will BKP make a big difference?

[whoswt]

noob here, well i know it sounds stupid to ask this but i have a jackson dkmg with alder body and EMGs and the tone from the EMGs are well kinda bland and boring , and i was think of getting holy divers set will this give me good tone for thrash and a very liquid-y solo tone in the neck kinda like cynic's o and should i get 53mm spacing how long should the legs be (1/2 or 1/4) thank you all in advance. can't wait to be an owner of bareknuckles as well

[Roobubba]

EMGs to holy divers in an alder body strat will be quite a difference! I'm not sure that the holy diver is necessarily what you're after - could you elaborate on the sort of music you play and what, in particular, about the tone of the EMGs you like and dislike?

In any case, what you'll find with BKPs is that they are much more dynamic, with better response especially in the bass, but over the whole tonal spectrum, really. Oh, and they'll really pick up the tonal qualities of the wood, and be very sensitive to string height!

Roo

[MDV]

What Roo said.

[Antag]

Hello & welcome.

Yeah, I agree with Roo too - what do you like/dislike about the EMGs?

I think the Holy Diver bridge sounds sensational in alder-bodied guitars.   It has a massive full fat midrange & does a very good metal/old-school thrash tone very well.  It has plenty of power (less than active EMG pickups, but still enough for most high gain applications).

I guess it depends on what you understand by the term "thrash" & whether you detune your guitar much.  I play mostly in Eb but it you're going any lower than D then there are probably better options available - Painkiller springs to mind, or the Warpig (you can get it custom wound with a Ceramic Magnet which is a very popular option here)

As for the neck: No, it definitely won't give you "a very liquid-y solo tone in the neck".  The HD neck is a very precise, clean, clear sound.  It doesn't have tons of low end or that full fluid mid range for neck noodling, however it does have a great clean sound.

If it's any help, have a listen to my neck shootout clips: HD/CS/NB/VHII/MM/PK Clean, HD/CS lead, NB/VHII/MM lead

[Frank666]

What they said, you'll notice the difference straight away. It's like someone took a blanket off your amp, then you'll buy more, and more  :lol:

[FernandoDuarte]

Just to add my thought...

Depends of your rig... If you have a nice amplifier with nice speakers, it will... If you have a cr@ppy one, not even a pickup wound by God himself will make it sounds as good as professionals...

If your rig is good, you'll be amazed, never heard a guy having EMG, changing it to BKP and moving back :D

[kevinr]

I had EMGs in my Berlin and I thought that they were very dry and sterile, this guitar has a great acoustic sound and even  that was not enough to save it! when I fitted the Mules the guitar just came alive, I have just received another set of BKPs (Holydivers this time) to be fitted to another Berlin, it has been said, that if have a good valve amp I'm sure that you will be very happy with BKPs, if you are in doubt as to which set will suit your needs just ask Tim he will recommend the correct  set to suit you.

[whoswt]

thank you all for your replies, and well my rig right now is a peavey triple X bad monkey OD and soon a equalizer to go with the sound from the EMGs i pretty much get this thin-ish sound, its not full to my ear as i do not cut my mids either. so i think a mid-full pick ups(but not muddy) will suit best and as i do not only play thrash , the clean tone is needed and even after the 18v mod of the EMGs its not cutting, thank you all again

[Roobubba]

What kind of tones are you after? perhaps give a few band names to give us an idea of the ballpark you're after... BKPs are very versatile (on the whole!), so there are likely to be several which could suit, but one which probably suits better than the others!

Roo

[whoswt]

i listen to bands like metallica , megadeth , atheist, cynic, and racer X , those are pretty much the tones i want to reach but with a twist of my own settings i dont wanna bite off them completely lol

[hunter]

Yes!

[FernandoDuarte]

humm with that rig you just need to get the appropriate pickup :D

For what I remember Tim suggested Miracle Man to get the Racer X to guy here, and Metallica and Megadeth would be that pickup too...

Anybody more experienced with the line and want to make me shut up, feel free, if I'm speaking rubbish :lol:

[Roobubba]

For your classically 'liquid solo neck' tone, I guess you're looking at something like the Cold Sweat (or even Abraxas). For the bridge, I'm not entirely sure what to recommend. Miracle Men are likely to be too harsh for your axe, and the cleans aren't quite up to the other pickups, so in that sense, the Holy Diver makes sense, especially in alder. The Painkiller might also be too much - both the PK and the MM are BRUTALLY articulate pickups, which is great for thrash. The MM has a HUGE but tight bottom end, but also quite prominent highs and high mids (to my ears).
You *might* be better off with an AlNiCo pickup for the bridge to make sure you have the really sparkly beautiful cleans also...

The very best thing to do is to telephone Tim (number on the BKP website!), and ask him - he's always spot on with his recommendations - the man knows what he's talking about!!

Roo

PS be sure to report back here when you decide what you go for, and then once you have them fitted! :)

[whoswt]

wow this seems like a hard choice but after hearing some clips on the holy diver i think i really am set on that for the bridge and the cold sweat for the neck. though i will call tim just for insurance , thanks alot guys ill make sure to report back as soon as i can order a set. :)

[Jonny]

The Cold Sweat is as fluid as melted chocolate down an attractive woman's exposed cleavage.

Which, imo, is quite good.