Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: jase2677 on August 01, 2016, 08:21:32 PM
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CS vs C-Bomb (bridge) Just Looking for simple useful description Of similarities & differences between the 2. Especially for clean & metal distortion. Thanks
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Well, it depends what you`re looking for. Also what guitar you`re going to put them into, cuz that makes huge difference.
I can only say about CBomb. I have one in dark sounding all mahogany Dean Cadillac.
It surprisingly has a really good cleans for ceramic pickup. I would rather call it rhythm pickup rather than lead pickup. Also when it comes to distorted sounds, it is not precise enough for complex riffing. I becomes little blurry. Great for rock, hard rock and metal, but not for complex technical metal. It is really aggressive.
I sounds great with overdrive as well for classic rock/rock, it gives a little bit of aggression and modern edge, but what`s what I love about that pickup.
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I've had the Cold Sweat and A-Bomb in the same guitar. Not the same but close enough to comment.
A-bomb was a lot more hairy and aggressive sounding, a very '90s pickup like Sepultura or Machine Head
The Cold Sweat is much smoother and has an '80s sound and feel with a nice tight bottom end with just enough bottom-end thump for '80s thrash.
Both pickups can be quite bright
I hope this helps.
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Well, in my 73 lp custom, the cold sweat was a lot brighter and more articulate
The c-bomb was darker, quite compressed for bkp standards, but a lot more balanced and forgiving, with an overall smoother response
It actually felt less aggressive than the alnico nailbomb in the same guitar, despite of it being hotter
Both have a lot of bass and treble, but the cold sweat has some midscoop, while the c-bomb has a flatter midrange
The c-bomb is Said to be an overwound cold sweat, which makes sense, considering both the similarities and the differences
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I thought that the C-Bomb was basically the same wire etc as an A-Bomb but with the ceramic magnet used in the Cold Sweat
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I thought that the C-Bomb was basically the same wire etc as an A-Bomb but with the ceramic magnet used in the Cold Sweat
Well, it is
Nailbombs have fuller bobbins, but the same wire type, gauge and coil mismatch
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CS and Cbomb are fairly similar not had them in the same guitar but the biggest difference is in the mids as Eric said.
The nailbomb mids and balanced a fair amount of hi, central and low mids very balanced whereas the cold sweat has hi mids and less lower mids etc. The nailbomb is higher output and more compressed too.
Cold sweat a lot more versatile IMO same goes for the alnico nailbomb in this instance putting a ceramic magnet in the nailbomb makes a big difference.
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Background;
Have a cs matched pair in an Ibanez s w mahogany body. This was a muddy b*tch until the cs's were installed...now it's rad as all hell. I find it's gritty with high mids and just enough bass to excel at clean and metal distortion tones I seek.
Now, have my 1st guitar which is an Ibanez Rg w a basswood body. Had seymour distortions, 81's, B&B xl500l's, l500r's & now have l500l's which I like the best, the l500l are pretty even response without having "too much" output that they sound cluttered or anything. I think dimebag probably used the l and not the xl which came later to go up and beyond the l and was renamed xl, but who knows. To get the l to shine bass has to be dropped, the mids have to be increased, treble and presence set lower, and volume decreased in the same modeler patch for it to be useable when switching to the l from the cs.
So, I like my cs's the most and figured why not get 2 guitar's in the same satisfied with tone league. So figured maybe a c-bomb to be similar, bit a little different. The l is a little more murky than my cs's and want to get rid of that aspect. I also thought of ordering a custom holydiver set with a ceramic bridge magnet, like a c-hd set, but this is where I am at.
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Well, you can't have a ceramic holy diver, but a painkiller should get you close to that
The miracle man works really well in basswood, by the way
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So, I like my cs's the most and figured why not get 2 guitar's in the same satisfied with tone league. So figured maybe a c-bomb to be similar, bit a little different. The l is a little more murky than my cs's and want to get rid of that aspect. I also thought of ordering a custom holydiver set with a ceramic bridge magnet, like a c-hd set, but this is where I am at.
I would go with the Miracle Man here for the bridge and maybe a Holy Diver neck
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If you want a 'tighter holy' diver that describes the juggernauts and for a bridge they have the best cleans I've ever heard.
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Find alnico gives fuller mids, where a ceramic cuts the mids somewhere and dips them a bit depending on the model, my 500l is alnico and it has fuller mids. Just puts me off a bit. Thought could order a ceramic hd? My cs has upper mids that I like and the lower mids are cut a bit. The miracle man sounds like it flops mid dominace from what like about cs. That's why thought about c-bomb. I also hate mid pickups. Have them almost always wored in parallel at the neck, but they are too opposite of thin for me. I would like my neck pickup better if it is similar to bridge. Have not tried the inline cap mod yet in the neck, but would like to with neck still in parallel.
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Maybe think of the c-bomb as a more powerful cold sweat in terms of output and tone. I've been told by BKP the c-bomb is the best 'half way house' between a cold sweat and a miracle man.
Is that what you want?
The c-bomb is definitely more for aggressive metal styles whereas the alnico version warms the top end and adds some hi mids. I have found the alnico nailbomb to be the most versatile pickup I've ever come across (In alder super strats at least) from hard rock to extreme metal whereas the c-bomb could be extremely versatile across all metal sub-genres if that makes sense.
