Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Liquid on August 01, 2006, 05:04:31 PM
-
I'm looking to upgrade the pickups in my Epiphone les paul from the stock ones to BK's. I mainly play Thrash and Power stuff but also some Melodic Death and Black stuff too. I'm playing through a Randall RG50TC.
For the bridge I want something with a high output, I mainly play leads so I want something with tight bass for powerchords but also nice highs for solos, I don't really like a scooped sound but I don't like the mids to be overbearing either. I'm thinking Miracle Man Maybe?
For the Neck I want good cleans and to be able to play some distorted solos too. Nothing crazy, think stuff like the intro solo to Fade to Black by Metallica or A Tout Le Monde by Megadeth. I'm mainly looking for great cleans so I was thinking about a Mule Maybe?
I'd really appreciate any help on this, Thanks in Advance
-
Welcome to the world of BKPs!
My recommendation for you would be:
Bridge = Miracle Man
Should give you all the power and tone you need for the music you play and work well in an Epi which could be made of unexpected wood under that paint.
Neck = Cold Sweat
Nails what you want and balances great with the MM bridge.
Good luck!
-
You might actually want the Warpig more, it has a thicker mid-range. To get nice thick sound from the Miracle Man you need a fairly large mid cut you might not like that.
-
Yeah if you're not into the scooped sound I'd shy away from the Miracle Man. Go with either the Nailbomb or the Warpig in the bridge and a Nailbomb in the neck, you can alwys add a coil split for really good cleans.
-
Miracle Man scooped??? It's modern and very tight indeed but has strong low mids as well.
-
Miracle Man scooped??? It's modern and very tight indeed but has strong low mids as well.
+1
-
Miracle Man has a scooped sound? Not on my watch!
Go with Afghan Dave's suggestion, you'll love it!
-
What about a Cold Sweat in the bridge position? 8)
-
It will definitley depend on your amp, but, honestly the Miracle Man is definitely THE Metallica pickup and believe me, theyre NOT SCOOPED SOUNDING! I know the Miracle Man has that reputation on the board a bit, but the idea behind the MM is emphasis on the LOW mids, as opposed to the HIGH mids. They're smoother, less pushed, in comparison to being totally cut out the pickup's sound. They are very clean so they will handle an AWESOME amount of gain without turning into mush. EXCELLENT for speedy riffs that tax that wrist (Hetfield in SPADES) and equally as good for leads. The Cold Sweat equals the perfect companion for Metal or really any style that intends to get dirty. Very fluid lead tone with distortion but with a 8.3 kOhm resistance and an Alnico magnet, your cleans will not suffer, in fact, they're very nice 8) 8) Wish you the best of luck. I have this combo, and the minute I heard them, I knew they were THE THING for the sound I was after out the particular guitar they dropped into! You won't be dissappointed. When Tim states the Miracle Man's Massive Power is not a trade-off for great tonal quality, he isn't lying.
-
Either the Cold Sweat or the Miracle Man in the bridge. I would go with a calibrated set, but that's just me.
Cold Sweat will have a slightly sweeter sound, bigger bottom end.
Miracle Man will have tighter bass, more in-your-face tone.
ps: the Miracle Man has midrange for days!
-
Or indeed CUSTOM Warpig set as in my Explorer, eats Metallica EMG's pah :twisted:
-
Thanks for all your help guys, I really appreciate it
I'm seriously leaning towards the MM for the bridge now but I'm still not so sure about the neck. It says the Cold Sweat has a ceramic magnet, will that really give good cleans?
-
In a word yes! :D
-
cold sweat bridge has ceramic magnet
cold sweat neck has A5 magnet
:D
-
^ Ah, thanks for clearing that up.
Are there any others apart from the Mule and Cold Sweat you guys think I should check out?
-
Black Dog :D:D
mule with some teeth :D
-
easy guys I didn't say Miracle Man is a scooped pickup. I do think that if you're looking for the scooped sound than the Miracle Man would be the best pickup for you. The Nailbomb or the Warpig have a stronger mid presence which I think would compliment his style more. I think Warpigs were designed to sound like an EMG 81 pickups only be passive. EMG 81=Metallica, hence why I think a Warpig would be better, just my 2 cents
-
I think the scooped sound has more to do with your amp setting than the pickups. I'd never heard of it until Metallica
-
It worked for them...but Metallica, in my opinion started sounding their best LIVE when they added more of midrange to their sound...just my opinion. And Kirk's solo tone has always been very midrangey, thanks to his trusty old Tubescreamer. But, this isn't a thread about Metallica, though I don't really put a great amount of stock into the "this pickup equals Metallica" deal. Honestly, it's more of the playing style than the type of pickup. I'm not going to deny that the Miracle Man is such a good pickup for Metallica though :twisted: :twisted:
-
I love my MM, but I would suggest that its a Metallica sounding PU as it doesn't have quite the upper mid push and has TONNES more bass response than an 81. Then again mine is in a all maple guitar which won't sound as mid-rangey. My MM has dual allen heads so the bass on it is HUUGGEE!!! and more precise than a laser-guided missle.
Really I have never heard a PU that has had anywhere near the definition as the MM or the amount of bass. it pisses all over my 81.
Matt
-
For the bridge I'm now trying to decide between the Warpig and Miracle Man. As I said i'm mainly a lead player, and while I want good bass for powerchords, I'm wondering if the WP might be a little too bassey?
-
Okay guys I've more or less settled on the Miracle Man. Thanks for all your help, and if anyone still has any comments please keep them coming.
