Best PU for lead playing, soloing, shredding....

[Mythic]

Hello BKP Community,

I haven't really found a Topic like this, so i thought I'd register and ask people who know better.

As the title says, I am searching the best possible BKP pickup for mostly playing the upper fretboard so to speak, soloing and alike.

I checked out the Warpig, but was really not satisfied with it. It somehow has to much gain and IMO this pickup is designed for rather downtuned riffing and stuff than shredding.

I am not looking for ONE special suggestion and adjustments for my amp and stuff, but just your opinions which Bare Knuckle Humbuckers are the best for shredding and soloing.

In my area BKP aren't really available in stores and I'm not really able to try them so I kind of have to go with the descriptions and sound samples and your advices.

As you can imagine I am mainly playing Heavy Metal and all subgenres that come with it. Just like said, I am searching for that really good Leadpickup. Maybe some of you have made experiences and can help me out. Thanks a lot for your help.

Cheers!

[Arthurus]

Holydiver hands down ! Fluid, creamy, with a singing quality to it...

[Kiichi]

Hi and welcome! Are you talking neck or bridge here? Or combos? Makes quite the difference.

For the bridge, the HD might be the best one indeed, but for the neck the field is much wider. Neck PUs to look at for amazing shred action: VHII, Aftermath, Emerald, Coldsweat, Painkiller, Blackhawk, Rebel Yell, Holydiver, Juggernaut and the Miracle Man. Plus I personally would not dismiss the Stockholm HSP90 (fluid, full, great attack, can scream and sing).
Then again, I think one can also shred one the Mule very well and I have heard the Manhattan sound kinda great there too. Thats the beauty of BKPs for you...

The most common and well tested shred PUs out of those perhaps are the Emerald and Coldsweat, but all can do it and with their own strengths. The Aftermath for example is quite lovely, I very much enjoy it especially for older Petrucci sounds, while the Coldsweat is more assosiated with his newer sounds. The VHII, if I recall correctly, has a bit of a single coil quality and is also very fluid, plus a bit more 80s in voicing. The HD neck is on the brighter front, while the Blackhawk is darker. The MM has a comperaticly Hifi sound (great for a lot of shred sounds) and the painkiller as it is ceramic is pretty smooth and unique too.

So you see, as far as shred necks go you really got choice. Thus youŽll have to tell us a little more about what you are looking for here ;)

[Mythic]

@ beard

Thanks for your reply man! I'll inform myself more about the HD for sure! Never really thought about the HD!



@ Kiichi

Thanks a lot for your reply too mate!

Sorry for not mentioning it before, but I am just looking for a Bridge PU without combo. I have the Liquifire ( JP signature ) in the neck position and I am really happy with it!

Well the thing is, the PU must not be that brutal or whatever. Nevertheless I do want it to be aggressive and mainly for Metal. The singing tone doesn't have to be that warm and I am a ceramic fan since the invader I have to say. I changed to the SH6 and was liked the lead sound of it, but it somehow got boring to me. It somehow has not that much character to me but that's what I am looking for. Shredding with the Liquifire is perfectly fine for me, but for the bridge i need a nice PU to riff as well. I am playing 6 string guitars and the lowest tuning I will go for with the guitar I am installing the BK in will be probably Drop C. So it doesn't have to be that heavy to handle B tunings and whatever.

The PU must be able to handle the hi gain lead sounds and action at the upper frets as i mentioned. The Warpig, to me, is not that made for that kind of thing ( IMO ).

Stuff that I am playing is ( beside my own stuff that you'll not know  :lol:) Children of Bodom, Randy Rhoads, some Metallica, Pantera, Slayer and stuff like that. Just that you know. But when it comes to soloing I would pick the COB and Randy Rhoads sound if that helps. It can be a bit dirty and mustn't be that warm, but i guess I wouldn't mind if it sounds smooth and silk  :D

So basically a PU that remains very clean, maybe warm, silky, precise, cutting edge, a lot of heights and midrange for squeals and a like and also for sweep picking.

hope that helps!

Cheers!

[Telerocker]

It depends on your gear, but the HD has one of the best leadsounds. Also the Crawler does fantastics leads, but is woolier on the low strings.

[Lucas]

What about Jugg bridge? In one of the reviews on youtube even Misha has stated himself that Jugg bridge is magnificent pickup which can produce nice clean sound as well as screaming lead tones without being thin and shrill.

Magnificient Beard? Any comments? As far as I remember you have Jugg bridge.

