Tokia Les Paul Standard Japan BKP Choice?

[darrenw5094]

I need to rip the poxy Seymour Sh-1 and SH-14 out of the Tokai LP. They are rancid. To say the bass is loose, is an understatement. This guitar deserves better pickups.

I really liked the tone from the new BKP Youtube vid with the Black Dog in the bridge and Riff Raff in the neck. I had really wanted to put a pair of Dogs in, but really changed my mind, but this vid sounds the business. I would be more into the classic rock thing with this axe.

Anyone with any reasons why i shouldn't pull the trigger on a bridge Black Dog and neck Riff Raff?

[AndyR]

Nope, can't think of any... (Mules is actually my preference, but I nearly bought Black Dogs myself. And I like Riff Raffs as well.)

What really made me post, though, was "rancid". It gave me a picture of you frantically disinfecting the pickup cavities before putting the new BKPs in... :lol:

Nice one, put a smile on my face during a particularly tedious afternoon, many thanks :D

[darrenw5094]

Glad to help.  :P

Forgot to add that i have a set of Mules in a Bacchus Les Paul Goldtop. Just wanted a bit of variety really. No point in having 2 LP's with the same pickups, though the Mules are fantastic. I emailed BKP the same question to see what they say.

So one vote for the Black Dog/Riff Raff.  :)

[Philly Q]

Anyone with any reasons why i shouldn't pull the trigger on a bridge Black Dog and neck Riff Raff?

I'd rather have a Mule neck (or maybe even a BD neck if I knew what it sounded like....), but only because the Riff Raff neck's a bit bright for my liking.  And on top of that, I certainly wouldn't want a bright neck pickup with a dark(-ish) bridge pickup.

But that's a personal taste thing. 

No reason why you shouldn't pull the trigger on the set of your choice!

[darrenw5094]

Check out this vid here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIlkNeqd0MY

I like the single coil type neck tones. Very usefull.

[AndyR]

I kind of have the same personal reservations as Philly. Although I think he likes a more distinct difference between the tones coming out of bridge and neck than I do - so a dark-ish bridge with a bright-ish neck would probably move it a bit far for him...

I have a Riff Raff set and a Mule Set. I love the neck on both, but in the guitar I've just moved the Mules to, I am particularly loving the Mule neck at the moment.

I haven't seen that vid yet (and can't at work), but I suspected that your reason for Riff Raff in the neck was down to being able to get that sort of tone out of the neck. I have single coil guitars anyway, so I tend to go for "neck humbucker" out of a neck humbucker (hence my love for the Mule at the moment, I guess), but I do value the versatility of the Riff Raff neck in the other guitar.

It's interesting how different folks use 2 humbuckers. I can definitely see how you'd want to fatten up a bridge, but for the other tone I tend to use the middle position and blend the two (about 6 on the bridge, 5 on the neck). Then I remember watching a guy years ago. He was in a guitar/bass/drums combo using a single channel Marshall, no pedals. They were playing what we'd probably call "classic rock" nowadays. He used the bridge for all clean work, the neck for all solos, and the middle (blending to taste) for all raunchy rhythm. Sounded pretty good, and had a quite an effect on how I thought about using my guitars.

[Philly Q]

Check out this vid here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIlkNeqd0MY

I like the single coil type neck tones. Very usefull.

I can't watch YouTube in work, but is it the one with Bruce Dickinson from Little Angels?

I like the sounds he gets on there, but I know if it was me on one of my guitars, it wouldn't sound like that!  :lol:

I kind of have the same personal reservations as Philly. Although I think he likes a more distinct difference between the tones coming out of bridge and neck than I do - so a dark-ish bridge with a bright-ish neck would probably move it a bit far for him...

Yeah, exactly - it'd be bright-ish bridge, dark-ish neck for me!

Then I remember watching a guy years ago. He was in a guitar/bass/drums combo using a single channel Marshall, no pedals. They were playing what we'd probably call "classic rock" nowadays. He used the bridge for all clean work, the neck for all solos, and the middle (blending to taste) for all raunchy rhythm. Sounded pretty good, and had a quite an effect on how I thought about using my guitars.

In the unlikely event of me ever being in a band, I'd do something like that.  But I'd lean more towards bridge for crunch, middle for clean and neck for solos.  Maybe flick over to the bridge for a quick change of emphasis mid-solo, but essentially I love that singing neck-humbucker solo tone!

