Difference between getting two of the same matched pickups vs. mixing pickups?

[CodeName]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and a little inexperienced with humbuckers. I just want to know what the difference is between installing two matched humbuckers for your neck and bridge compared to say, putting a bk nailbomb on the bridge and then a seymour duncan alnico 2 pro on the neck. Will it really make a difference?

I'm playing on a 2005 Les Paul Studio and was planning on getting one nailbomb for my bridge, then maybe a seymour duncan alnico 2 pro for the neck. But the more I think about it, I kind of want to go for just getting two calibrated nailbombs (one for the bridge and one for the neck) on my Les Paul.

What do you guys prefer? Two of the same calibrated pickups? Or two very different pickups made from different companies on your guitar and why?

The sound I'm going for are clear highs with distortion, yet able to put out an aggressive rhythm tone at the same time. I also want a decent amount of sustain on the neck. I'm going for the sound that you hear from the band, Muse - between hard rock and metal. I just want to go for two humbuckers that will give me something close to that sound and the rest will be left to guitar fx pedals. Thank you for your help, and rock on!

Byron

[syr2012]

Get the Nailbombs. Because they're a calibrated set, they're wound to work with each other, so you won't have any issues with the neck pickup overpowering the bridge and vice-versa. If you're looking for a sound similar to Muse however, you might want to consider a Mississippi Queen for the neck instead of another humbucker.

[kevinr]

Crawlers work really well a LP really good neck sound and strong bridge, check out some clips.

[Antag]

Hello & welcome to the forum.

It is possible to mix & match different models of pickups, but the BKP calibrated sets are very well thought out & unless you're after something very specific or really know what you're doing (or get lucky :)), the calibrated sets are the best place to start.

One thing worth pointing out: a calibrated set is not two of the same pickup.  The BKP neck pickups are not just the bridge model turned around, they are entirely different spec pickups wound specifically to compliment the bridge model of the same name.  So a Nailbomb calibrated set is a Nailbomb bridge model and a Nailbomb neck model.

Although I've not yet tried the MQ, syr2012's suggestion for the MQ neck is probably quite a good call, because the Muse guy's guitars have P90 necks IIRC...

[CodeName]

Thanks for the quick response and suggestions, guys :) I really appreciate the help. I've done some researching and I think I'm going to settle for nailbomb bridge and mississippi queen neck.

Found a great site documenting Muse's rig at -- http://www.musewiki.org/Manson_Guitars <--- very detailed documentation of Matt's guitar set-up throughout the years.

[jibidy]

If you'v got two different pickups wouldn't you want two different sounds.

People say calibrated sets work together. Can anyone eliborate on this because the only thing I can think of that you would want the same is volume and you can get that going with pickups height usually.

[lamp]

I've done some researching and I think I'm going to settle for nailbomb bridge and mississippi queen neck.

Good call - I've got this combination in my LP and it sounds bloody amazing.

[Antag]

If you'v got two different pickups wouldn't you want two different sounds.

People say calibrated sets work together. Can anyone eliborate on this because the only thing I can think of that you would want the same is volume and you can get that going with pickups height usually.

That's the entire point: you DO get two different sounds with a calibrated set.

The neck model is wound to give you the sort of neck sound you might want if you wanted the bridge sound from the bridge pickup of the same name.  (umm, read that sentence at least twice, it does make sense - I had do & I typed the damn thing :lol:)

Take the Holy Diver set.  Bridge pickup is a metal monster.  Massive thick weighty chunky sound, immense riffs & searing leads.  But switch to the neck pickup & step on your channel switch at the same time & you suddenly get bright, airy, clear, clean sound.  Switch back to the bridge while staying on the clean channel & you get a thick warm organic bridge clean sound that you can easily push into light overdrive.  I've never done it but I'm willing to bet that if I swapped the pickups around to have the HD bridge in the neck position & vice versa it would not sound the same...

[BigB]

If you'v got two different pickups wouldn't you want two different sounds.

People say calibrated sets work together. Can anyone eliborate on this because the only thing I can think of that you would want the same is volume and you can get that going with pickups height usually.

"calibrated set" doesn't mean you have the same pup twice - they are usually wound differently (the neck being cooler than the bridge to help balancing the two pups), which already impacts the tone, and for at least some sets the neck uses a different magnet type. On the Crawlers for example, the neck is alnico IV and around 7.8K, while the bridge is alnico V and around 15.4K.  So you really have "two different sounds", but designed to properly work together.

[CaptainDesslock]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and a little inexperienced with humbuckers. I just want to know what the difference is between installing two matched humbuckers for your neck and bridge compared to say, putting a bk nailbomb on the bridge and then a seymour duncan alnico 2 pro on the neck. Will it really make a difference?

I'm playing on a 2005 Les Paul Studio and was planning on getting one nailbomb for my bridge, then maybe a seymour duncan alnico 2 pro for the neck. But the more I think about it, I kind of want to go for just getting two calibrated nailbombs (one for the bridge and one for the neck) on my Les Paul.

What do you guys prefer? Two of the same calibrated pickups? Or two very different pickups made from different companies on your guitar and why?

The sound I'm going for are clear highs with distortion, yet able to put out an aggressive rhythm tone at the same time. I also want a decent amount of sustain on the neck. I'm going for the sound that you hear from the band, Muse - between hard rock and metal. I just want to go for two humbuckers that will give me something close to that sound and the rest will be left to guitar fx pedals. Thank you for your help, and rock on!

Byron

Bryon,

I will make this clear to you, as a (used to be till the new album came out) diehard Muse fan, your problems are solved.

Bridge-Nailbomb
Neck-Mississippi Queen

This is the setup he's been using for 3 years now, so this is the nailbomb in action-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT5oYMQUrII Stockholm Syndrome

and the MQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99I7gpswhQ4 Plug in Baby

[CodeName]

Bryon,

I will make this clear to you, as a (used to be till the new album came out) diehard Muse fan, your problems are solved.

Bridge-Nailbomb
Neck-Mississippi Queen

This is the setup he's been using for 3 years now, so this is the nailbomb in action-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT5oYMQUrII Stockholm Syndrome

and the MQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99I7gpswhQ4 Plug in Baby

Thanks, mate. Because of your guys' suggestion, I'm gonna settle on the NB and MQ now :) Tim was also great at responding to my emails and he recommended the same thing. I plan to do this soon. I wish there were more Bare Knuckle dealers here in the U.S. The UK gets all the cool gear.. and music.

Yeah, I bought the new album off iTunes. I need more time to let the new songs sink in. I still prefer the Absolution album overall. I'm hoping if I listen to the new stuff long enough, I'll grow to love it.

[CaptainDesslock]

that's cool,

i'm having a muse-esque guitar built by Legra Guitars, here's the thread of you want to check it out-

http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=18914.0

right now its in teh paint shop so hopefully I'll see it in a couple more weeks

[CodeName]

that's cool,

i'm having a muse-esque guitar built by Legra Guitars, here's the thread of you want to check it out-

http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=18914.0

right now its in teh paint shop so hopefully I'll see it in a couple more weeks

Looks real nice. I hope it turns out, man. Post some pics and sound clips when it's finished. I wish I could get one :)