Help me shop for BKPs :)

[vinchester]

Dear BKP forumites,

Hi, I have been lurking around for quite a while and this place is pretty helpful :) so I registered. I'm also a member of SS.org and some of you might recognize me and my beloved Eclipse NGD a while back.  8)
I'm a foreign student studying in the UK and now feels like "supporting the local economy" by buying BK Pups  :D

Customary pic of the axe;



I have a few questions here...

1.) I play metal on my Full thickness Eclipse (LP Custom-clone goodness). Usually in E-standard or at most D-standard so I don't really require ultra tight low. the guitar itself has lots of low and mid-low but very resonant as well (not dark). I want an aggressive bridge pup that'll give me the crisp, saturated thrash rhythm and fluid solo.(maybe back off on the lows) And a medium-output neck for warm fat organic clean and smooth overdriven sound. Need to clean up well when back off the volume.

2.) I'm gonna convert my Eclipse to passive. So apart from the pups I'll need new "pots and caps". Now I'm gonna buy the 550k CTS pots from this site but what are caps really and where do I get them? Also, do I need 4 pots? my guitar has 2 Volume 2 tone.

3.) How much does a guitar shop would charge me for replacing pups? It's my first time in the UK!

Thanks in advance folks! I'm very eager to try these pups out. Not many Thai guys have had this chance!  :D

[Axe Palace]

Welcome fellow SS.org'er, you may know me there as 'Zimbloth' and a BKP dealer myself.

Anyways I would highly recommend the Holydiver or Rebel Yell model in your Eclipse. They're both awesome for metal and have immense clarity, rich harmonics, power, and crunch. The Rebel Yell has a tighter bottom end and a bit more snap, the Holydiver is a bit darker and hotter. Both have a sweet lead tone and lots of aggressive growl. Since you'd be tuning to D standard I think I'd go with the Holydiver. If you required additional tightness to tune lower, the Rebel Yell I find to be the tightest alnico pickup ever made (and one of my personal favorite models).

That said, I had a Holydiver 7-string in one of my guitars and it sounded amazing - though that was a brighter guitar.

[vinchester]

Thanks for your input!
Thought my first post is probably a little unclear; I mostly play in E-standard and only occasionally go to Eb or D. just so you know...

Hmm how about the Cold Sweat set? thought that amount of treble'd compliment nicely with my LP.

[Axe Palace]

Thanks for your input!
Thought my first post is probably a little unclear; I mostly play in E-standard and only occasionally go to Eb or D. just so you know...

Hmm how about the Cold Sweat set? thought that amount of treble'd compliment nicely with my LP.

I personally would go with the NB or RY over the Cold Sweat in a predominantly standard tuned ESP that you claim isn't dark. The CS is quite bright and almost 'hi-fi' sounding at times. I personally find the NB and RY possess more 'character' and midrange roar. I prefer the CS in darker guitars and with lower tunings because of how tight and clear they are.

[MDV]

Thanks for your input!
Thought my first post is probably a little unclear; I mostly play in E-standard and only occasionally go to Eb or D. just so you know...

Hmm how about the Cold Sweat set? thought that amount of treble'd compliment nicely with my LP.

I personally would go with the NB or RY over the Cold Sweat in a predominantly standard tuned ESP that you claim isn't dark. The CS is quite bright and almost 'hi-fi' sounding at times. I personally find the NB and RY possess more 'character' and midrange roar. I prefer the CS in darker guitars and with lower tunings because of how tight and clear they are.

I agree and I'll repeat the recommendation I made over at seven string:

Ceramic nailbomb

(Or miralcle man if youre not *that* fussed about the cleans).

[Axe Palace]

Thanks for your input!
Thought my first post is probably a little unclear; I mostly play in E-standard and only occasionally go to Eb or D. just so you know...

Hmm how about the Cold Sweat set? thought that amount of treble'd compliment nicely with my LP.

I personally would go with the NB or RY over the Cold Sweat in a predominantly standard tuned ESP that you claim isn't dark. The CS is quite bright and almost 'hi-fi' sounding at times. I personally find the NB and RY possess more 'character' and midrange roar. I prefer the CS in darker guitars and with lower tunings because of how tight and clear they are.

