Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: lauhcs on July 03, 2017, 10:48:18 AM
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Hi everybody,
i'm getting a new guitar and need some pickups for it. my band is somewhere between post-rock and post-metal, so 'm looking for medium output pickups which can go from completly clean to heavily distorted. i want a warm smooth sound which doesn't get too muddy with a lot of gain, so that you still can differ between the strings even when overdriven.
my choice would have been the VHIi as a bridge pickup and a The Mule for the neck, although i still am unsure if i would want them covered or not. should they do the trick or would you recommend different ones?
thanks!
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Tell us some more about the guitar you plan to put these pickups into
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Personally, I'd go for something a bit hotter. VH2 is pretty much a PAF that is a little beefed up (VH in te name explains it).
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Tell us some more about the guitar you plan to put these pickups into
That can make quite a difference. I put a VH2 set in a Fender Showmaster basswood superstrat and they just sounded so muddy and not at all how I thought they were going to be - no fault of the pickups, it was entirely down to the guitar and it's ability to suck all the top end out the pickups that you put in it. I've now ended up with a Cold Sweat set in there and, in that particular guitar, I would say they sound pretty much in the ball park of what you are looking for (a grittier Rebel Yell) but in another, brighter guitar they could be a million miles from what you want.
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Yeah I was thinking Cold Sweat set could be a good option but it really depends on the guitar.
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thanks for the replys
the guitar will be a singlecut with a mahagoni bidy and a walnut top.
i am a bit carefull with high output pups since i'm afraid the might give my clean sound too much grit
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Cold sweat isn't that hot... Aftermath did just fine with cleans on the bridge position.
I wouldn't be too worried about that, especially when neck pups tend to have better cleans. You could also go a touch hotter than mule in the neck (like cold sweat or vh2) just to match the output a little better.
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i'll check out the cold sweat again, although i think i liked the vhii better. also i forget to add, that i want to be able to split the pups.
also i preferd the mule over the vhii as a neck pup because it seems to be warmer
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Cold sweat is also a popular neck pickup.
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Look at a Mule/RiffRaff-neck combo. The Mule is balanced from top till bottom, dynamic and take a lot of gain very well (just use a little more ampgain). Tim uses Mules too and Nolly (Periphery) did even some metaltracks with Mules.
The RiffRaff-neck is one on the brighter ones and will sure provide the topend and clarity in the neckposition, They have vintageoutput, but are not whimpy or thin. The advantages are 3D cleans and the superb crunch and rock tones, which you can really tailor with the amp.
I you have a highgain and a thick sounding guitar (mahogany) lower output BKP's often sound georgeous harmonically rich. Of course everything is matter of taste, but I like lower output pickups on highgainamps.
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did you mean the riff raff in neck and mule as bridge, or vice versa? lower output pups on a high gain amp would have been my starting idea, but i think the riff raff is too bright for my taste. also from what i hear the cold sweat doesn't sound as warm as i would like it, or at least it seems so.
i really like the sound of the mule as a neck pick up, would you advise against the VHII/Mule setup, or rather "only" recommend the cold sweat or the other combinations?
also how big would be the difference between a vintage output pup, like the mule, and a medium to hot output one like the cold sweat or the vhii? i use a lot of pedals, and for my lead sound with the neck pick up i mostly use also a booster.
if the output should be about similar, i think i would prefer the riff raff over the cold sweat, if the vhii isn't that suitable. can i get a smooth warm sound out of the riff raff based on the guitar and the amp, or would it still be as bright as, for example, the examples at the homepage?
thanks everyone :)
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It's hard for a pickup to have great note seperation and still be warm - there's always a bit of a trade-off.
For example, aftermath is really tight and clear, but I wouldn't really say they are warm.
Also, I find that low output (paf) pups just don't give the balls I get from a little hotter pickup, even with a high gain amp. This is a subjective thing of course.
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i forgot to mention, that i'm playing in c-standard. also i'm looking for something which reacts nicely to how strong the strings are hit. as far as i know, or have read, higher output pickups tend to lose dynamic an are produce a more constant sound with less regards on the way you play. is that basicly right, or would you disagree?
that would be one of the main reasons i'm rather looking for pups with less output.
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Bare knuckles are pretty dynamic, so unless you go with black hawks, you shouldn't really complain about dynamics. I found my aftermath to be quite dynamic (relatively). But yeah, in general, lower output pickups tend to be less compressed.
Juggernaut is supposed to be pretty dynamic and tight at the same time. They are pretty modern sounding but still pretty versatile.
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i looked at the juggernauts, but exactly that modern sound made decide against them. i don't like that modern feeling too much, which is also probably why i don't enjoy the cold sweat pups as much
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Cold sweat are actually pretty classic sounding if you will. They are "based" on dirty fingers, trying to replicate the tone of a certain guitarist from the 80s. They are a bit scooped and pretty bright.
Juggs are pretty different.
Nailbomb maybe? It's still warm and organic (A5 version), but it is tight and will not really flop out in low tuning. I'd combine it with VH2 in the neck.
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I would also recommend Cold Sweat set, they are not modern the way you think they are. Plus Cold Sweat neck in darker guitar will have loads of warmth plus it slipts wonderfully and has amazing clean tone. I also split my CS neck. To me it has loads of PAF vibe. I have both CS bridge and neck but in different guitars
Based on personal experience I dont think that Nailbomb (I only have ceramic version) would be good for lower tunings.
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I would actually recommend the VHII in the neck position, in this case. I had it in the bridge position of my 12-pound mahogany neck-through beast, and it pretty much sucked in every conceivable way. The neck pickup, however, is gorgeous.
The Abraxas and Mule are also great choices for neck pickups. I daresay the Mule is my favorite of the BKP line, so far, for both neck and bridge positions. I currently have an Abraxas set in the aforementioned Mahogabeast, and the neck is excellent. The bridge is...decent. I still think I can do better - it sounds excellent clean, with a jangly, vintage character,but I cannot help but think it sounds a little dry in the bridge position of this particular instrument.
Regards,
Alec
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I still think the Cold Sweat bridge is the way to go here in this guitar. It is not a very modern sounding pickup. It is an early '80s sounding pickup. It kind of has a Judas Priest (Sinner to Screaming for Vengeance) vibe to it. It definitely suits a darker guitar, has good cleans, good string separation and has just the right amount of tightness and bottom end for what you are doing.
The neck is a matter of taste. The Cold Sweat neck is good. If you want something brighter you could try the Holy Diver or Nailbomb neck
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Riff Raff bridge/Mule neck + boost pedal (parametric equalizer/compressor or overdrive) has been working pretty well for me for the heavy stuff for years
My guitar also had the alnico nailbomb, ceramic nailbomb, cold sweat, Black dog, Holy diver and aftermath
None sounded better than the riff raff
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okay, thanks about the comment concerning the vhii in your guitar, i guess if thats the case i'll decide against it. would the output difference between cold sweat and mule be too big? if so i guess i'd tend to the riff raff. i really want the mule as a neck pup :)