COLD SWEAT/TRILOGY SUITE v. VHII - 1st impressions *Pics*

[TwilightOdyssey]

To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure where to post this thread, since it's really about 3 different subjects. However, since the pickups are the most important part of the story, I'll post it here! :)

Forum bro PhilKing delivered the TOC 2 last night and I gave it a preliminary run-through. The TOC 2 has an alder body with a maple/ebony Gajic neck. The overall balance and feel of the guitar is great (small adjustments notwithstanding). As as been my experience since getting my 1st Gajic neck (this is my 3rd), the guitar felt way more solid in my hands.

A couple of pics:







(Thanx to PhilKing for snapping the pics!)

This guitar has a burnt chrome Cold Sweat in the bridge and a Trilogy Suite in the neck.

The Cold Sweat was very suprising to play. It doesn't sound anything like I expected it to!!! It's very, very clean sounding. From top to bottom it has a very smooth, flat frequency response. In the alder body, I found the midrange to perhaps even be slightly depressed, but I need to play the guitar at home to be 100% certain. I had some difficulty getting pinch harmonics, but there were mulitple reasons for that. (4 pints of Guinness being one of 'em ;) )

That being said, I can say right off the bat that the CS is MONSTROUS! The sustain is INCREDIBLE! Better than the Rebel Yell, imo. It's luscious, smooth, distorts well, plays cleanly with a dark edge to it that I found incredible.

PJ's reaction to my initial noodlings:



Hehe, we play L O U D, btw.

Okay, moving on ....

The Trilogy Suite in the neck. All I can say is wow ... best neck pickup I have ever heard! It's not as middy as the Irish Tour. It also has SERIOUS balls!! Nice low end chunk, same sustain as the CS, too.

Overall, it's a really well-balanced set!!!

Comparing it to my TOC 3, which is an ash body, maple/flame maple Gajic neck with a single VHII in the bridge -- once again, the VHII is more raw, has less 'power' and overall clarity than the Cold Sweat, imo, but is also more dynamic with screaming harmonics and high frequency detail.

Pics:







For my taste, which do I prefer? I can't!!! I'm so glad I have so many amazing guitars and AMAZING pickup choices now!

[Davey]

way cool!!


and i got the same shirt peej has!  DOES THAT MAKE ME COOL TOO?

hehe

[punching_sandwiches]

Hey, that was a very enjoyable read! Those guitars both look amazing! And by the sounds of what you've said they sound it too.
Is there any chance of a picture of the burnt chrome Cold Sweat?

[TwilightOdyssey]

Those are pics from when they pups first arrived.

[TwilightOdyssey]

and i got the same shirt peej has!  DOES THAT MAKE ME COOL TOO?

No. No, it doesn't. :lol:

[Ratrod]

It's impossible to pick a favorite BKP, they're all good, just different carracters.

Btw, That amp wall is way cool. 8)

[Tim]

I think having a few more amps to in the room would help :lol:
Glad you got it all up and running...............don't worry about the pinch harmonics, they leap out the same as a Miracle Man,
The tone is brighter in a S style axe which is nice.............it was designed with a LP in mind and to work with that body mass but that doesn't preclude it from lighter bodies.
Thanks as ever for the updates :D

[TwilightOdyssey]

You're very welcome, Tim ... amazing product! It's hard not to get excited about it!!!

Honestly, I think I had the Big D on the wrong diode for that guitar/pup combination. I had it on Diode no. 2, which is a slightly beefed up Tube Screamer. I probably should've had it on Diode no. 2 or 3.

This w/e I will really get the time to work with the guitar.

[PhilKing]

I was surprised how much Ben used the guitar last night, because I had only set it up the night before and I was really bringing it along for him to check over and tell me what needed fixing :D My first impressions of the Cold Sweat was that there is a phenomonal amount of sustain (the guitar has a Floyd Rose), but not as much mid range push as the Rebel Yell.  Probably for metal it is a better pickup than the RY, but for rock I think I like the RY (though I am thinking that I might get a CS and swap out my Nailbomb, as I liked the combination of CS and Trilogy.  

The amps in that room are amazing.  I got Igor to use the Cornford 50 instead of the VHT pitbull (he had moved to that after trying the Roccaforte and Diezel).  He liked the sound a lot, next week I'm bringing the Nailbomb/Trilogy guitar for him to try.  I'm going to book the room for a few hours and bring in several guitars to play through the different amps :guitar4:

Tonight I will set up the snakeskin properly (when Ben said he wanted to try 48's I used a 17-28-38-48 set - it turns out he would prefer 17-26-36-46).  I also need to make a different neck shim so I can bring down the Floyd, but keep the action as is.

Then I will swap it for the Maple Strat and get the final adjustments done to that (including testing a 'sweet' switch to tame the very top end a bit.

Watch this space for the results!

[wixomwhat]

Cool pics!

TO- I still think your strat is one of the most Badass guitars I've ever seen.

[WITH FULL DISTORTION]

$%&#ING Hails Ben
please,compare the highs, middles, and bass from the Irish Tour and the Trilogy !
Q:p
did PJ gain some little Pounds?
Where´s the Second guitarrist?
J.P

[Eric]

I have two reactions to this post.

One, can I borrow an amp or three TO? That's an insane wall of sound there. I'm totally awe-struck.

Second, I seriously wish Tim and the gang would make a bad pickup so I didn't feel the need to buy 50 guitars to fit them all in. This site gives me GAS pains.

The Cold Sweat sounds like another amazing BKP though. Soon we'll all be able to say we knew Tim before he dominated the pickup world.   :D

[Davey]

and get igor to sign in here.. if he can take a minute from ROCKIN OUT!!

[Ratrod]

Phil, are you the official TO guitar tech now?

[PhilKing]

Phil, are you the official TO guitar tech now?

Probably the unofficial one, and official Guiness drinker!  I just finished TOC2 (I had only taken it in so that Ben could tell me what to change).  I reset the neck and brought down the Floyd Rose a lot.  I set it up for 10,13,17, 26,36,46 strings and changed the wiring a little, knowing that Ben hates switches and any strange sounds!  He had liked the Rebel Yell outer coils in series on the PRS, so knowing this I have wired the guitar as follows:

1 - Cold Sweat - seires
2 - Cold Sweat Slug coil in series with Trilogy neck (as a humbucker)
3 - Trilogy

I will see how he likes it (or not!) this weekend when he tries it through the Splawn for the first time.  I get the maple neck strat to tame a bit.  I was talking to Ben who was talking with Brow, and he wants to put a 2 way DPDT switch in to add some resistance (he said), but I really think that it is resistance and capacitance that we need.  I am thinking of putting a .047 on one side and a .022 on the other, with a couple of different resistors in there too.  If it start to lose to much treble, I can make one side straight through, or use an on/off/on switch and have it bypassed in the off position.