Here's a review of this wonderfull pickup, hope it helps !
The guitar:
1. Mensinger arcadia 7 : Mensinger is a custom hand made polish luthier. Its a great guitar, in a LP style:
- Mahogany thick body.
- Mahogany set in neck.
- Flame maple top.
- Ebony fretboard.
2. The equipment.
My current gear is:
- engl savage special edition: the most organic , thick and dark of all engls amps ( IMHO )
- Bogner Uberschall clone: one of the thickess, growly and dark high gain amp of the market.
- custom 2x12 ( bogner oversize style ) with celestion v30 + evm 12l: really balanced sound; thick, tight, clear but a bit dark.
Overall tone: thick, tight, clear, organic but dark.
3. What I play.
I usually play fast , very aggresive songs, with really fast palm mutes and i'm many cases down tunning. Bands like Machine Head, Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgir comes to my mind.
4. Bareknuckle painkiller 7.
At first, i have installed bk miracle man. I simply LOVE that pickup but with my new amps and cab, the 7th string was a bit dark to my taste. As well as that, in some cases i missed a bit more of mids ( miracle man has a lot of low mids, rather than mids ) to get more " 3D sound".
If I have to define the pickups in two words they would be: $%&#ing aggresive. The first thing that have impressed me is the presence of the pickup. I have to roll down the highs more than 2/10 and due to its bite, it seems to have more output than the miracle man.
Another thing that has surprised me is that the pickup is thicker than i expected. At first i was afraid of loosing the great thickness of the miracle man but the painkiller is thick ( not as thick as the miracle man but thick ) and the lows are, IMHO , tighter than the miracle man. Its like a $%&#ing knife. Its so clear, so full , so powefull that every pick is heard. Its dry, but in a good way; it "eats" the overtones that get dirty if you play with extreme gain but uses some of this overtone to thick the sound.
I have read a lot of about its " ice picky" sound...well, at least, in mahogany, it doesnt true. Obviously its a bright pickup but it has a " hot roadded marshall" kind of sound, but taken far away.
The clean sound...well....its ceramic and its in the bridge so...what can i tell you? not the best clean ceramic bridge bk sound but not the worst. Nothing special really.
One thing that has surprised me A LOT: I have had miracle man, ceramic warpig, and aftermath in this guitar ( i'm a bit...I love test pickups ) and, BY FAR, at lest in lp style, this pickup has the best coil tap of all. It iretains almost all the bass but it increase its clarity.
Playing fast, every note jumps extemely fast. Its abrasive, its twested....this....IS....THE....PAINKILLER !!!!
5. A little comparision between miracle man, ceramic warpig and aftermath in a LP style ( rhythm )
Painkiller vs ceramic warpig: the painkiller is a lot of more clear, thinner ( of course ) , has more bite and aggresiveness but is less growly. The warpig is like a wall of sound and the painkiller is more like a thick needle :lol:
Painkiller vs Miracle man: the painkiller is more aggressive, its a bit tight, more complex and clear, and have more complete overall sound. The miracle man in more thick and " polite. The miracle man in a bit more organic.
Painkiller vs aftermath: the painkiller is more aggressive , less dry, and a bit less tight. it has more bass, and more organic tone. It has more growl its a bit more dark ( if it has any sense in this pickups :lol: )
