Figured I'd post a little something regarding these amazing pups as I always love reading through user reviews before I buy something...especially when that something is pricey.
Anyways, onto more interesting things, these arrived about a week ago:
***I've got to say hats off to USPS, who took these from Nick, of the Axe Palace, in Boston, and delivered them to my door, near Seattle, WA in less than 48 hours...
After patiently waiting for the opportunity to get these to a tech to install them for me, and the consequent days for him to get around to it, I get this back:
So, if you didn't see from the boxes, I ended up with a Painkiller in the bridge and a Cold Sweat for the neck; Nick recommended a matched PK set, but after all the raving I heard about the CS, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try it. After having the chance to play it, these are my impressions:
Painkiller:
Awesome bridge pup for metal and hard-rock, just as Tim says on BK's website. It's got balls and a focused nature to it, plenty of response across the board - just the right amount of bass, which are characteristics that the stock IBZ V8 pup just did NOT have. I can't comment on whether the cover helps to round out the sound, but this pup has a really full sound to it that makes for both a really "wide" and "clear" sound without any trace of being overly muddy on the rhythm bits. Really easy to pull out harmonics, and it feeds back "well" when placed near the amplifier, which could be either a plus or a minus depending on your style of playing...
Cold Sweat:
I have to say I'm glad I chose this one (though I don't have recommended PK to compare it to), as it really sounds great. On BKP's website, it says this pup is really "organic," which at first glance might seem an odd word for describing a sound. But after fiddling around with it, I found it to be an apt description of what it can do. It's not overly dull, as was the stock V7, and despite being a humbucker, it still does "chimey" cleans really well. From what I tell so far, the pup isn't too focused on one frequency or another, though I did tend to roll back the bass a bit when using it for completely clean passages - just the right amount of body for lead work though.
Not only so they sound amazing, but look it too. The custom distressed camo covers, normally found on the Nailbombs really make this guitar look amazing (not that it didn't already). I suppose this is about as close to Blackmachine as you can find in a production guitar in terms of looks, and these covers made it that much closer. And the best part...NO ROUTING NECESSARY. I suppose some of the folks that have this model that did have to may have had an older one or something (or the model that has a veneer on the headstock).
And onto getting ahold of them...
After looking at BK's website, and figuring that I didn't want to mess around with the deduction of VAT's and other miscellaneous taxes (if there really are any), I looked around for US dealers that would be able to get them for me. The Axe Palace was the place with the best prices and customer service, so if you're in the market, definitely give Nick (Zimbloth on SS forums) a call, he'll hook you up. Even though I was a royal pain in the ass in addition to trying to modify my order, Nick was helpful throughout the entire process, so thanks again mate.
Anyways, awesome pups, better than anything else I've tried both in sound quality and looks...and I'm only playing through a shitety modeller.
Hope this helps out any prospective buyers.
-Watty
P.S. Anyone know what's up with these pups and the wiring for this guitar in particular? (RGA121) The tech I took it to went and got a wiring diagram directly from Ibanez and tried to match the one BK gave me to it and had no luck getting position 4 (previously parallel neck 'bucker) to work at all and position 5 had to be either full hum or a sc...Right now I suppose I can use it as a Kill Switch, but I'd really like to give the Neck SC a go. Anyone have experience with this, or should I contact Tim direct?
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I haven't the slightest clue as to what the position of the pickups is supposed to be, but I've had several people inform me on other forums that the tech installed the neck pup upside down. Now, he's not new to the business or anything, and I'm sure he's worked with covers before, so I doubt it's a mistake on his part. I assume he left it like that as it was how I "placed" it in the guitar (to see if they would fit without routing). He said if I figured it out after getting some help from you guys or Tim, he'd fix it for me...so I'd appreciate any insight you all have.
It works fine and sounds great, but is it supposed to be the other way, with the pole screws facing the neck? If so, is the fix as simple as unscrewing it, flipping it around, and screwing it back in (i.e. no wiring changes?)
