New pickups day... Or is it new guitar day ?-)

[BigB]

(follow up of http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=17653.15)

Got my brand new pair of Crawlers (my first BKP pups FWIW) on monday, and finally managed to install them today. Took quite longer than I had planned (the pup ring's screw heads where dead with rust so I had to drill their head off, then the CTS pots shafts were a couple millimeters widers than the original one,  and so on and so on...), so I just made a basic "vintage gibby" wiring for now (I'll rewire all this with treble bleed, serial/split/parallel and PI one of these days)...

Unfortunatly, it was way too late to turn up the Marshall when I was done, so I could only test the beasts on a cheap (solid state) Fender practice amp - but even then, I have to say:

OH !!! MY !!! GOD !!!!!!!!!

I of course expected the crawlers to be better than the stock X2N, but I just couldn't believe it would make SUCH a difference. Even before I (quickly) adjusted the pups height, I had this huge grin on my face. Warm yet chimey cleans, tight and focused lows even when pushing up the gain, sharp attacks, singing leads on the neck, screaming (but not harsh in any way) highs on the bridge, a pretty nice vintage touch, and, above all this, nuances I thought one could only get from single coils - with yet the full humbuckers power. It's almost like I have a new guitar - at last, I now hear _plugged_ what I knew this axe could sound like when I played it unplugged. Tim, I think you were spot on, the crawlers seems to sound just perfect on this guitar.

My my my,  I guess I'll have a really short night, I just can wait 'til tomorrow morning to hear all this on a cranked up valves amp... I'll come back and tell you guys, but I already know something: it will ROCK !

Woohoo ! (me => happy)

[FernandoDuarte]

Pics or it never happened :P
Which guitar? great that you liked it :D

[BigB]

Pics or it never happened :P

I'll post a couple when I'll have enough spare time (IOW : don't expect much before a couple weeks).

Which guitar? great that you liked it :D

Sorry - the guitar was mentionned in the topic I linked to. For the record, it's an all-maple going-thu neck '81 MIJ Vox Custom 24 (not a very common model, for sure).

Ok, I could finally plug the beast into the marshall.  First impression was, well, 50/50 - far better than the X2Ns, but a bit dry and closed. Lacked sustain too. The pups were by then very close to the strings, so I went for my screwdriver and lowered them quite a bit. Way better  :lol:. Sustain was back, perceived dryness gone, and it sure sounded airy and opened. I then fiddled a bit with each pup's height until they both sound right individually, then tweeked some more to get a good balance, and here we are : the old lady now sings and screams like she never did. It's truly amazing, I don't have the words to describe the difference. The only problem I have now is that I can't hide my loosy playing behind the kind of wall of mudd the X2Ns produced  :?

[FernandoDuarte]

The only problem I have now is that I can't hide my loosy playing behind the kind of wall of mudd the X2Ns produced  :?

:lol:

I'm really intrigued to see this guitar, when you got time please take a picture :)
Sounds like you definitely found your way! :D

[AndyR]

I'm guessing it's the one in your avatar? I was searching the web earlier and couldn't find any pics...

Congrats on the new pickups :D

[BigB]

I'm really intrigued to see this guitar, when you got time please take a picture :)

I'm guessing it's the one in your avatar?
 I was searching the web earlier and couldn't find any pics...

Here's a pic of the lady before I changed the pups:

Congrats on the new pickups :D

Sounds like you definitely found your way! :D

Indeed. I just can't decide which of the bridge or neck I prefer  :lol:  The neck is truly amazing FWIW - tight&punchy low ends, a bit of bite in the hi-mids, nice chimey highs, lot of air,  and one of the most exquisite vocal tones I've ever heard. really breathes, sings and whispers. But the bridge is more than good - really warm & tight too, sharp as a razor yet not harsh at all, ringing highs, and just wanting to ROCK and SCREAM - yet able to calm down too.

The more I play these pups, the more I'm in love with them. Tim was definitly spot on - the crawlers are just marvellous on this guitar. Kind of vintage PAF / LP, but with more air and bite and sharpness and chime, and then  some... Real mojo.

[FernandoDuarte]

Looks very nice!