Nailbomb muddy?

[IAMBR00TALZ]

Just put my nailbomb in my jackson rr24, and i have to say, i'm not digging the tone at all.  I play a Mark III.  There is this subtle muddyness in the low mids that i can't dial out. its just muddy no matter how i dial in my amp, and its pissing me off.  my guitar is alder, so i don't think that is the problem.  it is fine with low gain, but when i add enough gain suitable for my style, it gets muddy.  any help?  did i install it wrong?   or is it just that i don't like the pickup voicing.  i had an emg 81 before, and it didn't have this problem.  this sucks, because i love the organic tone of the bkp, but i hate the mud.

[CaptainDesslock]

That's strange.....

I have nailbombs in a swamp ash body and the tone is big and fat no matter where its at.....N-bomb's got more bottom end than Kim Kardashian.....you can see where this is going.

My only suggestion is to check how far the pickups are from the strings...try moving them closer would be my best bet.

[IAMBR00TALZ]

That's strange.....

I have nailbombs in a swamp ash body and the tone is big and fat no matter where its at.....N-bomb's got more bottom end than Kim Kardashian.....you can see where this is going.

My only suggestion is to check how far the pickups are from the strings...try moving them closer would be my best bet.

i tried that, it only seemed to add output.  and i couldn't raise in much, it started hitting the strings.  did i install them wrong?  as of now, i'm angry, and considering switching back to emg's.  it has this muddyness in every thing i play it through.  from my tube amp to my vst amp sim to my little micro cube.

[CaptainDesslock]

That's strange.....

I have nailbombs in a swamp ash body and the tone is big and fat no matter where its at.....N-bomb's got more bottom end than Kim Kardashian.....you can see where this is going.

My only suggestion is to check how far the pickups are from the strings...try moving them closer would be my best bet.

i tried that, it only seemed to add output.  and i couldn't raise in much, it started hitting the strings.  did i install them wrong?  as of now, i'm angry, and considering switching back to emg's.  it has this muddyness in every thing i play it through.  from my tube amp to my vst amp sim to my little micro cube.

BKP quality is something that is held in highest regard so believe I can understand the frustration of expecting some amazing tone and then something going wrong.  The tone IS there, we just gotta figure what's holding it up. From here there some things I would go over-

1-Are they wired properly? Go over this carefully, while I don't have technical knowledge, this seems to be the number one error in getting the tone right....some people here have had problems accidentally wiring their humbuckers and tapping only a single coil instead of both

2-What are the pot values? Again I don't have much techincal vale but the wrong pots can be mega tone-suckers...
I think for humbuckers it should be 500k

3-Did your guitar come equipped with active pickups? Cause if the electronics are set up for active pickups (again the whole pots and wiring thing) and you install passive pickups there are somethings that might need a quick changing, that's most likely the issue.

The boys on this board are very knowledgeable and the answer is probably just a stone's throw away, just give it a day or two (as it is new year's) and someone with more guitar suave will probably be able to walk you through it.

cheers!

[IAMBR00TALZ]

That's strange.....

I have nailbombs in a swamp ash body and the tone is big and fat no matter where its at.....N-bomb's got more bottom end than Kim Kardashian.....you can see where this is going.

My only suggestion is to check how far the pickups are from the strings...try moving them closer would be my best bet.

i tried that, it only seemed to add output.  and i couldn't raise in much, it started hitting the strings.  did i install them wrong?  as of now, i'm angry, and considering switching back to emg's.  it has this muddyness in every thing i play it through.  from my tube amp to my vst amp sim to my little micro cube.

BKP quality is something that is held in highest regard so believe I can understand the frustration of expecting some amazing tone and then something going wrong.  The tone IS there, we just gotta figure what's holding it up. From here there some things I would go over-

1-Are they wired properly? Go over this carefully, while I don't have technical knowledge, this seems to be the number one error in getting the tone right....some people here have had problems accidentally wiring their humbuckers and tapping only a single coil instead of both

2-What are the pot values? Again I don't have much techincal vale but the wrong pots can be mega tone-suckers...
I think for humbuckers it should be 500k

3-Did your guitar come equipped with active pickups? Cause if the electronics are set up for active pickups (again the whole pots and wiring thing) and you install passive pickups there are somethings that might need a quick changing, that's most likely the issue.

The boys on this board are very knowledgeable and the answer is probably just a stone's throw away, just give it a day or two (as it is new year's) and someone with more guitar suave will probably be able to walk you through it.

cheers!

1.  As far as i see, it's correct.  i will double check and get back to you.
2.  it is 500k, just a normal pot, not a push pull
3.  Yes it did, but i replaced everything pot, and input jack.

Thanks for the help.

[kartar]

Just put my nailbomb in my jackson rr24, and i have to say, i'm not digging the tone at all.  I play a Mark III.  There is this subtle muddyness in the low mids that i can't dial out. its just muddy no matter how i dial in my amp, and its pissing me off.  my guitar is alder, so i don't think that is the problem.  it is fine with low gain, but when i add enough gain suitable for my style, it gets muddy.  any help?  did i install it wrong?   or is it just that i don't like the pickup voicing.  i had an emg 81 before, and it didn't have this problem.  this sucks, because i love the organic tone of the bkp, but i hate the mud.

