Dimarzia PAF Joe/Fred: Which BKP would you upgrade these 'pups with?

[peerless]

I wan to upgrade  pickups with a set of Bare Knuckles that in essence would be an upgrade to the Dimarzia PAF Joe/Fred's.  I thinking a Nailbombs, or VHIIs but I thought I would post here and see what you guys think. 

peerless
www.peerlesstone.com

[Twinfan]

It depends what kind of tone you're after, and what sort of 'upgrade' you're looking for...

[gingataff]

I've tried both VHII and Nailbomb bridge in place of a Fred and can tell you that they are all quite different.
(I haven't had a PAF Pro so I can't comment on that)

To my ears the Fred has good mids, just enough bass and treble and overall fairly cohesive sound (some might prefer to say 'closed'). The VHII would be similar in output but it's much more open sounding, has more bass and highs too. The Nailbomb is much higher output and has a more aggressive high mid punch.

As Twinfan says, it depends what kind of upgrade you want: Do you want more power and aggression (Nailbomb)? or similar output but more space, air and some crunch (VHII)?

[Tinio]

Thanks a lot man :D :D :D
I'll go for a VHII, i've loved the Fred.
I want an open tone in bridge, so the VHII... 8)

The VHII can nail the vocal qualities of the Fred (in lead) ???

Neck : Stormy Monday AlnicoII
Bridge : VHII
 8)

[badgermark]

Sorry but why do you want to upgrade? If you like the Fred why not stick with it? Swapping like for slightly better than like i doubt you would hear a huge difference. This isn't bashing BKP, i love them but if the Dimarzio does it for you why pay ~£200 for something the same but slightly different?

[Twinfan]

^ what he said

[dave_mc]

yep, agreed. while i prefer BKPs to dimarzio, there's no point in spending money for the sake of it, kind of thing.

[gingataff]

The VHII is a lot less compressed than the Fred so it's not as vocal (it doesn't have quite so much of that mid honk if you know what I mean). If that's the sound you like you might be a little disappointed. It is a great sounding pickup though.

IMO the Nailbomb has more of that midrange quality but with a more aggressive high end so still noticeably different.