Bare knuckles into ML knight (swapping EMG's)

[aminorthreat1]

Ok so i got a dean ML knight, wasnt the guitar i wanted but i got it half price (last one in a sale).
It came loaded with EMG 85/81. but im not too keen on them, there just to 'clean' sounding, im running the guitar through a laney LX120 and even with the crunch wacked right up and the 'XTS' setting in,  they just never seem heavy and crunchy enough.
I've played about with pickup height and tried the 12v mod, but i just cant get a sound i like. Also pinched harmonics just sound sorta muted.
so i was thinking about swapping them, for some bare knuckles.
Can anyone suggest the best for a real heavy, but versatile sound, i wanna be able to get a dimebag sound but also be able to play metallica and machine head (i know they both use EMG's) so i need a nice clean sound too.

Cheers

[mbchepburn]

Ceramic Nailbomb with Cold Sweat neck pickup all the way :)

[Madsakre]

if you cant pinch with emg 81's then theres something severely wrong with your technique!

[ericsabbath]

cold sweat = pure dimebag
miracle man = pure machine head and metallica

the ceramic nailbomb sounds like a good in between alternative

[mbchepburn]

cold sweat = pure dimebag
miracle man = pure machine head and metallica

the ceramic nailbomb sounds like a good in between alternative

Yh the Miracle Man and even the Aftermath would be great for them bands, but he wants versatility and I think the C-Bomb would be great in that respect, really heavy sounding when you need it. Gotta have the Cold Sweat neck tho :)

[MDV]

if you cant pinch with emg 81's then theres something severely wrong with your technique!

True fact.

And

Miracle man.

[Transcend]

if you cant pinch with emg 81's then theres something severely wrong with your technique!

True fact.

And

Miracle man.

or the amp.

[Madsakre]

you can do pinch harmonics on a acoustic, so no.

[Transcend]

you can do pinch harmonics on a acoustic, so no.

True but a good amp makes things a heck of a lot easier

[aminorthreat1]

its definately not my technique. tried out my mates schecter and it squeels like hell, but they just sound dead and they dont squeel out on mine like they should. gonna try new strings, but it all boils down to the fact im not a fan of the EMG's sound.

but to those of you who have given suggestions, cheers! i'll look into them

[mbchepburn]

its definately not my technique. tried out my mates schecter and it squeels like hell, but they just sound dead and they dont squeel out on mine like they should. gonna try new strings, but it all boils down to the fact im not a fan of the EMG's sound

I agree, they're very one dimensional. You want the tone to sound like it's coming from ya fingers. When I played EMGs, although my technique n style shone through, it just didn't express my emotion. Thats why I think the Ceramic Nailbomb. It's heavy as hell, but regains a very organic tone for leads. Also have you tried changing ya pickup height etc? Also intonating your guitar can really help with harmonics.

[aminorthreat1]

i've messed about with pup height, im yet to try the guitar through another amp, but the amp im using should in theory have all the gain i want, since its supposed to be designed for metal, it sounds great through my maverick f1, which has passive pickups. i mean the harmonics are there when i play, but there just doesn't seem to be enough strength in the sound to make em really stand out. the ML was designed to use the shape of its body for high sustain and resonance right? maybe it was just never ment to house EMGs?

but again, with or without the harmonics, the EMG's are pretty stale sounding and i know exactly what you mean when you say there one dimensional, ive heard there sound being described as sterile. i think thats the best way of describing them!

[mbchepburn]

It could be anything from a faulty preamp in the pickups to bad wiring. Even mabye a dodgy capicitator. Still even then, from what you're after, get a good passive pickup. If you want it boosted, just add a pre-amp chip into your guitar which you can switch on and off when you need it :)

[MDV]

you can do pinch harmonics on a acoustic, so no.

This. With fingers.