Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: littleredguitars2 on September 08, 2013, 12:38:05 AM
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focusing more on the bridge for right now. but feel free to suggest a neck that will work well with your thoughts
basically, these are the points i want to hit
- medium/high output
- versatile for rock, punk, classic tones
- something that doesnt have shrill highs. thats a biggy
- good bottom end crunch.
- lots of clarity
i've had the stock 500t in the bridge for years and its time to change it. i was going to make this a metal guitar but ive decided to make it more versatile. i'll be using a mesa boogie dual rec. but dont say i dont need a high output like everyone always does. i've been using high output pickups for a long time and i like it. just not this one particularly.
i know it will be blasphemy haha but i'm a big fan of the seymour duncan invader in the sense that it has a great bottom end but i know throwing one of those in a big ole les paul will probably sound far too muddy and i want to explore more with the bare knuckles anyway.
thoughts?
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nailbomb
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I don't think the nailbomb is what I want. I have an alnico v bomb in my strat and I don't think it's what I'm looking for
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My guess (take this with a grain of salt though) is that the NB might have too much of the higher mids in the agressive sense the NB does.
When littleredguitars is talking about shrill hightend I am suspecting he also means higher mids where a lot of the abrasivness of the NB sits.
I am getting more of a Holydiver vibe here right now. Certainly not shrill, but musically rounded, while being very versatile, crunchy and clear.
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yeah holy diver has always been one i've considered. and when i'm talking about those highs, i want them to be a little smoother. not so sharp sounding if that makes sense.
i was also thinking maybe the crawler pickups? but i think i'll look into those a bit more
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Slarti has written explemplary reviews on both the Holydiver and the Crawler. Have a look at those and see what you think. Especially with the Crawler he just hits it so unbelievable well it still blows my mind.
In the end both are great but also very different. Personally I would not put the Crawler in anything but a bright axe, but there it is probably my No1 when it comes to low to mid gain stuff with a lot of character and body (my overall fav is still the RY brighte though. Dat roar...
Have a good look at the review collection thread I made, this is what it is for after all. After you got a recommendation you easily research it more!
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i'll take a look man. thank you
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- medium/high output
- versatile for rock, punk, classic tones
- something that doesnt have shrill highs. thats a biggy
- good bottom end crunch.
- lots of clarity
Apart maybe from the shrill highs the Cold Sweat would tick all the boxes. It does not have shrill highs in my axe but that's a middy one.
Rebel Yell would be a fine choice, too.
Cheers Stephan
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yeah ben from BK actually suggested the rebel yell too. i'll check it out some more
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My humble thanks to Kiichi for his kind words :oops:
The Crawler would be ideal for what you're after if your guitar is reasonably bright. It works superbly well in my PRS but it might be too dark in a Les Paul. Of the contemporary range, I'd say the Holydiver, Rebel Yell and Cold Sweat are all worthy of consideration while for a left field suggestion, I think an Abraxas might well do the job too. It may be vintage hot and alnico IV but it has quite a bit of poke, is nice and smooth and can even do Metal.
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i'm definitely leaning towards the rebel yells after Bens help.
question, do they split well?
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i'm definitely leaning towards the rebel yells after Bens help.
question, do they split well?
The alnico Nailbomb, on which the Rebel Yell bridge pickup is based, has a reputation for splitting well, so I imagine the RY bridge does too. If you try a split and you don't like like it you could always switch the wiring to a series/parallel switch by moving some wires.
Similarly, the Rebel Yell neck is based on the Cold Sweat neck, which I have read can be split with success.
I have a CS/NB combo so I did some research on this a while back here but I did not look at information on the RY in this respect. Maybe Kiichi has done this?
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i'm definitely leaning towards the rebel yells after Bens help.
question, do they split well?
The alnico Nailbomb, on which the Rebel Yell bridge pickup is based, has a reputation for splitting well, so I imagine the RY bridge does too. If you try a split and you don't like like it you could always switch the wiring to a series/parallel switch by moving some wires.
Similarly, the Rebel Yell neck is based on the Cold Sweat neck, which I have read can be split with success.
I have a CS/NB combo so I did some research on this a while back here but I did not look at information on the RY in this respect. Maybe Kiichi has done this?
Well I have not done a regular split wiring here. I might someday when I happen to stumble about a free push pull pot, but I donīt think I would keep it that way, just do it to try.
Not that I am not pretty confident I would like the wiring, thing is I have a 5 way wired for middle + autosplit in 2 and 4 with a HSH setup and I just like that too much too put it away. I would only concider push pull if 2,3 and 4 are unaffected and only 1 and 5 then get split. Just dont like unsplit HB + middle too much.
The split bridge in my Ibby S might be too much as well if I donīt wire it so that the screw coil remains active cause that is away from the bridge for me since I flipped it. In a LP however I would have far less of a concern about that and think I would very much enjoy that.
