Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: j0llyj0kker on February 26, 2014, 11:19:11 PM
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Hello,
this is my first post in the forum and I have a question about a purchase I want to make.
Basically I have a Kramer Baretta, mahogany, neck through with rosewood fingerboard and it's loaded with an EMG-81 in the bridge which I want to get rid of ASAP.
I already have a purely metal guitar and a strat with Mother's Milk pickups. What I'm currently missing is an organic humbucker hot flavor (think Queensryche of 'Empire', Dream Theater 'Images and Words') but with high output capabilities as well similar to Skid Row's Slave to the Grind sound.
I am considering the Suhr Aldrich (although I read it's best for bright guitars), Duncan JB (I'd rather not), Rebel Yell or anything else really.
I'd love to hear suggestions about this, basically it's the Skid Row sound I'm mostly after.
Cheers
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Holy Diver for sure.
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Holy Diver for sure.
+1
For Youth Gone Wild era Skid Row the RY rules, dunno about the rest, have yet to catch up (gonna see em this summer). However for early DT sounds the HD is very much the ticket and also more going into 90s stuff. I would think in comparison the RY would scream a bit too much for you. And the HD is just lovely progressive 80s flavour and beyond. I still have not found the proper words to describe it as well as I can with the RY (the two are my two fav bridge PUs) but it feels so right, to someone who grew up on a lot of 80s rock through my father it feels like home.
I am certain it would make you very happy.
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Yeah holy diver came to mind for me too. I want one some day. Not sure how it would sound in an alder strat though
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Thank you for the replies. From what I've read in the forums so far though, it is not recommended in dark guitars. Forgive me for not having these things clear in my mind but a mahogany guitar with rosewood fretboard is a "dark" one, right?
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Thank you for the replies. From what I've read in the forums so far though, it is not recommended in dark guitars. Forgive me for not having these things clear in my mind but a mahogany guitar with rosewood fretboard is a "dark" one, right?
Can be, does not have to be. Mahagony ususal only really tells us that there are certain mid frequencys likely to be present. However it is a very variable wood. Can be dark, can be bright. It will usually not be on the really bright side, just as maple will ususally not be really dark, but woods vary a lot. Also simply the amount of it can make a lot of difference. A LP using the exact same woods (and for this argument scale length) will always sound more beefy and darker than a strat, simply because the chunk of wood is thicker.
Knowing it is mahagony wih rosewood fretboard tells us a certain thing about how the frequencys are put together, but even that is just an educated guess. Same way neck throughs usually have a low end that goes lower than other construction methods.
It is not easy, but the only way to know if a guitar is bright or dark is to listen to it acousticly and compare it as much as you can. It is all relative.
In this case: Is the neck mahagony or is it the sides. Or both? And do you think it sounds dark or bright? Middle? Lot of high mids? Center mids? Anything you can figure out can help.
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In this case: Is the neck mahagony or is it the sides. Or both? And do you think it sounds dark or bright? Middle? Lot of high mids? Center mids? Anything you can figure out can help.
I'd say it is quite dark but not that much. Basically it's been my first ever guitar so it's always been a point of reference to me. But I wouldn't say it's anywhere as bright as my maple/ash standard fsr strat. ughhh...really hard to tell.
Kiichi, I see you are an Emerald player. Would the Emerald fit as a neck combination with a Holy Diver or Nailbomb?
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Emerald should work in the mahogany for sure. The HD is the obvious choice, but the Rebel Yell if you want a more cutting top end. I don't think any of those would be wrong choices really.
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In this case: Is the neck mahagony or is it the sides. Or both? And do you think it sounds dark or bright? Middle? Lot of high mids? Center mids? Anything you can figure out can help.
I'd say it is quite dark but not that much. Basically it's been my first ever guitar so it's always been a point of reference to me. But I wouldn't say it's anywhere as bright as my maple/ash standard fsr strat. ughhh...really hard to tell.
Kiichi, I see you are an Emerald player. Would the Emerald fit as a neck combination with a Holy Diver or Nailbomb?
Well I have my HD in a 7 string mahagony body, maple neck, and rosewood board superstrat together with the Emerald neck. It is my newest aquisition, which is why I am still looking for the proper words, but I can say that it is a glorious set. The RY bridge and the HD bridge are my two favorite bridge PUs so far. Pretty different and yet spawned from the same heart.
