NGD! Explorer Pro (trans amber) in need of some BKP!

[cobretti86]

I bought a 2002 explorer pro (trans amber) today. in mint unplayed condition.

It needs some Bareknuckles installed!

I have an esp eclipse ii with rebel yells and a HSS strat with holy diver and irish tour combo.
Any recommendations of a set of pickups for the explorer?

I play blues, grunge,rock, classic rock, hard rock, and some metal

[cobretti86]

pics

[Mr. Air]

My suggestion will be Riff Raffs or MQs.

[Telerocker]

Very nice guitar! RiffRaffs would work, especially when the guitar has a dark voice. Somehow I'd be tempted to throw VHII's in it, but that's probably for all my taste.

[gwEm]

riff raffs no doubt :)

[Philly Q]

Very nice guitar!  :D

Not to dispute what the other guys have said, but I'm just wondering if Riff Raffs might be a bit bright, with the ebony board and smaller body?  Is the maple top a thick cap, or just a cosmetic veneer?

Since you already have Rebel Yells as a reference point, would you be after something similar or totally different?

[AndyR]

Yep, Riff Raffs I think.

In fact, threads like this make me want to swap around my pickups again :lol:. I have MQs in my Explorer at the moment - they would do the job, but I'm starting to miss the humbuckeryness of humbuckers... MQs are close to being able to do it, but when it comes down to it they are P90-type singles... I think my Explorer needs back the Riff Raffs that it used to have... and to cover all the music types you're describing you probably need the humbuckers, certainly in the bridge. A Riff Raff bridge and an MQ neck might be an option - I've not tried mixing and matching though (and I quite like the Riff Raff neck!)

EDIT: Philly might have a point on brightness - mine's solid mahogany with a rosewood board. I've also considered Mules, I think that would be very tasty for what I do, but my Mules are definitely spoken for in another guitar :lol:

[FELINEGUITARS]

OMG - I love that guitar ( I want an outline if anyone has a similar one) - it reminds me of the Matthias Jabs Explorer 90

I always feel that I like vintage output alnico  or higher output ceramic in mahogany guitars ( i love the cold sweat set in my Lion/Les paul).

The Riff Raff will work , but will be a bit bright IMO with the ebony board
The Stormy Monday is nice if you want nice chimey clean tones , and a Slash like overdriven tone.

The Mule would sound good, as would the VH2 and both of these would work well for rockier stuff
Mule in the bridge and MQ in the neck is popular choice too

Also consider the Abraxas - surprised more folks dont discover how versatile that set is.

One thing worth trying is the new Blackhawk set - will sound fab, and has more perceived output so good for pushing into rock and metal territory


Spoilt for choice really

[ericsabbath]

that's one of the nicest looking explorers Gibson ever made
reminds me of Motorhead's Phil Campbell's LAG explorer (which looks more like an ESP or Ibanez Destroyer), and that screams for an alnico nailbomb (I know he uses warpigs in a couple other guitars)
maybe a vhII for the neck

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I think with what he already has, an ABomb would be a bit overkill in the contemporary category, to change things up a little bit I would go with RR or VHII, probably RR for me though.

[Philly Q]

that's one of the nicest looking explorers Gibson ever made
reminds me of Motorhead's Phil Campbell's LAG explorer (which looks more like an ESP or Ibanez Destroyer)

I think it's much nicer than the LAG - the LAG is too pointy and the shape is "off".

[gwEm]

i think they did a run of explorer pros with miniHBs too - very cool.

i agree, they got the shape of it just right. as a taller guy, i would prefer a normal explorer, but it doesn't stop me appreciating this beauty.

i hear what people are saying about the bright potential of riff raffs. i like a brighter tone myself, and i don't think riff raffs + ebony board is going to be impossibly bright or imbalanced.

i took a guitar loaded with riff raffs on tour recently and loved the open dry bite. riff raffs were my first BKP set, and I do keep coming back to them.

[Slartibartfarst42]

A-Bomb if you want it aggressive and Cold Sweat if you want a more classic tone.

[cobretti86]

How about nailbombs w/alnico?

[cobretti86]

After talking with someone from bkp i think im going with a set of Emeralds.  Any thoughts?  Anyone using this pickups? thanks.