[ericsabbath]

the black dog is amazing but one of the least tight sounding models... quite soft attack in my les paul custom (mahogany neck), balanced in my greco standard (maple neck)
the guy on the video uses a Vox AC30, so if you have a darker/looser amp (anything other than a Vox? :lol:), you might consider something else
I guess a VHII would achieve that tone easier than the black dog in most of the bigger amps

[darrenw5094]

I posted the same question to the BKP guys. The response was:

Hi Darren,

Sounds good to me. The Black Dog will offer thicker hot vintage tones, whilst the Riff Raff will produce snappier and brighter rock tones, so a versatile set.

We have a great video clip to go out on our next newsletter - but here's a preview for you:

Bruce Dickinson with a Black Dog bridge and a Riff Raff neck:

http://www.littleangelsofficial.com/site/index.php?option=com_content
&view=article&id=64&Itemid=108


Kind Regards,

Ben

[BigB]

I'd rather have a Mule neck (or maybe even a BD neck if I knew what it sounded like....), but only because the Riff Raff neck's a bit bright for my liking.  And on top of that, I certainly wouldn't want a bright neck pickup with a dark(-ish) bridge pickup.

That's IMHO a good reason to pair them -  a darker / fuller pup to beef up the bridge, a brighter / clearer one to lighten the neck, still they both sound like bridge and neck.  I usually find the bridge too trebly and the neck too dark for my tastes on most guitars, and specially on LPs. Now as you say:

But that's a personal taste thing. 

Indeed ;)

@darren: I considered the very same set for my Hofner Verythin - and that was way before they posted this vid -, and while I finally settled for a full RR set, I think I'd give the BD/RR combo a try if I had a LP. Even more since I heard this vid.
 

[darrenw5094]

@darren: I considered the very same set for my Hofner Verythin - and that was way before they posted this vid -, and while I finally settled for a full RR set, I think I'd give the BD/RR combo a try if I had a LP. Even more since I heard this vid.
 

I agree with you on this one. The tone gap between the bridge and neck is closer, but still enough of a difference. I also like the single coil quality of the Riff Raff in the vid. I suppose if the Black Dog doesn't work out, i could always do a change to a full Riff Raff set.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Sounds like you're in for the BD/RR, but I'd you wanna go. Bit hotter the Rebel Yell is a great choice too.

[Philly Q]

@darren: I considered the very same set for my Hofner Verythin - and that was way before they posted this vid -, and while I finally settled for a full RR set, I think I'd give the BD/RR combo a try if I had a LP. Even more since I heard this vid.
 

I agree with you on this one. The tone gap between the bridge and neck is closer, but still enough of a difference. I also like the single coil quality of the Riff Raff in the vid. I suppose if the Black Dog doesn't work out, i could always do a change to a full Riff Raff set.

If you really want that single-coil sound for the neck pickup, you could consider a true single-coil, the Mississippi Queen....

But I'm not trying to put you off the BD/RR, I'm sure it's a good choice.  :)

[Telerocker]

I'm using an all mahogany Saint Blues Mississippi Bluesmaster with a Mule-set for a projectband. We play Led Zep, Sas Jordan, Beth Hart etc, so a lot of classic rock. Mules are great for that. I have the feeling, but I could be wrong, that the Mule-bridge is a bit underestimated here on the forum. A lot of people choose a Mule-neck with a BD or a VHII or even something hotter in the bridge. I can just testify a calibrated Mule-set is very balanced and capable of everything from crisp cleans (especially the in between position is fantastic, dynamic, deep, fat yet crispy), to blues, bluesrock, rock, hardrock and - with the right amp or pedals - also metal. The bridge is pretty tight for a PAF and sure tight enough for me, the neck is perfect for classic LP-tones. Mules are very articulate and you can really steer the degree of drive/sustain by picking soft/medium/hard. Btw, I have the VHII in an ashstrat and that's a wicked pickup too for all kinds of (hard)rock, but I prefer Mules for classic rock.

I don't want you talk away from the BD, just give you another good option to consider.

[darrenw5094]

Yep, the Mules are great i think. The bridge is fab too, but never seems to get noticed around here.  :(

Anyway, i have a full set of Mules in a Bacchus Les Paul and love them. But just for a variety, i would like something slighly different. The Black Dog was my choice, then i wavered away, now back to it with a Riff Raff neck.

If they sound too close to each other, i could always buy a Riff Raff bridge and BD neck and match them to the Tokai and another guitar. I was going to pull the trigger tonight, but maybe i will wait till tomorrow. Either way, i will let you guys know.