How saturated sounding is the blackhawk?

[Toe-Knee]

I'm getting tempted by this ugly thing yet again. I was just wondering if it gets pretty saturated sounding or is it more dry like say the aftermath?

I'm really struggling choosing pickups this time around as I've exhausted everything that interests me in the BKP range apart from this relative newcomer that there still isn't much info about all these months after launch so I guess the uptake may have been a little slow.

I tried listening through the official clips but they just don't do it for me. Even the pickups I like don't sound much like they do with a real amp so I find it really hard to judge based on these.

[Toe-Knee]

I'll give a little bit more info on the guitar and what I do and don't like in regards to other bkps I've tried.
First up I can't stand a5 pickups. They just don't work for me at all too round and unfocused in the lows.

the guitar is an alder bodied strat with a maple neck.

It will primarily be used for thrash 80s right up to more modern bands.

The bkps I've used and like are the Miracle Man and the Aftermath.

The MM is perfect in just about every regard whereas the aftermath was a bit too dry and small sounding but still the only other BKP I got on with for an extended period.

Ones I've tried and not got on with
Painkiller (too ice picky)
Nailbomb (just not right at all too soft and loose in the lows)
Warpig a5/ceramic  (too much bloat in the lows)
Cold sweat (far too polite sounding)

All of the other models just don't interest me in the slightest probably because theyre all mainly alnico.

I should probably revisit the cold sweat now that i'm not playing a TSL.

I'm also very tempted to try some other brands but none of them other than dimarzio do triangular feet on the pickups which makes them useless to me. And I know practicaly nothing of dimarzios other than they all seem really bass heavy according to the site.

[FELINEGUITARS]

I wouldn't say that the Blackhawk is that saturated - at least the ceramic one isn't

compared to the aftermath it's more open and breathes a bit more.
It does kind of remind me of a GOOD active pickup - it's like someone took a good PAF and added a bit of active magic to it - giving it more clarity and top and bottom end definition.

It would be the breeding results from mating a PAF and a tele pickup and then feeding the offspring on steroids.

Like all pickups and guitars - it really is a question of finding the right pickup for the right guitar
Pickups I thought I disliked I suddenly love in a guitar that they are well suited to.
Shame you're not closer or you could pop in and try one....
For 80s thrash you might also consider the Miracle Man

[Toe-Knee]

I wouldn't say that the Blackhawk is that saturated - at least the ceramic one isn't

compared to the aftermath it's more open and breathes a bit more.
It does kind of remind me of a GOOD active pickup - it's like someone took a good PAF and added a bit of active magic to it - giving it more clarity and top and bottom end definition.

It would be the breeding results from mating a PAF and a tele pickup and then feeding the offspring on steroids.

Like all pickups and guitars - it really is a question of finding the right pickup for the right guitar
Pickups I thought I disliked I suddenly love in a guitar that they are well suited to.
Shame you're not closer or you could pop in and try one....
For 80s thrash you might also consider the Miracle Man

yeah that's the main problem up this way. Theres nowhere to try any bkps since musicground shutdown which wasn't a bad thing.

I already have a MM loaded guitar and I like to have a bit of variety between them.

[ericsabbath]

why not a c-bomb?
it's supposed to be one of the most aggressive and balanced models
no mid spike, no heavy mid scoop, no bass bump, no treble spike

[Toe-Knee]

why not a c-bomb?
it's supposed to be one of the most aggressive and balanced models
no mid spike, no heavy mid scoop, no bass bump, no treble spike

Im wary of the c-bomb primarily because I disliked the standard nailbomb so much. I imagine its more of the same just a bit tighter.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I see it as kinda a higher powered vintage pickup.

[Philly Q]

It would be the breeding results from mating a PAF and a tele pickup and then feeding the offspring on steroids.

I like the sound of that!  :lol:

From watching/listening to the clips released when the Black Hawk was launched, I thought it had a bit of a "hi-fi" quality, like Joe Barden pickups.... but that may be the blade construction leading me to expect that kind of sound.

[ericsabbath]

why not a c-bomb?
it's supposed to be one of the most aggressive and balanced models
no mid spike, no heavy mid scoop, no bass bump, no treble spike

Im wary of the c-bomb primarily because I disliked the standard nailbomb so much. I imagine its more of the same just a bit tighter.

I don't think so
the alnico miracle man sounds completely different from the ceramic miracle man, for example
the rebel yell also sounds quite different from the cold sweat, and they have pretty close specs, except for the magnet types
the painkiller is also supposed to be a triple ceramic holy diver
I also had an alnico 8 magnet in a holy diver, and it made it a totally different pickup
they all sound completely different once you change magnets

[Toe-Knee]

why not a c-bomb?
it's supposed to be one of the most aggressive and balanced models
no mid spike, no heavy mid scoop, no bass bump, no treble spike

Im wary of the c-bomb primarily because I disliked the standard nailbomb so much. I imagine its more of the same just a bit tighter.

I don't think so
the alnico miracle man sounds completely different from the ceramic miracle man, for example
the rebel yell also sounds quite different from the cold sweat, and they have pretty close specs, except for the magnet types
the painkiller is also supposed to be a triple ceramic holy diver
I also had an alnico 8 magnet in a holy diver, and it made it a totally different pickup
they all sound completely different once you change magnets

I thought that at first but swapped a neo into the nailbomb and whilst it was a bit better it was just more of the same but hotter and middier.

I'll definitely look into it though and see how it compares to the other things I have in mind.

Thanks

[Toe-Knee]

I wouldn't say that the Blackhawk is that saturated - at least the ceramic one isn't

compared to the aftermath it's more open and breathes a bit more.
It does kind of remind me of a GOOD active pickup - it's like someone took a good PAF and added a bit of active magic to it - giving it more clarity and top and bottom end definition.

It would be the breeding results from mating a PAF and a tele pickup and then feeding the offspring on steroids.

Like all pickups and guitars - it really is a question of finding the right pickup for the right guitar
Pickups I thought I disliked I suddenly love in a guitar that they are well suited to.
Shame you're not closer or you could pop in and try one....
For 80s thrash you might also consider the Miracle Man

Hey Jon, How would you say that the low & high end of the Blackhawk compares to the AM?
What I really want is something with a similar level of tightness and clarity with some nice sizzle in the highs. Midrange isn't too important as my amp has more than I could ever need.