Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: oneblackened on May 11, 2015, 08:50:50 AM
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Hey guys, so I've got myself an ESP Horizon NT7 (Alder body/Maple Neck Through/Ebony Board). Guitar sounds good unplugged, feels great... but the EMG 707s in it are just the worst. They're boomy and clicky and super compressed. So, basically here's what I'm looking for:
For the bridge:
Tight low end, relatively smooth mids, enough high end for cut. Not looking for mega output - I value clarity over pushing my Apollo's DI harder.
For the neck: Fluid, though with enough pick attack that it doesn't sound flute-like.
Right now, I'm looking at a BKP C-Bomb/VHII combo, or perhaps Holy Diver/VH-II. I'm also curious about the Miracle Mans. The Aftermath is a little sharp for my tastes.
I play mostly death metal along the lines of Behemoth/Vader and similar.
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Hi, I would definitely score CBomb out for the bridge in your case.
First of all, its hairness, raw nature and aggression definitely won`t give that 'smooth mids' impression. Rather the other way.
Secondly I suppose that CBomb is not a good match with rather bright sounding guitar like yours (alder with maple end ebony), it`s mostly associated with darker sounding instruments. For example I have CBomb in all mahogany Dean Cadillac.
What`s more based on the experience I wouldn`t recommend CBomb for fast, staccato, mega complex riffing. Due to its hairness sometimes it might get lost and it`s not the most precise pickup for that kind of riffing.
Holydiver might be too 'smooth' and polite for Behemoth/Vader type of thing... Miracle Man? Lets let the other, more experienced guys to share their thoughts.
For the neck VHII should be ok, but as far as I know it`s more on the vintage side.
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I would be surprised if the Miracle Man or even the Cold Sweat (less output) did not work well here. If the woods weren't so bright I would have recommended a Rebel Yell or an Emerald.
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For the bridge, I'd go with the Miracle Man. It has a surprising amount of smoothness for a hot ceramic pickup, it's tight enough without being overpoweringly so and it has a great top end for solos. The EQ is also perfect for maple neck-thru guitars. In many ways it's a bit like a Holydiver on steroids.
For the neck, the Cold Sweat would be a good match and if you want something with a slightly sweeter and more vintage feel, look at the Emerald.
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Very cool, Miracle Man/Cold Sweat sounds like a good combo.
I forgot to mention in my OP that my usual non-BKP setup is a Duncan Distortion/Jazz combo - so I like that sound.
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I have a Miracle Man/VH II combo and am very happy with it. The VHII is really loud in the neck! Loud but not overdriven.
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Has anyone mentioned Black Hawk here?
How different is it from MM?