Caparison Horus

[andrew_y]

Hey guys,
Got a Caparison Horus coming in, but arent a fan of the weak stock pups. The PH-R on the dellinger models are awesome, but if ur a Cap fan like me u'll know how far and few they are to come by.
I hear the PHR is similar to a JB without the honk, which pretty much means I'd be going for a Holy Diver.
Would a Holy Diver have that singing lead tone? I love the vocal sounds u get from dimarzio pups.

Of course, I'm also considering the other metal standards - Warpig, MM, and Nailbomb. (Not really liking the painkillers)

Here are some of the tones i love: Arch Enemy, Carcass, Dark Tranquillity, Opeth, SOILWORK (love their tone)

All these bands i notice are all using ceramic pups (JB, HFS, EMGs). Should I be looking at ceramic pickups then?

Thanks guys!

[andrew_y]

no one?

[Philly Q]

Wish I could help, but too metal for me.

But I should point out that the JB isn't ceramic - it's alnico 5.

[Nolly]

The HD is based on the original JB, from back when Seymour Duncans were hand wound etc. Tonally, it's a completely different pickup to the JB we have now. Also, Tim made the HD to sound similar to the JB, but he didn't try and match the construction or anything, so even there it's debatable as to how much like the original JB sounds to the HD.
I'm not trying to dissuade your from the HD though, it might well be a good choice. It's not the classic choice for extreme metalheads, but boardmember EricHellstyle made this video with one, and it sounds pretty ace.

[andrew_y]

thanks guys!

currently leaning towards the c-pig, the pig, or a mm.
Does anyone have experience with both the c-pig and pig to outline the differences?
What do the leads sound like? I've only been able to find clips of nice heavy ass chugging riffs.

I'm worried pigs might sound too dark in a mahogany guitar. Im playing thru a 5150 II and i already have a mahoghany guitar with an 85 in the bridge.

[Nolly]

I've not played the MM or the standard pig, but the c-pig has a great lead sound. Notes have lots of weight behind them, there's plenty of bite to dig into, and the compression is flattering and keeps you sustaining for ages.

[MDV]

thanks guys!

currently leaning towards the c-pig, the pig, or a mm.
Does anyone have experience with both the c-pig and pig to outline the differences?
What do the leads sound like? I've only been able to find clips of nice heavy ass chugging riffs.

I'm worried pigs might sound too dark in a mahogany guitar. Im playing thru a 5150 II and i already have a mahoghany guitar with an 85 in the bridge.

Nolly speaks the truth.

This is C-Pig, check out the longer ones: there are no leads, but there are sections with higher pitch and string notes that will give you an idea (the lead-ish slow seeping harmonies (that you cant hear the sweeps on very well on this mix) are my Monster Miracle Man). 3 ish min in and whenver after the second chorus is where the pig does higher register stuff (up to 9th fret, G, which is an E in this tuning (C#, obviously).

http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=13249.0

That said, I think you want a painkiller. Same basic sound here, but less compressed and saturated to get more articuation, and a little tiny bit of JD10 for low kick

http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=13664.0


P.S....Caparison.....no, better that I stay silent   :lol:

Oh, and the A-Pig is warmer, not darker per se, but less sharp, not as tight, more organic. Pretty similar power (Tim underwinds C-Pigs very slightly to compensate for the C8 Vs A5 field strenth difference)

And FINALLY, last edit, 'too dark' is a matter of taste, but I dont think a pig would be too dark in mahogany. A lot of people have that and they love it. I dont, but my legra has a simlar magnitude of low end to a good les paul (but its way tighter and brighter too).

