Neck Pickup to match with a Black Dog

[Void_555]

Hi Folks!

I have a Black Dog humbucker in my power strat. In fact its more of a les paul looking like strat. Super thick mahagony/maple body, extremly thick baseball-bat-style maple/ebony neck with two humbuckers.

Here is my question: I love the Black Dog in the Bridge. But what neck pickup do you think is a good match? I want a low output neck humbucker with lots of treble and not too much bass. Should sound clear and clean up well.
Maybe the Holy Diver neck pickup? Seems like it has a really low output and lots of highs.

I never shred! I play in Drop-C and on the neck pickup I play lots of crunch and melody stuff.

[Telerocker]

The HD-neck would be a good choiche. It's brighter then the CS. Maybe a Stormy Monday would do too.

[Void_555]

Iīd like to have an Alnico5 Pickup. We tune down to Drop-C so maybe an Alnico II or III might not be what I need.
Iīve read it a couple of times that these magnets might not be the best in combination with such a low tuning.

But thanks for your answer.

Is the Holy Diver brighter than lets say the Riff Raff or the VHII neck pickups?

[Twinfan]

I'd say a Mule, or if you have to have AV then a Riff Raff.

[Void_555]

Do you have the Riff Raff neck pickup?
Can you tell me a little bit about it?

The three neck pickups that are on my radar right now are:

Holy Diver
VHII
Riff Raff

I know the Holy Diver, awesome neck humbucker.

Can anybody tell me a bit about the VHII neck humbucker?

[Philly Q]

I did a thread a while ago trying to compare the brightness of BKP neck models, as there's much less information about them than there is about the bridge models.  It didn't get through the whole range, but might be worth a look:

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=25010.0


General consensus seems to be that the Riff Raff is brightest, and I think (though not based on personal experience, I'm afraid) it would probably best fit what you're describing.


I don't know if you've seen some recent threads mentioning a video clip by Bruce J Dickinson of Little Angels.  He has a Black Dog and Riff Raff in an LP, lots of people seemed to like the tones he gets here:

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

[Twinfan]

^ what Philly says  :D

The Riff Raff neck is bright and clear, if a little 'hard' sounding due to the AV magnet.  Great for eliminating muddiness.

The VHII is also bright, but more snappy and single-coil-like.

[Void_555]

Which combination of pickups do you use right now?

Right now I installed a Holy Diver from another guitar and I like it.
What I thinking about is, if the VHII and the Riff Raff maybe have a little less output than the HD......

I really care about the balance of the two pickups when it comes to volume. I hate having my neck humbucker as loud as my bridge pickup.
The Holy Diver is ok but it shouldnīt be any louder as it is.

Do you guys think, that the Riff Raff or the VHII are any louder or quieter that the HD?

[Void_555]

Thanks Twinfan and Philly!

Sounds I should go for either a Riff Raff or a VHII......
By the way, I checked the soundsamples and I didnīt like the Black Dog nack sample. Sounded darker to me than the both pickups mentioned above. What do you think?

[Philly Q]

By the way, I checked the soundsamples and I didnīt like the Black Dog nack sample. Sounded darker to me than the both pickups mentioned above. What do you think?

I haven't tried the BD neck, but my impression from comments on the forum is that it almost certainly is darker than the RR or VHII.

I'm still thinking Riff Raff.  I could be wrong, but I don't think the "open" quality of the VHII seems like a natural match for the Black Dog bridge.

[Void_555]

I donīt think that the black dog is that dark.....To me it sounds really open with shiteloads of midrange! Like it!
Do you think, the VHII might sound too bright compared to the BD in the Bridge?

[Twinfan]

I use a pair of Black Dogs at the moment - I prefer to use matched pairs.  The other pickups I've had in other guitars but I'm familiar with their character.

For the tone you're after, and your need for an AV, I'd go for a Riff Raff.

[Void_555]

What is your impression of the Black Dog? Do you find it dark? I can onl speak for the bridge version and I donīt thin it dark in any way. Not so sure about the neck version. In the sound samples I found it a bit darker than others.....

[Twinfan]

It's less bright than the other two pickups you mention, but it's not "dark".  I'd say it was rounded, with less of an edge to the top end frequencies.

The Black Dog bridge and neck pickups use thinner wire than the Mule/Riff Raff/VHII which tames the highs a little.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

My vote goes to RR too. I think it's a great match with the BD.