[Dave Sloven]

The Rebel Yell is the one most often mentioned as giving a Randy Rhoads sound, and it is definitely one of BKP's best shred necks, being similar to the Cold Sweat and VHII

[Kiichi]

The Rebel Yell is the one most often mentioned as giving a Randy Rhoads sound, and it is definitely one of BKP's best shred necks, being similar to the Cold Sweat and VHII

Yeah, the neck is supposed to be great, but as I was confused too the question here is not about the neck...yet, cause ususally people who upgrade one PU in a guitar they end up changing the other one later too. Not to say that the Liquifire is not a great shred PU, but there is a good chance you will start hearing it differently after using more BKPs, at least that is what happened to me.

I also like the RY bridge for solo work, love to do a lot of pinched harmonics (bit like Skid Row), but I donŽt know if the rest of the voicing is what is wanted here.

I guess it is mostly between the HD, MM (also smooth and 80s, more metal and agressive though, more low mid focus, resulting in slightly scooped feel) and the Juggernaut, as mentioned when it comes to bridges.

[Mythic]

Hi mates and thanks a lot for all your replies!

Well as it looks right now I guess i have to decide between the Jugg and the HolyD. I tend to take the Juggernaut, since everybody calls it "heavier" and i guess the Alnico/Ceramic mixture makes the big difference. To kind of have the best of both worlds. Tell me if I'm wrong  :lol: !

Like said I am looking for a characteristic leadsound, but still a PU that is very good for hard riffing since it's in the bridge position. It doesn't have to be THAT clear. I am not looking for a EMG like PU or something that way. I just don't want it to get muddy. Though i guess that won't happen since I don't really play that low tunings and my gain knob isn't set all the way to the stop.

Another Pickup that i really like and maybe even try to get a bit of that tone is the Alexi Laiho Signature PU or simply the EMG HZ-H2. I am not trying to get the COB sound, but what I really like about this PU is, that it is a real Allrounder PU, since he plays leads and rhythm with it. Also I really love that lead sound since it is kind of "in control" and handles a lot gain ( what u may need for rhythms ). So basically he does everything with it from extreme alternate picking to sweeping where most players tend to use the neck PU. This is basically what i want, like i said, a PU that's flexible when it comes to rhythm and leads. To me the Warpig is a real rhythm PU and not really made for leads and i just don't like it's cold sound when soloing. The ceramic magnets are probably a reason concerning that.

Anyhow I hope that helped a bit to be more precise on what I am looking for in that PU and right now I am staggering between the HolyDiver and the Juggernaut, although I am tending to the Jugg.

[Slartibartfarst42]

For the bridge it would be either the Holydiver, Miracle Man or Crawler for me. All are excellent but if I could choose only one, it would be the Holydiver without a shadow of a doubt. No other bridge pickup can match the Holydiver.

For the neck it would be a close call between the Cold Sweat, Holydiver or Emerald.

[Alex]

To be honest, most BK pickups can work great for that.

However, I think the Juggernaut and the Holy Diver work really well. I also like the Miracle Man a lot, it is maybe a more aggressive than the other too.

[Mythic]

To be honest, most BK pickups can work great for that.

However, I think the Juggernaut and the Holy Diver work really well. I also like the Miracle Man a lot, it is maybe a more aggressive than the other too.

But what makes the jugg and the holy pop out then? Since most people here mentioned the two especially.

Could maybe someone describe the difference to me if possible?

[Kiichi]

To be honest, most BK pickups can work great for that.

However, I think the Juggernaut and the Holy Diver work really well. I also like the Miracle Man a lot, it is maybe a more aggressive than the other too.

But what makes the jugg and the holy pop out then? Since most people here mentioned the two especially.

Could maybe someone describe the difference to me if possible?

The reason we mention those are that they are towards the full side of things, with a high end that has some musically rounded qualitys. That makes them stand up better on the higher frets for soloing. Play something bright like the Emerald bridge high up and things can easily get too thin for what you want is what we recon.
Both can do riffing for sure, no issue there, with the HD being more vintage and warmer, no suprise with the magnets used. The Jugg should be considerably dryer in comparison, but still organic thanks to the alnico in there.

Dunno about that sig pub, but the EMG you mention I had one once (stock in a guitar) and while it was good for a stock PU I am glad I changed it.

[Mythic]

Oh see i see.

Well the PU that I am talking about is the HZ-H2 basically but there's Alexi Laiho's name on it. yes it is a really peculiar and many people can't get a good sound out of them and it does sound kind of "weird".

Thanks for your help I'll start a poll later to get more onions on the HD and Jugg especially!

Thx for everyones help so far!

Cheers!

[Arthurus]

Magnificient Beard? Any comments? As far as I remember you have Jugg bridge.

Well, the Juggernaut is better at doing heavy riffing, and it has some nice lead tones. But they are more aggressive than the Holydiver's. There is also less "air" on the high notes.
It could be the pickup to sweep with though. But I don't know, I don't sweep.