Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Kindermann on April 22, 2015, 01:01:40 PM
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Hi,
I have a Les Paul with a pair of Lace Dissonant Aggressors with coil splits and am looking for a some advice on replacing them with some BKPs
These are Bill Keliher of Mastodon's signature set and as such are aimed at metal. I find the Neck pickup to be bass heavy to the point of insanity, at moderate volume in D standard my Cab's V30s start to flub
The Bridge pickup sounds ok, but comes over a tad sterile lacking top end, the cleans are poor. I get the feeling these pickups were designed to overdrive vintage Marshalls with all the bass and output and don't sound great through my amp, a Victory V30 which has more than enough gain and bass
This guitar is tuned to D standard/Drop C and is playing mostly hard rock/metal. I'm looking for a bridge pickup with more top end and sparkle, a little less output and bass and that can clean up nicely. And a Neck pickup which sounds great clean and slightly overdriven
Many Thanks!
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Rebel Yells come first to mind. They have a great crunch, not so much bass, emphasis on the uppermids and quite some topend (sparkle). Capable of doing rock and metal. A modern alternative could be the alnico Blawkhawk. I was thinking about the Nailbombs too, but they have quite some bass going.
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One of the brighter mid-output BKPs, such as the Emerald, Rebel Yell, or Cold Sweat. All of the samples for these on the BKP site are recorded in a Les Paul, so have a listen to those.
Personally for what you want I think I would recommend the Cold Sweat set
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miracle man bridge/cold sweat neck
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I might have suggested that combination but I don't think it will give the cleans on the bridge that the OP is looking for.
Cold Sweat has very nice cleans, best I've heard from a ceramic magnet.
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the miracle man cleans up pretty nicely
it just has darker mids compared to the cold sweat cleans
it also has an amazing coil split tone
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I played a Gibson Golden Axe once. I was well impressed....I really should have bought it because they've stopped making them now.
It had lace nitro hemi's in and I was impressed. A painkiller would be in that ballpark but witht he tighter bass and more hi end like you want. It's a pickup with has a lot of hi mids and bite though and that's what you have to take into account and what many love/dislike. The cleans will be better I reckon too. I had a painkiller in my les paul custom and I was really impressed. For metal it can cover anything but I must admit it's less versatile when it comes to hard rock styles.
I really did try lots of pup;s in my les paul.....the painkiller was my second fave to the alnico black hawk but the black hawk has a lot of bass....it's crstal clear and tight but it's very present and powerful.
I guess with the sound of a painkiller in a les paul think about whether or not you like the sound of a duncan distortion. If you do think of the painkiller as a massively improved version particularly in a les paul....MUCH more clarity, power and aggression.
A painkiller bridge cold sweat neck might be up your street.
Juggeranuts might also be a consideration but they're very polished and modern. Nothing vintage about the bridge at all.
EDIT - It might help to specify what music you're into. Rebel yells would work but they're a less aggressive (But still as awesome in a more harmonic way) version of what i've suggested
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I thought the Miracle Man has a huge lowend? The OP isn't looking for that.
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Yeah I'm sticking by my original suggestion of a Cold Sweat set. I think it will deliver everything the OP wants. But I'd listen to the samples of the Emerald and Rebel Yell too if I was him, just to make sure.
Here's a video of the Cold Sweat bridge pickup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cneTNpVmAos
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I thought the Miracle Man has a huge lowend? The OP isn't looking for that.
big, not huge
I'm looking for a bridge pickup with more top end and sparkle, a little less output and bass and that can clean up nicely.
more top end - check
more sparkle - check
little less output - check
little less bass - check
clean up nicely - check
what's missing?
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Hi OP.. I'm in the same boat with my Halcyon. I also have a Les Paul Studio with Aftermath Bridge in it which I am rather fond of.
Did you end up getting a BKP and what do you think? I was quite keen to get a Holy Diver bridge in mine, although I already like the Aftermath.
Cheers.
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' a bridge pickup with more top end and sparkle, a little less output and bass ' - sounds a lot like the RY. If your amp sounds anything like my Cornford Roadhouse 30 they should work great. Mine are in an all mahogany Gibson Firebird Studio and they sound killer. Neck RY is great too.
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Yeah I wouldn't expect to hear back from the OP.
That was his one and only post, from April.
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Yeah I wouldn't expect to hear back from the OP.
That was his one and only post, from April.
Surprise surprise! Here I am!
Anyhow yes I did go for some BKPs! My Dissonant Aggressor neck suddenly died on me (low, then no output) , Lace fill the rear of their pickups with thick resin making repair impossible so It went in the bin
I replaced that with a Mississippi Queen which I adore, its bassy yet clear, rolls off nicely, perfect replacement for the mud I was experiencing with the Lace. Following this I ripped out Gibson's appalling wiring job, I was experiencing hum every time my hands were off the strings or hardware, Anderton's in Guildford where I purchased the guitar repeatedly told me a degree of hum is acceptable so I ignored it.
I went for a Holydiver in the bridge, rewired with the BKP pots and caps (push pull split on the bridge tone pot, shielded and grounded the cavities, stuck in braided wire in the 50s style, added a faber abr tonelock bridge and stuck it in Eb with some 11 gauge strings..............................................the guitar went from being my least favorite guitar, to my favorite guitar. It's now 100% whisper quiet, no noise what so ever. The Holydiver knocked off a some of the overpowering gain and bass, added mids and treble ..........it sounds absolutely killer. My tone pots are now usable, the volume roll off is exactly what I wanted, the Holydiver split bridge gives a lovely tone, especially when combined with the Mississippi queen neck. And the gold BKPs with gold bolts make the guitar look great!
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Glad you like the combo. Funny that you asked for advice on a bridgepickup with more topend and sparkle and you end up with the middy Holy Diver. Maybe you meant clarity instead of sparkle/topend. Clarity and noteseparation are BKP trademarks. Nevertheless, enjoy your BKP'd Lester.
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I ripped out Gibson's appalling wiring job, I was experiencing hum every time my hands were off the strings or hardware, Anderton's in Guildford where I purchased the guitar repeatedly told me a degree of hum is acceptable so I ignored it.
This guy at Anderton's sounds like what I would call a 'bullsh*t artist' ... a guitar that hums is not grounded properly, or has single coil pickups that generate a specific sort of hum that does not go when you touch the strings
Glad to hear you sorted it out.
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glad you liked the diver
can't wait to play my third holy diver on a custom lp-type guitar I've been waiting for months
that was my favorite pickup for years, until I fell in love with the riff raff
funny thing is that Kelliher recorded the last album with a holy diver in his cream '78 les paul custom than ditched it for the dissonant aggressors on tour