eventually upgrading my gibsons.. suggestions?

[littleredguitars2]

i dont plan on making any decisions right away but you guys have been very helpful with my strat project. so i'm curious what you guys think about what i should put in my 2 gibson guitars.

first is a gibson es-335. shes an oldy. 1986. great guitar but the pickups lack output. i still want a vintage sound from it though. i usually play it paired with my ibanez tubescreamer ts9 for some old Rush tunes but i always prefer to not use pedals if i dont have to. i want something that sounds big with chords with lots of clarity. whatever may give me that old gibson sound but with just... "more". if that makes sense

second is my gibson les paul classic. already some hot pickups in it. it has a 500t/496r but they just seem to raw and they dont really "sing" the way i want them to.. i want to keep it a heavy sounding guitar but versatile too for other rock based tones. so i was thinking maybe aftermath or miracle man ... or whatever else you guys may suggest. i already have a nailbomb on the way for another guitar so i dont want this guitar with the same stuff in it. its a mahogony body and neck with maple top and rosewood (i believe) fretboard.

i play through a mesa boogie dual rec roadster. quite high output already i know. but i dont really CRANK anything on it.

thanks

[Dave Sloven]

You might be happiest with the Rebel Yell set in the Les Paul, given that you specify rock rather than metal.  You are likely to find these to be a big improvement on the set you have (which I tend to associate with Flying Vs and Explorers) as the RY was designed for rock applications in a Les Paul.  Anyway get in contact with BKP and listen to some clips.  Out of the 'contemporary' selection this is probably most likely to suit, but have a look at the 'vintage hot' range too.

User reviews are collected here:

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=30219.0

Sorry I don't have any ideas regarding ES-335s.  Maybe Riff Raff? Anyway others should be able to give a better idea.

[fhn_lopes]

What amp are you using? DO you really need output to push the amp harder?

Well, I'm assuming you're using a vintage amp (like a plexi or something) so, here's the deal

1) for the Es-335 I'd go with riff raff set or an abraxas set. The riff raff has  a bit more output than an usual paf pickup and is very well balanced and clear. The abraxas has more output but reatains a nice soft vintage tone, like a pushed up version of the mules. Both are great pups for a vintage hot sound.

2) for the LP classic (I own one too  :)) I'd go for a Holydiver/Emerald combo or A Rebell Yell set or maybe a Rebell yell/emerald combo. The emerald neck is the best and clearest neck pickup I've ever heard. Even with lots of gain, it never gets muddy or loses definition, and really SINGS. Splits wonderfully too.
The Rebell Yell bridge is a  classic hard rock pickup, punchy high mids, tight and agressive in the right amount. Very clear and cleans up really well in the volume pot...
The holydiver bridge is softer in the highs and less agressive than the rebell yell, but is very versatile too. A tad more bass response but still very full on mids... The Holydiver/emerald combo is one of the most famous for all arround stuff.

I'm planning on the Rebell Yell/Emerald combo formy classic as soon as I get the funds... My pourposes are closer to yours and I use a 76' JMP 50w...

[littleredguitars2]

i actually mentioned the amp i use in my original post. and thanks for the suggestions. i appreciate it

[fhn_lopes]

shitee, sorry for that.....

I think you don't need a high output pu, so I'd chose more for the tone rather than output... For teh ES-335 I'd stick with riff raffs or maybe a mule set... If you want to go VINTAGE, then a storm monday set ( I think these would sound AMAZING unpotted in your hollowbody).

For the LP I'd stick with the Rebell Yell/ Emerald or maybe consider an Emerald set, as your amp is more on the dark side than on the bright (like marshalls for ex.)

[littleredguitars2]

what do you mean by "unpotted"? and i know what you mean about not needed much output for the les paul but i'm not sure the suggestions will be as heavy as i want. definitely want to stick on the metal side. since i have other guitars for the rock stuff but i also dont want my les paul to be a one trick pony.

[Telerocker]

Alex Lifeson's tone in the eary days was not that satured, so you can keep it vintage, which in ihmo is the best route for an ES. Besides that, you have a highgainamp, so you don't need high output. I have doubts about the RiffRaff in an ES with all that maple. I would stick to a Mules-set.

How bright or dark is the natural voice of the LP? They vary a lot. If dark you could consider RY's or Cold Sweats, if bright a Holy Diver or even a Black Dog. They all different voiced, so you should decide how much mids you're looking for/your guitard needs.

