BKP, bad sounding?

[Olivier]

The CS is the same... Still.
What could possibly be wrong?

[kevinr]

I think that there is something out of phase there! have your wiring checked and follow the BKP wiring sketch!

[Zaned]

We cannot rule out the possibility of the pickup being actually broken. Have you tapped to polepieces with a screwdriver? While connected to the amp, just to check that both coils are working like they should.

And make sure that you pickup selector is also working like it should. With the forementioned screwdriver, test each of the 3 positions on the pickup switch.

-Zaned

[Olivier]

Did just tap the polepieces, all of them work. Tested the pickup selector, and it works.

What means "out of phase" I have no idea of electronic terms.

[Alex]

Out of phase means you might have confused some wires and attached them wrongly, making the pickup out of phase. I think it's unlikely. I think you just need to add some more gain. Bareknuckles are clearer and cleaner than many other pickups. And keep messing with the height, small differences can make a big difference. I found the Nailbomb sounds better if it is not too high, but quite low, the Holy Diver on the other hand sounds better rather high.

[3amsleep]

I listened to your sound demo, the aftermath sounds pretty healthy to me, but the amp and tone settings are complete cr@p, sorry it's true. I recommend that you test your guitar with a better amp and try to play around with the tone and gain. An ibanez TS9 overdrive will work wonders for your tone.

Also there's something definitely wrong with the neck pickup. I can hear it phase shifting all over the place, get your wiring/pots checked by a professional.

Good luck!.

PS: 17 and you're getting an axefx?... shite when I was 17 I played a 40y/o acoustic guitar and had barely enough money to pay for public transportation LOL.

[mongey]

yeah listened to the clip and it sounds like its working . you obviously just don't like the tone of the AM's  .its not the best tone in the world but it sounds in the  ball park of some of the AM demo's I've heard . its got the bright,agressive  mid, metallic chunk I hear on all the AM demos

 

 sometimes gear you lust over turns out not to be your bag and you move on . Good thing about buying quality gear is the resale is usually not that far what you paid for it and you get a good chunk of the $ spent back

like someone else said . If you like the EMG tone and its working for you thats what you should be using .this comment speaks volumes "Doesnt get that right chuggy sound" . Its a totally different PU set up. If the EMG is the "right "sound then its for you

[Zaned]

Before going over the entire wiring, I would just wire that neck pickup straigth to the output jack. Just to see that it's working.

If it sound normal then, the problem is in the wiring. If not, the pickup is faulty. I've had one.

-Zaned

[Olivier]

I just cant get the chugg sound out of the peavey valveking.. And yeah the tone is cr@p, the recordings did barely take one minute. Presets...
I'm going for a new amp first, then a maxon od 808.
However, I'm working to get an axe fx/engl, saving up all the money I can get.

And this is hilarious, it was a "professional" that made the installation of the pickups.

[Transcend]

A boost would do you more good at this point.

Even something cheap like a digitech bad monkey that will cost about £20 will make the world of difference to your tone and help you get that chug

[Madsakre]

I just cant get the chugg sound out of the peavey valveking.. And yeah the tone is cr@p, the recordings did barely take one minute. Presets...
I'm going for a new amp first, then a maxon od 808.
However, I'm working to get an axe fx/engl, saving up all the money I can get.

And this is hilarious, it was a "professional" that made the installation of the pickups.

Or you could just go back and use EMG's again. Thats alot cheaper.
Seriously, if thats what makes your day, then stick with it. Dont change your whole setup just for the reason to tell people that you use BKP's.

I got two guitars with emg-81's in them. I have a guitar with a bill lawrence 500 too. I use these guitars for diffrent things. If you want "brutal" deathcore EMG chunk, then stay with them.

Sell the aftermath to me.. cheap :)

[Zaned]

And this is hilarious, it was a "professional" that made the installation of the pickups.

Like I said, test that neck pickup. If some component is broken, it won't matter how professional the wiring job is. Testing the neck pickup straight to the output jack would confirm whether it works or not. If not, then you have to return it and get it fixed under warranty.

-Zaned

[Loomer]

I hate to be predictable here, but maybe a War Pig would have suited you better, if you wanted more chug. Maybe a miracle man.

I can easily imagine this was another case of a bunch of internet superhero know-it-all tw@t-bags that have never even been within 5 miles of a BKP recommending our 17-year old friend here an Aftermath because it's "best 4 teh djentz" and whatnot. On this forum, people are really good at advising people on what they think will be best for them, because you lot actually listen to what the guys coming here for advice are saying in the first place. On lots of other forums, however, the opposite seems to be the case. It doesn't help either that this whole progressive metalcore movement and scene is a little too fashion- and trend-driven for it's own good. That a certain way of dressing or doing your hair is de rigeur and popular I can live with, but everyone wanting AxeFX's and BKP's and whatever just because it's trendy is just silly.

To the clip, I will say that I actually think the bridge pickup tone is quite good, considering it's done through an amp as utterly hopeless as a Valveking. But I completely agree the Neck sounds REALLY weird. It may be defective, it may be wired up wrong, I don't know. But let me just say, that no human is perfect. BKP's are handmade, so while I've never ever heard of it happening up until now, it CAN happen that a pickup is defective. That said, so-called "professional" techs can make mistakes too, trust me!

For instance, when I changed the C-pig in Madsakre's trusty RGD320 to a Painkiller, I found the most ridiculously obtuse crow's nest of wires I have EVER seen, and the whole installation was done in such a head-scratchingly backwards sort of way I nearly wept at the fact that Mads had actually PAID someone to make such an abject mess out of his guitar. And that was done in one the most well-established stores in Scandinavia!

[Loomer]

But okay, enough ranting from me now. Some actualy answers for the OP:

- First off, the AM is a passive pickup, and a really good one. You've gone over to it from active EMG's, so of course they'll behave differently. In short: You're in with the grown-ups now, so you'll have to adjust accordingly. Passive pickups react much more naturally to your picking attack, so if you have a feather-touch right hand you won't get the optimum result from them. So either go back to EMG's or other actives, or be a man and work on your picking attack. The latter option will do you much more good in the long run. No amount of fancy gear will make you sound brutal and heavy if you play like a 9-year old girl that's afraid the guitar will bite you.

- String gauges. Consider thicker strings. You'll thank me later.

- Speaker Cabs. Are you sure the cab you're using is up to snuff? The VK Heads are decent enough, but the VK cabs are useless, at best!

- Seriously, a tubescreamer in front of your amp will work wonders.

- Practice harder. You're 17. No one ever sounds good at that age, so just practice your arse, and give the gear-buying a rest for a few years. As I said before, sounding good is not something you can buy. At least not completely, just partially!

[Madsakre]

- Stop listening to deathcore. cut off your hair, get some muscles and play grindcore xD