Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: sambo on March 28, 2007, 09:55:20 PM
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replacement bridge humbucker for SD Custom Custom...
right ladies...
being an impatient little B*tch.... i hurriedly bought a Fernandes Dave Kushner Ravelle....
i love it, perfect blend of les paul classic-ness with modern playnig feel....
and the Sustainer is f*cking incredible! (and useful for my live use as well- not just a gimick)
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BUT.... the let down.... quite a big one too.... id never played much with seymours before... but after being used to BK clarity in my Gibson, and my mates Dean also having a BK (warpig), i think ive become spoilt in terms of tone...
the Seymour just sounds.... well..... bad.... to my ears...
its mahogany back with maple top, rosewood fretboard.... blah blah...
what would you chaps recommend?
im thinking nailbomb..?
maaaaybe mule? maaaybe miracle man?
most people know what stuff im into.... hard rock is pretty much the only way to describe it... no all out metal... so maybe the miracle man would be less appropriate than the nailbomb...
anyway- any ideas welcome....
cheers,
sam!
oh and P.S - just to clarify- its ONLY the bridge pup im after as the Fernandes Sustainer accounts for the neck pickup.
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Do you want something that is like the stock pup but better? Or are you looking for a different tone?
The CC is an awful pup, btw.
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yer, i can see why people moan about the ol' Seymours now!!!
although im even more baffled as to why some people love em... :? :lol:
to be honest though... its so indistinct that i dont really know whats its meant to sound like.... lol... so definitely a different tone...
quite 'middy'.... with a fair amount of low-end (nothing beastly)...
and very organic... (hence the consideration of Mule/Nailbomb as if remember correctly they are meant to be fairly organic pickups)...
i dont know much about the slightly less popular jobbies though- emerald, holy diver, VHII e.t.c.
any thoughts you might have would be much appreciated Ben.
cheers,
sam.
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I'm thinking Holy Diver would slay in that guitar!!
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interesting!...
in recent(ish) times theyve been growing a bit in popularity (or at least ive just been noticing them more personally)....
mmm very interesting indeed!
how would you roughly describe the overall make-up of their tone?
are they in the vintage-modern or contemporary section? cant remember... in fact- im gonna check that now...
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mmm very interesting indeed!
how would you roughly describe the overall make-up of their tone?
Slighly dark with a nice midrange spike ... almost 'gothic' to my ears. Killer harmonic content, they can really scream if you work em hard. Very smooth distorted sound, but with the typical BK articulation and piston speed.
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... lol... Mr.Ben you have just pretty much nailed the tone in my head... :lol:
its hard to describe tone but thats as close as i could ever come to putting it down in words...
cheers!
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'welcome. :)
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mmm very interesting indeed!
how would you roughly describe the overall make-up of their tone?
Slighly dark with a nice midrange spike ... almost 'gothic' to my ears. Killer harmonic content, they can really scream if you work em hard. Very smooth distorted sound, but with the typical BK articulation and piston speed.
Ben, you seriosly need to write ad copy for BKP. :D I've been jonesing for a Holy Diver for a while and that description just makes it worse.
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I can only give you advise in the lower output range, so what I would recommend there:
VHII - if you want a great allrounder rock pick up that sounds great for a wide range of sounds, if you add a split through push-pull it gives you that telecaster twang and keef bite - maybe the most versatile pickup BKP offer, I just love it on my mahogany/maple PRS SE.
Rebel Yell - awesome body and rich mids, a tad less treble than than the VHII but not at all muffled, gets its bite from a few frequencies lower. A real pro pickup as it works in the frequency band that you can actually hear through a complex mix. Has a similar output (13-14 kO) as the SD SH-11 that was stock in ya guitar.
If both those are too weak, go with whatever TO tells you ...
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mmm very interesting indeed!
how would you roughly describe the overall make-up of their tone?
Slighly dark with a nice midrange spike ... almost 'gothic' to my ears. Killer harmonic content, they can really scream if you work em hard. Very smooth distorted sound, but with the typical BK articulation and piston speed.
Ben, you seriosly need to write ad copy for BKP. :D I've been jonesing for a Holy Diver for a while and that description just makes it worse.
Too true.
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I know what you mean about the SDs. I put them in my other Paul before I heard of BKP. I'm about to rip'em out and put the burstbuckers back in it until I get some BKPs for it.
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I'm thinking Holy Diver would slay in that guitar!!
+1 :twisted:
The custom custom has quite a lot of midrange, but no top end definition & weedy output - in anything but the brightest of guitars it's pure mud :(
The Holy Diver is so much better: massive fat midrange, smooth creamy lead tone, high output but retaining clarity & definition. Big rock chords sound HUGE & single note riffs carry enormous weight The name might evoke thoughts of 80s rock, but be under no illusions that the HD can handle METAL & beyond if you want it to :)
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Slighly dark with a nice midrange spike ... almost 'gothic' to my ears. Killer harmonic content, they can really scream if you work em hard. Very smooth distorted sound, but with the typical BK articulation and piston speed.
