VHII Neck review

[dingleberry]

Recently installed a VHII neck in black battleworn.

pics
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=29116.0

clips
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=29117.0


The VHII is a very different feeling pickup to the duncan jazz that previously held the neck position in my guitar.  Very dynamic, rich and thick but very articulate at the same time.  The biggest difference between my old and new pickup is the pick attack.  The jazz was very sterile and clinical, fairly even attack where as the VHII allows so much more nuance to come through.  I find the VHII warm and somewhat smooth but at the same time having great definition and a bluesy overall feel.  The VHII also holds up extremely well under higher gain settings where as the jazz would lose definition, sounding somewhat sloppy and tubby.

My VHII is paired with a Holydiver bridge, I have read threads advising against this combination.  That being said I was recommended these p'ups by Ben from BKP staff and I am really enjoying it so far.  The HD bridge and VHII neck have a somewhat similarly smooth top end and fat, dense midrange so might not be the best combo for someone who needs a huge range of tones.  However the wiring on my guitar is rather simple, with proper 50s style wiring and some push pulls I bet these pickups would cover a lot of ground

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Glad you like the combo, has me thinking...

[darkbluemurder]

I was one who mentioned on the forum that I did not like the HD - VHII combination as much as the A-Bomb - VHII but that was for a particular guitar. In another guitar the results may have been different.

I fully agree on the VHII neck. I switched it now from the Single Cut to the neck spot of my favorite Les Paul and it simply kills there. With its hot, fat, rough, smoky and raunchy tone it lends itself well to aggressive blues and southern rock styles. Yet there is no mud anywhere on the fretboard, even with high gain amp settings. I use it together with a Wolfetone Marshallhead bridge pickup, and they make a very good match, even in the middle position of the toggle switch. The Les Paul is so much fun to play now. "Vintage hot" is definitely spot on.

Cheers Stephan

[dingleberry]

Yeah darkbluemurder I had read your posts referring to the VHII/HD combo, I definitely kept what you said in mind since I've read a number of your reviews and found them very informative.

Wondering if you would be willing to give us some insights in comparing the VHII neck to some of the other BKP neck humbuckers you've got in your sig, specifically holydiver neck, cold sweat, and abraxas?

[Philly Q]

Very interesting review.  As with many of the neck pickups (apart from those I've owned), I've never had a very clear idea of how the VHII neck sounds.  I'm liking "smooth top end and fat, dense midrange".  :D

Wondering if you would be willing to give us some insights in comparing the VHII neck to some of the other BKP neck humbuckers you've got in your sig, specifically holydiver neck, cold sweat, and abraxas?

Likewise, I'm always interested in comparisons and contrasts.

[darkbluemurder]

Wondering if you would be willing to give us some insights in comparing the VHII neck to some of the other BKP neck humbuckers you've got in your sig, specifically holydiver neck, cold sweat, and abraxas?

Glad to do it, even if I did not test them all in the same guitar.

The VHII neck has the most output of all the ones you mentioned, followed by CS, then HD and Abraxas.

HD is the brightest, followed by Abraxas, CS and VHII.

Most bass? I think it's the CS, followed by VHII, HD and Abraxas.

Most punch? Definitely VHII.

Most mids and singing tone? That's difficult. I would say VHII, followed by CS and AB, then HD.

Most clarity? Definitely HD, followed by AB, VHII and CS. I am a bit torn on the CS here because in one guitar the treble strings were very clear but I thought the bass strings had too much bass.

I will do a Black Dog neck review shortly which will include a comparison with the VHII neck since I had them both in two different guitars.

Cheers Stephan

[Philly Q]

^

Very helpful, thanks!  :D

From your descriptions I think I'd like the VHII neck (and, as expected, wouldn't like the HD neck at all!)

[dingleberry]

Very interesting review.  As with many of the neck pickups (apart from those I've owned), I've never had a very clear idea of how the VHII neck sounds.  I'm liking "smooth top end and fat, dense midrange".  :D

Not to say that it can't bite under the right circumstances, check out the clips I posted in the players section, the evile solo is all VHII neck and is fairly aggressive!

And thanks for the insights darkbluemurder,  those are some very useful observations and I'm stoked to here your Blackdog review!

[darkbluemurder]

Most mids and singing tone? That's difficult. I would say VHII, followed by CS and AB, then HD.

As an update: I was correct in assuming this to be difficult, especially due to the guitar the pickup is in. I had the CS, AB and HD necks paired with a CS bridge. All held up in output with the CS bridge but the neck pickup with the most singing tone to me in this guitar was the HD neck which is staying. AB was the warmest (liked that very much, too), CS had the most bass by far.

In another guitar I made a direct comparison between VHII and CS necks. CS was brighter but bassier at the same time. VHII was warmer and smoother. I am going to do another direct comparison between these two in another guitar that I will report on in a separate thread.

Cheers Stephan