Hi everybody!
I played my Painkillers the last 7-8 months, I guess I’m done with the honeymoon phase, I can now post an objective review.
I tested my newly PK-loaded Carvin quite extensively, well hopefully enough to share an honest review...
I tried many pickups in the BKP range, but only have a decade of (almost exclusive)experience with the NB bridge and CS neck so I’ll logically compare my PK to them. I know, different string gauges, different woods, different bridges, all these parameters plays their role in the equation.
I worked my tone around my NB/CS combo for years, and everything in my rig, amp/pedals, is set up to enhance the NB/CS qualities.
At first, I didn’t messed with the amp/pedals settings, to really highlight the differences with the Painkillers. And then I started to adjust the gain/eq, but surprisingly only very slightly. The output isn’t that different between the two pickups. To my ears, the Painkiller sounds a bit louder, but mainly due to his voicing rather than sheer volume.
Both have a great clarity, or note separation, but I think it’s a common characteristic of all the BKP pickups, no matter which category or model.
Both are harmonically rich sounding, all frequencies are covered, and specially well balanced. (But again, all BKP I tried share that quality. I didn’t liked the Ragnarok, because "too much of everything", but there’s still a good balance across the frequencies range). With both NB and PK, harmonics just spread around like mad, pinched and tapped harmonics come across as easy as with EMG pickups (which were my main reference when it comes to Zakk-esque squeals, until I met the NB).
Both easily find their place in a mix, but the NB
could disappear, if eq’ed wrong. Not the PK, they just rape the mix in a awfully beautiful way, no matter what.
The PK bridge punches through the speakers as well as the NB. Both have a great immediacy in the initial attack (punch?). When palm-muting, the PK hits you at the throat and chest, the NB at the stomach, if it makes any sense!?
I’d say I slightly prefer the PK in the punch department, a tad less massive than the NB, but fast and cutting. It hits just right. Palm-mutes literally shake the ground. Staccato riffing sounds like controlled thunder, it’s impressive!
On another hand, to me, what makes the Nailbomb a true keeper, is the bloom after the initial attack. I just love that characteristic!! When you hit that note and it just expands in your speakers, like "booooooooiiiiiiiiiinnnnng", for a lack of a better word! For single-note riffing, the NB hits gold.
The PK is more "linear", the note doesn’t bloom as much, but stays constant. And strong! I much prefer the NB in that area, I guess that bloom is why other people describe them as being "organic sounding", as opposed to the more contemporary PK...?
The Painkiller sounds more modern than the Nailbomb, which sounds like a 90’s pickup to me. The PK isn’t a bassy pickup at all. It’s tight and very percussive. The bass are never overwhelming, in fact I think the PK is perfectly voiced in the low-end for tight riffing, because it never interfere with the frequencies of the bass player. But still punches with the best of em! I really like the overall voicing of the PK, it’s a nasty and abrasive pickup, easy and fun to play. They’re excellent at rythm work, tight riffing, intricate chords. A perfect metal pickup in my book. The NB is a beast, too, but you have to be careful with your bass frequencies, and the hi-mids can be annoying depending the amp/settings. But they have a growl on their own, something unique that I like a lot. The PK are a bit more "neutral", because they have no exaggerated frequency which could give it a sonic character.
I’ve always been a gain freak. Not
IHateEverythingButSatan kind of gain, but still... Consequently, my expectations weren’t aimed towards low-gain or splitted capabilities when ordering the PK, and I’m not the most indicate person to review these aspects of the guitar tone. But I’m not deaf (yet), and I can say that the clean tones I can get out of the PK neck are among the most enjoyable I experienced. Really lush, and again, balanced across the spectrum. Mixing the neck humbucker and the splitted bridge sounds heavenly. The splitted tones are satisfyingly convincing, but nothing to write some funk about.
One last aspect of the PK I’d like to point out is the ability to clean-up very well. I play quite a lot with the volume knob, and the PK delivers in spades. All gain levels from crunch to "stop it" are obtainable at a flick of a knob. They beat the NB on that point, in my opinion.
To sum it up, I still think that the perfect pickup doesn’t exist. Mine, at this stage of my quest, would be a mix of these two : the attack and voicing of the PK, but with the liveliness of the NB.
Maybe one day I’ll try to put the NB in the Carvin, and the PK in the Washburn, just to see...