I'm still undecided on the Neck Pickup, and while I said I will be using it for some distorted soloing, Ignore that. What, in your opinion, is the Bareknuckle with the best cleans? Forget about distortion for the moment
-
most of then do good cleans, the mule neck is great for cleans, as is the mississippi queen (see players section, i just posted a clip: http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4884 ) but at the other end of the spectrum, the warpig is supposed to have astounding cleans, especially considering its monumental output
-
I'm wondering if the WP might be a little too bassey?
Shirley not.
Sorry, couldn't resist :oops:
-
I'm wondering if the WP might be a little too bassey?
Shirley not.
/me hands gingataff his coat...
;)
Muttley
-
:lol: Gingataff
I always got the impression the WP was a pretty ba...Had a lot of bass? Maybe too much for a dark wood like the LP is made of
-
The Main thing delaying my buying of a Pickup is I'm worried that I'm going to get something that is too ba...Has a lot of Bass...I like my tone atm but If I have one complaint it's that there always seems to be a lot of bass and sometimes I find the treble lacking. Which would have more of an emphasis on the High end (Without being overly trebley) while still retaining a good, though not overbearing, low end. The Warpig? Or Miracle Man?
-
I can't comment on the MM as I haven't used them, however it sounds like you should stear clear of the Warpigs.
I have them in my Les Paul at the moment but I don't think they work in it, just a little too much. Would probably work better in an SG or an Explorer, due to the thinner bodies etc.
I'm planning to take the WPs out of my Les Paul and turn it back into more of a classic rocker beast, will put the WPs in a drawer till I get a guitar better suited to them.
-
Thanks for the post, Though what exactly did you not like about them?
-
Which would have more of an emphasis on the High end (Without being overly trebley) while still retaining a good, though not overbearing, low end. The Warpig? Or Miracle Man?
Miracle Man :)
-
I've tried Warpigs in 2 guitars, a BC Rich with a Nato (Eastern Mahogany) body and a my Gibson Les Paul.
In the BC Rich they improved the sound by a factor of 10. Powerful, full, with plenty of definition to the tone even when tuned down. In the Les Paul I find myself turning down the Bass and Mid and turning up the Treble, but I still can't get as good a sound. Plus it just doesn't sound like a Les Paul any more.
The other thing is, you said you want 'tight bass' with 'nice highs for solos'. This isn't the Warpig in any guitar let alone a Les Paul. Sounds like you were right on the money when you mentioned the MM.
-
Thanks guys, you've all been really helpfull, I'll be ordering my Miracle Man ASAP :)
Before I do get it though, I was wondering if there would be any problems when I later got a lower output pickup for the neck? I've heard Calibrated sets make for 'Even' switching between bridge and neck, but If I had a MM in the bridge and say a Mule or a Cold Sweat in the neck and I wanted to switch from a distorted (Bridge) part to a clean (Neck) Part would there be a Jump in volume or anything? Sorry if this is a stupid question, I just want to be sure. If it will cause problems I might go for a calibrated MM set instead (Though it will mean a much longer wait before I get it)
-
I've heard Calibrated sets make for 'Even' switching between bridge and neck, but If I had a MM in the bridge and say a Mule or a Cold Sweat in the neck and I wanted to switch from a distorted (Bridge) part to a clean (Neck) Part would there be a Jump in volume or anything?
Not really a volume jump but rather a jump in drive and sustain when you switch to the bridge pickup on the overdrive channel.
-
So there wouldn't really be a problem unless I was switching from say Clean Bridge to Clean Neck or Distorted Bridge To Distorted Neck?
-
Can Anyone answer this? I really want to get a BKP as soon as possible but I want to make sure it wont mess up my sound :P
-
Last question, promise :P
Would it be possible to get a calibrated set of an MM and CS? And would it make a big difference over getting an MM now and a CS later?
-
when you order, tell tim that they are going into the same guitar and you want them calibrated and he'll do it for you :D
-
Wow, gotta love the service here :D
Would there be a big difference between a cali'd MM and CS set and a non calibrated set?
-
Apparently there is a difference between calibrated and non-calibrated. I ordered my set of Mules at different times (couldnt afford it all at once :lol: ) and they still sound great together, dont know if it could really get much better if I got a calibrated set but you never know!
-
That's the problem I'm having too. I Can either get an MM now or save up for a calibrated set, Problem is, I want my MM now! :P
-
hahah thats what I was like :P
-
okay, I've decided to get the two together even though I'm going to have to wait :(
So for the neck, which BK Humbucker do you think has the best cleans and would work well in the neck with a Miracle Man in the bridge?(Never mind distortion for the moment)
-
The neck Mule sounds really good for clean and bluesy type playing, I dont really like hi-gain on it though, its not defined enough when you pile on the gain (at least in my LP it isnt).
-
What about the Miracle Man in the Neck? I know it's supposed to be a Metal pickup, but If I was to get a calibrated MM set then how would the cleans be in the neck?
-
I sent a PM to Tim and decided to just go with a Miracle Man for the bridge now and get another BK for the neck in the near future. I just completed the order for a Black covered MM (50mm Spacing, 2 Conductor Wiring) a few minutes ago.
I just wanted to thank all you guys for helping me decide on what to get, and If I can get my recording setup working, I'll let you all know how it sounds in the Players section :D
-
After spending all morning playing Nailbomb clips, I'd go with a Nailbomb set for about an anything. Cleans are pretty good, not the greatest and they gain up - should suit your needs.