Nailbomb review + pickup question

[SomeguyUK]

Hello all,


So I finally got Nailbombs in my Les Paul Studio after wanting some for a couple of years. I got 4 conductor versions, and had coil taps installed.

Immediately on plugging into my practice amp, I noticed the cleans were way better than the stock Gibson pickups. They sounded clearer, and had a very balaced sweet tone. The neck pickup sounds amazing clean, especially when split.

Didn't notice a great deal of difference when playing distorted on my practice amp, except it sounded slightly meatier and tighter when palm muting.

However, I had a band practice today and got to try my guitar through a half-stack at full volume. Holy shiteeee! It sounded awesome! So much clearer than my old Gibson pickups, and way thicker. The nailbombs are definitely hotter too, but not excessively so - they have just the right amount of bite. As I mentioned earlier they have a very 'balanced' feel to them. They seem really versatile to, and have handled every tone I've used extremely well.

My only gripe is that for some reason, they dont seem to handle pick scr@pes very well. This is a shame for me, because I use them a lot. Where with the Gibson pickups I just had to lightly scr@pe the string, now it seems like I have to really dig the plectrum in, and I still cant get the pick scr@pes to cut through as I could before.

Could pickup height affect this? I had the pickups installed at a shop, and I dont really know how to change the height. I did notice they installed the bridge pickup higher than the neck, I'm assuming the guy in the shop thought this produced the best sound.

[Kiichi]

Hi,
about the height: I think the height might effect the pic scr@ps, it will certainly effect the general sound. Could get even better than it is now.

The neck usually is set lower than the bridge, cause the strings move more up there, therefore more signal. And the closer the PUs are to the strings the more output they will give you.

To adjust the height you will need to turn the screws on the pickups covers, not the ones in the corners, the ones in the middle.

Pickup heights usually range between 1-3mm on the neck with 0,5 to 1mm more on the bridge. This is measured from the top of the polepiece and the strings when they are fretted at the highest possbile fret.
As a rule of thumb you can say that shorter distance equals hotter, more compressed tone with more balls while further gives you a more open and woody sound.

Best you set em @ either 1 or 3mm and work your way to ther other side, half a screw turn at a time, listening to the changes (bass response, harmonics,...). This will be a lot of work, but it will be worth it if done properly.
Depending on what you want the treble side can be higher than the bass side of the PU or other way around too.

Keep in mind there is no one right pickup height, there are many that are right depending on what you want.

[darkbluemurder]

Hello all,


However, I had a band practice today and got to try my guitar through a half-stack at full volume. Holy shiteeeee! It sounded awesome! So much clearer than my old Gibson pickups, and way thicker. The nailbombs are definitely hotter too, but not excessively so - they have just the right amount of bite. As I mentioned earlier they have a very 'balanced' feel to them. They seem really versatile to, and have handled every tone I've used extremely well.

My only gripe is that for some reason, they dont seem to handle pick scr@pes very well. This is a shame for me, because I use them a lot. Where with the Gibson pickups I just had to lightly scr@pe the string, now it seems like I have to really dig the plectrum in, and I still cant get the pick scr@pes to cut through as I could before.

Glad you like them. To me, clarity is the no. 1 sonic signature stamp of BKP.

The fact that pick scr@pes are harder to do with them directly relates to the improved clarity the BKPs provide. There is not much you can do about that except for setting the pickups a bit closer to the strings. Don't set them too close, however, as the magnetic field could interfere with string movement and rob sustain.

Cheers Stephan

[TheyCallMeVolume]

You can't write the word scr@pes?

[SomeguyUK]

They pickup is already pretty close to the strings, so I don't think I can move it much more :/

Oh wells. I can survive without doing string scr@pes so much. I also find it a bit harder to do pinch harmonics, which is also weird. Overall they are still great though, it's a small price to pay.

[Telerocker]

Did you tweak your amp-eq? Btw, my VHII does pinched harmonics better then my Crawler (both in ash/swampash). It could be the pickup's midrange in a midrangey guitar, but I'm not sure cause I never played the Nailbomb.

[BigB]

I also find it a bit harder to do pinch harmonics, which is also weird.

Uhu ??? The ABomb bridge is the easiest pup I know for pinched harmonics...