Anyhow, I had this to say in my RY bridge review. This is talking about the cleansound of it:
I generally do not really dig the RY bridge as it sounds too middy, which makes it hardly usable for me, HOWEVER, I have an autosplit wiring and my RY turned around so that the screwcoil is away from the bridge and when I go into the autosplit position I get the slugcoil, which is closer to the bridge plus the middle (Irish Tour), which makes for the most glorious clean sound for strumming (also cool for picking, but neck is better). Super clear single coil like sound, rather tele than strat like with a quality in the high end you assosiate with brand new strings (yes that goodness at any time). This position was even further improved when I added a PRS style 2,2k resistor in series with the green and white wire of the bridge PU, which results in the screw coil not being completly shut off, giving me a little extra output and bottom end. Amazing stuff.
You can read the whole thing here https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=30392 (https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=30392).
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Not sure if I would split the pickup yet. Just something to think about. Thanks guys
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Not sure if I would split the pickup yet. Just something to think about. Thanks guys
I've just bought a set of Seymour Duncan Triple Shot pickup rings. They will allow me to put my Warpigs in parallel, series, or split them with a choice of screw or slug coil active. You should look into them. They have a curved model for Les Pauls. They are costing me nearly $100 (Australian) but if you are based in the USA the cost should be considerably less, more like $60 without all that international postage cost.
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=30513.0
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those look pretty cool from what i saw. i'll have to check them out a bit more when i have a moment
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by the way, i'm gonna grab 2 550k volume pots, and 1 of each of the jensen caps for the LP but which pots should i use for tone?
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If you are going to install the Triple Shots, then you can go with regular CTS 500K tone pots or more Jensens. If you want to have a phase reversal option or even a 'blower switch' (i.e., bypass) in addition to the coil tap and series/parallel options then you will need 500K push-pull or push-push pots to do that.
If you are not going with the Triple Shots you will definitely need a couple of push-push or push-pull pots to do the coil splits. I'm not sure but it might be easier to do that on the volume pots (maybe someone here can say more?). I haven't done a coil tap yet.
The other thing to check when ordering pots is the shaft length. You should have a look at what's in there before ordering anything. The difference between long and short shaft pots is obvious though once you pull one out.
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its likely i just go with the normal wiring without the coil tapping etc so which would be the right tone pot? a couple 500k? i would just grab the standard shaft most likely
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I'm pretty sure my guitar has four matching pots (CTS 500K audio taper), with oil-paper caps on the tone pots. So I guess in your case following the same logic it would entail another couple of the 550K pots
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so since i'm like 99% sold on the rebel yell, any thoughts on which neck pickup is for me? what can i expect from the rebel yell neck compared to something like, a vhII neck or something like that. what works well with the rebel yell is basically what i'm asking?
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It's not BKP related but, Gibson 57 classic. I got them in my Les Paul and they are wonderful. 57 classic in the neck and 57 classic plus in the bridge. I have serial/parallel for both pick up's but I don't use it. If I didn't have it, I wouldn't miss it at all. I'm not sure if you've heard them or tried them but mine are in an Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus so if you can find one, try it. The neck pick up is great for getting nice blues solo especially when you put the tone on 1 and put the tone on 7 it's nice and bright again. It's really clear the tone has an impact. I find myself often playing just with the tone knob experimenting. The bridge has good out put. I can play thrash metal on it but it's not really the best. Not enough out put but it is fantastic for hard rock or classic metal. It's the guitar I go to when I play AC/DC or Iron Maiden. I really like these pick up's and to me they give me all the Les Paul tones that I hoped for. Big and ballsy but smooth and creamy when needed.
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yeah i really did consider the 57s for a while. i recently acquired an 86 es 335 from an older family member and i'm pretty certain it has 57s in it and to be honest, i didnt like it that much. maybe because its nearly 30 years old? i have no idea. i did hear some Super 57s in a new line of les pauls from Rob Chappers youtube channel that sounded great but they only come in those guitars right now, and they are only zebra style which i'm not a fan of unfortunately but the concept sounded nice. just a high output version of that classic gibson sound. oh well. i'm very likely to be getting the rebel yell and i hope i'll enjoy it. if not, i can always try something else. who knows.
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BKP are very nice so I can't blame you for getting them. If I didn't like the 57's so much I'd have BKP in mine. Here's a clip I found just before I bought my LP. MInes blue but the tone is great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYXNqpvN6dk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYXNqpvN6dk)
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People who like the Rebel Yell bridge tend to be very happy with the set. The neck is a slightly modified version of the very popular Cold Sweat neck. Apparently it has a bit of VHII character as well.
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If anyone would like to replace the 57's with a BKP-equivalent: go Mules and you'll never look back. :)
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i'll keep that in mind!
