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Author Topic: New here ! War Pigs , EMGs, or Muscle Buckers in new build ?  (Read 3751 times)

cobias

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New to this forum but have been browsing the BK site for a while. Im looking to do a new guitar build and i want a HOT pup for it.

I have played for 24 years but have not been up to date on all the new gear. I will be starting a new original hard rock/ metal band soon and i want to upgrade my tone ( currently playing an ash body super strat with all maple neck, FR bridge and an old beat up SD jazz HB neck pickup in the bridge ) gets some nice raw rock tones but its a little to " classic " VH'ish for my liking. 

I have had a Dimarzio Super Distortion pup in that same guitar and i like the fullness and gain of it in chords but the lead tone was way too buzzy and thin. Probably because of the ash body with maple neck...but i know now that i favor high output pups.

I have tried EMG 81's in other guitars and i LOVE the fullness for chords but the lead tone is a little squaky and lifeless. Havent tried the new active X series yet...so if anyone has...fill me in.   The other pups that i havent tried are MuscleBuckers by Boris Domengett, the guy who now makes guitars for Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs of the Scorpions. Im a huge fan of the Scorps and the tone they are getting live nowdays is AMAZING ! The amount of distortion in their dirty tone is insane but you can still hear each individual string and the natural harmonics in the chords, and the lead tones are clear. Boris says those pups are 20Kohms but they are still very clear and defined. So if anyone has tried those im interested in what you think....Would the WAR PIG be too much ?

So my musical tastes are 80's and early 90's hard rock/metal. Scorpions, VH, AC/DC , metallica, Kiss, Preist ect...But i want high gain and distortion without being too dark sounding. More midrange sweetness but with tons of gain. The guitar i will be building will be an alder body explorer , maple neck with rosewood fingerboard,standard nickle aloy frets ( not SS ) one pickup rout in the bridge , FR style locking bridge. The amp i will be playing through is a Peavey 6534+ head and cab.

So my thought of choice is the BK WP, EMG 81X, or the BD Muscle Bucker. Your thoughts and sugestions would be appreciated . Thax in advance !           

Madsakre

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Re: New here ! War Pigs , EMGs, or Muscle Buckers in new build ?
« Reply #1 on: August 06, 2011, 11:52:56 AM »
Alnico Nailbomb
Your music will never be as hard as this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfFrqhJwbhE
Cattlepress

cobias

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Re: New here ! War Pigs , EMGs, or Muscle Buckers in new build ?
« Reply #2 on: August 06, 2011, 12:30:19 PM »
I was thinking the war pig because of its output but it looks like the Pain Killer would be the best from the description. A nice spike in that midrange...I just want to narrow it down so im not trying/buying 5 pickups.

I found the other thread about the Boris Dommenget Muscle Bucker. I may try it but at $200+ i dont know...

Telerocker

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Re: New here ! War Pigs , EMGs, or Muscle Buckers in new build ?
« Reply #3 on: August 06, 2011, 12:31:15 PM »
midrange sweetness/high output - alnico nailbomb or perhaps a alnico warpig, which has lots of bass too. If you choose that one, tame the bass on the amp.
Mules, VHII, Crawler, MM's, IT's, BG50's.

cobias

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Re: New here ! War Pigs , EMGs, or Muscle Buckers in new build ?
« Reply #4 on: August 06, 2011, 12:57:20 PM »
Or the ceramic Nailbomb. Not looking for tons of bass. I know i can cut it on the amp but im still sending the signal.... The boost of the highs in ceramic is nice in that it may give me the clarity. Want plenty of clarity but with as much gain as i can get...being able to roll off the volume and clean it up a bit would be nice to. I know watching the Scorps live when they rolled of the volume for the clean verse parts in no one like you the tone was way grainy...it worked for them because they are great but i would like it a bit cleaner.

When i play live im not a clean chanel guy. I know when a club gets your dirty sound miked it may sound tinny if you switch to your clean chanel...so i roll off on the volume. The Super Distortion actually worked good for that. A warmer rolled off sound.

Ill have to listen around and read the posts to get a good idea. Im not in a rush.   

Philly Q

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Re: New here ! War Pigs , EMGs, or Muscle Buckers in new build ?
« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2011, 01:08:10 PM »
Welcome to the forum!

I know it's stating the obvious, but you're probably not going to find anyone on this forum recommending the EMG or Dommenget over a BKP.  :wink:

I can't say much about higher output pickups, but it does seem a hell of a big jump in output from a Duncan Jazz (neck model, no less!) to a Warpig or similar.

A lot of people on here would say they've had great results with the Holydiver in alder bolt-on guitars.  Still a relatively hot pickup, but perhaps more versatile - and ideally suited to '80s hard rock.
BKPs I've Got:  RR, BKP-91, ITs, VHII, CS set, Emeralds
BKPs I Had:  RY+Abraxas, Crawlers, BD+SM

Roobubba

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Re: New here ! War Pigs , EMGs, or Muscle Buckers in new build ?
« Reply #6 on: August 06, 2011, 01:49:02 PM »
Frankly, with the sort of music you're talking about, and the amp in question, I think most of the contemporary range is probably too much. Don't look at DC resistance alone, there's more to a pickup than a single number. For example, I used a black dog in my custom axe through a 5150-II to get absurdly heavy tones. You don't necessarily need the highest output pickup to get to the sort of gain levels you seek. True, I'm now using the aftermath, but that was because I wanted ultimate tightness from the pickup, which I got there.

The painkiller, aftermath or C-bomb might sound like they fit the bill for you if you only look at the descriptions and graphs, but frankly I think all of these are too hot/modern for your quoted styles. AlNiCo Nailbomb may be closer to it, but I think Philly Q hits the nail(bomb) on the head with his suggestion of Holy Diver. I don't think you'd be disappointed with that pickup!

My best advice, though: ask Tim! Drop him an email (address is on the BKP site). The guys there know their pickups better than any of us, and if you're specific about gear, what you want, don't want, like and don't like, and if you follow their advice, you'll almost certainly end up with the best pickup for your axe :)

Hope this helps,

Roo

ElectricTurkey4369

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Re: New here ! War Pigs , EMGs, or Muscle Buckers in new build ?
« Reply #7 on: August 06, 2011, 02:38:08 PM »
Holydiver for sure. It screams 80's metal.