Mixing pickups ?

[Wolfie]

I notice on a few threads, that people are mixing a matching pickups.

I have just bought a Gibson LP Custom and was thinking about some PUP's from BK and I see that they come in matched sets, is this not the way to go?

Or is the way to go via mix and match?

your views would be greatly appriciated.

P

[Steve-Mr Pig 2U]

We always recomend buying a calibrated set, because the bridge and neck have been specialy designed to work together, and we belive you will get the most from them.
Few exceptions are adding a mississippi queen in the neck poision with a humbucker in the bridge, we have had great results with that.
Mixing and matching is all about experimenting with different tones and you can get some very nice combinations, as long as you put a pickup that has been designed for the neck position in the neck. Bridge designed pickups tend to sound muddy in the neck slots (with the exception of the stormy monday and the riff raff).

[jt]

:D It depeds on what your after......

Example : Some players prefer a higher gain P/U in the bridge position & a lower gain in the Neck. So if you buy a set of say Nailbombs then your going to get high gain P/U`s in both positions, where as you might prefer a lower gain P?U in the neck so you get say a Nailbomb Bridge & a Mule Neck....

Remember as Steve has said when ordering your P/U`s ask the guys to calibrate them even if there a mixed set

 :D  8)

[PhilKing]

I have a mix of both - but I usually speak to Tim and the guys at BK to get my set.  My original pickups were an Emerald bridge and Mule neck, I wanted that Paul Kossoff sound, but with some older Thin Lizzy.  I also got a HSS set of Crawler and 2 P-91's.  My next set was a VHII calibrated set for my PRS.  Both give me great sounds, but I was looking for a couple of different things and this is why I picked different pickups.   I have an explorer with a Warpig bridge and Mississippi Queen neck (as Steve mentioned), and it is a great combination, excellent for older heavy rock.

You just need to decide what you are going for.  My latest set is a calibrated Black Dog set, as I have been meaning to try these for a while, and have now figured out a way to move some pickups around.

If you are not sure what you want, the best bet is to talk to the guys at BK.  They will tell you the best set up for what you are trying to achieve.

[HJM]

You'll find though that in the BKP sets you generally get a softer sounding neck that is lower output. Either using a different magnet (Miracle Man Cermaic/alnico mix) or a different wind. My Nailbomb set has a 9k neck pickup if memory serves, but the bridge is 16K - so the sets give a good versatile range of tones.

I used to mix and match all my humbuckers, but now I've switched to sets, they just seem to work better together. It can be nice to have a chalk and cheese kind of setup, I had a Miracle Man bridge with a Stormy Monday neck, worked great in isolation but dialling up a tone on the amp that worked both in frequency terms and volume was impossible!

Mix with care....if in doubt get the set, you know it will work!

[carlaz]

I have a mix of both - but I usually speak to Tim and the guys at BK to get my set.

These are wise words.  There are lots of options and, being a bear of very little brain, I've had a hell of a time trying to wrap my poor head around all the details!  So I've finally just PM'd Tim to beg expert advice on a choice :)

[Wolfie]

Thanks for the advice

It sounds like I would be better of with a calibrated set.

Currently the pickups that are in the Custom are 490 Alnico (R) neck and 498 Alinico (T) Bridge.

I love the sound of Gary Moore on " Still got the blues ", all of John Sykes tone, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, amongst others, Any Timmons " Cry for You ", now I'm not saying I play or sound like these guys, but it would be nice to get some assistance to get near them, in tone at least.

Any recommendations would be greatly apprieciated.

Regards

Phil

[Dakine]

Sounds like you are going for the kinda sound as me.
I have a LP Standard and am going to go for a Calibrated set of Cold Sweat p/u's.
Nick

[carlaz]

Currently the pickups that are in the Custom are 490 Alnico (R) neck and 498 Alinico (T) Bridge. I love the sound of Gary Moore on " Still got the blues ", all of John Sykes tone, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, amongst others, Any Timmons " Cry for You ", now I'm not saying I play or sound like these guys, but it would be nice to get some assistance to get near them, in tone at least.

Well, the Cold Sweat humbuckers are all about the John Sykes vibe.  They're available from the BKP web shop, but not listed amongst the product descriptions (though my notes say that Tim described them as "bridge DC14.3K hot ceramic, neck DC17.4K Alnico V").

Alternatively, the Crawlers seem suited to heavy blues-rock sounds as well. (I'm looking to replace the same stock pups you have in my own LP Std, and Crawlers are on my list of possible replacements.)

[jt]

I used to mix and match all my humbuckers, but now I've switched to sets, they just seem to work better together.

Mix with care....if in doubt get the set, you know it will work![/quote]

 :D +1  have to say i think HJM`s right

As for what set to get..... With the bands you`ve mentioned i`d go for
VHII, Cold Sweats, i`ve got both of these & i have to say that i find both of these to be very flexible, The VHII has a more vintaging type tone to it the CS have a more modern edge. From what i`ve heard at guitar shows & on the Players section the Mules would also be good very versatile.
Have you checked out the players section ?

 :D  8)

[Wolfie]

I used to mix and match all my humbuckers, but now I've switched to sets, they just seem to work better together.

Mix with care....if in doubt get the set, you know it will work!

 :D +1  have to say i think HJM`s right

As for what set to get..... With the bands you`ve mentioned i`d go for
VHII, Cold Sweats, i`ve got both of these & i have to say that i find both of these to be very flexible, The VHII has a more vintaging type tone to it the CS have a more modern edge. From what i`ve heard at guitar shows & on the Players section the Mules would also be good very versatile.
Have you checked out the players section ?

 :D  8)[/quote]

Yep ! I narrowed it down to Cold Sweats, Miracle Man and Mules.
And eventually decided on  the Cold Sweat, with a discusssion with Tim this morning.

I glad I did not that I can play like Ainsley ( BGG on this forum ) but Ive just been to see White Noise local band in the North Est at Felling, and he has Cold Sweats in.

Jesus, the man Rocks big time.

Whaaaahooooo cant wait till next week.

I'll give a tone report if anyone is interested.

Phil

[38thBeatle]

I look forward to your tone report.And clips of course. One of the best things about being in this forum is reading the different views and opinions.

[jt]

I look forward to your tone report.And clips of course. One of the best things about being in this forum is reading the different views and opinions.

 :D Right on there brother 38 !!!!  :D

 :D  8)

[Trendkiller]

I use two calibirated sets, Holy Divers and the VHII's. These pairs sounds great, and I think this is the best way to go.

But, mix and match can also be a good thing to do.
In a '68 LP (transferred from P-90's to 'buckers)  I use a MM in the bridge and a TomHolmes 450 in the neck.
These two (also diff manufactureres!) works REAL good together.
This combo give this LP many cool tones and possibilites, from classic rock to gained out metal.
I would not change a thing on this LP.
 :)



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