Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: QuintinK on February 24, 2015, 07:48:26 PM
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I currently play an LTD EC 1000 with the stock EMG 81/60 pickups, and I’ve decided it’s time to change that. I don’t hate the current EMGs I have, but I don’t get enough clarity from them which is a really big deal because I tend to play a lot of chords with “weird’ voicings and I can‘t have them sounding muddy. I want something that’ll help with a bigger/thicker guitar sound too.
I’ve been leaning towards a set of the alnico Warpigs, but I figured asking for suggestions wouldn’t hurt since I’ll have to order them before I can try them. I’ve heard them talked about as a “way better, passive version of the EMG 85”, which is originally what I was leaning towards.
A couple of examples to give a reference to what I’m playing musically would be somewhere between Gaza, Converge, and Ulcerate (Sludgy metallic hardcore with a slight death metal influence maybe? haha). I know the guitarist from Ulcerate uses the alnico Warpigs, the other two use EMG 85s in the bridge. I almost exclusively stick to the dirty channel of my amp (Orange Rockerverb 100) and only use this guitar for heavier music, so variety isn‘t a big issue for me.
Here’s some links if you’re unfamiliar with the bands I mentioned:
https://gazamusic.bandcamp.com/track/this-we-celebrate
https://convergecult.bandcamp.com/track/sparrows-fall-2
https://ulcerate.bandcamp.com/track/clutching-revulsion
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To me the A-Pig sounds nothing like an EMG
A Black Hawk or Miracle Man might be closer.
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To me the A-Pig sounds nothing like an EMG
A Black Hawk or Miracle Man might be closer.
Both are based on EMG sounds, MM being the more old school 80s Zakk vibe and the BH the modern high gain metal one. Then you also have the Juggernaut which is based on a mix of BH and Aftermath, so 50% EMG inspired DNA too.
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I should've clarified that I'm not looking for an EMG clone, otherwise I'd just get an EMG. I was considering the EMG 85 and had a few people recommend getting the Warpig instead, so I wanted to see if it would work for what I'm playing and I figured this forum was the best place to ask.
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I should've clarified that I'm not looking for an EMG clone, otherwise I'd just get an EMG. I was considering the EMG 85 and had a few people recommend getting the Warpig instead, so I wanted to see if it would work for what I'm playing and I figured this forum was the best place to ask.
That is clear, no worries there. The way the BH and MM are build is that they were inspired by a tone achieved by an EMG. That by no means makes them a clone. They are distinctly passive, carry the typical BKP qualities, and are channeling not only the EMG, but also the guitar, amp, pedals, production, and players hands to the extend they can. That is the idea there. Not to clone a tone, but get into the vibe ballpark considering everything.
Dunno if that makes sense. I am not an expert on the style or sound you seek, but I am getting the feeling that you could do very well with the Miracle Man, which exibits huge crushing low mids, tight low end, present but not up front mids, and an upfront yet not piercing high end. That allows it to pull of the heavy 80s sounds and modern EMG-ish sounds, especially when they are 80s inspired.
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For those kinds of sounds mentioned in the first post I would tend to think ceramic Black Hawk or Painkiller
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I'll look into both of those models, thanks!
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I'm unsure what to say to this one as at my grand old age I'm afraid I found the clips to be truly awful, however, I think for what you're after I'd suggest either a Black Hawk, Aftermath or Juggernaut. All have a kind of EMG thing going on while being so much better at the same time. All are very tight, aggressive and pack a lot of punch so I can't see you going wrong with any of them. They're also the Bare Knuckle pickups I'm least likely to ever buy, which also suggests they should be good for the tone you want :wink:
If you're after something that offers some punch and aggression but is different to the EMG pickups, you might want to look into a Nailbomb.
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Ceramic Black Hawk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdIzmHnL4Hw
Apparently that guitar is similar to yours, being made in the same factory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtiEejjPXiI
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I would have thought that the original Alnico Warpig suggestion is perfect for those sludgy, heavy sounds.