Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: rockingturtles on February 12, 2014, 11:57:16 AM
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Hello,
I am very new here and I hope You have no problems with my english...school is out over 35 years...
I play a Gibson Les Paul 1960 RI which is equipped with the burstbuckers 1+2 (neck, bridge).
The bb 1 in the neck position isn't completely bad overall, but everything other than clean to slightly overdriven gives me a bassy muddy sound. Especially the low E-string kills the possibility for playing for example distorted powerchords. Soloing sounds a bit too dark on the low strings. And there is really the opposite of liquid feeling making my fingers stiff.
I think, the guitar itself dos not sound ecxessive bassy accousticly.
So, now I am looking for a complete new set or mix of humbuckers.
I have no special idea, just want a good allround sounding Les Paul who can handle distorted sounds as well as some clean sounds. Maybe just a little more modern than now.
Though the guitar is a vintage modell, I am not really after THE vintage sound.
The amp is a Marshall JVM 410H going into a 1960 loaded with G12H30 (55hz) speakers, which tends to be a bit bassy I think. Other speakers would probably better for me, but thats another question.
I am thinking about some contemporary humbuckers, like the rebell yells or nailbombs, Holy Diver, or better Riff Raff, Emerald? Don't know.
I hope to get some input and tipps,
Thank You very much!
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Rebel yell or Nailbombs. The Alnico Nailbomb would rock in the Les Paul and is more modern than vintage.
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Thank You!
Is it ok to choose the braided wire? I do not plan to make some splitting.
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Can you name one or two bands you like the tone of? Without knowing, I would say HolydiverB + EmeraldN, if it was my Les Paul. Also, 550K pots.
Also, IMO, order 4-conductor whenever possible (easier to resell) and short legs on the neck humbucker (better compatibility with other guitars).
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That Marshall has enough gain on tap so you don't need a very hot pickup. I would certainly consider a Mule-set of a RiffRaff-/Mule-neck-combo. They provide majestic cleans and handle loads of gain very well. You could try to tighten up things with a booster or an OD like a Maxon 808.
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I think You mean, Bands who are using Gibsontype guitars?
AC/DC
Led Zep
Guns'n Roses
Nearly all soundsamples from the bare knuckle website.. :D
Gary Moore
Whitesnake Doug Aldrich
and many modern bands I don't know the names
Tried it with SD alnico proII (slash) humbuckers. Really good humbuckers, but not that what I am looking for.
I have to say, that this will be my first try with high voltage humbuckers.... :|
Formerly I have played Singlecoil guitars. Since 4-5 years there is a SG with low output vintage-humbuckers. Great for clean stuff, funk!, Blues and Bluesrock to early hardrock.
After all the years with oldschool vintagesounds (I still like them too), I want to try it with a more modern rocksound sound with balls and "roaarr" in the Les Paul. :D
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utrzGkykjjQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utrzGkykjjQ)
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I think You mean, Bands who are using Gibsontype guitars?
AC/DC
Led Zep
Guns'n Roses
RIFF RAFF/MULE
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That Marshall has enough gain on tap so you don't need a very hot pickup.
+1.
I would certainly consider a Mule-set of a RiffRaff-/Mule-neck-combo. They provide majestic cleans and handle loads of gain very well. You could try to tighten up things with a booster or an OD like a Maxon 808.
No direct experience with these pickups yet but that should work well indeed. Black Dogs would also be a good alternative.
Cheers Stephan
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That Marshall has enough gain on tap so you don't need a very hot pickup. I would certainly consider a Mule-set of a RiffRaff-/Mule-neck-combo. They provide majestic cleans and handle loads of gain very well. You could try to tighten up things with a booster or an OD like a Maxon 808.
Thank You!
Yes, I Think the RiffRaff/Mule is a great Vintage pickup set!
I am thinking about a RiffRaff/Mississippi Queen combination for my Les Paul SG....
Yes, the JVM has a lot of gain.
I have already 2 guitars (Les Paul, SG) with vintage voiced humbuckers.
Now, I am looking for a more modern voicing for the Les Paul.
Would it be a sin to put humbuckers like the Nailbomb or Rebell Yell in a Historic Reissue Les Paul?
Are these humbucker models a bad combination for a historic Les Paul?
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I have a Maxon OD-9 but replaced it with an MXR Custom Badass Modified O.D. that does the same job, has a few more EQ tricks up its sleeve, and is cheaper. It can give you the EQ curve of either an OD-9 or an OD-808 depending on whether you have the 'bump' switch selected (or not).
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I have already 2 guitars (Les Paul, SG) with vintage voiced humbuckers.
Now, I am looking for a more modern voicing for the Les Paul.
