Just installed my new BKP set- Not pleased

[O731]

Hey guys,

First off, i'm a huge fan of BKP pickups. I love the sound of all of my other pickups. However, I am not particularly pleased with this set up I tried in my Mahogany body Ibanez RGA 121 (Tuned to D). I installed a Ragnarok on the bridge, and a Miracle man on the neck.

It sounds really...weird. When my pickup selector is on the middle, it sounds like I have a Wah pedal on. It sounds very...twangy and has a lot of "wah". I'm assuming this is from middle frequencies. The thing is, when I set my pickup switch to any other position (5 way switch) I don't really hear that "wah", twangy sound.

I have an audio link of some open notes to really emphasize the strange sound, and some scale fiddling (please excuse my shitety playing  ) to show what I mean. It might be hard to hear it because I used an iphone mic. https://vocaroo.com/i/s0Pnxv77zELa

I get a feeling it's that Ragnarok based on the specs and sound files on the BKP website. In that regard, what would be an appropriate replacement for the bridge? I'm looking for something that sounds like the Dimarzio X2N, but a tad bit turned down on the lows.

[Lucas]

is there everything ok with the wiring? pickups are not all way around? Did you try  adjust pickups height?

By the way what is your opinion about Miracle Man neck? I got MM set couple of weeks ago, but still didn`t install them (friend who always installs my pickups is not available for next 2 weeks, have to wait a bit)
Really curious about MM neck,


ps. get Miracle Man bridge, fantastic pickup, my favorite. Already have 2 of them :)

[O731]

is there everything ok with the wiring? pickups are not all way around? Did you try  adjust pickups height?

By the way what is your opinion about Miracle Man neck? I got MM set couple of weeks ago, but still didn`t install them (friend who always installs my pickups is not available for next 2 weeks, have to wait a bit)
Really curious about MM neck,


ps. get Miracle Man bridge, fantastic pickup, my favorite. Already have 2 of them :)

Thanks for the input,

I'm not sure, I had a local guitar tech install them. He did a good job with my other BKP pickups on my basswood Ibanez. I really hope to figure this thing out! I looked again at the Ragnarok specs on the BKP website, and I feel it's the Ragnarok because it has a lot of mids. I'm assuming that "wah" sound is from the middle frequencies.

From what I can tell, the MM neck is nice. It's smooth and silky. It has a nice bluesy kind of tone.

[Lucas]

Regarding MM neck, would it be close to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_erBuhxbuIs
??
In my main guitar I have MM bridge/Sinner middle/ Aftermath neck. A bit mixes feelings about AM neck though one day I like it another not so much...
 For my backup guitar I ordered MM set hoping to achieve that kind of tones from neck pickup. but will find out in about 2 weeks time unfortunately, that`s why trying to gather more opinion about MM neck

thanks

[O731]

Regarding MM neck, would it be close to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_erBuhxbuIs
??
In my main guitar I have MM bridge/Sinner middle/ Aftermath neck. A bit mixes feelings about AM neck though one day I like it another not so much...
 For my backup guitar I ordered MM set hoping to achieve that kind of tones from neck pickup. but will find out in about 2 weeks time unfortunately, that`s why trying to gather more opinion about MM neck

thanks

I certainly believe it can. I even thing a Painkiller at the neck with a dark tonewood (mahogony) could achieve that tone too if you want something a bit more crisp.

[capac]

Juggers have a similar love it or hate it thing going on.

[Dave Sloven]

To me that sounds like it's been wired up funny

[O731]

To me that sounds like it's been wired up funny

Hmm..thank you. I don't have any real knowledge or experience with installing pickups myself. How would I be able to trouble shoot whether or not it's the wiring?

[Dave Sloven]

Well I think the answer might be in the fact that the problem is with the middle position.

My guess is that they are wired up out of phase.

Some people like it as a middle sound. It doesn't mean that you have a faulty pickup necessarily, just that it is wired up out of phase.

Do the neck and bridge pickup sound good individually?

[Dave Sloven]

Do you have a single coil in the middle?

[O731]

Well I think the answer might be in the fact that the problem is with the middle position.

My guess is that they are wired up out of phase.

Some people like it as a middle sound. It doesn't mean that you have a faulty pickup necessarily, just that it is wired up out of phase.

Do the neck and bridge pickup sound good individually?

They actually do sound fine individually. However, I think i'm going to still replace them because the miracle man sounds kind of dark in my mahogany guitar, and even when I set up the bridge individually I can already tell that it isn't really the tone for me. I'm going for something similar to my Dimarzio Tone zone neck/ X2n bridge type setup I had before, but a BKP equivalent.

I wanted to ask if I could get some help removing the pickups so I don't have to take it to the tech. I have a soldering kit. I assume I just unsolder the pickups based on the wiring diagram?

https://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/upload/support/19_758c44a.pdf

[Dave Sloven]

You just look to where the wires from the pickups are soldered and apply some heat there so that the wires fall away from there.  There will most likely be red and black and bare (red is the hot, black and bare are ground) and white and green might just be taped together or might be soldered to something if you have a series/parallel setup or coil split.

[O731]

Thanks a lot folks! I consulted with bkp support and turns out they were wired wrong. I even found out that my painkiller set in my other ibanez might be wired wrong too. I love the painkillers but they sounded off for me. The middle switch setting sounded like there was a gap in the frequencies. Meanwhile, both the bridge and neck single coil modes sound identical.

[O731]

I managed to fix my pickup wiring and I must say, the combo is actually nice. I want a little more mid growl on the neck and a little more treble on the bridge though, but the Rag bridge and MM neck is a nice combo!

[Dave Sloven]

Glad to hear it.  You might be able to add some high end to the bridge pickup by changing the capacitor