Ben, you seriosly need to write ad copy for BKP. :D I've been jonesing for a Holy Diver for a while and that description just makes it worse.
+1 :)
TO has described HD better in two sentences than I managed in dozens of posts :lol:
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LOL, you guys ... :oops:
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lol at the description. That was pretty darn good. :lol:
i thought the ravelles had a jb? or did they change the spec?
I'm not much a fan of whichever pickup it has, though... cc is alnico II, high output = fail, IMO. JB is just harsh, thin and trebly.
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thanks for the opinions guys...
holy diver looks promising
and yer i thought it was a JB too... but when researching further i think (THINK) its a custom custom... you can get them with an EMG as well i think, but since i was planning on getting a BK anyway i didnt want to have to switch from active to passive...
i dont see why people love SD so much now? i could never comment before having never played them... but i messed around with eq, and volume and gain, and blah and blah and everything for quit a while.... couldnt get anything i was personally happy with...
then again- if it works for them....
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i had a JB and a 59
if all you are used to is epi, ibanez and alike pickups, it's a whole 'nother world of tone.
after a while, when your ear "grows" more in regard of hearing tone nuances, they lack 'something'.. that something is usually some form of texture or another.. either depth, a broader midrange specter, more low end growl, or high end sweetness.
might be cos they are machine wound and thus perfect (regarding the winds).
this is why i think hand made products are vastly superior to machine made ones. because of the human factor involved (be it BK, SD custom made or any other).
two pickups can be exactly the same, regarding specs, but they can sound like night and day, thus proving that it's ALL in the wind and coil structure.
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Bit of a thread hijack, but speaking of Custom Customs I have an SH-14 Custom Five (which I believe is the same pickup with an AV magnet instead of AII).
It's medium output, bright and a lot less midrangey than the Custom Custom. A bit scooped, I suppose. I quite like the clarity/transparency of the thing, but it does tend to sound a little harsh, even in mahogany.
Anyone familiar with the Custom Five, and is there a BKP that's in the same tonal ballpark but just a little warmer? I was thinking maybe the Emerald, but I'm probably way off the mark. :?
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i had a JB and a 59
if all you are used to is epi, ibanez and alike pickups, it's a whole 'nother world of tone.
after a while, when your ear "grows" more in regard of hearing tone nuances, they lack 'something'.. that something is usually some form of texture or another.. either depth, a broader midrange specter, more low end growl, or high end sweetness.
might be cos they are machine wound and thus perfect (regarding the winds).
this is why i think hand made products are vastly superior to machine made ones. because of the human factor involved (be it BK, SD custom made or any other).
two pickups can be exactly the same, regarding specs, but they can sound like night and day, thus proving that it's ALL in the wind and coil structure.
indeed...
your description in the middle there sums it up well...
judging from my p-90 and my mates warpig alone the main term that comes to mind is harmonic richness.... and as you said- the depth...
i can see myself getting addicted already :lol:
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i had a JB and a 59
I have the JB and Jazz in my Standard, compared to the Mule set, they are bleh!
Even my twin bro heard the difference after we jammed on my mules and then tried out the other Paul to compare. The SDs lack clarity and articulation.
I was going with another set of mules but after reading about the Holy Diver...I don't know now. :)
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I was going with another set of mules but after reading about the Holy Diver...I don't know now. :)
welcome to the BK indecision club! :lol:
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I was going with another set of mules but after reading about the Holy Diver...I don't know now. :)
welcome to the BK indecision club! :lol:
Haha, I know dude!
I have headaches everytime I leave the board. :lol:
Now, I was reading up on the Crawler.
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:lol: :D :lol:
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and yer i thought it was a JB too... but when researching further i think (THINK) its a custom custom... you can get them with an EMG as well i think, but since i was planning on getting a BK anyway i didnt want to have to switch from active to passive...
i dont see why people love SD so much now? i could never comment before having never played them... but i messed around with eq, and volume and gain, and blah and blah and everything for quit a while.... couldnt get anything i was personally happy with...
then again- if it works for them....
ah, i have no idea. My guess is if it sounds trebly and thin, it's a jb, if it's a bit smoother but muddy, custom custom.
but yeah, I agree on the duncan front. Out of all the models I've tried, there are only one or two that I don't hate, lol, let alone like.
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^haha.
by your description then its a custom custom... which would tie in with what i thought....
the EMGs in the jackson slay it completely lol....
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you have a Les Paul type of guitar in terms of construction - how about a Crawler, sounds great in my LP. classic PAF tonality but with more midrange grunt and output. excellent for general rock stuff.
