Ceramic Nailbomb and Duncan Custom, differences and similiarities

[DoomBuggi]

Howdy,

     I am new to Bare Knuckle, and new to this forum.  Please forgive me if this is an old topic, as I am new to all of this.  Honestly, this is the first time I have ever posted on a forum.  I have haven't been interested in the past due to the large quantity of people whom post nonsense. 

     I have been checking out Bare Knuckle for about a year.  Read much on it, watched videos, listened to audio, and decided to buy some to try out.  I contacted Tim and asked him many questions regarding my guitar and what I was trying to achieve.  He gave me his suggestion, and at the time this was based on my Les Paul which had a Duncan JB in it.  From the info that I gave him, he suggested the the Nailbomb, and between the two choices of the NB, I decided on the Ceramic Nailbomb.  I am also ordering a Painkiller for a different guitar, and I'm sure that one is the fit or that guitar.

     Upon waiting for my funding to come through, which is not here yet, I switched the JB in my Les Paul to a Duncan Custom.  I totally dig the sound of the Custom vs the JB for the stuff that I am doing currently.  I already took much of Tim's time, and figured there has to be some knowledgeable folks on this forum that could provide me good knowledge.  I do not want to know which is between the two.  That is ridiculous, nothing is really better. That is a matter of preference, so please spare me the such. 
 
     So the question is, how is the Duncan Custom compared to the Ceramic Nailbomb? 

     Brief background in what I work with and do;
 
          1991 Gibson Les Paul, ebony fretboard ( all CTS 500k pots, Sprague 223 100V caps)
           Keeley TS-9 plus
          1989 Marshall JCM 800 2203, all JJ Tubes, Gain Mod, Bass Mod (tighter and more focused)
          Marshall 1960 Vintage B Cabinet
          All Mogami Cables
          D'Addario EXL 117 Strings
          Dunlop Tortex .73mm-1.0mm
          Tuning is in Drop C#
         
          Typical settings on the Marshall; (these can flux depending on venue/location)
           Presence; 7
                 Bass; 4.5
                   Mid; 8
                 Treble; 5.5
                     Pre; 8
                Master; depends on venue 

           Typical settings on the Keely TS-9;
           Drive; 5-6.5
           Tone; 5
           Level; 5

          I Listen to all types of music, play an aggressive style of music that encompasses elements of  Metal, Thrash, Doom, Death, Blues, Punk,Rock, Prog, Indigenous, and Tribal in the same set. 
   
          My needs are that of, definition, focused tight bottom end, and clarity.  I like Harmomics.
   
I think that about covers it where no one needs to ask me anything, but if you would like, by all means, go for it.  Thanks in advance, and I hope every one enjoys sharing info.  Thanks   

[darkbluemurder]

So the question is, how is the Duncan Custom compared to the Ceramic Nailbomb? 
My needs are that of, definition, focused tight bottom end, and clarity.  I like Harmomics.

Hi and welcome!

Never played a Duncan Custom so I cannot be of much help for a comparison but I am sure the Ceramic Nailbomb fits all the criteria you specified.

Cheers Stephan

[DoomBuggi]

Thanks Stephan/DarkBlueMurder

[Madsakre]

The duncan custom is louder. The big difference is the texture of the sound. Its like going from a old school tv to a 1080p 42" 3d screen. I shite you not.

You may have to turn the amp up louder(which is never a bad thing), and maybe turn up the gain one notch. But you end up with a much, much more refined sound. It wont make you a better player, but it will inspire you to practice more =)

[DoomBuggi]

Thanks Madsakre!

[MAJ Meadows SF]

I love the C-Bomb. I agree it sounds better the louder it gets, and it has a very very tight bass response even under heavy distortion. I used one to replace a DiMarzio EVO, which is also a dark, not too loud pickup. The C-Bomb had a much fatter sound, though still darker than the A-Bomb, and I found the mids were pretty grinding and have a nice snarl to them. The ceramic magnet will give you that along with more compression. I used to play a lot of Duncan pickups, and have had a custom. Nothing special to me and I ended up moving to the Full Shred. I think the JB, Custom, and Distortion are pretty loud pickups by comparision to many BKPs (save the Warpig). The C-Bomb though darker and a bit compressed has the great ability to make an amp sound better the louder it gets. The clarity and character of the pickup makes distorted tones sound much richer and vocal. As the amp warms up and gets a louder more open sound the C-Bomb keeps notes tight, defined, and cutting, never washing out, getting too fuzzy or muddy, despite the dark nature due to low mids and low end. The highs for me actually come across pretty smoothe with enough bite to sing and not be harsh and ice-picky.

Best of luck tone hunting! You should love the C-Bomb. Throaty, great harmonics, compression, power, and tightness.

[ericsabbath]

I always had that tone improvement x loudness impression with the miracle man
it sounded quite boxy and thin when I tested it at very low volumes, and the louder I played it, better it sounded in every aspect
it really grows at band volume, especially with 100w tube amps

[DoomBuggi]

Thanks guys,
 
  All that info is very helpful.  I have been using Duncans for a long time.  I was never quite happy with them though. I guess over time, my ears got more developed to amplified tones.  I learned how to play guitar on a Acoustic my Grandfather gave me on my 12th B-day.  ZZ Top, Floyd, and Metal is what got me started on it.  I learned how to play metal on the Acoustic, and that is what I write my music with.  I listen to all kinds of music, but I prefer to use metal as a form of expression.  Its the Bruce Lee of music.