Would it be a sin to put humbuckers like the Nailbomb or Rebell Yell in a Historic Reissue Les Paul?
Are these humbucker models a bad combination for a historic Les Paul?
It's not a sin by any means. Both humbucker models would work, depending on if you want more of a modern rock tone (RY) or more of a '90s metal tone (NB).
Keep in mind you have the HSP-90s too, such as the MQ and the Stockholm. Don't look at the MQ as a strictly vintage-sounding pickup (going by your post about pairing it with a Riff Raff): I had it with a Black Dog and the BD had some trouble keeping up. It can rock, it can even metal, and so can the Stockholm.
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I have a Stockholm in an SG Junior and I use it for an '80s style hardcore band (e.g., Massappeal, Ripcord, Heresy, Intense Degree, etc) band that I play in. It is an aggressive, powerful pickup that keeps up with my Nailbomb equipped Explorer that I use in the same band. Both are tuned to D standard and played through a high-gain amp and V30 speakers. Both the Stockholm and the Nailbomb are modern sounding.
I tend to think you would be happy with a Rebel Yell, but a Nailbomb can also work very well in that context. I've heard some really nice clips using the ceramic version, but I think either version would be fine. The Nailbomb is more aggressive sounding than the Rebel Yell. Another pickup to consider is the Cold Sweat. I found it to be an excellent upgrade from the 490R/498T set in my SG Standard.
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Well, now I am a little bit cleverer but also confused at the same time! :P
The Mule would be a very noble PAF 59 style humbucker, that also have no problems with high gain sounds.
The Rebel Yell is good for a 80's rocksound.
The Nailbomb is similar to the rebell yell but more modern and metal-sounding.
All pickups have good cleanssounds. The Mule is the best for cleanssounds.
I rarely play crystal clear clean, like country style or so. But sometimes I love to play some funky style rhythm.
It seems that the Mule would be the best choice, if I want a versatile guitar?
How does it sound with the Rebel Yell, playing AC/DC style or Airbourne?
Somebody tried to play Hendrixx stuff with Rebell Yells? I am not after THE original sounds, it should just sounds good.
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Check my reply on this thread https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=31387.0 (https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=31387.0). I cover a lot of different pickups in Les Pauls. I would look at the Abraxas if you want a higher output PAF sound, however for the guys you've listed, I would really think about a PG Blues set.
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Well, now I am a little bit cleverer but also confused at the same time! :P
The Mule would be a very noble PAF 59 style humbucker, that also have no problems with high gain sounds.
The Rebel Yell is good for a 80's rocksound.
The Nailbomb is similar to the rebell yell but more modern and metal-sounding.
All pickups have good cleanssounds. The Mule is the best for cleanssounds.
I rarely play crystal clear clean, like country style or so. But sometimes I love to play some funky style rhythm.
It seems that the Mule would be the best choice, if I want a versatile guitar?
How does it sound with the Rebel Yell, playing AC/DC style or Airbourne?
Somebody tried to play Hendrixx stuff with Rebell Yells? I am not after THE original sounds, it should just sounds good.
It would be no sin at all to put a modern pickups in your Les Paul. You got to choose something you like. I tried to make clear that vintage(hot)pickups can give fabulous results on highgain amps, because they sound open and clear, but can roar very nice too. Plus you get the beautiful cleans of a vintagepickup.
For funk the Mules do a great job and the middleposition is good for Hendrix-style stuff. It's a deep but crispy sound at the same time. For AC/DC Mules or a RiffRaff/Mule-combo will do a great job. If you want a hairier, little more modern sound: the already mentioned RY.
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Hello Telerocker,
thank You very much!!!
I am shure You explain it very good! English is not my native language, You know. Often it is hard for me to understand.
What is "hairier sound"?
Now I am between the Mule and Rebel Yells (and a little bit Nailbombs). Are there some soundsamples of the Riff/Raff? What I have found wasn't very great.
@Phil-King: Thank You very much for the link! You are a fan of low output humbuckers in a Les Paul? Can You please explain, why?
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Hello Telerocker,
thank You very much!!!
I am shure You explain it very good! English is not my native language, You know. Often it is hard for me to understand.
What is "hairier sound"?
Now I am between the Mule and Rebel Yells (and a little bit Nailbombs). Are there some soundsamples of the Riff/Raff? What I have found wasn't very great.
English is not my native language too, so don't worry about that. With hairy I mean more output, more crunch because the pickups hit the amp harder, perhaps also more harmonics. The Mules and Rebel Yells are different pickups. I bet you will be pleased with Rebel Yells too. They are on the doorstep between vintage and modern. It's a very good (hard)rockpickup that even does some metalstyles with authority.