:twisted:
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interesting you should mention that HTH...
i saw antag comment in another thread about HDs in les pauls and how it sounds huge but he thought it might perhaps be a bit too much...
so i started thinking what BKs DO work really well in LPs... thats why i kept thinking of Mules... or they might be a LITTLE bit lacking in output for me...
so yer you make a very good point...
the fernandes is VERY similar to a les paul.... so in essence maybe something like a crawler would work better overall...
have you got any/heard any crawler clips? i never seem to hear anything about them...
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http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/ZH-crawler.html
Scroll down and look on the side of Geoff's pic.
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im such a tw@t!!!! :lol:
thanks for that mate... starting to listen right now...
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Dude, after hearing those clips, I'm going with the Crawler set in my Standard.
No point in having 2 LPs with the same pups. :wink:
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wise words my man!
mmm this is difficult...
it would be interesting to know what gear e.t.c. was used in those recordings... (might say somewhere else- i'll have a look)...
thats almost the sound im going for... but there wasnt much rhythm playing in there (which is primarily what i play)....
who else here actually HAS a crawler? :lol:
btw 808 mate- when you get yours id love to hear your thoughts on 'em... would be very helpful indeed.
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i saw antag comment in another thread about HDs in les pauls and how it sounds huge but he thought it might perhaps be a bit too much...
I think that a major factor in my HD Les Paul is the cr@ppy 300k pots. I have an HD in an all mahogany neck thru Jackson and a korina bodied strat & it's nowhere near as "rounded" in those as in the LP.
FWIW, I just swapped a Nailbomb out of a LP into a PRS & was surprised at the difference. At the same time that LP got Miracle Man AND 500k pots - ummm, WOW :eek:
Going to put 500K pots in the HD LP very soon. I bet it will slay :twisted:
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^awesome!!!!
and yer woops i mis-quoted you a bit mate lol... tad naughty of me :oops:
what jackson do you have btw? considering a lot of their models are Alder an all mahogany neck-thru sounds eerily like what i have...
SLSMG?
make sure you let me know how things go with the pot change!
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FWIW, listen to the two clips in my drop-D (http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6460) HD clip.
First one was recorded with a Jackson RR1T (maple neck-thru, alder body wings), the second with my HD Les Paul. I'm not convinced the difference between the two is all down to body woods...
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phwooaar.. bloody hell that LP one is brutal... !
interesting comparison...
god my mind is buzzing at the moment lol... so much to consider.
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what jackson do you have btw? considering a lot of their models are Alder an all mahogany neck-thru sounds eerily like what i have...
About half way down Page 20 (http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5209&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=285) of the pics thread :)
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what jackson do you have btw? considering a lot of their models are Alder an all mahogany neck-thru sounds eerily like what i have...
About half way down Page 20 (http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5209&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=285) of the pics thread :)
bar-steward...
Almost exploded when I saw them >_>
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^haha.
by your description then its a custom custom... which would tie in with what i thought....
the EMGs in the jackson slay it completely lol....
haha, yeah. most people around here (including tim, I think i've seen him post about it before) don't mind emg's for what they are, as they're totally different to BKP's, and do what they do pretty well. SD's are more along the lines of BKP's, just not half as good.
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Get this guys...
If I remember right Tim even has EMGs in one of his guitars....
HOLY CR@P WTF OMG!! etc.
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^haha.
by your description then its a custom custom... which would tie in with what i thought....
the EMGs in the jackson slay it completely lol....
haha, yeah. most people around here (including tim, I think i've seen him post about it before) don't mind emg's for what they are, as they're totally different to BKP's, and do what they do pretty well. SD's are more along the lines of BKP's, just not half as good.
actually yer i remember tim commenting on EMGs a little while ago...
i think i'll end up just keeping them in the jackson (for a while at least)...
at least until ive tried a BK humbucker in the Fernandes...
and noodle... :lol: :lol:
do you think he does though?
it would be cool if he did...
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I think that's what he said, but I cba to look it up :<
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i had duncan custom custom pickup in bridge position and i must say, i quite liked it~! As other people have mentioned above it has a lot of midrange and quite a smooth sounding also very neutral and organic =). description from duncan web page says it's alnico 2 magnet, 17k.. erm... i found it quite low output pickup and lack of punch. Holy diver is somewhat dark sounding pickup, and I don't think it would be a good replacement for duncan custom custom. I would say rebel yell is way to go because it's quite a bright pickup, have tones of mid, and punch and clarity that was missing from duncan. although i got myself a miracle man to replace SD11 :roll:
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ahh!
interesting you mention that...
'cause arent rebel yells meant to be great in LPs?
cheers for that!
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Get this guys...
If I remember right Tim even has EMGs in one of his guitars....
HOLY CR@P WTF OMG!! etc.
True!
See here http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7030
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^ ah, that was the thread I was talking about. nice find!
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btw 808 mate- when you get yours id love to hear your thoughts on 'em... would be very helpful indeed.
It'll be a while. I just got my mules.
I'll have to wait until the wife forgets about it. I'm hoping to get them at the beginning of the summer.