BKP = Vai??

[m t soule]

Are dimarzios the only way to get the vai sound?
pedals and the man himself aside.

[ericsabbath]

you gotta be more specific regarding the rig details

lot of models might work depending on the rest of the equipment

[chopeth]

Vai has a really fluid mid and thick tone, at least for the neck, i had a holy diver and its sounds really great in his songs !

[ericsabbath]

the miracle man is also a common choice
the stevie's special has quite similar specs and voicing

[Cam_H]

It's a hard one this as a lot of people don't realise that Vai used PAF Pros in both positions for the recording of Passion & Warfare. The Evolutions are a completely different style of PUP, but I can guarantee when Vai plays it live, it kicks ass.

I've read a few threads on this forum where people say that the Painkiller is like the EVOs. Obviously it is completely voiced differently and if you truly want Vai's tone then go for the Dimarzios.

I can't comment on which pickups would suit Vai's style better though. But I'm sure there are plenty in the BKP range which could suit your needs.

[drawnacrol]

Holy Diver Bridge and Miracle Man neck would get you close. For that sound I'd go dimarzios though.

[Kiichi]

There really is not one Vai sound in a PU, heck, does he not have 3 signature sets by now?

It really is a lot about which of the sounds you are after.

[JimmyMoorby]

I think it may be a stretch but thinking logically vhii's for his mid to late 80s sound given he was playing with david lee roth and doing van halen covers at that time.  His sound didnt change massively for whitesnake either.

As others have said he may have used PAF's in the 80's so vhii's would again fit the bill but he was also using marshall jcm800's and a boss ds1 for leads so his gear has changed massively from what he uses now as well as having his new sig pickups too. 

[m t soule]

The reason I ask is because I would like to see what I could do using that medium in my rg550 as opposed to copy vai.
A friend has an indonesian jem(which would not compare with vais own) with dimarzios and the voicing was distinctively vai. Maybe the alder, maybe the pup, maybe his picking technique (which can't compare with vai's), maybe his Marshal amp(which can't compare with vai's), maybe any or all of the above. But the common, consistent factor is the dimarzios.
Thing is I would like that opportunity and I figured BKP are cool fellas so lets give em first shot.
at the moment I am fresh into learning about pick ups so apologies for my naivety etc

Vai material that has inspired me = alien love secrets(top of the list becsuse of its "simplicity"), fire garden(especially the last track), passion and warfare(audience is listning snd for the love of god)

my guitars at home are;
1998 Rg550 ltd npm v7 s1 v8 = love it.
2007 rg550 mxx nailbomb(b) irish tour(m) crawler(n) = love it in Eflat but not in E standard
1993 rg550 ca v1 s1 v2 = not sure hence the pup upgrade.

amp line6 spider. 

Dont use pedals or any other garnish or gadgetry.

All the BKP sound bytes are in E flat which in my opinion makes a massive difference to sound compared to E standard which means i cannot judge accurately from there

Thanks so much for the advice so far

[FELINEGUITARS]

I think from the clips that I have heard so far that the new Juggernaut pickups sound closest to the Evolution  Vai sound of any BKPs that I have heard.

[m t soule]

What is it you hear to have that opinion?

T

[Telerocker]

I had an original 89 Jem FP: basswood body, maple neck, rosewood board, scalloped on the higher positions. And PAF Pro's in bridge- and neckposition. If you are looking for that sound from Passion and Warfare I would look at a VHII or a Holy Diver. For his later sounds Miracle Man or perhaps Juggernauts.

[FELINEGUITARS]

What is it you hear to have that opinion?

T

http://youtu.be/s_JgKOjTTqg
Some of he tones in this clip made me think that they would sound a bit Evo like - especially with the right choice of material.

[fps_dean]

The Cold Sweat set has a fairly smooth sound like Evos only I think with more midrange (judging from what I've heard).  That might be worth looking into as well

[FELINEGUITARS]

The Cold Sweat set has a fairly smooth sound like Evos only I think with more midrange (judging from what I've heard).  That might be worth looking into as well

Quite the opposite to my ears - Cold Sweat is pretty open and almost scooped whilst Evo had a shedload of mids.
I use the Cold Sweat a lot - love it .