Maybe Nailbomb is not right for you. I tried Nailbomb in my KV-2 (pretty similar as RR24) and it wasn't what I was looking for. It was impossible to get good high gain sound out of it, so I sold it and now I'm very happy with Painkiller. I have Holy Diver -set in SL-2H (alder, maple, ebony) and that works very well too.

If you liked EMG81, so Painkiller would be good choice...

[IAMBR00TALZ]

Just put my nailbomb in my jackson rr24, and i have to say, i'm not digging the tone at all.  I play a Mark III.  There is this subtle muddyness in the low mids that i can't dial out. its just muddy no matter how i dial in my amp, and its pissing me off.  my guitar is alder, so i don't think that is the problem.  it is fine with low gain, but when i add enough gain suitable for my style, it gets muddy.  any help?  did i install it wrong?   or is it just that i don't like the pickup voicing.  i had an emg 81 before, and it didn't have this problem.  this sucks, because i love the organic tone of the bkp, but i hate the mud.

Maybe Nailbomb is not right for you. I tried Nailbomb in my KV-2 (pretty similar as RR24) and it wasn't what I was looking for. It was impossible to get good high gain sound out of it, so I sold it and now I'm very happy with Painkiller. I have Holy Diver -set in SL-2H (alder, maple, ebony) and that works very well too.

If you liked EMG81, so Painkiller would be good choice...

$%&# i really don't wanna change it again.  What didn't you like about it?  and wouldn't the PK be too bright in alder?  i arleeady have a bright amp, so....

[MrBump]

I have a calibrated Nailbomb set in my Charvel ST - I think that's alder.

Can't say that they're muddy, but they're definitely middy - lots of midrange tones there, very thick.  I can definitely get a decent high gain tone from them, but It depends what you're after.

As has been said before, BKPs are very sensitive to height adjustment - I've found that there's a very specific sweet spot with my NBs and Mules (less so with my BGF50s).

Can't imagine that there could be a wiring problem producing a muddy tone, unless it was REALLY muddy, i.e. like a tone put wound all the way back.

My guess would be either the pickup height or expectation of what the pickups are that is causing the problem.

Mark.

[FELINEGUITARS]

I find the Nailbomb to be such a dark sounding pickup that it often sounds muddy in many guitars .
It works well with a very bright guitar and a very bright amp (seems to work well with a Mesa Dual Rec)

But I find it is much more limited or narrow focussed in what it does (but it does that job well)

It is the reason why I am shocked and amazed when so many here on the forum rush to recommend it for every application

There have been a few guitars I have fitted it to where it has excelled in but it is a combination of the guitars natural sonic tones and those enhanced by the pickup that has made it work so well in those limited number of times.

Also we all hear things differently and like different sounds (even if we like the same bands) so my opinion may vary wildly from others here on the forum

Obviously in an ash body which is super bright it will be fine but maple through necks are a different beast and I would have recommended a Miracle Man , Painkiller, Holy Diver or even a Crawler

[HTH AMPS]

+1 on the Painkiller suggestion. 

I'm also confused by the NB getting recommended so much - its quite a specific tone imo and not a one-size-fits-all type pickup like the Mule (which does pretty much anything except extreme metal).

[Tim]

In it's defence the Nailbomb is a very versatile pickup and does get used in a huge variety of different guitars and by a lot of different genres of player and is actually our top selling pickup. It does have a very broad mid range so isn't usually my first choice for a tight tone in alder which as a timber is relatively soft and often produces quite a hard mid range however players like Muse's Matt Bellamy use it to great effect in alder guitars and create a huge palette of tones. By comparison a lot of players like the Nailbomb in mahogany/maple LP style guitars -Marshall's Chris George for example who uses his LP Custom loaded with NBs for demoing nearly all the Marshall range, again because of it's versatility and range of classic rock tones.
I too would suggest a Painkiller as being more suitable in the alder RR for a tight and aggressive metal tone and did actually recommend it originally.

[Ribboz]

Tim Wins! :D

[HTH AMPS]

I'm quite surprised that the Nailbomb is the top selling BKP - I'd have put money on the Mule then the Warpig.

[kartar]

I can definitely get a decent high gain tone from them, but It depends what you're after.

It's top-seller pickup, so obviously many people has found good tone from them, which is good thing!  :D

Nailbomb (A5) is for sure good "harder rock and metal all-rounder", because it has balanced eq-curve, great definition and enought output for most of stuff.

My problem with NB was that I didn't get tight enought sound out of it even with tubescreamer or eq-pedal (used as mid- and level-booster) and it was lacking compression to my taste too. Muddiness wasn't problem.

[JMP2203]

I can definitely get a decent high gain tone from them, but It depends what you're after.

It's top-seller pickup, so obviously many people has found good tone from them, which is good thing!  :D

Nailbomb (A5) is for sure good "harder rock and metal all-rounder", because it has balanced eq-curve, great definition and enought output for most of stuff.

My problem with NB was that I didn't get tight enought sound out of it even with tubescreamer or eq-pedal (used as mid- and level-booster) and it was lacking compression to my taste too. Muddiness wasn't problem.

Whats your amp? did you tried the ceramic nailbomb?