Nailbomb Help - Need One More Notch

[WhiteRam]

Gentlemen, I need to increase my gain just a wee bit, I'm having to fight for pinch harmonics and it's sincerely killing my fingers.  My amp and valve configuration are maxed as tone will allow, I've plugged straight in for over 25 years and will not change that of course.  I dearly love my tone for the first time in my life, but wish in theory I could turn the guitar's volume knob up to 12.  I'll hit my holy grail if I could do this, after all these years.

I am speaking of my Nailbomb A5 bridge.  I've got it raised as high as tone will allow (3/32"), I use only a volume pot on my guitar.  The pot measures 410K (it's a weak supposed 500K), I chose this thinking it would spec better realizing I don't use a tone pot.  Would a 550K be a notable increase in gain?, enough to feel like I got another notch out of the volume knob?

I am considering giving up on my beautiful NB which I love so much, and ordering a MM which I like too from some of the clips here. . . however you guys scare me with all the talk on the forum about the MM being very toppy, my guitar is an alder body maple/maple Fender Strat and she's a toppy girl herself.  So my second set of questions - Is the MM so toppy that I should not chance it?  Is the MM's gain over the NB like going from 10 to 12 on the guitar's volume knob (in theory)?

Would sincerely appreciate all knowledge you might share,

WR  :(

[HTH AMPS]

Changing the volume pot from 410k to 500k will give a little more top end, but not more gain.  A simple boost pedal will get you there - don't be scared  :lol:

Alternatively, if you must get the tone direct from your pickup, I think a Painkiller rather than Miracle Man would be the way to go.

[ericsabbath]

the pinch harmonics thing depends a lot on the guitar setup, pick grip, amp
but considering the pickup alone, I got the easiest harmonics from the holy diver (even easier than with the miracle man), and the pickup itself  no near as hot and aggressive as the nailbomb
maybe tim can wind a custom pickup for you, with the nailbomb output and edge, but with holy diver fat mids and harmonics (that would be the best pickup ever :D)
but you definitely need a proper pot
try CTS
they're said to sound brighter for some reason

[WhiteRam]

Thank you guys.  The top end is plenty so I'll keep the 410K in there, good to know HTH because the pot as you know has everything soldered to it and is most painstaking to change out.  I'll go back through the PK bridge sound clips again, I remember not liking them but will give another go.

Eric great info, that is surprising to hear about the HD as I love what that sounds like.  Yes I was thinking to ask permission to send my NB to Tim as see if I could pay for a rewind.  And cosmetically I did not know the black chipped off easily so I could buy/replace with brushed nickel which I like as well.  

Also, the DC spec on all my BKP's has always been spot on with what was written on the warranty card, showing my multi-meter to be on par with BKP. . . except the NB, the factory hand written spec shows 15.9, but my meter reads 15.6, so maybe there is a wee bit of gain lost there.

So as not to go without a class pickup I may order something to try, when it arrives then send in my NB for an overhaul and custom wind, if it was just a bit hotter it would be my dream, and if more winds also cause it to lose a bit of treble that would be no problem.  :)

Thanks again, yes my pot is a CTS, and I understand all about PH and execute them well, this is PU gain &/or relation to my particular set-up, plus I do want a bit more gain from the PU.

WR

[Transcend]

another thought to throw in is maybe you could try using a booster built into the guitar

such as the emg afterburner

its just a simple switch to flick to give you that will give you that little extra kick you need.

that is presuming your guitar is drilled for a tone pot that you arent using.

[Alex]

Sorry, but I think the problem must be elsewhere, not the pickup.
Is the guitar properly intonated and set up?
What are the amp settings and what kind of amp is it?
Are you sure it is not your technique?

[Transcend]

Sorry, but I think the problem must be elsewhere, not the pickup.
Is the guitar properly intonated and set up?
What are the amp settings and what kind of amp is it?
Are you sure it is not your technique?

It could be those things but from personal experience i always found my nailbomb lacking in power it just never had the kick that i needed for anything other than huge chords

[ericsabbath]

I had the opposite experience  :lol:

[WhiteRam]

Sorry, but I think the problem must be elsewhere, not the pickup.
Is the guitar properly intonated and set up?
What are the amp settings and what kind of amp is it?
Are you sure it is not your technique?

Hi Alex, yes I'm sure, I'm a professional guitar player for some time now.  I tried to word my original post to convey the focus on my questions, so the thread wouldn't get into all the questions you did.

I got my question answered from HTH concerning the pot, and am greatful to now have that knowledge.  What would help me is a comparison of how hard the MM hits the first preamp tube as compared to the NB, in other words gain power.   On a gain scale of 1-10, let's say the WP is a 10. . . now what would the NB & MM be?

I probably should have not used the pinch harmonic example, I'm looking for just a bit more gain and wanted to check on my pot spec (which HTH answered) and from there I'm just looking at the pickup because that's where I want this slight notch of gain to come from.  If I could get my one question answered from this post, I would be appreciative and will have succeeded in my quest.

WR

[ericsabbath]

the miracle man is slightly hotter, but still a very clean pickup
it does have a somewhat similar voicing (edgy top, chunky bass, flat mids), but I'm not sure if you'll get the results you're looking for
I think the higher strings may get spikey on alder
maybe you should try a thick ceramic magnet in the nailbomb

but you really should consider using a boost
the holy diver, for example, wasn't that hot, but it sounded glorious with a booster and I really miss the tones I got with that pickup
there are some built-in passive boosters out there too

[WhiteRam]

Thanks again Eric, yes I've got enough spickey already!  :lol:

I've thought of C-Bomb, and now will probably give that a go.  Since you used the words "thick ceramic magnet", would this be what naturally comes in the C-Bomb or do I need to request this type of ceramic? 

And maybe I should ask Tim to wind it just a bit hotter than normal, being it ceramic and my guitar/neck wood. . . I think a few extra winds won't warm me up too much.   

Holy Diver is on my list of future PU's, that's for sure.

WR

[Alex]

I'm still confused though, why do you need "extra gain" from the pickup??? I have no problems getting pinch harmonics from my Black Dog, and that pickup is a lot less powerful than the nailbomb. Gain should come from the amp - just dial in more gain there.

[WhiteRam]

I'm still confused though, why do you need "extra gain" from the pickup??? I have no problems getting pinch harmonics from my Black Dog, and that pickup is a lot less powerful than the nailbomb. Gain should come from the amp - just dial in more gain there.

I don't "need" extra gain from the pickup, I'm choosing to have extra gain from the pickup.  I don't believe gain "should" come from any specific place, I believe an artist should have free will to choose which colors and brushes he uses to paint his sonic picture.

After discovering BPK, my "personal" way of achieving sonic beauty has taken a path down an incredible journey for me, my style and dream of how I wanted to create certain tones and responses through and while maintaining specific tonal offerings of certain equipment, is coming to fruition.

It pisses me off that I've had to take the time and effort to explain this, I shouldn't have to explain myself or be "called out" on my way of painting my sonic picture, I'm offended by both of your posts actually.

I elaborated too much in my original post, I should have gotten to the quicker point of my questions.  Which have been answered well enough for me to have the knowledge I sought plus a bit extra too, of which I'm sincerely grateful to the gentlemen here.

WR

[ericsabbath]

what amp are you using?
maybe you can tweak the amp to make things easier

[gwEm]

use a pedal maybe - a good one needn't cost that much