VHII and Mules considerations

[Kiichi]

Yesterday I tried the VHII neck in the bridge spot of my favorite Les Paul. While I liked its tone for its slightly improved clarity over the one that was in there before (it was no BKP), I found the tone a bit thin in that particular guitar, and I liked the middle position better with the previous pickup. But I definitely want a warmer tone for this guitar - Mules or Black Dogs maybe?

Cheers Stephan 

Did you try the neck in the bridge position both ways around? With them being so assymetrical this should make a large difference (lot more than with symetrical PUs). If the sound was too thin it might have just been the fatter coil being the one closer to the bridge.

[darkbluemurder]

I only tried it with the slug coil inside (i.e. towards the neck) and the screw coil outside. But you are right, if the screw coil is the one with more turns that could explain the thinner tone I was hearing. The wire is long enough so that would be easy to try. I will report on the results when I get around to try this.

Thanks for the tip,
Stephan

[darkbluemurder]

Turned it around as suggested. I hear a difference but it's not as pronounced as I expected - but that can also be due to the fact that I turned the mounting ring as well so that the pickup height may not be exactly the same. It sounds a bit more aggressive with the screw coils facing the neck but it's not a big difference.

Generally the pickup has a deep bass, i.e. the bass it has extends to a low frequency but it is still tight. The low mids are not too prominent which helps to retain clarity. The same applies for the center and high mids. On the top end the pickup is quite bright and has a lot of harmonic overtones. I really like the pickup for chording but I wish it had a bit more weight to the single notes, in particular on the upper scale of the fretboard.

So next step will be to try the VHII in the neck position and see how it works there.

Cheers Stephan

[darkbluemurder]

vhII coil readings (didn't test which coil is which, so I'm calling them by the wire colour):
bridge "red" coil 4.2k
bridge "black" coil 4.84
neck "red" coil 3.68k
neck "black" coil 4.49k

To quote from the BKP FAQ:

"What is the Bare Knuckle Four conductor colour code?
Answer: Black =start of screw coil
White = finish of screw coil
Red = start of slug coil
Green = finish of slug coil"

Which means that in this model for both positions the screw coil is the hotter one, which I can imagine provides for a more balanced operation for the various coil splits.

Cheers Stephan

[ericsabbath]

nice to know this
almost 7 years and I'm still learning a lot about pickups in this forum

thanks, stephan  :D

[darkbluemurder]

So next step will be to try the VHII in the neck position and see how it works there.

I guess I commented on the VHII in the neck spot in a different thread but to put it into the context: it has quite high output in the neck position. The tone is definitely in the vintage camp but hotter so "vintage hot" is an appropriate description. While it certainly has sufficient midrange it has a certain bite to it which lends itself well to aggressive blues and rock playing. If you want creamier tones from it you will have to use the tone pot or - if you have it in a Les Paul - play out of the middle position, turn down volume of the bridge pickup and use the increased load to your advantage. What I like best about this pickup is the low end. It stays clear and focused even under high gain. At the same time it will not sound thin in the upper registers.

I played it together with a Wolfetone Marshallhead in the bridge position, and I like this combination very much. The Wolfetone Marshallhead neck is a bit clearer on the treble strings but way muddy on the bass strings IMHO. In that regard the VHII neck is a clear winner.

I am now searching for a BKP bridge pickup as a companion to the VHII neck in that Les Paul. Currently I have the A-Bomb there which is a good fit but a bit too powerful. Got something coming though but that is stuff for another thread.

Cheers Stephan