All,
Last time I picked up a set of BKP's, the input here was good, so I figured I'd try again.
I just bought a Caparison Horus, and want to nix the stock pups for something a bit better. Now, the seller's throwing in a D-Sonic for free, but when I tried the EBMM Petrucci sig, I was so far beyond unimpressed with how tight the bridge pup was. Don't get me wrong, it sounded great for what Petrucci plays, and in that regard is therefore an awesome representation of the sound he needs, but I didn't find it anywhere close to what I wanted it to sound like. That was obviously in a Basswood guitar, which is fairly bland as far as it's tonal repertoire, so will the Mahogany body of the Horus help to give the D-Sonic some more 'Balls?'
If not, what kind of bridge pup should I be looking at? I got a Painkiller for my RGA121 and was ridiculously satisfied with it, but since I plan on using the bridge for anything distorted, including really tight stuff, I'm not quite sure if that's where I should be looking. And, before anyone goes there, I'm really not sure I want to go with a 'Pig simply because of the fact that it is so high output, and I don't just play metal... As far as the tonal characteristics are concerned, I want something that can sustain and have a really full-bodied tone, but can also clean and tighten up when running really percussive riffs, which I'm not quite sure I was able to accomplish with the PK (been a while since I sold the guitar with them installed).
tl;dr - What bridge 'bucker for a rich, full distorted tone that can also tighten up to no end.Bridge Bucker aside, I'll be using the neck pup almost solely for cleans, and I have to say that I REALLY liked the clean tone that I got from the Petrucci combo (adding the Air Norton Neck, I believe), when running the "in-between" config of both buckers. I assume I'll want something with less output that the Sinner, which is focused on the more metal player...but I do want something that can still hold its own under distortion. I was thinking the Trilogy unless someone can chime in as to the clean characteristics of the Sinner...I also finally figured out why people solo on the Neck pup when I had the JP6, as it was the first guitar I've owned with a neck pup that really sounded like I wanted it to/though it should. Is there a single coil, from BK's range or otherwise that can get me this type of sound? (I'd prefer to keep it BK...)
tl;dr - What Neck Single for sparkling cleans and a Petrucci-esque lead from time to time.And, onto more technical things, as I was looking at the pup cavities on the Caparison, it almost looked as if there was a weird screw configuration on the base plate that mounts it onto the guitar. E.g. two on one side and one on the other, with the cavity routed larger on the side with two. Is there a special way to accommodate for this, or should I simply ask Tim to "make 'em fit in a Caparison?" And, on that note, I assume all direct-mount single coils have the same base plate configuration (with that large "fillet" on the bottom), so no need to change anything there, correct?
tl;dr - Any special considerations for a Caparison Horus as far as the pickups themselves are concerned with regards to mounting them?Also, what cover for the bridge do you think would look best in the "Thundercloud" color variation? Full, HD pics can been seen here: http://www.guitar-gallery.de/en/caparison-guitars-horus-thunder-cloud-black.html#
I'd really like your guys' opinions, as I have no idea, and don't necessarily want to go with straight black...Hope to get some good input guys.
Regards,
B