Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Alfi27 on July 25, 2015, 11:56:30 PM
-
Evenin' lads! Recently got myself a fantastic, beautiful Suhr Classic S with an SSS setup (3xSuhr V60LP). I was initially planning on putting a set of Cobras in the guitar, but i am starting to question that for three reasons: For one, the V60LP actually sounds amazing, especially the neck and middle. Two, the Cobra seems like it is aimed towards some of the same tones and styles as the Sinner (which I already have a set of). And three, I have to admit that the modern metal-clip of the Cobra does sound quite single coil-ish (of course not exclusively a bad thing, just not what I am looking for).
In one way, I am kind of chasing the humbucker tone in a single coil format. After way too much googling I am starting to realize that a single coil sized pickup will never get quite there, regardless of design. Why don't I just put in a humbucker then? Well, that would be a very natural solution, if the guitar was routed for such... That is probably not too expensive to do though, and there is a magnificent guitar workshop in the area that could probably do it quite well. So, unless you know about a magnificent single coil that «chuggs like a champ», I would love some recommendations for a humbucker!
I used to own (I still have it but it will leave me on monday..) a Suhr Rasmus S100, a very nice guitar but it just does not quite match the Suhr. The Rasmus has a Crawler in the bridge, not 100% what I am looking for, but I could certainly have done a lot worse! It just rips for rock, but for heavier metal it kind of flubbs out and it is not tight enough. My new Orange Rockerverb is also quite heavy in the bass and low to mid-mids department, which made the guitar sound like a wah pedal was always on. The amp is not very tight by its own either, but with a Tubescreamer it tightened up a lot and the Crawler was almost there.
The Juggernaut is very tempting on paper, especially the fact that it has a combination of ceramic and alnico magnets, but I really hate all the djent stuff and Misha's tone sounds like cr@p that cr@ps itself imo... Not my cup of tea at all in other words, but I guess it can do other tones as well? The guitar has to be versatile. It will not be detuned, but think Metallica and Bullet for my Valentine's tones, and tightness is of course an important quality. It also has to balance at least decent with the single coils, and if it splits well that is very nice, but certainly not a requirement.
Enough with the words now, hope you took the time to read it all. I really appreciate it, and thank you for your answers and advice in advance! :grin:
PS: I am thinking about having the humbucker in zebra instead of all white. Do you think they can make it white/black instead of cream/black, something like the new colour options for the Black Hawk? Have anyone ordered this?
-
If the guitar is not routed for HSS it's gonna be quite an operation to do it neat and tidy.
The RV has quite some bass and gain on tap, so you don't need a bassheavy or superhot pickup.
I would look at the Holy Diver.
Juggernaut could be a good option too, but there owners here on the forum who better comment on this one.
About the zebra's: I would throw an email at the BKP-team.
-
I tried for many years to get more of a humbucker tone from a single coil sized pickup but it's just impossible, certainly with Bare Knuckles. Sinners with baseplates came closest but a single coil sized humbucker from either DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan got closer and even they weren't right. I think that if you decide to route it for a proper humbucker, the Holydiver is a great option as it's a bit like the 'next step' from a Crawler. I know what you mean about the Juggernaut as I have the same reaction. The specification sounds really attractive but I just find the tone massively disappointing as it's a bit too djent. For me it's a pickup that's almost there but not quite right.
-
The guitar has a pickguard, so it will not be a complete disaster if the routing is not 100% perfect, but the guys at the workshop know their shite. They build custom guitars, which I have heard are fantastic guitars! :p
It would of course be nice to not have to route it though.
The Seymour Duncan custom shop has a custom order form where you can order your own custom pickup, and it is only 110$ so I thought about giving it a try. The thing is though, that I think that the problem is in the physics, that you need a certain space to wind a pickup with a true humbucker tone (but I guess that is pretty obvious?).
I might consider other pickup makers too, I am not endorsed by BKP, haha! The Sinners do sound amazing though, not quite a true humbucker tone there either but close, and because of my recent grown love for single coils I like them, more and more actually. My first impression was not fantastic, because I was actually expecting a full on humbucker tone... But the more I played them and fiddled with the pickup height, the more I liked them! However, I do not want two guitars loaded with them... So the Suhr ain't getting any :laugh: