Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Pierre on June 03, 2005, 07:47:07 PM
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Hey guys! I'm coming from the Seymour Duncan forums (hey TO and Xssive...) and I'm still looking for 'the' pickup to put in the bridge of my Charvel model 4. It's basswood bolt on neck super strat with a Floyd rose bridge and a rosewood fingerboard.
Anyhoo the sound... well what I'm looking for is something very similar to Zakk Wylde's high gain sound. I don't want HIS tone but the same kind of distortion or something very similar and thick like this. Right now my pickup has an output of about 8.6K (Jackson J50BC) and it's a really good one but I'm always looking for some fun. I haven't been playing guitar for too long (saying how long would be shameful for me, you'll forgive me PDT_022 ) but sound matters a lot to me. Right now I'm running the Charvel through a POD 2.0 and a Peavey Envoy.
The pickups I have in mind so far are the Warpig, Nailbomb and Miracle Man. There are other by other brands which I shall shut up now, but considering Bareknuckle's amazing reputation I'm sure I won't regret it. Suggest away and thanks for listening (or reading)!
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guessing the Warpig here? its meant to model Zakk's tone isnt it? and have you checked out the Player's section yet? there's lots of soundclips in there. oh and welcome to the forum! :)
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Hi Perre,
have you checked the players room, There are some great clips in there of some of the Pickups we make.
I think youve got the right idea with the pickups you have in mind!
Check out the clips and let us know what you think.
Cheers
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Well, the Miracle Man seems the obvious choise here. The Warpig might be to bassy for what you want. I have a Warpig in a basswood guitar. Very warm and bassy, wich very cool if that's what you like. The Nailbomb is not what I would call thick, I think it's very open. My advice would be the Miracle Man. It does more than just Zakk. :twisted:
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Thanks a bunch!
I did check out the clips but I don't really trust them. Not saying they're innacurate, but there's so much processing in any clips, I can never be sure of how it really would sound in my room when I play. I had a listen to a few of them but I couldn't really find what I am looking for. TO's clip of the Miracle Man though is very close to what I want, except I'd use more gain (he's the one who indirectly directed me here after I heard his clip)
I'm also affraid to lose versatility if I get too high an output. The Warpig for instance is 22k, I don't really know what that means but compared to my Jackson humbucker now (which by the way is REALLY good, just not what I need) there's a huge difference. Would a higher output humbucker enable me to remain clear at higher gain settings, or just plainly to get more distorted?
It does seem like the Miracle Man is a winner. The price factor is the main thing I have to consider against other makes' pickups (I don't know if we're allowed to discuss that in here, sorry if I'm breaching any rules, I haven't yet read the stickies... :uhu: ) Thanks for the quick help so far!
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Miracle Man for a Zakk type flavour, or the Nailbomb for more scope. The extra volume from these and the high gain Warpig helps you out, you don't have to pick as hard to get distortion!! The extra output drives the amp more, giving more distortion and compression. But clean tones are sacrificed a bit, the Nailbomb is the best of the three for versatility. Works very well in Basswood bodies.
The BKP clips I recorded with Tim have a touch of reverb on the rhythm guitars, and a bit of delay. No EQ, just a JCM800 and dirt box.
BKP high output pickups are not as closed and dark as mass produced pickups. The top end is still nice and open, no honky mids or piercing frequencies!
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Hi Pierre,
I don’t think that the Warpig would be right for you, I would go with either the Miracle man or the Nailbomb. The Nailbomb will have a better clean tone than the miracle man because it uses an alnico V magnet, where the miracle man uses a ceramic. The Miracle man will also have a tighter bottom end than a Nailbomb. The Nailbomb is by far the more versatile of the two.
DC readings are only relative when comparing pickups wound with the same gauge of wire, so can be quite misleading and should only be used as a very rough guide as to what you want.
The price factor is the main thing I have to consider against other makes' pickups
Remember, Our pickups Will sound better that any mass produced pickups, because they are scatterwound and use the best quality components money can buy!
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The price factor is the main thing I have to consider against other makes' pickups
Note that you'll get a lot more of the "pickup" itself and less of the "shipping costs, dealer margin, taxes etc." for the same price, if you order a pickup that's made here in Europe. Based on how great my Mules sound, no matter which model you choose, you'll get a piece of gear that'll be your friend on stage for a lifetime. 8)
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:guitar4: Hi man. you keep mentioning that you want your P/U`s to be versitile but for what :?:
do you go from playing Jazz to playing Thrash :?:
i might be wrong here [Tim HJM Steve] will put me right the less Gain the P/U has the more sustain you get from your guitar. the strings are not being pulled to a stand still as fast as if you have a high gain P/U .the benefit of a high gain is that you get a more imposing smack in the mouth the moment you hit the strings :lol: :lol: :lol:
with a low gain you use your amps gain to drive the amp a lot more. with a high gain you can back the gain off as some of the drive is coming off of the P/U. the reason you may be liking your P/U in the Charvel so much is that it is allowing you to get longer sustain you have to decide what one out of the 2 you want :D
all of these BK P/u`s sound great in the flesh. any one who has seen the guys at the guitar exhibitions will tell you. :D 8)
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Haha good question, I got carried away with rambling and I forgot to add a lot of info.
