Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: KalenDWA on November 11, 2013, 06:48:22 AM
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I'm not a stranger to Bare Knuckles, I've had a Nailbomb Alnico set and a Nailbomb ceramic set in a couple Michael Kelly's and I currently have a VHII in the neck of my PRS SC Satin Standard and a Cold Sweat in the Bridge. The CS sound good, especially for a ceramic pickup, but it is better suited for Metal tones and that's not really what I'm going for any more. I simply want something more organic but can still get aggressive when I need it. I use a Mesa Royal Atlantic, so there is no shortage of gain. The Black Dogs seem to be a great option based on my research for doing crunch tones as well as higher gain rhythm stuff, the Rebel Yells could work as well. I like a little smoothness on the top end but I don't want it to have the "blanket over amp" tone with the body being all mahogany. I just want to make sure things wouldn't get too dark.
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I recently suggested to Tim that I put a Black Dog in a Vintage V100 which is also all mahogany to do Classic Rock to 80s Metal and although he said the A-Bomb might be a better option for me, he did say the Black Dog would work really well for that application so I'd say it's a good choice for you.
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The BD can do that. It has the emphasis on the centermids, but still a chimey topend, so I can't imagine it will be too dark.
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I have test it on a PRS SE , it is darker tone like a old LP sound , for you ref , I later put set of SD SH-55 on same guitar , it is warm and a bit brighter tone than Black Dogs .
I going to use Black Dogs on neck and Rebel Yells on bridge for a tele shape guitar , as it complement each other .
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=30917.0
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The Black Dog set in my Single Cut does sound anything but dark.
Cheers Stephan
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BD in my Tokai LP is middy, seriously middy, but still has the top needed to balance it nicely.
Btw, i used to have a PRS SC satin. Any chance of a pic of that bad boy?????? 8)
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The Nailbombs were definitely on the brighter side, so far the Alnico NB is my favorite bridge pickup I've owned, But my amp is naturally on the brighter side so it would be nice to have some headroom to work with instead of dialing back the treble. I like a weighty midrange so that's another "pro" in favor of the Black Dogs. The less potential for harsher overtones in the top end the better. I use the word harsh loosely as every BK I've played never sounded remotely harsh next to other brands I've played.
Here's my PRS. I love it, never selling this thing.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img15/9913/b1up.jpg)
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Check out the Abraxas man. A PAF type tone with extra mids.
Thanks for the pic. :D
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And kind of on the same topic, the more I play it I'm debating switch out the VHII as well. It's a great pickup, but feels a little dark for an all Mahogany body. I can understand how they would be incredible with a maple top, they just feel a little dark given the guitar. I'm considering the Black Dog set now as a result, does that seem like a logical decision?
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And kind of on the same topic, the more I play it I'm debating switch out the VHII as well. It's a great pickup, but feels a little dark for an all Mahogany body. I can understand how they would be incredible with a maple top, they just feel a little dark given the guitar. I'm considering the Black Dog set now as a result, does that seem like a logical decision?
if you're confident on the bridge dog, the neck model should work too
in my experience, it's easier to succesfully match low output neck pickups than bridge pickups in general
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Here's my PRS. I love it, never selling this thing.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img15/9913/b1up.jpg)
Cool! :D
I had one of those for a while, same colour too.
I agree with Eric, it's always worth considering a calibrated set although I've never tried the Black Dog neck model. In that guitar, if you're thinking the VHII neck might be too bassy, I don't think you could go wrong with the Mule neck.
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I have an Abraxas set in my PRS Singlecut and they sound great, but for all mahogany I would go with the Emerald set or the Rebel Yell, depending on the sound you're after. The emeralds have a bit more top end, but are still a vintage tone (to my ears anyway), whereas the rebel yell has a lot more mid range and is a more agressive pickup (but sounds great in my PRS Standard!).
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I have an Abraxas set in my PRS Singlecut and they sound great, but for all mahogany I would go with the Emerald set or the Rebel Yell, depending on the sound you're after. The emeralds have a bit more top end, but are still a vintage tone (to my ears anyway), whereas the rebel yell has a lot more mid range and is a more agressive pickup (but sounds great in my PRS Standard!).
I've considered the emeralds and rebel yells, I'm just trying to figure out where I stand as far as output, I don't necessarily need to "goose" the front end too much because the Royal Atlantic as plenty of gain on tap. And I don't want some thing that will produce unwanted over tones, because right now the cold sweat is almost too hot and bright in the top end, I find myself dialing back the treble further than I would like. I find when I play various les Paul's, I prefer the Burst Bucker II's over the Classic 57's tonally, if it gets a little harsh in the highs it tends to scare me away. So it makes me worried about those 2, but I'm sure they are both more tame than the CS in the top end. I talked to Tim a while back and he suggested the RY's as well, but I wasn't even looking at the Black Dogs at that point. I've become extremely indecisive at this point, I just want to make the best decision.
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I have BD's in my 53 Les Paul, and they really sound great with the Jimmy Page tones. If you're looking for a little more mellow, then perhaps they would suit you.
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I have the same guitar, same colour too. Still has the prs#6 pups in. Was going to go for the bd's myself or mules. Bkp recommended the riff raff bridge and mule neck combo, so that's what I have gone with. As the guitar has that midrange honk in spades I felt it could do with a bit more clarity, like you I don't like too much treble in my sound either just clarity. I'll let you know what I think of them as soon as they are delivered.
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Hi,
I have BDs in my CU22 and without a doubt the best pickups I have ever played!
I had VHIIs in it previously for about 2 years but being a naturally bright guitar they seemed a little too much. I swapped these out for the SD Alnico IIs but they were really dull sounding. I have had the BDs for about 18 months and they will never be replaced in this guitar.
The BDs are very middy and have real sparkle in the top, more than enough power when needed but not over the top like some other pickups out there. My favourite thing about them (and I don't wish for this to be a pun but...) they really do bite! There is that classic midrange bark that a lot of modern style pickups just don't seem to have.
The neck pickup is also very nice, it has that lovely hoopy/hollow tone and also can pull off the woman tone pretty good. My only reservation with them is the split tones are really nothing to write home about when running into a driven amp. The bridge split gives a bit of twang but as with all humbuckers split they lack a certain something. When you are playing live and need to clean up they are more than suited for that.
Above all though the clarity is something any guitarist would kill for! highly recommended.
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Sounds exactly like I always imagined them to be. I've never tried the Black Dogs but I know I'd love them :D
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The BDs are very middy and have real sparkle in the top, more than enough power when needed but not over the top like some other pickups out there. My favourite thing about them (and I don't wish for this to be a pun but...) they really do bite! There is that classic midrange bark that a lot of modern style pickups just don't seem to have.
The neck pickup is also very nice, it has that lovely hoopy/hollow tone and also can pull off the woman tone pretty good. My only reservation with them is the split tones are really nothing to write home about when running into a driven amp. The bridge split gives a bit of twang but as with all humbuckers split they lack a certain something. When you are playing live and need to clean up they are more than suited for that.
I would not say they are very middy - they have good midrange. Everything else I fully agree.
Cheers Stephan