Another 'Opinions Please' topic RE: Ibanez

[Krucifier]

Hi guys & gals, I've been reading the forum for a while and I certainly would like to have a Bare Knuckle in my gat. But is it honestly worth it?

I live in New Zealand and as the exchange rate is now, for the cost of a single Bare Knuckle humbucker I could install a set of EMG's or SD Invaders.

I've got an EMG 85 in the bridge position of my old Ibanez EX and I love the crunch & aggressive power chords but would like to keep my new Ibanez passive if I could get an equally aggressive tone from it.

The new guitar specs here:
http://www.ibanez.com/eg/guitar.aspx?m=RGR421EXFM

From what I've read Nailbombs put smiles on the faces of Ibanez owners, though I like the sound clips of Miracle Man's & Painkillers a lot more. I play some heavily downtuned shite in the vain of Mortician. My bands are here if you'd like to check 'em out:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=162251160
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=69799061

I've been looking at the ceramic pole pups because I thought the EMG 85 was ceramic poled but apparently it's Alnico. I didn't like the sound of the 81 in the bridge position, too scratchy in my guitar but the 85 has more bass and a nice roll off on the highs that makes for tight bass down tuning and mammoth crunch!

Yeah I know, I'm an EMG fan! This is my first new guitar in 10 years though, and there was nothing like the Bare Knuckles when I first decided on going the active route.

So what do y'all reckon, is it worth saving up the extra cash?

PS: sorry for the life story :D

[WezV]

So what do y'all reckon, is it worth saving up the extra cash?

yes... do it!!

Most of us here have been through many of the other brands that come cheaper and yet we still pay the price for BKP's

For us in the Uk the £/$ exchange rate means that we could all easily get Seymour duncans or dimarzios for less than half the price of of BKP's so we are in the same situation as you

[Philly Q]

For us in the Uk the £/$ exchange rate means that we could all easily get Seymour duncans or dimarzios for less than half the price of of BKP's so we are in the same situation as you

Duncans yes, but as far as I know DiMarzio won't let any of their US dealers ship outside the US - I've had real problems trying to find a set of covers for some DM Strat pickups.   Even eBay shops won't ship them.

(Sorry, that's way off-topic.  :oops: )

[Woogie]

For us in the Uk the £/$ exchange rate means that we could all easily get Seymour duncans or dimarzios for less than half the price of of BKP's so we are in the same situation as you

Duncans yes, but as far as I know DiMarzio won't let any of their US dealers ship outside the US - I've had real problems trying to find a set of covers for some DM Strat pickups.   Even eBay shops won't ship them.

(Sorry, that's way off-topic.  :oops: )

Wez has managed to get some ;)

[WezV]

you are quite right philly - i had that problem recently.  As woogie said i found one ebay shop that would ship me some SDS-1's.  TBH it convinces me not to use them again - if they dont want my business there are other brands i would much rather use anyway

[Krucifier]

I can get a set of them from an NZ retailer for half the price of one BKP, even with the shops OTT mark-up. It really is a tough decision because they're a good pup from what I've heard

[Philly Q]

you are quite right philly - i had that problem recently.  As woogie said i found one ebay shop that would ship me some SDS-1's.  

I won't ask who, because I finally have my Strat pickup covers (got them today from Thomann, after a 2-month wait - although they weren't expecting them until February  :D ).  And I'm not after any other DiMarzios now.

Hmmm. Now what can those SDS-1's be for....?  


******************

Since I've hijacked this thread, I'll try to add something useful in response the the original question, although high-output pickups aren't really my cup of tea.  

The Nailbomb usually gets mentioned as the ideal replacement for stock IBZ/DiMarzio pickups, but if you're looking for an EMG-beater it's Miracle Man or Warpig, I think - Ceramic Warpig for extra brutality, standard Warpig for a bit more alnico warmth.  The WP might be a great alternative to an EMG85, but don't take my word for it...

As to whether it's worth the extra cost, hopefully some of the guys who've replaced EMGs with BKPs will chip in.  I'm certainly happy with the BKPs I've bought to replace various Duncans, Gibsons and DiMarzios.

[Ted]

Having listened to the songs on the site, I would go for the ceramic Warpigs.

The absolute maximum carnage pickup you can get. If you dont want the tightness and precision of ceramic Warpig go for the alnico.

I found the tone on the clips already pretty damn good.