Kiichi, feel free to add this to your thread if you like.
I'm doing this because I'm using this pickup in a different guitar and setup as the other reviews, and I think it is the most understimated BK pup, maybe because of it's name ?
Well, it's sitting in a Japanese Fender contemporary stratocaster (alder body, maple/rosewood neck), set almost 1cm from the strings. My amp is an 1976 MArshall JMP trhough a 1960 replica cab with 2 rola G12ms and 2 scumbacks M75s in X patern.
It indeed delivers the early brown sound growl and bite, but more in the VHII /Fair Warning era tone rather than VHI in terms of output. It can get VHI easily though with a good EQ or EP3-like boost. THe overall voicing is smoother and rounder than VHI tone (maybe that's why it's named VHII :lol:) but with the same character.
With the amp all dimed, it SINGS, and I mean, REALLY sings in the lead tones, being nothing but thin. The feedback is beautifull too, and very controlable even at high volumes, very VH-ish. On chords, you can hear every single string, but the overall sound holds together nicely.
The low end is a bit looser but it does not get muddy at all, retaining the clarity that all BKP pups have. Think of "dance the night away" intro when Ed hits an open low E string. It gives you the impression that the low E has less gain than the rest of the strings. Funny, but it EXACTLY how it sounds. Even being a bit looser, the low end is very strong and the pup has a very good punch for palm mute stuf when boosted with a lo-pass filter kind of pedal.
The high end cuts well in the mix and it can get bright in a strat in a nice way, but again not VHI bright, more in VHII area. There's no fizz to the tone though. For leads, it's a solo machine, lots of sustain and body to each note, and it also helps ligattos and tappings to keep alive.
Can't say it is scooped in the mids, but they aren't blackdogs. I beleave the mids are more focused in the low region and again in the high region, being a bit tamed in the 400 - 700hz. It's not 'nosey' or 'tubular'.
I bought it to get the early brown sound and it does deliver it in spades, with my gear. Played trhough a boogie, it sounds massive, full of low end chunk and punch, very good for high gain aplications, but you have to be carefull with the bass. Using a TS-like boost is recomended to tame the bass and tight up the mids for metal players. It also splits nicely.
But as said before here, it's really not an one trick pony. It delivers very ACDC ish tones with less gain and bass in the amp and it does metal tones very well with a high gain amp. It is very touch sensitive to pick attack and cleans up nice, but not jazzy clean if the amp is dimed. With a lower gain setting it can get from jazzy clean to classic rock crunch only in the guitar knob without any issue.
I'd like to hear it in a Ash/maple strat, very curious about how it would sound.
