Which BKPs for a Wolfgang?

[artypaul]

I'm hoping someone can help me with a bit of advice. I have a US Peavey Wolfgang, but it's a black archtop one without the maple cap (to give you idea of its basic tonality). I actually quite like the sound of the stock pickups, bar two things:

1) The bass isn't as tight as it could be for palm muted chugging, and
2) They're a little low-mid heavy (I guess they were designed to be used with the normal maple-capped guitar which would add the brightness my guitar lacks)

 I also have a Korean Wolfgang, which I put a set of Crawlers into, and they sound good, with tighter bass for palm-muted chugging, but in all honesty the guitar/pup combination is a little thin compared to the US Wolfgang. I wonder if this is due to the lower quality tonewood in the Korean guitar, or if it means the Crawlers just aren't for me.

So my question is: do I swap pickups between the guitars (I'm not the best at DIY electrics), or do I go for a new set of p/ups for the US Wolfie?

I'm playing 80's/90's metal predominantly (Metallica, COC, Megadeth, Testament) through a GNX3000. I also enjoy the odd ZZ Top, Sabbath, Van Halen excursions. I was wondering about a Warpig set...

Any advice would be much appreciated. I find the sheer number of available options a little bewildering.

Paul.

[jordan]

Hey,

I used to own an arched top USA wolf, and looked at upgrading the pickups. I emailed Tim a few times and he suggested the VHIIs would be a good set that would maintain the EVH vibe, but improve the overall sound.

That might be of some use.....

Cheers,
Jordan.

[PhilKing]

Do you know what the wood is on your black Wolfgang?  I would suggest Rebel Yells if is it a bit dark.  I have them in an all mahogany PRS and Tim had them in his Wolfgang at LGS last yesr.

I am surprised that the Crawlers sound worse than the stock pickups in the US Wolfgang.  I have another PRS with a Crawler in the bridge and it sounds great.  Perhaps it is the sound that you are going for that you are going for (I play blues and rock mainly).  If you want a more metal sounf without going over the top you should also look at the Cold Sweat set.

[jordan]

The wolf will have a basswood body with a 5mm maple cap.

[artypaul]

The wolf will have a basswood body with a 5mm maple cap.

The black Wolfgangs rarely had the maple cap. From where the finish has sunk I can see two joints, meaning it's just the three pieces of joined basswood. In some cases, when the maple cap was of insufficient visual quality, they painted them black, but then there would only be one joint visible (in the centre). I think this lack of cap is what lends the slightly dark tonality to the guitar (not necessarily a bad thing).

VHII's - thanks for the suggestion Jordan, but I think I'm after something a little more metal. Even though I bought a Wolfgang, I don't play much Van Halen at all - I just really love the guitar.

PhilKing - as far as the Crawlers go, they weren't a massive improvement over the stock pickups in the Korean Wolfie. I have a feeling it might be the quality of timber in the Korean model holding the Crawlers back. However, when I had them fitted I had the volume pot changed for a push-push, which adds a capacitor across one of the coils on each humbucker. The aim was to get a sightly fatter, and still hum-cancelling sound to the tapped HB's. I'm loathe to undo this work by swapping the Crawlers into the US Wolfie - as I said, I'm not much of a solder king!

Maybe the Rebel Yells are the ticket - the one thing that worries me about either the Warpig or the Nailbomb is that they always seem to lack a bit of warmth. The body of my Wolfgang is made up of three pieces of basswood, but I don't know how this compares to mahogany. It seems to accentuate the lows and lower-mids more than the high end.

Here's my check-list:

1) Tight bass for palm-muted chugging
2) Responsive to pick attack
3) Warmth/richness to the sound, with a bit of brightness to make up for the lack of maple cap, but not too much - I don't want the guitar to start sounding like an Ibanez RG...
4) Keep a fullness of tone when reducing volume on the guitar

Thanks for all your help!

Paul.

[tremblox]

Mnnn you've got me thinking: - " 1) The bass isn't as tight as it could be ...
2) They're a little low-mid heavy".

What values of volume and tone pots do you have and what is the tone capacitor value? It seems to me that you need more treble response (yes to tighten the bass for chugging!), and to compensate the low-mid heaviness. I would suggest that if you have a 500K volume pot you try a 1 megOhm version to give you more bite and even volume. And as a quick test I would suggest you disconnect the tone cap for a trial. These measures are quick and cheap and might make you happier or help to point you in the right direction for a solution. Ofcourse if you really need hotter pickups please ignore the above :)  Soldering isn't rocket science - you'll manage fine!

tremblox

[artypaul]

Hi Tremblox -

Thanks for that. I'm not sure on the pot specs - they're whatever came as stock - but I'll give your tips a go. It's certainly a cheaper solution than buying a brace of humbuckers!

I think what I'm after from the bridge pickup is something between a Rebel Yell and a Nailbomb, judging by the various sound samples. I like the warmth and body of the RY, and the edge of the Warpig...

Paul.

[JamesHealey]

Rebel Yell great heavy sound with a neck pickup that shreds like an angel..

wud be my first choice in a wolfgang everytime.

[hunter]

+1 on the Rebel Yells, check my clips with a MM Axis and a set in it. The perfect match with a basswood/maple/floydrose guitar.

What you get as opposed to the dimarzios is more agressiveness and body in the bridge and a more distinctive sound in the neck plus an ultra usable middle position.

[artypaul]

Thanks everyone! I can feel the credit card bill coming on...

Paul.

[greham]

Holy diver!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!