Need some pickup help, my holy divers aren't doing it for me

[rsf1977]

Ok got a reply back from Tim at BK "To retain the mids but gain extra aggression and high end bite the Aftermath would be the solution." I guess I'm leaning to the Aftermath

[rsf1977]

How do the aftermaths compare to the c-bombs? Also I read somewhere that there are different pole piece options? What's that about lol? So many options lol.

For the C-Bomb/Aftermath comparision I always looked at this, but I'm still not convinced. Maby you will be. C-Bomb left and Aftermath right.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3702469/Memento%20Mori.mp3

Edit: Actually the aftermath seems a bit dark overall after listening to other clips i found, i like the top end of the C-Bomb it has a lot of bite that i feel i could control and lessen if i needed to. I would love to hear doing the chugga chugga thing to see what that's like.

I think the c-bomb has a a cool hairiness to the tone which i like, it's not as polite. Man these 2 pups really compliment each other nicely lol. They kind of each have what the other doesn't it's pretty cool. Dang man it's just like buy and try i guess.

[Doadman]

actually just reading one of your last posts i believe the miracle man would be a bit more suitable for you its a far bit thicker than the AM (not that the AM isnt thick) but the MM is just HUGE

So while the Nailbomb is the most aggressive and 'ceramic-like- of the Alnico V pups, do you mean that the Miracle Man is the most organic of the ceramics?

[Transcend]

actually just reading one of your last posts i believe the miracle man would be a bit more suitable for you its a far bit thicker than the AM (not that the AM isnt thick) but the MM is just HUGE

So while the Nailbomb is the most aggressive and 'ceramic-like- of the Alnico V pups, do you mean that the Miracle Man is the most organic of the ceramics?

i wouldnt say organic but it sounds a lot more natural to me than the others. Less precision. Actually the CS is a bit more natural but i didn't like it too much as the overall voicing was a bit too polite for me

[rsf1977]

Yea I don't want a pickup that is really restricting, i like an open wide sound with snarl, bark and hariness to it. When you slide down that low string into a riff you get that roar. And when you lay into a palm mute it hits you in the chest. The HD for me had a good grind and that hair but the palm mutes didn't give you that sharp thud, it was sort of more rounded and compressed. And the top end didn't have that bite that gets the tone to cut through sharply. I'm sorry if my terminology is kind of subjective i don't know how else to describe it. I'll put it this way the VK2 stock pups had the high end bite i like just a little too harsh/spikey and they had the low end thump that was tight and big, maybe a tad too much low end. But it's biggest weakness was the overall density it just came off a bit thin when doing big chording like the pickup had a PEQ rolling off the low end somewhere. The note definition, clarity, and note compression seemed ok.

[Transcend]

I think the aftermath will be better for you as it is tighter and still has that awesome gritty hairiness that you want.

The miracle man has the same voicing but relaxed upper mids and a bigger bass increase and is incredibly tight but not quite.

My new trem block should be here tomorrow so ill record one of my tracks with the MM & AM

so you can compare

[rsf1977]

I think the aftermath will be better for you as it is tighter and still has that awesome gritty hairiness that you want.

The miracle man has the same voicing but relaxed upper mids and a bigger bass increase and is incredibly tight but not quite.

My new trem block should be here tomorrow so ill record one of my tracks with the MM & AM

so you can compare

Thanks a lot, that's really going above and beyond. You guys are great

[rsf1977]

Since I have the pickups in I did a little playing with the pickup height, and man what a difference lowering them did. Cleaned those pickups right up. I was surprised i had to lower them as much as i did, but they sound much more direct, brighter and cleaner now. They still aren't doing it for me, but it's better. I still have that feedback whistle at 1700khz that's unacceptable in both pups. Oh well. There maybe should be some height recommendations that go with them to warn they don't like to be close lol.

[ElectricTurkey4369]

Since I have the pickups in I did a little playing with the pickup height, and man what a difference lowering them did. Cleaned those pickups right up. I was surprised i had to lower them as much as i did, but they sound much more direct, brighter and cleaner now. They still aren't doing it for me, but it's better. I still have that feedback whistle at 1700khz that's unacceptable in both pups. Oh well. There maybe should be some height recommendations that go with them to warn they don't like to be close lol.

I know EXACTLY what your talking about. I lowered my holy diver and its so much better! I loved the tone before, but now its perfect!

[rsf1977]

Ok I finally got my bridge Aftermath pickup in my guitar. And I have to say i like, possibly love it already. I only tested it at some loud bedroom levels, but it sounds pretty damn good. It's like I took the stock pickups I had and scrubbed it clean in the sink and removed the mucky muddiness and the over-hyped bass. This pickup is tight, punchy and it sounds mean. The Holy Divers that I tried on the other hand I felt were overly compressed and had a mid range hump I wasn't into. The Aftermath sounds more balanced tonally and clear, but it's got balls. Whoever described this as clinical made clinical my new favorite word hahah. I would describe it as defined and accurate, but not clinical because there's nothing sterile about it. This pickup sounds organic and cutting. I can't wait to get this up to band levels and see where it goes.

One note for other guys that might be having issues with the Aftermath tone. Pickup height really changes the character of this PUP, and I mean dramatically. If you back it to far down it gets really thin and shrill. If you put it up too high it becomes really fat, compressed, murky and mushy. But man when you get it just right in between it's amazing. Do some experimenting. I've found most BK pups react to height more then others I've tried.

[rsf1977]

Ok, had the first band practice with the aftermath. I love this pickup. It's so defined and aggressive. Everythin has bite and punch. This is probably the punchiest pickup I've ever played. And palm mutes have a slam to them. I've found my dream pickup. This is what I've been looking for.

[Transcend]

Glad its working out for you.

I on the ther hand have now got sick of mine and i'm figuring out what to replace it with.

[JacksonRR]

Glad its working out for you.

I on the ther hand have now got sick of mine and i'm figuring out what to replace it with.

What's bothering you about them?

[Transcend]

They arent miracle men :P

I find the miracle man to be a lot tighter and aggresive.

i also far prefer the miracle mans high end

[rsf1977]

very interesting. I was under the impression the aftermath was king of tightness. Honestly, I think if things got tighter i'd be in trouble lol.