[Oli]

I would say Nailbomb for the kind of bands that you've listed- i've been very impressed with my nailbomb when i've been playing Opeth and DT kinda stuff- the Warpig seems to have a bit too much in the lower end for those bands (personally)

[ericsabbath]

Here are some of the tones i love: Arch Enemy, Carcass, Dark Tranquillity, Opeth, SOILWORK (love their tone)

All these bands i notice are all using ceramic pups (JB, HFS, EMGs). Should I be looking at ceramic pickups then?

actually they all use mostly alnico 5 pickups (jb, some gibson and duncan pups, full shred, emg 85)

for your guitar and amp, I'd probably get a nailbomb or holy diver
I play with a diver through a peavey rockmaster or a framus cobra and it worked very fine with my bandmate's 5150 too, specially when boosted

the warpig is not too dark (I only played the alnico one)
it's plenty of top end
I only don't like the excessive grind on the mids, cause it makes everything sound like Iommi after taking horse anabolics :lol:
but that's great for Crowbar or Mastodon stuff
here's a video of it doing something different: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pUIQIzMwHPc

aw thanks, Nolly (The Great  :lol:)
I tried to record another one with the CS and the framus, but the camera couldn't handle the cobra

[Flashheart]

i have a miracle man in my horus.. the lead tone is the best i've ever played with, i used to always swap to the neck for leads, (i got a hotrails in the neck by the way) but now i generally stick to the bridge

as far as rhythm tone goes.. for me it's slightly bassy and i'm having trouble counteracting that, BUT  i have managed to get a rhythm tone i'm happy with (i play mostly thrash rhythm, and shred/blues style lead) for your genres of metal it would probably fit the bill perfectly, i can't comment on the other pups inforunately, the only other BKP for me are irish tours which're on the way :D just let you know the MM works great through a horus

[andrew_y]

Thanks everyone for ur input so far!

Eric, I totally get what u mean by the 'mid grind' and thats not really what im looking for either.
Flasheart, you couldnt just dial down the bass on the amp?

[Fearhk213]

thanks guys!

currently leaning towards the c-pig, the pig, or a mm.
Does anyone have experience with both the c-pig and pig to outline the differences?
What do the leads sound like? I've only been able to find clips of nice heavy ass chugging riffs.

I'm worried pigs might sound too dark in a mahogany guitar. Im playing thru a 5150 II and i already have a mahoghany guitar with an 85 in the bridge.

Never played a c-pig, but I'll give you my $.02 on the a-pig in an all mahogany guitar. 

As far as the highs go and whether an a-pig is too dark in an all mahogany axe, I think it will depend on your tastes/goals and your axe.  I find the pickups to reproduce the highs in such a way that is not too far off from the guitar's highs when played acoustically.  My axe is very resonant and very warm with round highs played acoustically.  While it makes for an amazingly clear acoustical it also makes it very hard to find a pickup that works with it to keep it clear and tight in very high gain settings; with it's low mid & mid emphasis it's prone to being very muddy with the wrong pickups under high gain.  The a-pig is strong enough and has just enough highs that it drives through this overly warm axe to keep it pretty tight and able to cut through, but the highs are by no means sharp, they're very round in my axe.  I've never played a pickup capable of such crushing tones as the a-pig with such round highs.  The combination works very well, it just depends on what you want.  Do you want round highs that still cut or the sharper highs of a ceramic?  One is not better or worse, just depends on tastes and what works with your gear.  One plus in favor of the a-pig, is that if you want it tighter you can always boost it and you can add some highs that way.   

[andrew_y]

Hmm....A-Pig back in the picture!

I emailed Tim the other day and here's what he suggested:

"Miracle Man is a great humbucker for metal but if you want a brighter
version with maybe not so much bottom end I would suggest the Cold Sweat
humbucker instead. Painkiller is going to be better than a Nailbomb for
controlling the bass whilst driving them mids and keeping the highs
clear but I think if the Caparisons are as dark as you're finding then
the Cold Sweat will be the best bet."
 

Not really sold on the Cold Sweats tho (even tho tim does know best)
Really like the Holy Divers in this clip i found on the forum:
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7038.0

Holy divers? A-pig?
What do you think?
I really want to nail that arch enemy tone.

[ericsabbath]

the holy diver is not so far behind in output to the alnico pig
it's more a matter of compression than heaviness
actually their voicings are kinda similar, but the holy diver sounds more open and less compressed
it has the same amount of mids, but without the grind
if you're into boosting, try the diver, but I think the nailbomb is a great option too
the diver is great for arch enemy tones, especially the leads

[Flashheart]

my amps tone controls aren't hugely responsive :P but yeah, i did eventually get a tone i like.. the lead tone is my favorite part about the MM though.. i wish i could fit a neck one on..