Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: 1983strat on October 20, 2020, 03:39:46 AM

Title: Is Nailbomb the best set for me? (already own Holy Diver and Aldrichs)
Post by: 1983strat on October 20, 2020, 03:39:46 AM
Hey guys, first post here so take it easy on me  :grin:

I own

The only reason I'm looking to replace the Seymour Duncan 59/JB set is because I find my superstrat more refined for highs.

Here are my key influences


I'm actually really happy with the coverage I get in Hair Metal from the BKP Holydivers. Maybe I need something more like 80's metal... I thought about Nailbombs or maybe Miracle Man... Maybe Miracle Man's are not too versatile and too focused on lows?

I'm also considering the Bootcamp Brute Force humbucker set.

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!
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Title: Re: Is Nailbomb the best set for me? (already own Holy Diver and Aldrichs)
Post by: Dave Sloven on October 20, 2020, 09:49:42 AM
I think that the Cold Sweat set could probably handle all those styles very well.  I'm just not sure about whether they would work well in your guitar.  what is the neck wood and construction?

Personally I love the Miracle Man and if your guitar is fairly bright or middy it could suit
Title: Re: Is Nailbomb the best set for me? (already own Holy Diver and Aldrichs)
Post by: 1983strat on October 20, 2020, 05:21:19 PM
Quote from: Dave Sloven on October 20, 2020, 09:49:42 AM
I think that the Cold Sweat set could probably handle all those styles very well.  I'm just not sure about whether they would work well in your guitar.  what is the neck wood and construction?

Personally I love the Miracle Man and if your guitar is fairly bright or middy it could suit

my guitar has alder body, flat maple cap , neck through body maple neck with floyd rose. It's a fairly bright guitar.

Just curious, what do you like about the Miracle Man? I listened the sound clips in the bkp website and felt it was a bit too dark, but could be the guitar used or amp settings
Title: Re: Is Nailbomb the best set for me? (already own Holy Diver and Aldrichs)
Post by: Dave Sloven on October 22, 2020, 01:43:09 AM
Okay, great well I have no hesitation in recommending  the Miracle Man set to you for a maple neck-through Soloist, everyone who has tried this pickup in those has been very happy.

We used to have reviews of that combination here and my all accounts it is stellar.  The Soloist doesn't get along that well with middy pickups like the Nailbomb

The Miracle Man will cover all your bases.  It won't be too bassy unless it is in a dark guitar.  I have one in a Gibson SG Standard and it is perfect in that.

For '80s thrash like Metallica it is #1, same with Ozzy stuff (at least in this guitar), most of your hair metal stuff it is great.  I don't know about Bon Jovi but definitely for stuff like Dokken

Mine sounds really good through any of my amps (Peavey JSX, 3120, and 6534+) and speakers (Celestion Vintage 30s and H75 Creambacks).  Apparently the neck pickup is great too.  I had a Cold Sweat set in my SG before so I kept the neck but I hear that the MM neck is great and it will also split well.

I recommend the BKP CTS 550K push-pull pot, 4-conductor wiring, 53mm spacing and short legs for this model.  If you have a tone circuit the BKP 0.022uF Jensen capacitor is also excellent.  I recommend the push-pull pot rather than 5-way switches etc.  The CRL three way is very nice if you can fit a full size switch in your cavity.  There are videos on BKPs youtube channel for wiring everything

Title: Re: Is Nailbomb the best set for me? (already own Holy Diver and Aldrichs)
Post by: ericsabbath on October 24, 2020, 02:50:53 AM
Sounds like a Miracle Man job
Title: Re: Is Nailbomb the best set for me? (already own Holy Diver and Aldrichs)
Post by: Sothoth on October 27, 2020, 02:53:34 AM
Well the ceramic NB works really well for thrash in a heavier guitar that might sound a bit darker than yours but I suspect an alnico version of the NB would work very nicely for your rig. 

