what pickup/ output comparison

[rmandell91]

Hi, I have a les paul standard and my only venture into replacement pickups was my purchase of a re-issue Gibson Dirty Fingers humbucker.
I'm quite fond of the amount of output I get from it but my main problem is the clarity, I find its quite muddy and alot of my notes when I play chords don't shine through.

What in the BKP range has a similar output, is a fairly bright pickup, has a good amount of mids and has great clarity? From what I read on the gibson website the output is the same as the 500T pickup for those who may have tried one but not the other.

I've also heard that the cold sweat is like the dirty fingers but... umm beter :)
but whats confused me is that I've read somewhere here that the output from even the painkiller is lower than the dirty fingers...  So the cold sweat is bound to be lower?? Is this correct or rubbish?

Im just trying to find out all I can before I dish out £200 which I think is fair enough.

Cheers! :)

[ilÿti]

but whats confused me is that I've read somewhere here that the output from even the painkiller is lower than the dirty fingers...  So the cold sweat is bound to be lower?? Is this correct or rubbish?

Welcome here. That is correct. The Cold Sweats is NOT a "better copy" of the Dirty Fingers, but it is a pickup wound to that type of sound that Jones Sykes is known for. And Sykes used a Dirty Fingers bridge pickup in his famous Les Paul. It's a similar way with a few others in the BKP range. They aren't replicas, but they are wound in the optimal way for the sound represented.

From what you described, either Cold Sweat or Painkiller sounds good for you, depending what you mean by "good mids". Output-wise you're leaning towards the Painkiller.

[ericsabbath]

i can't talk about the dirty fingers or the bridge cold sweat, but the painkiller is in the 500t ballpark
similar amount of output: the 500t has a bit more, but a lot of mud on the midrange
the painkiller has a strong output (3 ceramic magnets, like the 500t), a bit more mids and it's unbelievably clear
i believe the cold sweat has less output and not too much mids

[gwEm]

i have dirty fingers, cold sweat, painkiller and miracle men currently loaded in guitars, and have hazy memories of the 500t. in fact all 5 pickups are quite different sounding. before i played all of them through my home rig i made some hasty comparisons which turned out to be a bit wrong... goes to show the importance of advice from people like Tim and Phil with big guitar and pickup collections.

what sort of tone are you after? maybe a youtube link of some kind?

agree you dont want to make a mistake with the pups, but tim has an exchange policy.

[rmandell91]

Hi
thanks for you advice.
I unfortunately dont know of any specific players or clips that I can use to demonstrate the tone so im gonna have to describe it the best I can.

Im looking for a tight, focused pickup thats very modern, very cutting and has tight base reponce. Which leads me to the painkiller I believe.

What slightly worries me is how the painkiller is described as primarily a metal pickup, Since the output is similar to my dirty fingers is it going significantly more "metal" sounding since its not scooped. Im sure that sounds like a ridiculous question but im just trying to find out as much as I can. :)

Also I'm looking to replace the neck pickup, ideally I'd like a set but it seems the painkiller is made primarily for lead and high gain settings which in context I agree is perfectly suiting. But I use my neck pickup pretty much mostly for clean work/ chords which leads me to think that the ceramic painkiller may not be best, are there any other suggestions for the neck which will balance with the painkiller bridge or one of similar output?

Thanks again!

[ilÿti]

Im looking for a tight, focused pickup thats very modern, very cutting and has tight base reponce. Which leads me to the painkiller I believe.

What slightly worries me is how the painkiller is described as primarily a metal pickup, Since the output is similar to my dirty fingers is it going significantly more "metal" sounding since its not scooped. Im sure that sounds like a ridiculous question but im just trying to find out as much as I can. :)

Also I'm looking to replace the neck pickup, ideally I'd like a set but it seems the painkiller is made primarily for lead and high gain settings which in context I agree is perfectly suiting. But I use my neck pickup pretty much mostly for clean work/ chords which leads me to think that the ceramic painkiller may not be best, are there any other suggestions for the neck which will balance with the painkiller bridge or one of similar output?

Thanks again!

1) yep that's the Painkiller all over.

2) I don't understand... what is the question? Painkiller being too "metal" sounding?

3) You can pick and pair with other neck pups. I think the Abaraxas neck would be a great match, sounds amazing clean, and people have paired it with higher output bridge pups. Hell, the Mule has been paired with a Miracle Man with good results. Cold Sweat is also a popular choice for a more polite neck pickup that pairs well with high output bridge models.

[gwEm]

painkiller bridge sounds great clean - one of the biggest surprises i had ever with a pickup. tim told me the painkiller neck is great clean too.

[rmandell91]

After listening to Antags clean neck shootout recordings I think the painkiller neck may well have a bit too much attack for my liking, but I'm really impressed by the cold sweat neck.

I'm also really interested in the Mississippi queen for the neck postion. Can any one compare the two for me? I know practically nothing about Neck position p-90's but the idea of something a bit different is quite appealing to me...

[rmandell91]

bump, sorry

[gwEm]

they both sound great clean, but the mississippi queen will probably have the edge. should keep up with the painkiller too