Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: CommonCourtesy on August 20, 2014, 03:33:27 PM
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So after installing the Aftermath bridge pickup in my main band guitar for almost a year now, there's something missing from my sound, bottom end and more growliness mainly. Whilst the AM is very good at being tight and middy, I can't help but feel it lacks a bit of low end chug.
I've also got a Nailbomb in my back up guitar which I like and considering switching the AM out the main band guitar and putting a ceramic one in there.
Been looking at Painkiller, Warpig and the Juggernaut as well, but what I want to know is what the ceramic Nailbomb will offer that the Aftermath can't.
For information its a Les Paul studio made of mahogany wood, deployed in drop c tuning, with 12-56's strings on. Style is kinda heavy but not really djent, more pop punk crossed with melodic metalcore influences, so alot of powerchords and chugging. Don't really solo in this band
Am I better off putting in a Ceramic Nailbomb?
Advice, input and thoughts welcome.
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Yes - the CBomb gives you more low end, nice cut and is not as middy- was probably my fav. BKP for rhythm.
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I dont think the painkiller will give you much more low end than the aftermath.
Only played the alnico nailbomb but I think a ceramic nailbomb is the way to go. Maybe throw the black hawk into the mix too? Be better than the painkiller id say for what youre after
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Ceramic Nailbomb. The Nailbomb will give you the gritty, throaty, punky sort of tone you want and it can get plenty heavy. It's really pissed off, which is a fantastic attribute for what you want to do. With your super thick strings, you should get a plenty phat tone!
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Seems like I'm sold on switching the AM out for the Ceramic nailbomb!
Also. when I first sought advice on what bridge humbucker to upgrade to I noticed the AM was barely mentioned, if at all, so maybe that's another sign.
Will the Nailbomb bridge drive an amp on clean too hard though? I don't do sparkly cleans, I have the crunch feature enabled on my 6505+ so it breaks up a bit.
For tone reference I would love to get a sound like these:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbiOz51b43Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t16CgMjCQzI
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No you will be fine, its a nice detailed pup but i didnt find it massively high output-enjoy!
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Lol no worries, I am switching the AM out for a ceramic nailbomb as planned, interested to hear if I get the low end back!
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You certainly will :laugh:
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Lol no worries, I am switching the AM out for a ceramic nailbomb as planned, interested to hear if I get the low end back!
I think so. I'll bet you are going to have a blast with this thing. The Nailbomb is so raunchy and punky, it's quite fantastic!
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As mentioned in my first post my back up guitar (which is an Epiphone Les Paul standard) has an Alnico nailbomb in the bridge, and I was playing through that earlier and the "pissed off growl" was there that some people have been talking about, so I'm hoping I'll get that with my main guitar. Spent a while thinking about it and weighing up options, almost went for a Warpig as I thought with the guitar being light in weight it might give it some extra depth.
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I have a Juggerset in my super strat which is tuned to Drop C# (Db) with 11 - 49s. It sounds phatter than my Gibson Les Paul with the A-Bomb on it. A C-Bomb with a 56 on the low string will sound plenty phat, I'm sure.
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Wow that's interesting, Strats can be quite heavy when they want to! My strat is heavier in weight than my Les Paul Studio which is light, for a Les Paul as they're usually heavy. A custom body weighs a ton!
Does a Nailbomb sound like a JB by any chance? The other guitarist has one in the bridge of his strat and I don't want to sound similar to him. He does the widdly glossy lead line delay stuff so handles the top end mainly, I hold the meat of the songs with the chords. So I need to cover a lower range.
I saw a clip of someone with a Nailbomb in a Les Paul and it sounded a bit generic, like a JB. Maybe its the amp he was using or the guitar.
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HA! I suppose one can say a Les Paul sounds 'generic' but I think 'iconic' is a better word.
The Nailbomb sounds nothing like a JB. The timbre (Tonal characteristics) of BKP is quite a different thing form Duncans and either you like it or you don't. The Holy Diver is apparently similar in EQ and Output to a JB but the pickup construction leads to a more articulate, clearer, and more even tone.
The Nailbomb is a complex sounding pickup with a lot of crunch, pick attack, and general bad attitude. It's a raunchy, grinding, and really articulate pickup which is quite different from the thick, woolly, violin-like tone that one usually gets from Duncans.
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Lol I dunno, it just sounded like a usual pop punk sound, saturated and fizzy?
I was just a bit worried that my Nailbomb would give me a similar tone to the other guitarist, and it'd just be like a double track aha. I also found with the AM squealies didn't pop out as much but that's probably cos I wasn't using enough gain, and/or the EQ on my amp wasn't dialled in properly, I use a lot of mids (past 5) so maybe it made it muddy with the AM pickup.
One thing I've loved about BKP's is the clarity, even with loads of gain.
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The closest to the JB in the BKP line is the HolyDiver-you'll be fine with the C-Bomb and complement the other guitarist nicely
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I hope so! Originally when I was looking to upgrade both Les Paul's I put an AM in main and Nailbomb in backup, and was going to see which one I preferred. I liked the Nailbomb straight away whereas the AM took some getting used to. Now both guitars will have a Nailbomb in they'll be more or less the same tonally, so I won't need to mess about too much with the amp settings if one goes down live.
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Lol I dunno, it just sounded like a usual pop punk sound, saturated and fizzy?
That sounds like a user problem. So many guitarists pile on so much gain that you can't even hear the pickups anymore. It's pretty inane IMHO.
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So the ceramic nailbomb is in and I can certainly tell the difference.
The top end zing is there with single note lines and octaves, even chords have a trebleyness to them now. The low end is back and there is a nice grunt and bark to it, powerchords sound nice and big, clear and defined. Still a pretty tight pickup, I think the Aftermath was a bit too middy and washy, and didn't go with my guitar properly. The sustain is very good too and I have that 'pissed off' type tone!
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Awesome!!! It's a great pickup, hmmm? I absolutely love the A-Bomb I have in my Les Paul for all those same reasons you mention.
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I hear alot of good things about it, and a few of my friends who play in similar sounding bands say the Nailbomb is the best pickup they've used.
I haven't played this through my main amp yet (Peavey 6505+) only a Line 6 UX1 POD studio but even there it sounds great. The other thing I like is the clarity no matter how much gain you have, not that I play with stupid amounts, but its a pretty high gain setup I have.