Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: 99_not_out on July 16, 2007, 01:02:52 PM
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Right, my month of work hell is nearing an end and as it would happen the 96 straight hours I spent on call last week have earnt me enough for a new set of BKPs ... so not all bad afterall :)
I've had my PRS SE Singlecut for a few months now and good that it is, it could do with better pups as the stock ones are a little bit mushy. I use the PRS for clean stuff / low gain rock (AC/DC, Led Zep, GnR &c.). So now the old BKP conundrum starts - which ones?
I am torn between:
VHII
Rebel Yell
Stormy Monday
Anyone have any of the following in a PRS or similar, and have any word on the tonal qualities of these?
All I've managed to decide so far is that they have to be Zebras :)
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Rebel Yells - too modern sounding for classic rock?
Stormy Mondays - might mush a bit if you use lots of gain? Great cleans I believe.
VHIIs - somewhere in between the other two sets and probably the best choice for you?
Hunter has VHIIs in his PRS SE. See if you like his tone:
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7452
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sounds like mules to me!
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I have the VHIIs in my PRS SE as TwinFan said and they are very versatile, also great cleans and split sounds.
But sometimes I wish it had a bit more grunt or meat to it. Tim suggested Holy Divers, which might in fact be a very good match, but probably too hot for you?
Maybe Mules...
I want to try my BlackDogs in her, as I think they might be an awesome match for the SE SC.
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Thanks for the feedback guys, and lovely VHII clips there Hunter. I had been thinking in a VHII kind of direction recently. SM and RY probably out then.
Mules and Black Dog are also tempting, I'll have a poke around for some clips. Also, the Crawlers ... forgot about the Crawlers.
Damn it Tim, too much choice!
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I really hate to muddy the waters, but do you have the Riff Raff yet? It just oozes classic rock, and still has enough bite to do higher gain stuff, too. A Riff Raff/Stormy Monday combo is just delish, also!
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Oooo-oo. No Riff Raff yet, and as a DC fan surely I must!
Considered the RR / SM for my SG before I got seduced by the darkside (Warpig set). Would an SM neck still give a good lead tone? Don't play much lead, but am trying to learn! I like a nice clean but powerful lead tone ... would the SM do that?
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I love the Riff Raff/Stormy Monday combo in my Agile 2800. The SM will give you a tonally neutral lead tone that positively sings. (And for the record, I don't even like neck humbuckers)
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The SM will give you a tonally neutral lead tone that positively sings. (And for the record, I don't even like neck humbuckers)
+1 (but I love neck humbuckers)
I have a Black Dog/SM combo in a V and a Riff Raff in an SG - no maple top like the SE Singlecut, but not a million miles away. I personally prefer the RR to the BD, the BD doesn't sound as "big" as I expected - but maybe it's the guitar.
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Twighlight, I just listened to this clip of your RR / SM combo:
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6132
I think I'm sold :)
I'm right in thinking the Riff Raff's will be more 'classic rock' sounding that the VHII's? Probably a dumb question I know ...
I also noticed Twilight switched between parallel & series wiring. For low output pups like the SM, am I right in thinking using parallel wiring is better than a coil tap, as you don't lose as much gain?
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Lot of stuff here. I'll try to be comprehensive. :)
Twighlight, I just listened to this clip of your RR / SM combo:
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6132
I think I'm sold :)
Glad I could be of service! :)
I'm right in thinking the Riff Raff's will be more 'classic rock' sounding that the VHII's? Probably a dumb question I know ...
Not dumb at all. And yes, the Riff Raff is definitely more classic rock, if I can be that simple. That being said, I'm able to get great metal tones from both of those pups as well, but the Riff Raff does require way more effort. (Fortunately, I'm a real ham-fisted player PDT_008)
I also noticed Twilight switched between parallel & series wiring. For low output pups like the SM, am I right in thinking using parallel wiring is better than a coil tap, as you don't lose as much gain?
To tell you the truth, the reason I use parallel is to roll off the low frequencies more than cutting the gain down. Even in series, the Stormy Monday is C-L-E-A-N!!!
