Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Dimmy on July 16, 2006, 08:40:04 PM
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Hi! I'm looking for quality pickups for my SG and I was instructed to turn to the friendly folk of BKP. My guitar is a '61 reissue with two humbuckers, the body is mahogany and so is the neck.
I'm looking for a vintage, PAF-like sound but with more drive and edge. I play lead guitar so the high ends should be in order (or more like WOW! WTF WAS THAT!?) without sacrificing the low bottoms too much. I play a lot of progressive rock and sort of hendrixy songs so the distortion should be clear and separating (and not heavy metal-fuzz-porridge) but still edgy and hard biting (sort of like Jeff Healey's Freedom). I also like to play blues and bluesy rock.
From what I read in the discription of the pickups it looks to me that the Cold Sweat -calibrated set is for me but does anyone have any good suggestions? Sound clips will be appreciated.
THANKS!
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Check out the Rebel Yell too.
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I ended up fitting my Alnico II 'Stormy Mondays' into my 1976 Mahogany Gibson S.G Standard to great effect. They really bring out the highs in very clear yet sweet/tasteful way.
Tim at BKP recommended this combination - and that a set of perhaps tighter / focused Alnico IV 'Mules' should replace the SMs in my Les paul to compensate for the much heavier/thicker body.
Please bear in mind, (as Tim did ) that I play mostly clean, with occasional forays into overdrive territory. I have not tested the SMs through distortion yet, but the improvement in sweet, clear, definition on the top three strings is much better than the stock Gibsons.
I must also mention that another forum member kindly and enthusiastically recommended the 'Riff Raffs' for the S.G over and above the Mules, as he had got "awesome" results from those in an Epiphone S.G. Whilst I respected and was really interested in his opinion, I felt our desired tonal outcomes where a little different.
Tim felt I might find the 'Riff Raffs' and any higher gain pickups a bit aggresive for my smoother style(s).
I would speak to/email Tim, he really does 'know his onions' when it comes to what product will give what result in what guitar. We tend to forget that having experimented so much before taking 'loaded' guitars to trade shows, he has probably heard most combinations.
I will watch this thread with continued interest. Whilst I feel the SMs may be too 'sweet' for your tastes, they prove to me that Tim does not do a 'bad' pickup for any guitar, just that there will be a better one for your own tonal vision.
Regards,
Derek. :D
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I would also look at the Riff Raff set, or possibly a Riff Raff bridge and Stormy Monday neck. The Cold Sweat is more of a late 70's sound, rather than the PAF sound.
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VHII's. A little hotter than PAF's (around 9k), but sound sweet, especially in a solid mahogany guitar like an SG. I have one in an Iceman (cross between an SG and a Firebird IMO), and it sounds great.
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Dude - you need Riff Raffs. I have a set in my '65 Epi SG and they're awesome. I'm Angus in an AC/DC cover band and they're perfect for getting that "clean yet crunchy and dirty" tone. They're much more versatile than you'd think, so don't right them off because you don't play AC/DC tunes. I took the guitar round to a friend of mine who's a blues player and he flipped it to the neck pickup, rolled back the tone a touch, and played one of the sweetest blues tones I've heard in a long while.
The Riff Raffs are very clear, no buzz or hum, and have a nice chunky depth to them. It's hard to describe, but they are very "wide" tonally, not narrow and spiky like cheaper pickups. I've tried them with loads more gain than I would usually use and they still sound superb - full and meaty.
If you're after classic rock tones, with a slight edge, then the Riff Raffs are the way to go. Every SG should have a set :D
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I've contacted Tim via email just today. Now waiting for a reply. I didn't know you could do that. Where I come from you don't go to the pickup winder himself and ask what pickups do I need. Does it really work that way?
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I've contacted Tim via email just today. Now waiting for a reply. I didn't know you could do that. Where I come from you don't go to the pickup winder himself and ask what pickups do I need. Does it really work that way?
Yep, Tims recommendations are nearly always right :)
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Yep, Tim's great like that. This is why BKP service is second to none.
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Yeah, talk about customer service. Still waiting for that reply (he's a busy man, of course) so in the meantime does anyone have any sweet soundclips of any of the pickups suggested here?
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There's a clip of my SG in the players section somewhere. I'll see if I can find it for you.
*Edit*
Got it:
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4042&start=0
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Those were nice-sounding clips, thanks for posting! Any high end-solo-clips?
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Yep, Tims recommendations are nearly always right :)
YOU BLASPHEME! Tim is always right! :drink:
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Um.. is there any place for negotiations on that "join us or you shall be slain"?
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Just join us - us being the Tim's hair fanclub - mainly 'cause he has great hair :)
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Just join us - us being the Tim's hair fanclub - mainly 'cause he has great hair :)
sambo ... is that you?!
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Haha no, I be teh JamesXcore!
But I think Sam and I were singing from the same hymn sheet or so to speak when he was still around :lol:
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Those were nice-sounding clips, thanks for posting! Any high end-solo-clips?
Sorry - I haven't done any more recording recently. I'll see if I can get some done this week.
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Tim recommended a pair of WHIIs and, Tim being always right I hear, the scale is sort of tipping to that direction. (I haven't seen Tim's hair though so I can't say if it's great or not) :D
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Oh oops. It's VHII and NOT WHII. :shock: well anyway...
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Tim recommended a pair of VHIIs and, Tim being always right I hear, the scale is sort of tipping to that direction. (I haven't seen Tim's hair though so I can't say if it's great or not) :D
http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3432&start=15
Scroll down and enjoy :)
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Well that is a hair to be reckoned with :D Do you know if he rents that baby? I could use it on a gig :D That hair, VHIIs and a BKP t-shirt = ROCK