Help Choosing a BKP for a MusicMan Albert Lee

[Coffeemug]

Hey guys, first post in this forum.
I'd love to get some opinions on which pickups to choose for an Albert Lee...I own several of these guitars and with one the pickups need some work to them so -having heard only the best about them-I thought I'd put in a set of Bare Knuckles in the meantime. I'm sure a lot of you guys are familiar with Albert Lee (and probably his sig. guitar for that matter) and I really need a fair bit of "quack" in the pu's but would love to add another dimension to the sound as well if possible...

Any recommendations? I looked into the Apache which -after what I've read and heard- might be a little too thin...so how about the Slow Hand set...my favourite so far but will it have a bit of that quack and twang also? How about the clean tones? Any Slow Hand user's input highly appreciated!

Thanks,
c(_)

[Philly Q]

Welcome to the forum!  :D

Afraid I can't offer any useful advice (although I suspect you'll get lots of replies saying Apaches aren't thin!), but I was excited to see a thread about an Albert Lee guitar, I've always liked the look of them.

[AndyR]

Yep, welcome :D

Agreed, I think Apache folks will say "not that thin". I wonder about their "quackiness" though. I imagine them as more rounded and "spank" rather than woody "quack". But I haven't tried them myself. I suspect that they'd actually do quite a good job.

I'm using Sultans in maple board strat - I've tried them in a rosewood board as well - and they seem to bubble and quack quite nicely. If I had an Albert Lee, I'd probably be thinking of trying those.

I'm not sure whether the Slowhands would be the best for what you're after. They seem to offer a more powerful strat tone that, for me, seems to lose some of the quack I'm after. I really like the clips I've heard, but they're not quite the strat sound I go for.

Hopefully the other strat-lovers will chime in with their favourites (I have a feeling one of our main Slowhand fans is on holiday at the moment though).

In the end, I think this might be one where the best thing might be to see what we think and then contact Tim at BKP.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Slowhands are quite dark sounding pickups imo
I find that whilst Apaches are rounded and bell - like they do still have a fair amount of quack in positions 2 and 4
I suspect Mothers milk will be too slinky/hendrixy which may be interpreted as thin sounding

Irish Tours still have stratiness but are more growly in the mids - great for Rory Gallagher and SRV type stuff

[PhilKing]

I would put in AV Apache's.  I think they will give you what you want.  I have a couple of sets of them in different guitars.  I have one in my 61 strat, because the original pickup was long gone when I got it back in 1983 (it had been converted to HSS).  In there it blends in great with the other original pickups.  I had a full set in a Bravewood 56 Strat replica (the neck was copied from my real 57 strat, with a really light swamp ash body).  In there, with the maple neck, they get the sound that I think you are looking for (though I have changed the bridge out for a Slowhand to give me a bit more poke!).

[38thBeatle]

Welcome to the forum. I would say that Apaches are not at all thin. They have a great rounded tone to them. Another Strat I have has Slowhands and the in between tone on that it a bit beefier than the Apaches I would say.

[marantz1300]

I had Apaches in my (ex) Silo. They were bright and twangy,so maybe some would say thin. It had an Ash body,maybe that added to the bright tone.I liked it though.

[Coffeemug]

Thanks for the warm welcome and input so far...contacted customer service about the matter and got the recommendation to go with the Irish Tour set...so it'll most likely be either the IT or the S-H. I guess I can't go wrong either way...!

[AndyR]

That's interesting - I'm a big Irish Tour fan, but didn't think to suggest them... They're in my #1 strat (alder body, rosewood board).

If it's IT vs SH, I think your choice probably boils down to SH have a slightly "darker" sound, ITs give you "growly" when you want it... just like Feline said earlier. :D

[gingataff]

Something to ponder on: Which is quackier, RWRP or non-RWRP?

[AndyR]

Something to ponder on: Which is quackier, RWRP or non-RWRP?

I'm not sure nowadays...

My ITs are RWRP, I spent a couple of years thinking "I've made a mistake over choosing that".

I was convinced that quack is slightly "down" on RWRP.

So my recent Sultans are non-RWRP.

But... I'm not so convinced now. I know they're different pups, in different guitars, but I think height adjustments probably compensate for any possible loss of quack in RWRP. Both guitars quack like a duck when I want them to - on a good day I can even get middle quacking on their own.

Now, I'd recommend choosing RWRP or not based only on whether you want hum-cancelling in positions 2 and 4. If that's important to you, go RWRP. Personally, having been used to single-coil hum for nearly 30 year, I find the silence in 2 and 4 slightly disconcerting :lol: - so I'd always choose non-RWRP if I have the option now.

By the way, from what I've heard clip-wise, I would expect ITs to have more quack-ability than Slowhands - but that's just a personal impression/guess.

[Philly Q]

Something to ponder on: Which is quackier, RWRP or non-RWRP?

It seems to be one of those divided-opinion topics!  Maybe a few more would say RWRP is quackier, but my theory is that the lack of hum makes it seem quackier and there's not really much difference.

Personally, I like as much hum-cancelling as possible.  I do love the single-coil tone, but I can't help feeling that after 60 years it should be possible to get the tone without the hum.

[AndyR]

I do love the single-coil tone, but I can't help feeling that after 60 years it should be possible to get the tone without the hum.

Turn all the electricity off? :lol:

I have to admit, that early on, with my first strat, I got really worried about the hum. But then gigging with it, even little pub gigs, it just doesn't seem to matter after that. Even recording, once it's in the mix it's hardly noticable, listen to the track on its own it's "whoa!", but turn up the drums, or even a vocal, no problem - it's all part of the "tone" (:roll:)...

EDIT: The only thing that does worry me noise-wise on recordings is the click of first making contact with metal parts on a guitar in a badly wired place (like mine).