Differences, similarities: Aftermath and Painkiller

[GuitarIv]

Cheers guys,

can anyone briefly explain to me how the Aftermath and the Painkiller are compared with each other? In which terms are they similar, what are differences?

[Sarkasis]

Disclaimer: I own an Aftermath but not a Painkiller, but I've listened to the direct in sound files to compare and have done more reading than may be healthy so I'll offer a summary.

Aftermath will be dry, Painkiller will be cold. Aftermath will have a center mid focus and a compact low end, Painkiller will have more prominent lows but more of a high-mid focus and might be brighter.

I think it's a question of the kind of impact you want mostly. Aftermath will have a percussive attack with a metallic sounding crunch and a broad midrange, Painkiller will sound more slicing and shreddy.

[ericsabbath]

they're pretty similar in my experience, but the aftermath has more polite upper mids, kinda holy diverish, while the painkiller sounds wild and hairy in the upper mids
they're both dry and midrange centered

you can tell they're different, but it's not a huge difference like a holy diver x nailbomb scenario

[GuitarIv]

Thanks guys. Have a guitar both would fit in, just not sure which one to prefer. Since Witeter posted his YT clips playing the Aftermath in E-Standard through Metallica Riffs I'm tempted to get one, before hearing those I was sold on the Painkiller. I was always a bit scared in terms of the "djent" and the dryness of the AMs, Misha Mansoor being the only person demoing them properly and I'm absolutely not going after that new "Djent" Band movement sound. I like the percussive effect in the pickup and the tightness, should work fine with Death Metal. Well, I'll check out some more clips and will decide between those two :)

[darkbluemurder]

I find the value of clips to be rather limited. There are just too many variables, such as player, guitar, amp and other equipment. With the own guitar and equipment it will never sound exactly the same as in the clips. I also found many times that I liked a particular pickup - be it a BKP or from a different manufacturer - in one guitar but not in another. Ultimately what you like in your guitar for your playing style and equipment is what counts.

From your description it seems that you are leaning more towards the Aftermath so I would go for it and exchange it for a different model after you have established what you are missing in your tone.

Cheers Stephan

[GuitarIv]

Thanks Stephan. As far as I know BKP have a 14 Days return policy? It's not like I'm expecting not to like the Aftermath as my Holydiver already blew me completely away, but surely good to know :)

[witeter]

Hey GuitarIv, i think you will like the Aftermath; i dont play Djent stuff and currently the lowest i tune to is drop D. You have to be prepared though for a very dry sound, its also very clear so any playing mistakes will be glaringly obvious; on a plus side it makes you play tighter and cleaner. I also found that pickup height plays a big part, i preferred the aftermath to be a fair distance from the strings (when compared to my other BKPs), before that i was finding it way too compressed and not very clear-so prepare to tweak and tweak some more. As Stephan pointed out its always hard to know 100% how the pup will sound in your guitar, through your amp,etc-but if you are after something very percussive, tight and dry then the AM is the ticket. I posted a death metal stylee vid with the Aftermath if youre interested-will be doing one shortly of AM against Cbomb and Coldsweat while playing Opeths song Deliverance. Good luck on your tone quest!
P.S. I LOVE the painkiller neck, i have it paired with the AM bridge-great combo!

[GuitarIv]

Thanks mate, your videos where the reason I changed my opinion about the AM, since I play mostly Melodeath/Thrash and didn't know if those were suited for anything else besides Djent. I'll let you guys know how I like them when payday comes :)

p.s: check out my NGD thread, this guitar is getting the new PUs: https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=28857.0

Cheers!

[Toe-Knee]

Just for reference here is a clip I did on one of the occasions I had an aftermath.

http://soundcloud.com/boyes/root-of-all-evil-am-test-for-jonny

I could never get on with the painkiller I find it far too abrasive in the high mids/highs

[witeter]

No worries man glad i could help! my Aftermath is in a mahogany body, bolt on maple neck (rosewood fingerboard) guitar, so i think it should suit the one you mentioned just fine!

[GuitarIv]

Toe-Knee: that sounds great and not at all "djenty"! Thanks mate :)
Witeter: yeah, I looked up the specs of your Schecter and was thinking the same, the AMs should suit the Jackson equally well ^^

Right now I have the Invaders installed and they sound pretty ok actually. Which is strange, because the Jackson has a rather darker wood combination and my Ibanez has a Basswood Body and an all Maple Neck and the Invaders are dark pickups with huge mids and lots of low end (I'd compare them to Warpigs tonechart wise) and sounded horrible in the RG. However the SDs can't compare to BKPs, the Holydiver I own still sounds best :D

[MDV]

The first aftermath, recorded long before it was cool. Or released for that matter.

http://soundcloud.com/mdv/apotheosis-by-mdv

No djent.

The PK is harsher and more abrasive, and no tighter or clearer for it imo.

[GuitarIv]

Thanks MDV, sounds brutal. I'll just give the Aftermaths a shot and we'll see how they fit the bill :)

[witeter]

You may find this interesting-listen through headphones if poss :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILpDPYKI0Tc

[GuitarIv]

Thanks Witeter! Helpful as awlways :D

Btw, after playing now for some time I really started to like the Invaders in the Jackson. Now what other alternative is there to the Aftermath? I'm really tempted to get AM's but now with me liking the Invaders they might be a bit dry. I really wanna keep the fat, crushing midrange of the SH-8, tighten things a bit up and keep the body of the tone. I guess the mahogany already strengthens the fundament, but I'm still unsure if the Aftermaths are the 100% right choice... sorry for being so picky :P

Cheers