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@Phil-King: Thank You very much for the link! You are a fan of low output humbuckers in a Les Paul? Can You please explain, why?
I play a lot of classic rock and blues and also being one of the older forum members, grew up with regular Gibson and Fender pickups. I find that with low output, the tone of the guitar comes through more. I have a lot of pedals that I can add to my signal if I want to boost it, and that gives me a sweeter sound with the ability to have clarity when I want it. Gary Moore used PG Blues and they are based on the pickups in the LP that he & Peter Green owned. Older guitars only had pickups into the 8k range and most classic rock used them.
I have higher output pickups (I probably have most of the BK range), but don't put them in LP's, as I want to keep more clarity in the sound. I have a set of MM's in a PRS bolt on, Nailbombs in an Ibanez, Abraxas in a Hamer & PRS, RY's in a PRS Standard, Cold Sweats in my BC Rich Mockingbird, Crawlers in another PRS, HolyDiver in a Strat. So it's not that I don't like the higher output pickups, but for what I play most of the time, the lower output pickups work out better.
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Hello,
why do i not get mails when somebody answeres?
Thank You!
yes i understand the thing with clarity. Mmh, ok I have a SG with relativ low output vintage PUs. I use the SG for Funk, blues, Rock'n Roll, AC/DC style sounds up to early 70's hardrock. In this guitar the Gibson Burstbuckers are a great match!.
The Les Paul i want to get in a more harder direction, not metal, without loosing too much from the native qualities of this guitar. Of course i love the clearsounds with the vintage pus too, but I agree to loose a bit of this quality for a little more modern aggressive and fat attitude.
Why not playing older stuff, dirty bluesrock, oldschool punk, distorted rock, etc., with a little more modern touch?
I think, i have to test more than one set of pickups to get a insight....
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Mail: You should click on 'attachments and other options' and select 'notify me of replies'.
Les Paul: I understand you actually want Holy Divers or - in case the natural voice of your LP is a little dark - a Rebel Yell-set.
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Ok let me recap: LP. Older stuff. Rock. Blues. Punk. Modern touch.
To me that really does sound like a Rebel Yell. If there is one pickup that is a modern take on a classic sound giving you old school goodness and heart with modern cut and definition it is this one. Plus it is made for LPs. So if yours is not exeptionally bright I would say RY. Turn up the volume and youīll just want more....more....more.
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It is hard to say wether the guitar is exeptionally bright or bassy? Because it has a lot of all of them, Bass, Mid, Treble. What I can say is, that this is not a "plinky" thin sounding guitar.
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It is hard to say wether the guitar is exeptionally bright or bassy? Because it has a lot of all of them, Bass, Mid, Treble. What I can say is, that this is not a "plinky" thin sounding guitar.
As long as it is not lacking in bass. Really thin guitars can have issues with the RY, but with LPs that is rare anyways.
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It is hard to say wether the guitar is exeptionally bright or bassy? Because it has a lot of all of them, Bass, Mid, Treble. What I can say is, that this is not a "plinky" thin sounding guitar.
Rebels Yells then!
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I think I will try the RYs.
4 conductor and short legs would be better for verstility and for reselling. But i like the braided wire and long leg....
In my opinion: I buy this set new, pay the full price, so I am the one who chooses the options for my liking, hugh.
The tyger covers are looking great. The guitar has aged nickel hardware.
Is there a chance to get the tyger covers aged?
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If you are not for some reason really specific about vintage correct stuff I see no reason to get braided two wire. You will never see it once it is wired in and you are also robbing yourself of options. And even if you donīt need them I find 4 conductor easier to wire up. Things like splits and series / parallel can be really cool though to improve your low gain and clean sounds. Be it push pull or autosplit middle position a la Petrucci. Or full Brian May madness. =)
I, for me personally donīt see any reason to ever get braided two if I have the choice. If you got one though, go for it. I just have not seen a downside to 4 conductor yet.
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If you are not for some reason really specific about vintage correct stuff I see no reason to get braided two wire. You will never see it once it is wired in and you are also robbing yourself of options. And even if you donīt need them I find 4 conductor easier to wire up. Things like splits and series / parallel can be really cool though to improve your low gain and clean sounds. Be it push pull or autosplit middle position a la Petrucci. Or full Brian May madness. =)
I, for me personally donīt see any reason to ever get braided two if I have the choice. If you got one though, go for it. I just have not seen a downside to 4 conductor yet.
+1. As I said elsewhere - better to have and not need it than to need and not have it.
Cheers Stephan
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Ok, that's a good point of view!
I'll think about it.
@All: Thank You very much for youre patience! :D