Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: CaptainDesslock on August 11, 2007, 10:02:05 PM

Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: CaptainDesslock on August 11, 2007, 10:02:05 PM
errr....Hi!

I'm really intrigued by BKP's, they seem like fantastic quality and am thinking of converting my tele, I do intend to route the body for an HH configuration-

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-60s-Custom-Tele-Guitar-with-Bigsby?sku=515123

To HH, but being at ~$400 a set, I would be only getting ONE set, so I would need the most versatility (is that a word?) to play stuff like-

Muse-Knights of Cydonia-Live at Reading Festival 2006
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1i4gwj-SHO8

Jeff Buckley-Hallelujah (strangely enough his videos have been removed)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vsa_xWLOghg

Eric Clapton-Prince's Trust Concert
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZFvCaKpKcsM

Sorry if this has been covered before, but almost all the demo clips I heard have been metal-esque stuff which isn't my style.  Err and a side note, I didn't buy a Tele because I like country, it just happened to be the most gorgeous looking guitar out of the lot and I didn't know much about guitars at the time.

Oh yeah, anyone know how Hugh Manson's Custom BNP stack up?
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: WezV on August 11, 2007, 10:04:59 PM
Nailbombs!!
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: Woogie on August 11, 2007, 10:05:25 PM
You could get them coil tapped and and different wirings etc for maximum versatility. Tom gets a wide variety of tones from his mules.
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: CaptainDesslock on August 11, 2007, 10:07:22 PM
Coil tapping? just how does that work exactly? I don't know that much about messing with guitars so I bought a squier strat to mess around with and learn how to do wiring, routing and such.
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: Woogie on August 11, 2007, 10:10:37 PM
You push your tone/volume knob in and it makes it into a single coil by using one coil :D
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: Will on August 11, 2007, 11:34:06 PM
technically isn't coil tapping when you remove a certain amount of winds from the circuit, and so reducing the power of the pickup, whereas coil split is the single coil option? Thought I heard that somewhere

ohh, and BNP is the British national party  :roll:
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: HTH AMPS on August 11, 2007, 11:37:07 PM
ok, since you've got a Tele all the humbucker options are out.

I'd go with the new Blackguard set as they're based on the early Broadcaster pickups that were fairly hot and had plenty of midrange grind.

btw, Bigsbys and Teles - great taste man.  you've got me thinking of putting a Bigsby on my Tele again (argh!!!)

 :twisted:
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: CaptainDesslock on August 11, 2007, 11:53:29 PM
I do intend to route the body, so HH is still in the gameplan.  The only real problem is that there no HH jackplates for my "vintage style bridge," all tele HH jackplates I've seen are for through-body, which isn't how my Tele works, so I'll have to get one custom made. Of course, this isn't all for a long ways off, there will probably be a squier or two that will be murderlized in the process, but I just like to plan things out months ahead.
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: CaptainDesslock on August 12, 2007, 12:08:04 AM
Quote from: HEAVIER THAN HELL
btw, Bigsbys and Teles - great taste man.  you've got me thinking of putting a Bigsby on my Tele again (argh!!!)

 :twisted:


You definitely should, its nice to have that vibrato going for you, just make sure you order a 1" spring to increase responsiveness because the stock 7/8' didn't give me much of an effect.

Oh yeah, and BNP....errr..well not exactly like I'd expect you Brits to know much about our American Parties, though hopefully this Gordon Brown folk is treating you guys well.
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: WezV on August 12, 2007, 09:29:45 AM
Quote from: Will
technically isn't coil tapping when you remove a certain amount of winds from the circuit, and so reducing the power of the pickup, whereas coil split is the single coil option? Thought I heard that somewhere

ohh, and BNP is the British national party  :roll:


quite correct - techinically a coil tap is where you wind a pickup with a few different outputs so you can select how many windings are in play.  Coil split is removing one of the coils from the humbucker so its similar to a singlecoil pickup.

this is usually done with push/pull pots if you want the guitar to look stock or with miniswitches if you dont.  