That being said, as my ears became for and more accustomed to amplified tones, I notice that no matter what Duncan I used, there was always something I like and didn't like about them.  Out of the lot of them, the Custom and the JB are my favorite for the bridge.  I really like the Alnico 2 pro for the neck position, its killer for leads, and if you put a low value capacitor between the lead of the pickup and the lug of the volume pot, it makes it a bit more clear and less boomy. Kind of reminds me of a Strat pickup.  With the JB, the voice was really sweet, and it has some chunk when palming the rhythm.  I notice how loose the bass response was the when I started writing faster pieces.  Great lead pickup, great rock rhythm pickup, horrible for rhythm in high-gain metal scenarios.  After I stared using the Custom, I noticed how thin sounding the JB was to my ears as well.

 The Custom,  while I like the thickness compared to the JB, it was satisfying for awhile, until my ears started to pick up the fizziness hanging out in the background.  I don't like fizzy distortion.  It too had some sort of notational looseness when I started to lean on it with the gain.  Part of the problem was my amp.  JCM 800's aren't know for very tight bottom ends, but after having some mods done by reputable people, Its not a problem.  I'm taking it back in to have the Bass response adjusted a bit more.  Its a great amp. 

Don't know how it happen, but I got turned on to BK, and read about them for about a year or so.  Then like a month ago, I started really wanting to get them.  It had allot to do with being frustrated with my sound and the awesome clips that Nolly laid down on the BK site. That guy isn't F'ing around.

So far, the pickups that are most interesting to me;

Holydiver, set
Blackdog, set
C-Nailbomb, set
Painkiller, bridge
Emerald, neck
and the Piledriver set.  Can't wait to get a tele and try the PD. 

After emails back in forth with Tim, it was mutually agreed that the Nailbomb C would be a good pickup for what I'm trying to accomplish.

Its really nice of Tim to spend time to answer emails from random people.  You know the guy has to be very busy, but still, he will communicate ferociously. 

Guys, again, thank you for your input.  You time, communication, and experience is greatly appreciated.

Best,

J

[ericsabbath]

the diver won't sound as hot as the duncans, but it's definitely fatter sounding than the jb and much clearer and tighter
it works pretty well with the screamer, though, so you could be happy with it as well
harmonics jump quite easily and sound very fat

but sounds like you're after something ceramic
don't you consider the miracle man as well?
it's a very tight and punchy pickup, and becomes a roaring metal monster at low tunings without losing clarity
harmonics sound really in-your-face and clear

[DoomBuggi]

the diver won't sound as hot as the duncans, but it's definitely fatter sounding than the jb and much clearer and tighter
it works pretty well with the screamer, though, so you could be happy with it as well
harmonics jump quite easily and sound very fat

but sounds like you're after something ceramic
don't you consider the miracle man as well?
it's a very tight and punchy pickup, and becomes a roaring metal monster at low tunings without losing clarity
harmonics sound really in-your-face and clear

The Holydiver was the first pickup that grabbed my attention and got me researching BK.  After a year of reading and tweaking my on gear, for my current guitar the choice for me was either the Holydiver or the Nailbomb-Ceramic.  After many communications with Tim, it was mutually agreed that the Nailbomb Cermaic was what I was after.  I will most likely stick a set of Holydivers in a Les Paul Standard down the road.  But for the time being, its going to be the Nailbomb-C.

As far as the MiricleMan goes, I listened to it and it sound awesome.  I like Vintage Modern tones (if that makes sense), and well, I like to stay in the output level between the too.  I haven't had too much of a good time with extremely high pickups.  I had a Duncan Distortion for awhile and I didn't care too much for it.   Generally, the lower have of 16k and below has seem to be more my flavor.  The only thing above 16k that sounded good to me were true single coils.  But with that being said, BK is a different company, and I'm not opposed to trying new things.  Maybe down the road.  Seems like the Nailbomb-C offers more of the middle ground that I like to stand on.  I am also getting a Painkiller bridge for a different guitar that is a different tuning.  I can't wait to get all this going.  Taking my Marshall in too, to get new tubes.

Thanks for the input!

[Kiichi]

You must also keep in mind that BKP are not that high output in comparison to Dimarzio and Duncans. Plus the Ohm rating is not the output.
As far as I know the high output BKPs feel more like medium from other brands.
Also they seem lower due to the clarity and definition. They will eat gain compared to PUs of other brands. So you will have to add a bit of gain back in at the amp to reach the same distortion levels.

[DoomBuggi]

You must also keep in mind that BKP are not that high output in comparison to Dimarzio and Duncans. Plus the Ohm rating is not the output.
As far as I know the high output BKPs feel more like medium from other brands.
Also they seem lower due to the clarity and definition. They will eat gain compared to PUs of other brands. So you will have to add a bit of gain back in at the amp to reach the same distortion levels.

Thanks for the Tid Bit, I'll keep that in mind.  I haven't the experience of BK to compare to SD.  There is nothing wrong with having to add some gain.   :D

[ericsabbath]

what he said
the miracle man is 18k but feels less high output than most seymours above 14k
it's very clean sounding (by itself)

[Alex]

I always had that tone improvement x loudness impression with the miracle man
it sounded quite boxy and thin when I tested it at very low volumes, and the louder I played it, better it sounded in every aspect
it really grows at band volume, especially with 100w tube amps

So true! The louder you play the better the Miracle Man just sounds!

[SrDeMaFp]

I always had that tone improvement x loudness impression with the miracle man
it sounded quite boxy and thin when I tested it at very low volumes, and the louder I played it, better it sounded in every aspect
it really grows at band volume, especially with 100w tube amps

So true! The louder you play the better the Miracle Man just sounds!

I've definitely noticed the same with the C-Bomb as well. I was actually on the verge of selling it but, I tweaked the pickup height a bit (holy hell, I've NEVER heard another company's pickup height make that much of a difference!) and cranked up the ol' 6505+ and now this puppy ain't going anywhere!