Proof (if proof were needed) of why BKP rocks - NPD! (Clips added!)

[Nolly]

I've had a set of Cold Sweats in my Blackmachine B2 for about a year and a half now, and they have done me very well indeed. Recently, I've been playing around a lot with my other BKP-equipped guitars, and I started falling in love with the slightly lower output alnico pickups Tim makes. I decided to try swapping out the pickups in the B2 to see what happens.
So, after some careful consideration I ordered a Rebel Yell for the bridge, and a VHII for the neck (the latter is probably my favourite neck pickup ever!).

Onto why BKP rocks: I ordered the pickups on Tuesday, and they got here this morning :eek: Bearing in mind the pickups are handwound to order, that is absolutely ridiculous service, nothing less that what I've come to expect from Tim and the team.
Anyway, I'll be fitting them over the next couple of days, then I'll do some comparison clips of the new pickups vs. the old!

Here's a few pics I quickly snapped:







Can't wait to try these beasts out!

[Philly Q]

I've never been particularly tempted by the distressed/camo covers, but for some reason they look excellent with the double rows of polepieces!  :D

[AndyR]

I was gonna say "Yep, excellent service, as usual... pity he fobbed you off with some old covers from the skip, though... "

But it turns out I'm with Philly on these - they do look good like that :D

[Roobubba]

I LOVE the look of those double pole piece distressed camos! Can't wait to see these installed and hear clips! :)

Roo

[ericsabbath]

sweet  :D :D :D
Tim is the only guy on Earth that could outgreat Nolly

[pop]

Looking very much forward to comparison clips... :D

[Antag]

VHII for the neck ... probably my favourite neck pickup ever!

Yep, mine too.  It's fantastic & IMHO is just as good a match for the higher gain BKP bridge models as the Cold Sweat.

Happy NPD!

[Nolly]

Cheers for the comments guys, I'm definitely looking forward to getting them in. I love the camo covers Tim did - I asked him to select a particularly "busy" patterned set, and he absolutely nailed the look I was hoping for!

[Nolly]

OK, so I've got the pickups installed now!

I took a few shots while I replaced the pickups, unfortunately it got dark halfway through, so the great reveal will have to be done tomorrow when i get some pics in the light:









First impressions: I love them! The Rebel Yell is smoother than the old Cold Sweat with slightly less low-end, which makes it seem tighter (in this case alnico beats ceramic it would seem!). With my current recording tones, the CS cuts through a little bit better since it is much brighter, but some EQing will sort that. The RY definitely keeps up with the CS for clarity, which is a surprise since the CS has always been my benchmark for that.
I've spent less time with the VHII, but I'm hearing all the things that I love about the VHII in my Kramer. It's juicy and warm, but at the same time very clear and defined.
I'm looking forward to properly auditioning them when I can really crank the volume and put in some playing hours.

I've just done a very quick couple of clips.

First you'll hear the new Rebel Yell, then the old Cold Sweat (it's quite obvious when it changes):

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/790683/RY%20vs%20CS%20%28Recovery%20riff%29.mp3

Note that the tone was dialled in with the CSs, so the RYs might sound a bit dark in comparison. I prefer the sound of the palm mutes with the RYs, and I reckon that with a bit of extra presence on the amp I'd get the best of both worlds.

An interesting one is the B2 with the new pickups versus my other Blackmachine, the B6, which has a ceramic Nailbomb in the bridge. The riff is from Architects Early Grave, and is played badly, so apologies for that. The guitar changes are much quicker. Just once around the riff with the B2 then once with the B6, then the same deal, but with drums and bass:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/790683/Early%20graves%20B2%20vs%20B6.mp3


More clips to come tomorrow!

[Madsakre]

ew. a mac :S

Btw how much does a blackmachine cost? I really love the look of those guitars.

[Nolly]

Grabbed some pictures of the B2 this morning!









All was going well until this guy decided he was ready for his close up:



Cheeky li'l bugger

[fr33man1]

Nice axe, kinda like it though its a bit body thin for my tastes. I had a slsmg once a really felt like playing on a feather lol. Sounds good too, nice mid push on the RY.

But Im still curious, you always have very middy p'ups, guitars, and some amps simulation on axe FX like 5150 is also middy.
 Aren't those guitars too bright on gigs or rehearsals ?? Im fond of the KSE alike tone you get out of the swamp ash ones but Im still wondering  :lol:.

[dave_mc]

nice clips and pics :)

[MDV]

I'm quite surprised by how aggressive it is.

Remember, as I'm sure you do, that your double screw pole version will inantely have more bass, and that the general ballance between low and high end can be tuned (clumsily) for each string with the relative height of the two screws; raise the neck-wards one for more low end and vice versa. I suspect this is why you got it DSP (its why I used to get all my bridges DSP), but just making sure - you may be able to find screw heights that let you use the same settings for all/both guitars.

[bengalstar]

what a gorgeous beast.  (the cat is pretty, too.)

Nolly, just wondering what you think of the Nailbomb.  I know Misha favors the Cold Sweat as well, those clips sound pretty fantastic to me (forgive me, what rig are you playing through?)   I understand the lower output is to maximize the articulation and definition.

Just got a Nailbomb put in a strat with an all maple neck, and it helped to "organi-cize" the overall brightness of the guitar. 

Just seems like there are so many options with woods and such.  The nailbomb sounds great to me (in that guitar)...what would you recommend for Mahogany/ Maple/Rosewood?

you are a fantastic player, btw, your SiKth youtube clips are just stellar! (as are any clips you post, for that matter).