I would not pick the Aftermath. It's dry like the desert and designed for supertight metal-styles.

[Sarkasis]

Aftermath will be very raw and hard-edged, I don't think that's the direction you want to go.

If you want the highs to sing and still have a heavy sounding guitar that can do metal and be versatile, look more to the Holydiver.

[littleredguitars2]

its hard for me to really say if the LP is bright or dark since i've only had the one pickup set in it but i'd say its on the brighter side. and i'll keep that in mind about the aftermath.

what about the miracle man? not a good fit for the LP?

[Dave Sloven]

If your LP is fairly bright I'm guessing the Miracle Man set will work.

I would keep in mind though the basic characteristics of the MM, and whether it will cover what you want it to cover.  It will certainly sound different from the Nailbomb you have coming.

Maybe the best thing to do is to actually try the Nailbomb in this guitar before you put it in the other one, and compare the two and take note of what characteristics about the Nailbomb in that guitar you like and which ones you might want to change.  Then unsolder it from the LP and put it in the guitar you intended it for.  Besides the possibility of burning your fingers and a string change it doesn't seem like too much hassle.

This will give you a baseline from which to work out which other pickup in the BKP range might be best for your LP.

For example, if you want something that sounds a bit more 'scooped' than the Nailbomb you would probably go for a Cold Sweat or Miracle Man. To choose between them you might think about other things like brightness, bass output, etc.

Are you also changing the neck pickup?

EDIT: You might also find that the Nailbomb sounds very different in each guitar but you like it in both.  Then get a second Nailbomb, or maybe the alternate magnet version (A-bomb has more mids)

[Sarkasis]

They say the Miracle Man has dark lows and bright highs, and a surprisingly polished and organic sound for a ceramic. I wouldn't expect it to be as versatile as the Holydiver though, because it's still a more aggressive ceramic pickup, and I guess it'll have more screaming highs, so it just depends on how you want those frequencies treated and what else you want to do besides metal rhythms.

[ericsabbath]

nailbomb or miracle man set for the lp classic
they are both far more versatile than the stock 500t/496r pickups

how are the pickup height settings on the 335?
a lot of people I know complain about about pickup output and never realize the pups are way too far from strings,  or the strings are too low so they don't resonate loud enough
logical choice should be a riff raff set, but if you want something slightly hotter, I don't see why a vhII set wouldn't work pretty well in a 335

[bandmaster188]

mules for 335 most definitely!!!

[littleredguitars2]

Are you also changing the neck pickup?

EDIT: You might also find that the Nailbomb sounds very different in each guitar but you like it in both.  Then get a second Nailbomb, or maybe the alternate magnet version (A-bomb has more mids)

yes i'm looking into some HH sets for both and i picked up the Alnico nailbomb for my other guitar. i think it would suit me better overall.

They say the Miracle Man has dark lows and bright highs, and a surprisingly polished and organic sound for a ceramic. I wouldn't expect it to be as versatile as the Holydiver though, because it's still a more aggressive ceramic pickup, and I guess it'll have more screaming highs, so it just depends on how you want those frequencies treated and what else you want to do besides metal rhythms.

yeah i'm definitely stuck between these two pickups for the LP. i like the idea of a darker sounding pickup

how are the pickup height settings on the 335?
a lot of people I know complain about about pickup output and never realize the pups are way too far from strings,  or the strings are too low so they don't resonate loud enough
logical choice should be a riff raff set, but if you want something slightly hotter, I don't see why a vhII set wouldn't work pretty well in a 335

the pickup height is quite high on the 335. pretty close to the strings. is there a general rule of thumb when it comes to pickup height? how does the height affect the characteristics?

and i'm getting a lot of different suggestions for the 335 pickups. i guess i'd have to really look into those vintage  and vintage hot ones more since i'm really only familiar with the contemporary ones at the moment.

[PhilKing]

I have unpotted Stormy Monday's in my 335.  They work really well in it for classic rock sounds, and you can nail the Clapton Cream Crossroads tone easily.  For the LP, I would look at Abraxas or Black Dogs, depending how bright the guitar is.  I've played one of Tim's LP's which had a Miracle Man set in it, and it really sounded great, so great that I bought a set for an Explorer (I've since moved them to a bolt on neck PRS clone), but the higher output pickups won't give you Alex Lifeson's tones from the old Rush album.