A 3-way on/on/on mini-switch is my weapon of choice because it can be wired for series/singlecoil/parallel so you get 3 different sounds from one pickup.  Its great for 1 pickup guitars
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: CaptainDesslock on August 12, 2007, 10:51:49 AM
ok so lets not get this too off topic,

so far someone has suggested the best HH set is nailbombs and I've gotten Blackguards are good if i wanted to say Tele or if I got another Tele.  Anyone have any more ideas or suggestions?
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: Will on August 12, 2007, 11:03:02 AM
not through personaly experience, but from the range of sound clips of  mules, I would say they would be a good plan, and to have coil splits etc as an add on, you could have a range of sounds
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: HTH AMPS on August 12, 2007, 02:17:20 PM
to be honest I think you'd be better off staying with single coils in that Tele, I'll never understanf why people want humbuckers in Teles, it just kills all the good points of 'that' Tele bridge tone.

if you want something fatter, the Boss set will do you nicely.  I always find I only need to roll my tone pot back a bit on my Tele if I want to get rid of the twang and get more of a 'bucker type tone.

if you really must route the guitar out for humbuckers, I'd say you could do worse than some VHIIs since they seem to work well in 'Fender' wood and are still quite PAF'ish tonally.

 :twisted:
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: Canadian Steve on August 13, 2007, 11:32:35 AM
I would say go with a set of Mississippi Queens, which sound like what M Bellamy is using in the first vid.
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: steve on August 13, 2007, 11:45:44 AM
Quote from: HEAVIER THAN HELL
to be honest I think you'd be better off staying with single coils in that Tele, I'll never understanf why people want humbuckers in Teles, it just kills all the good points of 'that' Tele bridge tone.

if you want something fatter, the Boss set will do you nicely.  I always find I only need to roll my tone pot back a bit on my Tele if I want to get rid of the twang and get more of a 'bucker type tone.

if you really must route the guitar out for humbuckers, I'd say you could do worse than some VHIIs since they seem to work well in 'Fender' wood and are still quite PAF'ish tonally.

 :twisted:


I would imagine that the VHII's will be bright in a tele.
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: CaptainDesslock on August 16, 2007, 12:00:35 AM
Hmm....

After actually reading through all the product pages are actually musing on the idea of a stormy monday neck and warpig bridge.......or maybe just a Manson custom set, erg still thinking  brain hurts.
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: ericsabbath on August 16, 2007, 07:27:08 AM
warpig?  :?
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: CaptainDesslock on August 16, 2007, 01:36:14 PM
well warpig is like the unholy rock monster, and far as I can tell stormy monday seems best overall for cleans and harmonics, so it'd be like having beauty and the beast in the same guitar, just a thought.
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: Philly Q on August 16, 2007, 02:29:43 PM
I wonder if there might be a big volume difference between the WP and SM?  

Having said that, I think Tim had a Miracle Man and SM (or was it a Mule?) in a Les Paul without any problems, so it could work.
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: Every_Mn on August 18, 2007, 09:15:10 PM
It always grinds my gears when someone wants to hack up a nice Tele to cram in humbuckers.

Here's my advice: BUY AN HH TELE.

Or, spend a few hundred $$$ on a new (or used) Mexican one that's already routed for a neck humbucker. Then you just need a new pickguard, plus you get to keep the classic Tele bridge pup.

But please, for the love of all things holy, don't massacre that thing with humbuckers. Get some better single-coils, or some single-coil sized humbuckers... something.
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: noodleplugerine on August 18, 2007, 09:18:48 PM
Quote from: Every_Mn

But please, for the love of all things holy, don't massacre that thing with humbuckers. Get some better single-coils, or some single-coil sized humbuckers... something.


So humbuckers aren't okay - But minibuckers (imo, much worse tone) are ok?
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: WezV on August 18, 2007, 09:47:20 PM
single coil sized humuckers are not worth the compromise.  Personally i really like telecaster bridge pickups with neck humbuckers.

Tele's are pretty much the perfect guitar to hack up anyway - so easy to work on!!!
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: CaptainDesslock on August 19, 2007, 03:45:50 PM
Quote from: Every_Mn
It always grinds my gears when someone wants to hack up a nice Tele to cram in humbuckers.

Here's my advice: BUY AN HH TELE.
.


Hey buddy? You wanna buy a new tele then? what? No? You won't? Then GET OVER IT!

In the aftermath of buying that beauty I realized that I probably shoulda bought a strat, but that sparkly red with a bigsby was such a beauty I couldn't get rid of it so decided I'll turn it into a monster and make it my sig.  See? it all works out.  Cheers!
Title: What is the most versatile set of BKP HH's?
Post by: Doog on August 20, 2007, 01:58:11 AM
Quote from: Philly Q
I wonder if there might be a big volume difference between the WP and SM?  

Having said that, I think Tim had a Miracle Man and SM (or was it a Mule?) in a Les Paul without any problems, so it could work.


I've got a nailbomb and stormy monday in one of my guitars, volume drop isn't a problem - I can't imagine it'll be that much different for a warpig