A BKP user is likely to tell you the alnico nailbomb is extremely middy although compared to all the other brands it isn't at all. The alnico nailbomb has lots of hi mids but it's nicely balanced out with a 'warm treble'. Some people bash it on here but BKP describe it as one of their most organic and versatile pickups and I couldn't agree more.
The nailbomb divides people on here.... each to their own. Some people say it's for thrash and beyond but I do Van Halen covers with it and only get compliments on my tone and doing service to the songs. These are strangers at gig and they don't have to tell me these things....
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I was actually disappointed with the alnico nailbomb cause it wasn't nearly as middy as I expected
It is middier than the CS or MM but no near as middy as a holy diver, black dog, or even a riff raff
The c-bomb had a flatter response, but wasn't scooped at all
A ceramic powered holy diver would make a painkiller, by the way
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I have an A-Bomb and I really like it in my Gibson Les Paul Standard. I have it paired with a Rebel Yell in the neck and it gives me lots of great tones through my Mesa Boogie Electra Dyne.
I find that as a player, I like to match guitars and pickups with amplifiers. My Juggernaut equipped super strat works with my Electra Dyne and my 2 Channel Dual Rectifier whereas the mahogany Godin LG works best with the Dual Rectifier. It has a VHII neck and a Rebel Yell bridge.
The Les Paul sounds decently good with the Dual Rectifier but it really stands out with the Electra Dyne. The A-Bomb has just enough push to drive the amp hard and it is organic and ill tempered to goad some raunchy and awesome tones from that amp.
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In order of importance it has to be amp then guitar then pickups for sure.
I find the alnico nailbomb in alder super strats to be extremely versatile suitable for bluesy rock to hair metal to extreme metal.
Have to say though I tried the ceramic nailbomb/alnico nailbomb in an explorer and wasn't that bothered BUT maybe I just don't like explorers that much? Had a very cool bottom end and got some cool harmonics but the mids were just dull to my ears. I definitely prefer the alnico nailbomb to the ceramic nailbomb though. I have to say the guitar sounded awesome at home but in a band mix it just wasn't my cup of tea compared to my SG and especially compared to my les paul.
Off topic but I swapped the cold sweat in my les paul custom for a holy diver yesterday and I'm extremely happy....it was actually spot on before but this is more suited to my style I only mention this because it's all well and good talking about pickups but how they react with the amps and guitars is important.
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Off topic but I swapped the cold sweat in my les paul custom for a holy diver yesterday and I'm extremely happy....it was actually spot on before but this is more suited to my style I only mention this because it's all well and good talking about pickups but how they react with the amps and guitars is important.
glad you finally tried it
the diver always did the job for me in les pauls
it can do any post-PAF modern tone with the right rig
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Is the cs basically the only bumped upper and slightly depressed lower mids pickup in the bkp line-up?
I like the cs upper mids and depressed lower mids and was thinking the c-bomb would be pretty similar and almost hard to tell the difference between them. Like the cs can do a good solid state metal distortion sound like maybe Pantera as an easy comparison. My l500l can kind of do it too, but there is something about the bass or lower mids that is a bit too chunky for what I want even though Pantera has this quality to it as well. The bkp's with a depressed lower mid-range like the cs do a really good job, just have another guitar and maybe it's redundant having 2 sets of cs equipped guitars although my current cs guitar is a 22 fret and the l500l is a 24....so........?
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There is the emerald but it really doesn't have the bottom end of the cold sweat/nailbomb. IMO the emerald is a quite niche....a bit of a fetish one could say!
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There is the emerald but it really doesn't have the bottom end of the cold sweat/nailbomb. IMO the emerald is a quite niche....a bit of a fetish one could say!
An interesting niche though. As one application for it is way dropped down and extended range guitars, just because it does not have an inherently big bottom, but is tight. When I first started here that was talked about a lot. Take a guitar, drop it way down and you get a tight tone that separates itself from others because of its tonal character.
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emerald sounds like a good bet if you want less chunk
usually an overlooked option
I bought a used one once, but the seller accidentally sent me a ceramic nailbomb instead
the vhII has a lot in common with the cold sweat, but has a riff raff-like open PAF character and a lot of bass
have you considered the blackhawk or the new impulse?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvoZPM-sVRc
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it is not precise enough for complex riffing. I becomes little blurry. Great for rock, hard rock and metal, but not for complex technical metal. It is really aggressive.
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it is not precise enough for complex riffing. I becomes little blurry. Great for rock, hard rock and metal, but not for complex technical metal. It is really aggressive.
Which is NOT precise enough? c-Bomb? Also mentioned was HD, PK, VH ii, Blk Hk's
The CS I have and like in my Ibanez S has an upper mid-range voice.... Other freq's boosting or cut from this pickup's response support that voice and do not clutter it. For instance, the cs has bass, but it is not intrusive to the cs's voice, it is noticeable that it's there, but does not pop out at you.... Or hold you back or slow you down. It's not whopping or huge, more muscular, but again you are not going to say wow that's awesome bass. Thos is looking at the bass for example of how the cs's freq response works.