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well i finally sold a few things and put in my order for a set of rebel yells for my LP. i hope they work well for me. now if i could only sell my fender tele to fund some new pickups for my strat!
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nailbomb
I would also have suggested the nailbomb or rebel yell. Have you still got the nailbomb? Id recommend atleastgiving it a bash I know it didnt sound good in your thin strat but obviously theyre completely different beats.
The nailbomb definitely has the heavy bottom end, clarity, cleans and warm highs youre after they work extremely well in super strats which obviously have more weight to them than 'proper strats'.
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nailbomb
I would also have suggested the nailbomb or rebel yell. Have you still got the nailbomb? Id recommend atleastgiving it a bash I know it didnt sound good in your thin strat but obviously theyre completely different beats.
The nailbomb definitely has the heavy bottom end, clarity, cleans and warm highs youre after they work extremely well in super strats which obviously have more weight to them than 'proper strats'.
That depends on the used timbers.
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maybe if it was a rosewood strat or something similar but it was alder. and i got rid of the nailbomb already. i couldve used it but i didnt want burnt chrome in the LP. sure i could have tried it but i'm still not very good at putting in my own pick ups. and bringing it to a tech just to try something sounds kinda silly. yeah, i know. i really would benefit from learning to do it myself.
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maybe if it was a rosewood strat or something similar but it was alder. and i got rid of the nailbomb already. i couldve used it but i didnt want burnt chrome in the LP. sure i could have tried it but i'm still not very good at putting in my own pick ups. and bringing it to a tech just to try something sounds kinda silly. yeah, i know. i really would benefit from learning to do it myself.
I bring all my guitars to my tech. He's way faster and more skilled than I am. I'm working a a lot and have little time, so as much as I admire all those techs here on the forum (especially those who make amps), I don't feel silly and you shouldn't either.
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I install my own pickups but I don't like wiring up harnesses beyond installing a new pot or cap in an old harness. I tend to buy a pre-made or custom harness online and then install it myself. I enjoy learning basic stuff (about as far as adjusting the action and neck relief, or installing tuners as long as it doesn't involve any drilling) but I would never experiment with the wooden parts of the guitar beyond reaming out holes for Asian metric pots to US sizes (but even that scares me!) and painting the cavities with shielding paint.
If you don't have an interest in learning to do guitar maintenance yourself beyond changing strings that's perfectly fine in my book. Myself I've always been a bit of tinkerer and hot-rodder. I actually learned how to solder modifying 1/32 scale slot cars to make them go faster ... Tinkering with stuff is a bit of a disease IMO and probably best that you don't get into it! Do as I say not as I do ;)
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i can do pretty basic stuff. like 1pickup and 1 volume knob designs or when i get the prewired pickguard for my strat eventually. because that just needs to be soldered to the input jack and screwed in i assume. but i'll be taking the les paul to my tech. i just didnt see a point in bringing him the LP to put the nailbomb in there when i knew i wasnt planning on keeping it in there anyway.
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If you are okay with a soldering iron pickup changes aren't too bad. The worst part is if you have an SG with a full pickguard (or any other design where the pickup mounts on the pickguard) is getting the pickup adjustment screws and their horrible springs on. I don't have that problem with regular pickup ring mounts though. It's important to know your limits though. I'm taking the Explorer to a tech to have the SD Triple Shots installed, simply because if I make a mistake I could damage the expensive rings with their chips and switches.
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haha yeah man those springs are a pain in the butt. and bare knuckle sends ones that have tiny screws with GIANT springs.
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Yeah I hate those BKP springs - I generally re-use the ones already in the guitar!
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nailbomb
I would also have suggested the nailbomb or rebel yell. Have you still got the nailbomb? Id recommend atleastgiving it a bash I know it didnt sound good in your thin strat but obviously theyre completely different beats.
The nailbomb definitely has the heavy bottom end, clarity, cleans and warm highs youre after they work extremely well in super strats which obviously have more weight to them than 'proper strats'.
That depends on the used timbers.
True but I was using the assumption that strats are generally made out of alder as are most medium to high quality super strats. Saying that though specs are just specs not always gospel I have an alder bodied super strat with a flame maple top, maple neck and rosewood fretboard some people would say its a weird combo but it works well.
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haha yeah man those springs are a pain in the butt. and bare knuckle sends ones that have tiny screws with GIANT springs.
I used to hate them too as what felt like most of the time it took to install the PU was getting the screws with the springs put on.
However now I have figured out a technique how to do it and it is as simple as it should be and they do their job pretty darn well...thouh then again they are just the springs.
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yeah i mean, its not like it takes me too long or anything.
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(https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/p480x480/1382892_672890752730170_2003885070_n.jpg)
oh yeah! look what just came in :) my black/gold rebel yells. can't wait to get them installed. i got new pots and caps too so i'm going to take it to my tech but i'll fill you all in when its good to go!