I know certain members here recommend the Cold Sweat for a lot of applications and I can't say (because I don't own one) if it's ideal for your purposes or not but you might find that a NB is a good, fat sounding humbucker that's *extremely* versatile.  I played with a group that did some Beatles, Chris Stapleton, Judas Priest, Y&T, Pretenders, Queen, and a bunch of stuff in between, and I played lead on some and rythm on others with the ceramic NB in a Les Paul Traditional.  At home I can use the same guitar for Slayer and Metallica (through the mid-90s at least) and some pretty compelling AC/DC tones.  Don't get me wrong, I have to make some changes to the EQ on the amp to dial everything in, but the NB is simply the most versatile and amazing set of HBs I've ever used. 

I'm not sure I want to talk you out of any BKP set, but perhaps listen to the clips a lot and see what makes sense to you for the music you want to play.  Maybe Dave can comment on the Cold Sweat for other genres or you can comment on how much you do or don't want to stray from your core styles.  For me the versatility is important because I'm kind of all over the place and the Miracle Man or Juggernaut or Warpig (three that I've tried) seem like they're incredibly good niche pickups (especially the latter two) but aren't nearly versatile enough for me.  Or maybe you don't need that.
Title: Re: Is Nailbomb the best set for me? (already own Holy Diver and Aldrichs)
Post by: Dave Sloven on October 27, 2020, 09:47:11 AM
Here's one of the reviews of a Miracle Man in a Soloist that went missing with some server crashes etc

https://fret.boards.net/thread/29/bare-knuckle-miracle-man-review
Title: Re: Is Nailbomb the best set for me? (already own Holy Diver and Aldrichs)
Post by: Dave Sloven on October 27, 2020, 09:50:26 AM
This is a video of a Miracle Man bridge in a maple neck-through Jackson (Rhoads)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUffgw5WT3M

Same guy / guitar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5DKC-kD954
Title: Re: Is Nailbomb the best set for me? (already own Holy Diver and Aldrichs)
Post by: Nolly on November 26, 2020, 04:33:04 PM
I'd like to throw the Silos into the pot: they're a nice counterpart to the Holy Diver - very close output-wise and similar wind-wise but are more mid-forward in the way that gives high gain tones a very solid and chunky character. The top end isn't as extended as the HD and the low end is bigger, overall I'd say they "chug" in more of a true metal way than the Holy Diver. The Silo neck isn't a million miles off a '59 but has a distinctly clearer and more defined sound with a deeper low end.
If you want to step further away from the pickups you currently have, I'd say the Nailbombs and Miracle Man's you've singled out would both be strong contenders.
Title: Re: Is Nailbomb the best set for me? (already own Holy Diver and Aldrichs)
Post by: ericsabbath on November 28, 2020, 08:59:42 AM
I love when Nolly unexpectedly shows up with the goodies  :afro:





Title: Re: Is Nailbomb the best set for me? (already own Holy Diver and Aldrichs)
Post by: JimmyMoorby on November 30, 2020, 09:39:51 PM
I think you can't go wrong with an Alnico Nailbomb Set for everything you've metnioned.  They go from classic rock to thrash in a super strat with ease but as per the above there are other great options for sure.

There are a lot of pickups which are classed as a ''hot PAF'' but maybe the Nailbomb could be classed as an EXTREME PAF?!?  I've always loved the set anyway.
Title: Re: Is Nailbomb the best set for me? (already own Holy Diver and Aldrichs)
Post by: 1983strat on December 24, 2020, 08:06:12 PM
Thanks everyone.

I actually sold the hardtail that had the Holydivers in it... I was between buying this set again (which I loved) OR just going for the Miracle Man set...

The Suhr Aldrich set serves pretty well on the "extra- extra overwound PAF" frequencies

Since I got good coverage on bass frequencies, I'll buy the holydivers again for my jackson soloist. Thank you everyone!