I have an HSS pickup configuration. The only things I play with the bridge pickup would be sometimes clean when I have to switch in one song, Metal and Punk. Ska, Blues, Jazz, clean stuff, it all goes in the middle and neck pickup, depending on what mood I'm in. So in a way, I want something that would clean up, but I don't want Fender type clean with it. Just... clean... if that makes sense :P
I think it shall be the miracle man. Thanks A LOT for the tips! I'm looking forward to help on this forum as well (though with my guitar n00bness, don't expect much :lol: )
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Warpig 8)
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I would go with the Miracle man.
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Thanks everyone! That's one more in my list, so now I have 3 to chose from :p
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And what about a Miracle Man w/ Alnico V? It would clean up better than the ceramic version.
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Thats a good suggestion Peterku, It would certainly make it more versitle.
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But almost a Nailbomb?? just a touch hotter ?
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I’ve never heard an Alnico V miracle man in the bridge, so I couldn't say how differnt it sounds to the Nailbomb. I would imagine it would sound different, because of the much smaller wire gauge and the smaller coils. We usually put it in the neck of a Warpig and miracle man set. It really sings up there!
If you liked TO's clip of the miracle man, I think you should just stick with the standard model.
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I agree with Steve. I think an Alnico V would open it up to much. I think you'll lose the super tight low end. I think it would become a 'mellowed' Warpig.
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I'm too n00bie to do anything to the pickup anyway :p So yeah... miracle man it shall be if I go the bareknuckle way. Thanks for the tips!
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I'm too n00bie to do anything to the pickup anyway :p
You don't need to. Tim will build the pickup with the magnet of your choice. You can even have it under- or overwound, or coil-tapped. Just tell him what you'd like. If I were you, I'd e-mail or call him with my questions. You can't go wrong with his recommendations.
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Well there's always the budget problem you see... I've played guitar for 4 months (yeah... I just get GAS attacks, way too often :p ). I'm not too shabby for my level, I kick ass at pinch harmonics, but otherwise yeah... I just know loads about gear for my level. The pickup would just be a little extra to satisfy my desires for more for a bit :p It shouldn't be overly expensive.
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They're pricy, but there well worth the money. I don't think there's anything better than these. Think of it as a long-term investment. You could buy a cheap pickup, find out it's not what you wanted or expected, get something else wich won't be all that either etc. etc. eventually you'll end up buying BKP's anyway.
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That's indeed the reason why I am considering this brand as well. Other brands include Seymour Duncan and Swinsehead pickups. I'd really like to give a chance to the younger, less famous brands but my wallet will ultimately decide :p I just need to have an accurate idea of what I need before deciding.
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I really understand your dilemma. But note that if you go with Duncans, you'll probably get a very nice tone if you have the right chops but still you'll kepp wondering if a boutique pickup like Bare Knuckles made a significant difference. Swineshead pickups seem to be nice, they have those exotic woods and Jon also scatterwinds his pickups. But I think there's the "you get what you've paid for" rule as always. I guess a Swineshead's better than a Duncan but still inferior to a Bare Knuckle, and if not quality-wise, than because that there are only two hotter humbucker models to choose from.
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BTW, before my decision for a set of camo Mules I had very similar issues as you. I can really feel your pain.
Note that there's always the possibility that you postpone your decision by several months to calm down a little bit and gain some extra experience. (Hopefully) there'll always be Bare Knuckle and I'm confident that the primary goal of the company is to help you create the best tone you can imagine. My e-mailing with Tim and the help he provided me at my order -- even at his expense! -- have proven me that. If a perfect decision takes you more time to develop, then feel free just to hang around here, listen to samples, read posts etc. until you feel that you've finally made up your mind. :)
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Also, BKP make more of the parts themselves than any other boutique pickup manufacturer! Also Tim is a master of scatterwinding, as are Steve and Ray, and Tim's knowledge of wire gauges and magnet types really pays in the tone you get from Bare Kuckle! :lol:
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Weve never heard swineshead pickups before, and dont know any one that has, so I couldnt comment on them. They look nice, but cant be made from very high quality components for the money they are selling them for.
I realise money is an important factor, but you honestly get what you pay for!
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I see your argument and they definitely hit hahaha... I just need the money now! :shock: I'll go rob a bank or something, get 2 extra guitars like mine and try each pickups I hesitate from :twisted:
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Weve never heard swineshead pickups before, and dont know any one that has, so I couldnt comment on them. They look nice, but cant be made from very high quality components for the money they are selling them for.
I realise money is an important factor, but you honestly get what you pay for!
He actually makes the bobbins from wood by hand....can't see him making a living like that! I believe it's all Alnico II, V or ceramic. And teh rest of the parts come from Allparts by the look. Including the polywire!
Tone wise they're good, just a bit honky on the one I heard. Good value, but no better than a Duncan, just a cool look!
And they're yellowbellies like me!!
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Whats up with the Warthog............warpig?????????
Emmmmmmmmmmm
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He actually makes the bobbins from wood by hand....can't see him making a living like that!
I thought that onlt the tops of them were wooden, and the rest was plastic.
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Could be, didn't look too closely. Brass bass plate though :(
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Just got back from a weekend's gigs so thought I'd throw my thoughts in:
I've been playing Nailbombs ALOT lately-just mad a double cream set for my polka dot Vee-and they're fantasticly versatile in the Vee. The Miracle Man will give you ALOt more of the same that the Charvel has(it's already ceramic) so why not plumb for a Nailbomb....OK the bass isn't as surgically tight as a Miracle Man but it's not flabby either.