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Sweet, sounds like the Riff Raff is the one for me. I like a pickup you really have to attack, also being somewhat heavy handed from years of trying to get a noise out of stock Epi pups :)
Thanks for the info Twighlight!, and everyone else ... I think I went through almost the whole BKP catalogue in this thread :)
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Oh and one more thing Twighlight: Is that an Alnico II SM in your clip?
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I would get some unpotted Mules they should sound amazing.
I have VHII's in my Gibbo LP and don't really like them, bridge is too hot for me and that guitar, but the neck pup is very nice.
When I asked Tim about classic rock HB's for a LP he recommended Stormy Mondays.
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Oh and one more thing Twighlight: Is that an Alnico II SM in your clip?
It is an Alnico IV Stormy Monday. Tim likes the mix of AV & AIV when you have the Riff Raff & Stormy Monday.
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Oh and one more thing Twighlight: Is that an Alnico II SM in your clip?
It is an Alnico IV Stormy Monday. Tim likes the mix of AV & AIV when you have the Riff Raff & Stormy Monday.
I couldn't've answered that question, anyway. PDT_008
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I would get some unpotted Mules they should sound amazing.
I have VHII's in my Gibbo LP and don't really like them, bridge is too hot for me and that guitar, but the neck pup is very nice.
When I asked Tim about classic rock HB's for a LP he recommended Stormy Mondays.
So what the difference between potted and unpotted pups sound wise? All I've read is 'potted to reduce microphonic feedback'.
Edit: just found this thread http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4708&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15 which seems to answer that question :)
Does anyonme out there have unpotted Mules? And would unpotted Riff Raffs just be too lively, they being bad boys of rawk already?
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I would get some unpotted Mules they should sound amazing.
I have VHII's in my Gibbo LP and don't really like them, bridge is too hot for me and that guitar, but the neck pup is very nice.
When I asked Tim about classic rock HB's for a LP he recommended Stormy Mondays.
So what the difference between potted and unpotted pups sound wise? All I've read is 'potted to reduce microphonic feedback'.
Edit: just found this thread http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4708&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15 which seems to answer that question :)
Does anyonme out there have unpotted Mules? And would unpotted Riff Raffs just be too lively, they being bad boys of rawk already?
I believe Tim has some unpotted mules in one of his LP's...
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1282
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I've got a set of unpotted Mules in my Les Paul Standard. They are very open sounding and have an almost acoustic-like quality to the note. Great for old-school blues and clean tones, but less suited to higher gain stuff. I've found that the potting process smooths out the tone a lot and helps it compress. Great for rock. The unpotted Mules just don't sound smooth enough for higher gain styles. This may depend on your particular guitar though, as mine has a lightweight tailpiece, CTS pots and Hovland MusiCaps which will all play a part in the way it sounds.
I have potted Riff Raffs in my gigging SG and they're great for rock. I think un-potted Riff Raffs would be very spiky sounding with a lot of prescence. That might be the sound you're looking for though so it's not necessarily "wrong". If you have a modern amp, which generally have lots of treble, and you're using high output handling speakers it will be a VERY brash sound.
I'd go for potted pickups in your case.
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i thought you werent gonna bkp this one??
im still stuck deciding between A5 warpig and painkiller
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Sounds like a Riff Raff and a IV Stormy Monday then.
Hate Growth - I changed my mind whilst trying to get a decent lead tone :) Plus I played a load last monday and have started to notice the stock PRS pups lack a bit of string definition in chords.
I still say Painkiller for you BTW :twisted:
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Sounds like a Riff Raff and a IV Stormy Monday then.
Hate Growth - I changed my mind whilst trying to get a decent lead tone :) Plus I played a load last monday and have started to notice the stock PRS pups lack a bit of string definition in chords.
I still say Painkiller for you BTW :twisted:
well i still have time to decide... until then the rocket roll sits there with no bridge pickup as i dont see the point in wiring cr@p into it only to remove it later...
i dont mind though the guitar sounds amazing acoustic. + the neck pickup is amazing even though that isnt wired yet