BKP Fans Choice?

[JimmyMoorby]

Not sure if its a local expression or not but feel free to tell me to 'wind my neck in' as I have the utmosst respect (To say te least) for BKP and the forum users.  I know everyone who likes BKP really believes in them as do I hence why im trying to save up for a load of sets.  In a lot of ways i'm a humbucker kind of guy given im into rock/metal/shred/prog type stuff.  I've noticed that FOR ME the humbuckers BKP seems to have an answer for everyones tonal needs however I was looking to buy a fender strat and upgrade the pickups and as i'm a complete fanboy I wanted to go as close to the 'God of tone' Eric Johnson as I could.

So I was wondering whether or not it would be worth creating a thread if any one had any ideas re BKP creating any new pickups.  Obviously they dont have to listen but maybe if they know theres a marker for something theyll make it and would be grateful for the feedback........... I know Seymour Duncan have done this.

Mine would be the Cliffs Of Dover  :D  Single coil pickups to nail to the tone of Eric Johnson.  

[Philly Q]

Wasn't Cliffs of Dover recorded with an ES-335?  :P

Good thread idea, though.  I think similar ones have been done before, but not for a while.

The truth may be that there are already enough pickups in the BKP range to nail most tones, but of course (a) we haven't all tried the full range and (b) we may not have the skills to make the most of them (I certainly don't!  :lol: ).  But it'll be interesting to see what people suggest.

[JimmyMoorby]

To be honest I have no idea which guitar or pickups he recorded.  I do know he has a Siganture Di Marzio humbucker pickup but im more interested in single coils.

To me though EJ is a strat man and I cant seem to think of any strat pickups which could get close or nail is tone.  His best live performances of that particular song or any of his songs to my mind are always with a start too.

If any one has any suggestions for BKP single coils ill be glad to take them on board but they seem more aimed at other styles to me.

The pickups on his signature strat sound sound really non descript and dont point me in the direction of any thing at all either :(

[Philly Q]

The pickups on his signature strat sound sound really non descript and dont point me in the direction of any thing at all either :(

It's all in the fingers! 

It is true that he recorded nearly all of Cliffs of Dover with an ES-335, but when I saw him live (long ago!) he did of course play it on a Strat and it sounded like.... Eric Johnson.

I don't think he's the kind of player who replaces pickups etc very much, so I assume most of his vintage Strats have (or had) stock Fender pickups, although I know one of them had a DiMarzio HS-2, wired as a single-coil, in the bridge position.

None of which answers the question.  I don't know which BKP Strat pickups would give you a start in the right direction.  Hopefully someone else will chip in.

[Telerocker]

I saw liverecordings where he played Cliffs of Dover with his signature strat. Apaches would come close to EJ's strat-sounds. They work best with a maple neckstrat.

[JimmyMoorby]

The pickups on his signature strat sound sound really non descript and dont point me in the direction of any thing at all either :(

It's all in the fingers!  

It is true that he recorded nearly all of Cliffs of Dover with an ES-335, but when I saw him live (long ago!) he did of course play it on a Strat and it sounded like.... Eric Johnson.

I don't think he's the kind of player who replaces pickups etc very much, so I assume most of his vintage Strats have (or had) stock Fender pickups, although I know one of them had a DiMarzio HS-2, wired as a single-coil, in the bridge position.

None of which answers the question.  I don't know which BKP Strat pickups would give you a start in the right direction.  Hopefully someone else will chip in.

The whole 'its in your fingers' thing could not be more true that said I do have I remember playing a not particularly neo classical  metal solo once on my ESP George Lynch guitar with which i fitted with Di Marzio YJM neck pickup.  Without me telling them what it was they were all like 'That sounds like Yngwie!!!'.  I do believe you can use someone elses gear and sound like them but it can be a very good starting point.

The comment about the apaches is also very interesting.  Hank Marvin had a phenomenal clean sound.

[Telerocker]

Apaches provide thick, clean, genuine fifties-strattones, but can do a lot of styles and handle gain well.

[Philly Q]

Obviously the name Apaches brings Hank Marvin to mind, which makes me think of a generic, clean, twangy low-output Strat tone (.....which isn't meant as disrespect to Hank, he invented that tone!)

But in fact when I listen to clips (always hard to judge from clips, I know) the Apaches seem to produce some of the warmest, roundest Strat tones and, as you say, handle gain well.  It's the kind of Strat sound I like, I'm not keen on "glassy".

I've probably got this wrong, but I think of the Apaches as the "warm" Vintage set and the Slow Hands as the Vintage Hot equivalent.

[Lezard]

I never really bought into the whole "pickups to replicate a players tone thing", the names of the pickups are useful for a refrence but I would have thought the main draw for BKPs is that they are so versatile.

[Telerocker]

Obviously the name Apaches brings Hank Marvin to mind, which makes me think of a generic, clean, twangy low-output Strat tone (.....which isn't meant as disrespect to Hank, he invented that tone!)

But in fact when I listen to clips (always hard to judge from clips, I know) the Apaches seem to produce some of the warmest, roundest Strat tones and, as you say, handle gain well.  It's the kind of Strat sound I like, I'm not keen on "glassy".

I've probably got this wrong, but I think of the Apaches as the "warm" Vintage set and the Slow Hands as the Vintage Hot equivalent.

I think you capture that quite good. Nevertheless in a bandsituation a bit of uppermidrange- and topendsparkle is good to cut through the mix.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I think for the most part everything that should be covered is covered. At some point you have to start worrying about your playing and not your gear!

However, if I was to pick out a couple to make, I'd say a Rocket Queen (Slash/GNR), a Boogie Man (Joe Perry/Aerosmith), or a Limelight (Lifeson/Rush).

[DarkWolfXV]

It would be cool if there were more bass pickups, or option to get them with covers.

[gwEm]

It would be great if they made the A5 Mule and official option.. My favourite pickup.

[Miracle Man]

It would be great if they made the A5 Mule and official option.. My favourite pickup.

Well, Eric Hellstyle did say that the neck VHII is very close to the A5 bridge Mule spec wise. I understand that Tim doesn't want to confuse 98% of his customers with pickup models that are too simillar, but IF the VHII neck = A5 mule assumption is correct, it would be cool if the true BKP enthusiasts could get some "inside info" on stuff like this.

Since you're one of the lucky few that own an A5 Mule, perhaps it is your duty to get a hold of a neck VHII and compare the two  PDT_003   (joke aside, I would love an A5 Mule, so getting a first hand opinion on this matter would be pretty sweet  :mrgreen: )

[GuitarIv]

What about the Ceramic Holydiver? I think I read it somewhere here on the forum that Tim changed the Magnet to an Alnico 5 later on