Pick ups for RR5

[GuitarIv]

Holydiver all the way! I own the pickup in a very bright Strat and it just gives me a smile on my face everytime I play it. I has perfect depth and body to make the guitar sound full enough (as said it's a very bright axe) yet having a nice and screaming lead tone that stays very musical and expressive. Tight enough for everything that goes even further than 80's metal, clear as a tear and all in all the best pickup I ever played. You'll be very satisfied. And every time I read Slarts description of the Miracle Man being a bit more aggressive and fuller than the Holydiver yet retaining the core sound of it, my mouth waters. I think the MM is gonna be the next pickup I'll be getting, thanks to you Slart :P

[Viowithcrailtap]

Yeah, they will initially make your playing sound worse because of that. Good thing is you wonīt care as you will be in the honeymoon period and just be too amazed with the sound. But as that goes away you are already playing better and after a little while with them they will have made you a better player, that I am sure of.
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That's good though. I'd rather not have some sound to hide behind or so to speak. It's the same reason I'm not a massive fan of reverb either. It'll probably be annoying to start with but like you said, I'll still be on a high from just having them and I will most likely spend a lot of time just hitting power chords :P

[FELINEGUITARS]

They're all great pickups and that's the problem with BKP but you have no need to look any further as there is no doubt in my mind that for what you're after, you already have the best two possible combinations: Holydiver/Emerald or Miracle Man/Cold Sweat

Indeed. Both will do that 80s style very nicely, now you just gotta deciede how you want it to be done.

I've just watched some videos on the MM and Cold Sweat and holy cr@p they're a good sounding set of pick ups. I see what you guys mean about them being unforgiving as they pick up every note.

Easily the best sounding pick ups I've heard.

Yeah, they will initially make your playing sound worse because of that. Good thing is you wonīt care as you will be in the honeymoon period and just be too amazed with the sound. But as that goes away you are already playing better and after a little while with them they will have made you a better player, that I am sure of.

CS bridge is somewhat more hollow /open - more of 1980-1987
MM bridge is fuller sounding and more saturated - more 1986-1992

[Slartibartfarst42]

And every time I read Slarts description of the Miracle Man being a bit more aggressive and fuller than the Holydiver yet retaining the core sound of it, my mouth waters. I think the MM is gonna be the next pickup I'll be getting, thanks to you Slart :P

Clearly I'm making your life expensive  8)

Overall, the Holydiver remains my favourite pickup because I like things thick, warm, fluid and smooth and the Holydiver is just perfect in every way but sometimes I just fancy a bit more aggression and bite in the tone and that's where the Miracle Man comes in.

[Viowithcrailtap]

Overall, the Holydiver remains my favourite pickup because I like things thick, warm, fluid and smooth and the Holydiver is just perfect in every way but sometimes I just fancy a bit more aggression and bite in the tone and that's where the Miracle Man comes in.

This is where I'm a bit stuck. It's a real toss up between the Miracle Man and Holy Diver. If I'm honest I've heard the Miracle Man in a few different guitars and the players were quite good so that helped where as the Holy Diver hasn't really been done justice from the videos I've seen. It would be nice to see some pick up reviews that weren't in a Les Paul.

[Slartibartfarst42]

My Holydiver review:

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=24376.msg321332#msg321332

My Miracle Man review:

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=28004.msg366208#msg366208

Hope it helps but if you want to know more, just ask  :D

[darkbluemurder]

If I'm honest I've heard the Miracle Man in a few different guitars and the players were quite good so that helped where as the Holy Diver hasn't really been done justice from the videos I've seen. It would be nice to see some pick up reviews that weren't in a Les Paul.

While I like watching gear videos I would not rely to heavily on them due to all the variables involved. And a demo by a too good player can be as misleading as one by a sloppy player.

Even if it is a difficult decision you are very unlikely to go wrong with either of the suggested combinations.

Cheers Stephan

[Viowithcrailtap]

Yeah I don't think I'll be disappointed by either set I choose to go for. I just can't get over how much better they are. I'll admit I was a Duncan fan as a few of my favourite guitarists use them but I'm in the BKP corner now.

[Viowithcrailtap]

One last thing. I've just been shopping around for pick ups and I've noticed that you can buy the pick ups with or without a cover (or at least that's what it looks like).

I was wondering, which would I need? I've only had pick ups where you can see two rows of pins. The covered ones look cool but are they the wrong ones to buy?

[Slartibartfarst42]

It's up to you. I've tried both and while I think the covered ones look great, I prefer open poled pickups. The covered ones tend to produce a slightly softer and rounded tone than the open ones and having tried a covered and open Holydiver in the same guitar, I felt that the bass was crisper and cut through better when the pickup was open. You should be able to fine a You Tube video of the difference by BKP.

[richard]

Here is the very Youtube vid you refer to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D756154qUdo

[Viowithcrailtap]

I just watched that video and 2 demos of the Miracle Man and that is definitely what I'm going for. Still not sure about he neck but the cold sweat is the front runner on that.

On the cover vs open pick up, I can see what you mean about the covered being softer. The uncovered sounds more raw so definitely would go with 80's metal through a JCM800 (which I'm saving for). The zebra and reverse zebra would look great in my RR5.

I also can't believe how chilled out the guy from BKP was. Normally people are like "this in an EMG 85 and if you don't buy one then you're not cool" but the BKP guy is just like "we give people the cover or open option on all our pick ups so you can have either sound or just the look. No hype, just facts.

[Kiichi]

The CS neck certainly is great, but from what I hear the MM neck is also pretty nice. I would look into those aswell. Donīt know if they work for what you want but I would give them a look to be fair.

Cover vs no cover is a thing where, yes, there is a difference, but it is small enough for me to say I go with what looks better, cause I can dial in the difference elsewhere rather easily.
If I was just going by sound I think I would most of the time go open bridge covered neck, cause that is the way I roll.
I might like my neck PUs to be bright in the sense that I donīt want lots of low mids and lows, but I do find that slightly rounded top end to be very nice for my lead playing to smooth it out a tad.


Oh and yeah, everyone at BKP is super nice, helpful and really interrested in getting you what you want if that is in their power.
Was always so happy to recieve good recommendations and slight custom stuff like getting a regular P90 in HSP90 format.
The forum is just amazing too, so open minded, friendly, help- and respectful. There is a reason I am slowly coming up on 1k posts and still loving it.

[Viowithcrailtap]

Covered Neck/ Uncovered Bridge makes sense. I'm a bit undecided cause the covers look really good. A clearer neck would have its advantages. You've thrown a bit of a spanner in the works now.

I think I'm gonna go with a Miracle Man in the Bridge but the neck I'm still unsure of.

It's not like I'll end up with a bad pick up.