsqaY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmHTNAYsqaY)
apologies for the quality ... but it shows what you can get out of a stock SSS Strat
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Just got an email to say that my new Cold Sweat has been posted.
Pretty impressive turnaround when you consider that the order was processed Friday morning and sent out Tuesday morning, with the Bare Knuckle Pickups etch on the chrome cover meaning that it probably wasn't one from the existing inventory.
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Went out to the letterbox
Found me a BKP Cold Sweat ...
(http://i39.tinypic.com/2h66el3.jpg)
It's regular chrome, not burnt - that's just some reflection in the chrome - with the BKP etch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyCfUmV72Ks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyCfUmV72Ks)
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Looks nice, how is your impression of the sound? :)
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Haven't had a chance to install it yet. Will try out the A-Pig in the SG first anyway, just to see what that sounds like. I have to pull both guitars apart (the Explorer needs some modifications to the pickup cavity and eventually the triple shots installed) so I've waited a bit. I needed one of my electric guitars tonight and I only have two. I'll have a look at the Explorer tomorrow and start pulling the Warpigs out of it and do a bit more sanding away of the wood in the cavity to make sure they don't touch the sides. Then I will put the pickups in my SG just to get an idea of how they sound and maybe have an attempt at painting the pickup cavity of the SG on Sunday before installing the Cold Sweat set.
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OK, I installed the Cold Sweat tonight. I don't have a full understanding of its capabilities, but I've picked up on a couple of things.
First, the cleans are as good or better than the A-bomb bridge, which might be a surprise given that it's ceramic and the A-bomb is noted for its cleans. I just think they are a different sort of clean, and neither has a bad clean like the high-output Warpig pickups, which I think are very limited clean. The best thing is that the clean of the neck and bridge now sit nicely together, and I enjoyed playing the middle setting clean.
Second, it's really hard to tell what they are like as I have also turned the neck pickup around and had to remove the bridge given that it sits in the pickguard (to which the pickups are attached). This means that all of the pickup heights and bridge height are out at the moment and everything needs to be adjusted, starting with the bridge. I also top-wrapped the strings and the tailpiece is now sitting nicely on the top.
Third, I'm mainly noticing what's missing at the moment until I get the pickup adjusted. What's missing is that punky 'rarrr' that was ever-present with the A-bomb. As I said earlier I actually like that in its place and I will be looking to install the A-bomb in another guitar (possibly another SG) to have that available to me when I want it. I played a few riffs from 'The Usurper' (Celtic Frost) but I couldn't really notice a huge difference yet. That said everything needs to be adjusted.
Fourth, the etch looks great and the neck pickup does not look too stupid in back-to-front (please excuse the fingerprints on the guitar, I didn't notice them indoors):
(http://i43.tinypic.com/fdrs3n.jpg)
(http://i40.tinypic.com/16m5bw5.jpg)
(http://i44.tinypic.com/16c282d.jpg)
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Well, the Celtic Frost thing is pretty much roll the tone knob back on a humbucker. Or maybe an extremely low treble knob setting on the amp. I never entirely figured it out, always got to a "close enough" point and dicked around for a few minutes.
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hope you enjoy your choice man. finding the right pickup can be a hassle but its great when you find one that works.
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Yeah I got closest to Tom G Warrior's tone by rolling the tone knob back to darken it up, but I was still left with the basic abrasiveness of the pickup that made it sound a bit off. I also found it a bit shrill for Judas Priest. This Cold Sweat doesn't have that edge to it, so I think those sounds would be easier to get.
What I actually found the A-bomb to we worst at was Iron Maiden. I'll see how I go with the new one. The amp and speaker combo wouldn't help either, they tend to enhance the mids (Peavey 6534+ > V30s)