I agree and I'll repeat the recommendation I made over at seven string:

Ceramic nailbomb

(Or miralcle man if youre not *that* fussed about the cleans).

Yeah the ceramic Nailbomb would probably be the only ceramic I'd recommend for your situation. However if you're only tuning to standard or D at the lowest, I would much rather have one of their great alnicos which hold their own in the low-end category but produce (IMO) much better lead tones than most ceramics.

[vinchester]

Ah that makes sense.  If the CS is quite trebly and hi-fi then I'd not prefer that...
thanks again for helping!

Now what about question 2 and 3?  :( cos I'd like to purchase the pups and the accessories in one deal to save all the hassle.

p.s. Yeah I'm a little fussy about having good (doesnt have to be excellent) clean tone.

[Axe Palace]

Ah that makes sense.  If the CS is quite trebly and hi-fi then I'd not prefer that...
thanks again for helping!

Now what about question 2 and 3?  :( cos I'd like to purchase the pups and the accessories in one deal to save all the hassle.

p.s. Yeah I'm a little fussy about having good (doesnt have to be excellent) clean tone.

I sell pots and stuff here at my shop, but if you're living in the UK you should just call up Tim. I believe they sell that kind of stuff as well.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Hey there
Where are you based in the UK?
There are a few makers and repair shops that will have BKPs already fitted in guitars.
We certainly have a large haul of guitars loaded with BKP goodness.
We are 20 mins south of central London if you are based in that part of the UK.

I have a few LPs with Cold Sweats and Miracle man pickups in as well as some Rebel Yells too
the black one is Cold Sweats (it's trying to be a bit John Sykes) and the Red has Miracle Man

[Axe Palace]

Hey there
Where are you based in the UK?
There are a few makers and repair shops that will have BKPs already fitted in guitars.
We certainly have a large haul of guitars loaded with BKP goodness.
We are 20 mins south of central London if you are based in that part of the UK.

I have a few LPs with Cold Sweats and Miracle man pickups in as well as some Rebel Yells too
the black one is Cold Sweats (it's trying to be a bit John Sykes) and the Red has Miracle Man

On a side note, your work looks fantastic man. If you ever want to set up dealers across the pond I'd potentially be very interested :)

[ericsabbath]

what's your main amp/distortion source?

[FELINEGUITARS]

Hey there
Where are you based in the UK?
There are a few makers and repair shops that will have BKPs already fitted in guitars.
We certainly have a large haul of guitars loaded with BKP goodness.
We are 20 mins south of central London if you are based in that part of the UK.

I have a few LPs with Cold Sweats and Miracle man pickups in as well as some Rebel Yells too
the black one is Cold Sweats (it's trying to be a bit John Sykes) and the Red has Miracle Man

On a side note, your work looks fantastic man. If you ever want to set up dealers across the pond I'd potentially be very interested :)

Thankyou
your site looks really good
Good to see someone so enthusiastic handling BKPs in the USA!

[vinchester]

Hi FelineGuitars,
Those are awesome LPs :) but I'm not in the market for new guitars right now, I just got mine!
I'm in Cardiff for the moment. There are a few guitar shops here so I think that's where I'd go.

To Eric,
Right now, it's just my PodX3 (sigh) straight into my laptop and monitor headphones.
But when I get it back home sometime later, I'll be playing the axe on my Blackstar. I usually boost the front end with an OD pedal.  


So um... I'll need to buy four pots right? standard or with 3/4inch shaft? what about the caps?

[vinchester]

Ok I got the advice from the Man himself  :)

Based on my description, Tim recommends me a set of Painkillers or Aftermath. And since I found the Aftermath too be too "surgical" from what clips I could find, that leaves me with the PK.

I did check out Steven's great clips of Rebel Yell as well, but those are clearly aimed for hard rock. While I love vintage-hot neck pup, I remember how I had to "fight" with my bridge IceBucker to get the level of distortion I want. So yeah I'm gonna get the high-output PK which should make my life easier :D

BUT I still want the juicy deep overdriven, a little loose, w/ warm clean neck pup tho! I like Antag's clip of the HolyDiver neck. So HD neck it is.

PK bridge, HD Neck. Could I go wrong with this combo?  :shock:

[ericsabbath]

the neck pup description sounds more like a miracle man