newly installed pups, but already running into problems

[silentrage]

there it is, the white stuff in the center is plastic.
It's hard to tell from this angle but 1 of those pins is longer, the other 2 seem equal in length.
As far as I can tell from testing, the longer piece is ground.

[WezV]

ah yeah, barrel jacks!!  always harder to tell whats what.  do you have a multimeter.  if so you can insert a lead and check for continuity between the tip of the lead and one of the lugs... that would confirm where hot wire should be.  then do the same with the sleeve of the jack and the other lugs. 

but tbh its probably ok now.  your comment about swapping wires not making much difference to the sound makes more sense with this style of jack

[silentrage]

Should I be glad that the wiring's ok, or be pissed that I probably need a better rig now?  /sigh

[silentrage]

the mt2 is a very popular pedal. its not as bad as some make out, but its not the best and it does have the tendancy to make everything sound very similar when you use it. why not try some mods on it?

hey gwEm, I was looking at 'em, and I liked what I heard about the monte allum's mod, even though I don't know what it does exactly.
I'm debating whether I should try it, or just sell my stuff and buy a proper amp. Cash is tight right now, so not a lot of wiggle room. Fcking north american economy!

Are you on www.sevenstring.org?  I know there are a few people from Toronto there that are also probably familiar with BKPs.  They probably have nice amps too, GAS runs rampant on that site!

Maybe I should pay them a visit. :)

Not too much to add really, but from my own experience I know that some pieces of kit just don't work well together. A couple of examples, the first one is a bit extreme, but a Cpig (22K - bridge) can be played through a microcube and work (not great, but it works), where as a Nailbomb (16K - bridge) sounds truly bad. Even though the pig is higher output, the 'cube has more trouble handling the frequency balance of the Nailbomb.

Second example is a Fuzz Factory played into a Tiny Terror works really well, but played into the TT's big brother a Rockerverb50 doesn't sound as good even though the RV kicks the cr@p out of the TT for general quality of sound, the interaction just doesn't work as well.

From what you've said I'm guessing that's the problem you have, not necessarily that your kit is not up to it, it's just mis-matched.

1. The new pups sound much thicker and fuller, but not much more distorted than the old pups, and it's pretty mild overall. Does higher DC resistance mean higher gain/distortion? Or am I understanding it completely wrong? 

As I understand it higher DC means higher output (more current) which in turn tends to mean your gear is driven harder and therefore you get more distortion. But the wind also has an impact, I've never done a direct test, but I suspect that a Nailbomb bridge will break up almost as quicky as a Cpig. (Gonna have to try that today).

If it's a mis-matched gear issue, then I'm kinda $%&#ed, I don't have any other gear!!

[ailean]

If it's a mis-matched gear issue, then I'm kinda $%&#ed, I don't have any other gear!!

Then I'll hope it isn't!

[CJ]

i don't know quite a lot about what most of you are talking about, but in my opinion i'd completely forget about the pedal for now. your main concerns should be your amp and guitar, and then once you get them to your liking then i'd start playing around with pedals.

another thought, you originally stated that the pickup sounded much fuller and thicker, but not too much more distortion. i think you might just be expecting too much. i actually had the same exact problem as you. i bought my first bkp, plugged it in, and was like "well, this sounds exactly the same". i thought i had the wiring mixed up. the thing is, for me at least, there's not such an incredible difference that you'll immediately hear a dramatic difference. but now after i've had my new pickup for a while, it sounds so much better than my other guitars.

i know a lot of people on hear will tell you they immediately heard an incredible difference with their new pickup, but i think for some you just have to get used to it to appreciate it... especially when you don't have a lot of experience with difference equipment, like it sounds like is true for you.

[silentrage]

i don't know quite a lot about what most of you are talking about, but in my opinion i'd completely forget about the pedal for now. your main concerns should be your amp and guitar, and then once you get them to your liking then i'd start playing around with pedals.

another thought, you originally stated that the pickup sounded much fuller and thicker, but not too much more distortion. i think you might just be expecting too much. i actually had the same exact problem as you. i bought my first bkp, plugged it in, and was like "well, this sounds exactly the same". i thought i had the wiring mixed up. the thing is, for me at least, there's not such an incredible difference that you'll immediately hear a dramatic difference. but now after i've had my new pickup for a while, it sounds so much better than my other guitars.

i know a lot of people on hear will tell you they immediately heard an incredible difference with their new pickup, but i think for some you just have to get used to it to appreciate it... especially when you don't have a lot of experience with difference equipment, like it sounds like is true for you.

Words of wisdom my friend, words    of     wisdom.
I've started to notice the sound quality apart from saturation too, and the more I play with it, the more I'm liking what I hear.
You're right about the pedal too, it's on the bench until I get a proper amp.

I know I already asked this in the amps forum, but I figure it can't hurt.

Peavey 5150, XXX, Laney GH50L or Red Bear Mk 120 (JCM800 clone)? They're all within my budget, and I know this might be foolish, but I'll worry about a cab later, lol.

[mikey5]

Take your guitar and play it on a great amp and see if it makes a difference. I hate MT2 its so unmusical

[lulusg]

Sr try  different amps at any music store, bring your guitar. Fancy amps, the whole thing. That way you eliminate any other problem, ie guitar conection, etc. Good luck!