nailbomb harmonics/sustain problem?

[maccayoung]

I've just purchased and installed the bridge version of the nailbomb.  Can the soldering and/or pots effect the output
of the pickup?

I'm somewhat happy with the sound of the pickup but it isn't exactly what I'd call 'chaos in a pickup' (the description of the nailbomb from the bare knuckle website).  The harmonics seem to be hard to get and when I do get them they die off very quickly.  Hardly any sustain at all.  Yet when I play the guitar when it's not plugged in the sustain is there.  I'm used to seymour duncan JBs which aren't super hot, and I find I can get harmonics from the seymours with ease.

The guitar is relatively cheap, and I'm not the best at soldering, so is there a chance that all these factors could mean I'm not getting the full output of the pickup?

The pickup sounds great playing rhythm but anything involving a squeal or a dive bomb and it's really hard to get.  Even if I do manage to get one it disappears quickly.

I thought I'd ask before taking it in to my local guitar luthier.

[Twinfan]

Welcome!

Two things to check:

1)  Height of the pickup from the strings.  BKPs are very sensitive to height, and the general starting point is 2mm between strings and pole pieces with the string fretted at the last fret

2)  To check your wiring, if you can get hold of a multimeter you can run a cable from the guitar and check the DC resistance roughly matches the card that came with your pickup  :)

[maccayoung]

Thanks for your reply Twinfan. 

I've played around with the pickup height, so I guess the next thing to do is get myself a multimeter and check it out.

[ericsabbath]

maybe you're missing the huge amount of mids of the JB
the nailbomb isn't a middy pickup at all

[maccayoung]

maybe you're missing the huge amount of mids of the JB
the nailbomb isn't a middy pickup at all

Actually that's one of the things I don't like about the JBs.  I was comparing the Jbs for how easy it is to get harmonics, dive bombs etc.  From what I understand (and I could be totally wrong) the jb isn't really a super hot pickup so for something described as 'chaos in a pickup' I was expecting the nailbomb to be at least on par with the Jb.

[gepetto33]

the nailbomb isn't a middy pickup at all

That's kinda surprising to hear... from the clips i've heard it definitely seemed far less scooped than any of the ceramics (save the painkiller). I suppose this pickup differs drastically with each guitar too, as there's some woods it flat out doesn't work in....

[ericsabbath]

it's not really scooped, but it's no near as middy as the holy diver, painkiller or even the warpig in similar guitars (I use mostly les pauls)
it has PAF-like hollow mids, punchy low end and a sharp top
compared to the cold sweat (which is an underwound ceramic nailbomb), it has more low mids, but a lot less center and upper mids
definitely not like an enhanced JB, like most people would expect from the specs
it's more like a duncan SH-14 custom V in terms of voicing, but definitely punchier, more alive and not as scooped
not saying it sounds like the SH-14, but it's closest famous pup I can think of

are you using 500k pots?
was the nailbomb a replacement for a JB in the same guitar, or are you talking about some other guitar?

[maccayoung]

are you using 500k pots?
was the nailbomb a replacement for a JB in the same guitar, or are you talking about some other guitar?

I'm not sure if they're 500k pots.  I was replacing stock passive pickups which I had similar problem with (sounded okay but not great with the harmonics).  Which leads me to believe it could be the pots/soldering.  I would say the guitar could be the problem but there is a ton of sustain when it's not plugged in so I'm hoping that's not the case.

The Jb I was referring to was in another guitar.  So it's probably not a fair comparison but it's the only one I've got.

[ericsabbath]

some guitars are just harder on harmonics
I can pinch harmonics much easier with my cheaper early 90's japanese Hurricane les paul than with my 1973 Gibson les paul custom
the Hurricane had over 16 pickups and I had no problems with pinch harmonics with any of them
the '73 Les Paul had a nailbomb set and motor city set and I have to be very precise to get big sounding harmonics from her

[ratspeak]

Which MCPs were you using? From what I've listened to, only Solutions and Nukes have enough heat to get really good full pinches at practical gain settings.

[maccayoung]

Which MCPs were you using?

erm,  what's an MCP?

[seeingred]

Which MCPs were you using?

erm,  what's an MCP?

MCP=Motor City Pickups

[ericsabbath]

afwayu and second degree black belt
the afwayu reminds me a lot of the nailbombs punchy and aggressive sound, but it's middy like the holy diver, and a bit more dry sounding than both BKPs
great pickup too, just not as smooth and open
very aggressive for alnico 5 (in a good way)
2nd degree black belt is somewhat close to my cold sweat neck, but less middy and less modern sounding
I don't miss the nailbomb at all, but I do miss the holy diver
maybe Tim could wind me a more aggressive Diver? :idea:
the Diver was the best pup I've ever played for pinch harmonics
the miracle man sounds huge when played loud too

[Roobubba]

I've not tried the HD, although Eric often mentions that it's even easier to get pinch harmonics than the MM. I find the MM insanely good for pinch harmonics in any tuning with any gauge of string. Certainly the black dog is much harder to get the pinches working than the miracle man (no surprises there). Perhaps the nailbomb isn't right for you? Speak to Tim, he's very helpful!
Roo

[Transcend]

Even though i didnt like the NB in any of my guitars i found it to be the second easiest bkp ive tried to pinch on

the MQ neck YES neck i find to be the easiest
then the NB
then the MM

but pinches just leap out with ease from all of these pickups in my opinion