Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: darkandrew on February 17, 2014, 05:36:12 PM
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I'm undecided between a VHii and Riff Raff neck pickup to compliment a Rebel Yell bridge. At the moment I'm not entirely sure which one of two guitars they're going in (ESP Eclipse or Fender Tele Custom) but they are both relatively thin mahogany bodies with a maple top (thicker top on ESP), set mahogany neck and rosewood fretboards. The neck will be used mainly for clean picking with some chorus (eg Nothing Else Matters / One - Metallica, etc) and as such I'm looking for a bright top end but with a little low end body as well, ie a glassy, bell-like tone. Which one of the VHii and Riff Raff necks would you recommend?
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RiffRaff or a - more modern - Nailbomb-neck.
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I have a VHII in the neck of my Eclipse, it is great. What is "glassy" under your definition?
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I have a VHII in the neck of my Eclipse, it is great. What is "glassy" under your definition?
By "glassy" I mean a tone similar to that which you would imagine to be from a glass bell; clear and bright but not fizzy, resonant and with body but not bloated in the mids.
Does that make sense?
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The VHII-neck is clear, but also reasonably fat. VHII-neck-owners, correct me if I'm totally wrong.
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A humbucker sized P90 could nail 'glassy' - deeper and more bell like than a strat single coil and not as fat in the middle as a humbucker
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Putting a serial/parallel switch on a neck humbucker can also give a nice choice of brighter sounds for picking/chorus.
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I miss my Riff Raff neck pickup in my Tokai Les Paul. Suprised it hasn't been mentioned before.
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A humbucker sized P90 could nail 'glassy' - deeper and more bell like than a strat single coil and not as fat in the middle as a humbucker
An interesting suggestion ... I hadn't thought about P90s.
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I have a VHII in the neck of my Eclipse, it is great. What is "glassy" under your definition?
It's probably heresy to name that American pickup manufacturer but the Seymour Duncan Jazz almost has it, if only it had a little less bottom and a bit more articulation/attack.
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The VHII-neck is clear, but also reasonably fat. VHII-neck-owners, correct me if I'm totally wrong.
Yeah, exactly that. Maybe not the glassiest pickup choice after all. It is warm, big and clear.
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The VHII neck is a very good pickup - strong output, very articulate yet creamy and would pair well with a Rebel Yell bridge - but glassy it ain't IMHO.
You should look at the obvious - a Rebel Yell neck. That one easily qualifies as glassy, so does the Holydiver neck. BTW there is a Riff Raff neck in my signature but I have not yet installed it so I cannot yet comment on that one.
Cheers Stephan
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glassy = the mule
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glassy = the mule
I know what you mean about the Mule neck (especially with a split coil) but I already have sets of Mules and Crawlers (both A4 necks) in other guitars and although they are great, I think I need an A5 for this particular one - a little brighter and deeper with a little bit of a scoop. The Rebel Yell neck is almost there but possibly not quite bright enough (or maybe that's just the recording on the soundclip).
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Bright neck pickups with A5? The ones I have played
- Black Dog
- Holydiver
- Rebel Yell
are all quite clear and bright. VHII neck and Cold Sweat neck are hotter and bassier.
Cheers Stephan
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Bright neck pickups with A5? The ones I have played
- Black Dog
- Holydiver
- Rebel Yell
are all quite clear and bright. VHII neck and Cold Sweat neck are hotter and bassier.
and
The VHII neck is a very good pickup - strong output, very articulate yet creamy and would pair well with a Rebel Yell bridge - but glassy it ain't IMHO.
You should look at the obvious - a Rebel Yell neck. That one easily qualifies as glassy, so does the Holydiver neck. BTW there is a Riff Raff neck in my signature but I have not yet installed it so I cannot yet comment on that one
It looks like the advice is turning toward going for a Rebel Yell neck and bridge set, also I've kind of eliminated the Riff Raff now - having listened to some AC/DC recordings I just find the sound too screechy (and I'm not just talking about the singing!)
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Bright neck pickups with A5? The ones I have played
- Black Dog
- Holydiver
- Rebel Yell
are all quite clear and bright. VHII neck and Cold Sweat neck are hotter and bassier.
and
The VHII neck is a very good pickup - strong output, very articulate yet creamy and would pair well with a Rebel Yell bridge - but glassy it ain't IMHO.
You should look at the obvious - a Rebel Yell neck. That one easily qualifies as glassy, so does the Holydiver neck. BTW there is a Riff Raff neck in my signature but I have not yet installed it so I cannot yet comment on that one
It looks like the advice is turning toward going for a Rebel Yell neck and bridge set, also I've kind of eliminated the Riff Raff now - having listened to some AC/DC recordings I just find the sound too screechy (and I'm not just talking about the singing!)
Just ordered a set of Rebel Yells in brushed nickel to go in my black and white Eclipse, so thanks for all the advice.
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Just ordered a set of Rebel Yells in brushed nickel to go in my black and white Eclipse, so thanks for all the advice.
let me say the usual. Please be so kind to tell us how you like them and perhaps even write up a review.
Also, be aware that RYs are extremly height sensitive, even more so than most BKPs and that says something. So if you like em right away there is a pretty good chance they can be even better! =)
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undoubtely : cold sweat in split mode ! The most glassiest and most beautiful sound in LP wood style guitars !
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Just ordered a set of Rebel Yells in brushed nickel to go in my black and white Eclipse, so thanks for all the advice.
let me say the usual. Please be so kind to tell us how you like them and perhaps even write up a review.
Also, be aware that RYs are extremly height sensitive, even more so than most BKPs and that says something. So if you like em right away there is a pretty good chance they can be even better! =)
The EMGs (81/60) are out and the Rebel Yells are in, so it's time for some first impressions ...
I was dead-set on a Rebel Yell bridge but was unsure on the choice of neck pickup - as it happens I needn't have worried as the RY neck is just what I was after; bright at the top and full at the bottom.
The bridge pickup, on the other hand, is a bit more tricky. Others' comments regarding sensitity to pickup height are spot-on; out of the box and set up how I would for other pickups, the pickup lacked volume and "balls", so much so that I even checked the dc resistance to make sure there wasn't a fault with the pickup. Having confirmed that the dc resistance was correct I then set about playing with pickup heights and soon experienced the same behaviour that others have described - 2 turns of the screw on the bass side of the pickup made over 4dB difference to the output and really beefed up the the tone on my low "e" string. I'm going to have to play around a bit more with pickup heights (and possibly pole pieces) as I still find the volume from string to string a little uneven but I'm sure I'll get there in the end.
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Try to set the pickup as high as possible and turn down the individual screws lower. This gets the slug coil more into play which senses the string movement farther away from the bridge where there is more "beef".
Cheers Stephan