On the neck front my two favorites are the Manahttan neck (for transparent, natural cleans this beats anything, plus it has a very unique feel under gain) and the Emerald neck. That one is really stunning. It is warm, smooth, and singing in the best vintage ways and also has a lot of modern cut and definition. Clean strummed chords are full and warm, blues leads sing and scream, and shreddy sounds deliver in spades with an organic goodness and openness that just invites you in. I canīt really find fault with it so far.
As for the combination, this set is really good. The HD neck is also very good I hear and certainly on my list. It is a lot about what you want out of the neck PU when you switch over. I always like to have a certain contrast, a different yet complimentary voice cut from the same cloth. Sometimes I want a bright neck, sometimes a bit more mellow. When I switch from HD to EM I get that satisfying classic bridge to neck switch. They both have a certain musical singing in the heights. I actually wonder what exactly the difference to the HD neck would be, but I actually recon that it would feel like less of a contrast, however that is just a guess.
What really got me to get the HD and EM combo were the reviews Slartibarfast42 did. Have a look at the sticky review thread I made for many good reviews. The once Slarti did come with the editors recommendation! ;)
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Slave to the Grind is the Pantera sounding one, yeah?
Maybe the Cold Sweat?
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For Mindcrime and Empire era Queensryche - the Cold Sweat would be my go to - although the Miracle Man would work well
Rebel Yell would also suit although not quite as tight as CS
Skid Row would suit these for debut album - Slave to Grind may use Holydiver, although Miracle Man would be awesome too.
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The only Kramer Baretta I ever had the chance to play was anything but dark. And it had a SD 59 in it.
I think Holydiver is the way to go for the bridge.
Cheers Stephan
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Thank you all for the replies.
I think I'm settling for the HD for the bridge but I'm struggling now with the neck decision. I am between the VHII, Emerald and Cold Sweat. Anyone being able to explain me the differences between them, that would be great! I want smooth but noticeable transitions between bridge and neck (e.g. Vai's For the Love of God). Overall, never owned a neck humbucker that I liked so I'd want to make the beat choice possible.
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Thank you all for the replies.
I think I'm settling for the HD for the bridge but I'm struggling now with the neck decision. I am between the VHII, Emerald and Cold Sweat. Anyone being able to explain me the differences between them, that would be great! I want smooth but noticeable transitions between bridge and neck (e.g. Vai's For the Love of God). Overall, never owned a neck humbucker that I liked so I'd want to make the beat choice possible.
That would either the Cold Sweat or the VHII. Last one has more PAF-dna. Both excellent, smooth and fluid with gain.
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yeah i hear a lot of people using the cold sweat neck. i'd say more so than the bridge even.
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Thank you for the replies. From what I've read in the forums so far though, it is not recommended in dark guitars. Forgive me for not having these things clear in my mind but a mahogany guitar with rosewood fretboard is a "dark" one, right?
Yes, that is kind of the deal breaker for NB and HD.
Most recommendations then go towards Rebel Yell, Cold Sweat or Miracle Man - those three can all to 80s/90s sounds and work better in darker guitars.
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I'm not convinced that Nailbombs don't like darker guitars.
I have an A-Bomb in my every dark and bassy Explorer and it works a treat, much better than a Warpig. People also warned me off a Miracle Man for it as they thought the combination might be too dark.
What A-Bombs don't suit are overly middy guitars, like SGs.
I think they can suit either bright or dark guitars as long as the mid-mids aren't too prominent in the acoustic tone of the guitar. I guess they sound different in a dark guitar compared to a bright guitar, but in the case of my Explorer they still sound good.
The A-Bomb is a late '80s early '90s sound, but a quite specific one: the aggressive middy sound of Sepultura, Possessed, Ratos de Porao, and, surprise surprise, Nailbomb. It's predominant tone is the hardcore/metal crossover sound of the late '80s, which became the '90s metal sound
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From my experience the Rebel Yell would work. I'm sure to be biased here cause I have no other BKP's. The RY has been a game changer here in my camp. From what samples I've heard and things I've read the Holydiver would be a very good pick too !!