Cbomb Vs Painkiller

[one]

Hi, mates!

After almost a year of C-bomb use I'm considering changing it. My guitar is mahogany with walnut top, rosewood neck and ebony fingerboard. My amp an EVH 5153. I mean... it's not at all bad but while I love my Juggernauts in my other swamp ash seven stringer, god knows I've tried to like the c-bomb but I just can't stand the shrillness of that pickup. It sometimes sounds to me boomy, I feel it's treacherous, boosting all my mistakes and there's not to much sustain in solos, if you understand what I mean, palm muting sounds unfocused. Tweaking here and there in the amp and my multieffects I have ended up enduring playing it with my band.

Before ordering the pickup a couple of friends warned me about the C-bomb. They said it's the only pickup they utterly hate from the BKP catalogue. They are always praising the juggs and the painkiller. I was between the latter and the C-bomb and dediced to give it a chance. I should've listened to them. After all this time I'm considering giving it up and buying a painkiller or a C-hawk. The neck one is a Cold Sweat, which I am happy with. I play mostly metal, though I like plenty of styles from progressive rock to technical death metal.

What do you think about it? Will the Painkiller kill my pain?

[Yellowjacket]

Having not tried a C-Bomb, I can't comment directly.

BUT, my Ibanez RG7421 MIJ has a Juggerset in it and my friend's Schecter (Maple neck, mahogany body) has a painkiller in the bridge.  The Painkiller has lots of bite and definition in the highs.  The pickup does need to be boosted with some amplifiers to tighten up the low end but I think this is endemic to 7 strings and not an issue with the pickup itself.  Similarly, my RG needs to be boosted with some amps to tighten up the low end as well.

I have an A-Bomb in my Gibson Les Paul and that guitar has 10 - 46 strings and generally stays in E Standard / Drop D. 

[Dave Sloven]

Sounds like your guitar might be too bright for the C-Bomb.  Walnut can be difficult to match pickups with.  I would be careful in replacing it with something else.

[ericsabbath]

I loved the c-bomb in my 73 lp custom
sounded a bit dark, and more compressed than any other bkp I had, but in a good way
it actually pushed my amps harder, so it delivered more sustain than all the other bkp bridge models I had in the same guitar (riff raff, a-bomb, holy diver, black dog, aftermath, cold sweat)
it isn't really my kind of pup, but it sounded amazing with the stock 84 jcm 800 2203 I had
made that amp sound huge

based on your complaints, I'm not sure what yo recommend here
tighter sounding models with triple magnets, like the painkiller and aftermath, wil make your mistakes even more apparent

[one]

Thanks for your help everyone!

Yeah, I also think the walnut top has something to do with the weirdness I find in this pickup-guitar combo.

In case I change it I'd go for Painkiller, Blackhawk or Impulse

I discarded Warpigs (I think too bassy, would pick those for a swamp ash or something alike) and juggernaut (I already have a pair).

It's not only that I look for a less unforgiving pup, I also want palm mutes more "in your face" and more rounded and warmer solo sounds, sorry, I'm terrible talking about tone.

[Dave Sloven]

Personally, what I would do if the pickups in your other guitar are the same fitment (number of strings, leg length, etc) as this one I would try the Juggernauts out in the walnut top guitar and see if they work well there.  The only worry would be time with the guitars in pieces, assuming you can do a bit of soldering and basic guitar setup yourself.  Yo are not clear though even whether they are both seven strings, so this might not be possible.  It would be the cheapest way  to find out what might work

[ericsabbath]

I had a les paul copy with all brazilian woods: mahogany, rosewood board, imbuya top
some might call imbuya as brazilian walnut, but I'm not sure they are tone relatable
the guitar was extremely resonant but big and dark sounding
it had a bill lawrence pup (awfully scooped and single coily) and also a holy diver, a painkiller and a miracle man
I think the miracle man sounded best in it
palm mutes sounded huge and thumpy, without losing definition
the lead tone was amazing
I believe walnut is much brighter than brazilian imbuya, though, but I'm not sure

[one]

Thanks for your answers. Yes, I already posted a pic somewhere in the forum:



Juggs left, Cbomb right. Soldering scares the hell out of me, I don't want to damage anything. Anyway, it would be a temporal thing, because they are matched for each guitar, so...

[ericsabbath]

sweet

[one]

Ok, I'll just stick to the Cbombs, By your answers maybe  the change to PK wouldn't tame the highs and won't give me a more death metal thump palm muting. Plus, I should be getting used to change to the neck CS to make my solos.

[CommonCourtesy]

I've also got a C-bomb in my mahogany LP studio, and I know what you mean about it being a bit bassy and shrilly, its ok at the moment but like yourself I can't help but feel there's something else out there in the BKP range. I originally had an Aftermath too but found it too middy and washy for me. Haven't tried any of the other humbuckers to offer any advice unfortunately, but whilst the Nailbomb isn't a bad pickup, it might be a bit too high output/honky for my 6505+!

I have an Alnico Nailbomb in another guitar and it sounds great but its in a different tuning and model. I do more rhythm stuff than lead which might sway my opinion on them.

[ericsabbath]

Ok, I'll just stick to the Cbombs, By your answers maybe  the change to PK wouldn't tame the highs and won't give me a more death metal thump palm muting. Plus, I should be getting used to change to the neck CS to make my solos.

I'd say the painkiller is probably the most "untamed" bkp model
but, like the nailbomb, it's a love-it-or-leave-it pickup
it does sound more in your face, it does deliver nice middy lead tones and  it does have better low end definition
I think you should look into lots of clips and videos and see if you at least symphatise with it before making a move

[one]

Thanks a bunch everyone for your help, perhaps I'll just go for the blackhawks in the future, but for now, I'll grow my love for the C-bomb for riffs and CS for solos :)

[one]

This is what I got from a bkp expert, in case someone was wondering:

I could not disagree with your friends enough. The C-Bomb is super tight and clear, if its sounding boomy to you the problem may be with the inherent tone of the guitar or the amp. I also don't really like 5153's so that could be part of the problem. It is bright though, yes.

If you want something tight but not shrill, I would suggest looking into the Rebel Yell, Black Hawk, ceramic Warpig, or even some of the lower output models like the Mule and Black Dog. Also you may want to look into the Lundgren M6 (or M7 if youre talking about a 7-stringer). Tight as hell but thick.

[Dave Sloven]

There's nothing wrong with EVH 5150 III amps.  That someone 'doesn't like' them is irrelevant.  What matters is that you have a certain guitar and a certain amp and you want a certain result.  You are not getting that from that particular pickup.  The expert is right in suggesting that it is the combination of elements that is the issue, but quite frankly he comes across as a dick in this reply.  I don't know how you put the problem to him, maybe that is part of the issue.  But basically you are working with these elements in pursuit of a goal and you are not achieving that goal.

I suspect that the issue is a mismatch between the acoustic properties of your guitar and the pickup.

The reason why I suggested trying the Juggs in your walnut guitar is that I suspect they might work okay there.  Soldering really isn't that difficult, by the way.  Main thing is that you make sure you don't touch the tip anywhere that it shouldn't be (e.g., your lovely wood or other wires in the harness).