Giving my Custom 24 SE the BKP treatment

[Frox]

Hey folks,
I got myself a wonderful Custom 24 SE in Trampas Green. Initially, I was planning to purchase a set of Aftermaths for the guitar. I already own a PRS SE Tremonti with a C-Bomb/ColdSweat-Combo which sounds great, but I want to get something slightly different for the Custom 24. That's why Ben recommended the Aftermaths.

With the new Bootcamp-line released, I'm a bit tempted to try the Brute Force as the price-point is just incredibly attractive. Has anybody experiences with the Brute Force yet? Would you recommend me going with the Brute Force, or should I get the Aftermath (or something completely different)? If it's going to be the Aftermath, then I still have to determine the cover. Personally, I like the Tyger-option, but I'm not quite sure whether it may be a bit "too much" on the guitar...

[dxlxntxxlxr]

Tyger would be awesome in that guitar. I dont really recommend a-maths based on what ive heard, Sharp treble, weak and annoyingly tight low end, overly middy. I had a titan, which is based on the aftermath but with a high end roll off. Really overly present mids that were impossible to dial out without sounding thin, and really anemic bass that was impossible to bring back in without sounding boomy and uncontrolled. A lot of people dig em, just not for me personally. My preference is juggernauts, they're kind of the perfect pickup set. Only thing id change about them is maybe tighten the bass on the neck pickup, but with that blooming, yet well controlled bass you get amazing cleans. They also have a great strat sound when split. A friend of mine got into the ragnaroks recently, but he says he's still all about the juggs cause of the ragnaroks slightly compressed midrange relative to the juggs. Post some clips of tones you're trying to aim for, thatll help a lot

[Frox]

Thanks for your reply! :)

Soundwise, I'm looking for something Mark Tremonti- ish. I've also diggin Killswitch Engage recently. That clip from Ola Englund (1:43 to 1:52) comes pretty close:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbaSdhoDQas

[dxlxntxxlxr]

in that case...definitely juggernauts. They do the killswitch/tremonti sludgy alt metal/metalcore riffing thing really well. Those guys have pretty similar clean tones, which the juggernaut set also nails. Juggs in tyger!

[Telerocker]

I don't like the tygers on that top. Too much. Zebra yes.

[capac]

I dig that tyger.

[Dave Sloven]

I don't like the tygers on that top. Too much. Zebra yes.

+1

The Tyger clashes with the top

[Frox]

Thanks for your opinions!
As I've heard the same about the Aftermaths from a few other people, I guess I will just order another set of Nailbombs in Brushed Nickel for a more classic PRS-look. The juggs might be a bit too modern with the twin screw design.

[dxlxntxxlxr]

Lets break down the 2 tones (Killswitch and Tremonti) you mentioned because why not

Tremonti: Used prs alnico 5 stock pickups, switched to alnico 5 signatures. Myles kennedy used the same stock pickups before switching to an alnico 2 seymour duncan custom custom.

Killswitch: Adam used all kinds of stuff, emg 81, prs alnico 4 dragon 2, evh alnico 2 wolfgang, and now the fishman fluence ceramic.

Pretty much any medium-high output alnico pickup with a ton of mids would be good. True grit set maybe? Holy diver? Black dog or vhii? Part of why i think the juggernaut is a good idea is that you get the ceramic attack in a lot of the newer kse stuff with the alnico midrange grind and growl.

[ericsabbath]

Tremonti bridge pickup is ceramic for sure
Voicing is somewhere between a painkiller and a c-bomb
Not as refined as those, though
Sounds pretty good, but a little fizzy

[dxlxntxxlxr]

Tremonti bridge pickup is ceramic for sure
Voicing is somewhere between a painkiller and a c-bomb
Not as refined as those, though
Sounds pretty good, but a little fizzy

ahem..."The PRS Guitars Mark Temonti Treble Pickup offers you an excellent bridge pickup for your electric guitar with a large Alnico V magnet. Offering plenty of hot bass and treble output, the PRS Tremonti pickup is shockingly sensitive yet amazingly quiet. Delivering killer sustain, this is the signature lead pickup of Mark Tremonti, who has helped spawn hits with both Creed and Alter Bridge." Besides that, tremonti's tone isnt anything i would associate with a painkiller

[Frox]

Tremonti Treble is a ceramic magnet for sure: https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/list-of-prs-pickup-specs.8055/

To be honest, I'm not convinced of the Juggernauts after listening to several demos. After talking to Ben once again, I now ordered a set of Nailbombs (C-Bomb for the bridge) with Brushed Nickel covers. :)

[dxlxntxxlxr]

Well prs website says the magnet is "custom" in the bridge and a4 in the neck. Guitar center/musicians friend say a5 for both. Idk whats happening anymore. And i dont blame u for not being sold on juggs based on sound clips. The clips on the bare knuckle site sound absolutely horrendous. Those clips are the reason i stayed clear of juggs for about a year and a half. Probably cant go wrong with nailbombs anyway so i rest my case haha

[Yellowjacket]

Well prs website says the magnet is "custom" in the bridge and a4 in the neck. Guitar center/musicians friend say a5 for both. Idk whats happening anymore. And i dont blame u for not being sold on juggs based on sound clips. The clips on the bare knuckle site sound absolutely horrendous. Those clips are the reason i stayed clear of juggs for about a year and a half. Probably cant go wrong with nailbombs anyway so i rest my case haha

The clips on the BKP home page are interesting.  I believe they are of the pickups in a Les Paul?  The pickups certainly can start to have that sort of an EQ curve in a dark guitar, or a guitar starved of high mids because of hardware.  But, I have found that through tweaking, the more highs and high mids a guitar has, the better the Juggs sound.  The begin to sound quite balanced and centered in the mids as the natural voice of the guitar begins to align with your traditional super strat.  i.e. basswood body, maple neck, rosewood board, bolt on construction. 

I kind of wish I had a Dual Rectifier to test my super strats on since swapping out the hardware. 

[ericsabbath]

Maybe they changed the tremonti magnet recently
I doubt the older one I played was alnico
It has a really high output, hotter than a c-bomb, but middier and hairier like the painkiller
It has that abrasive ceramic edge
Kinda like a Seymour distortion, but thicker and less mushy
My friend moved it from his McCarty to another guitar and put a cold sweat and then a miracle man
Both sounded better but not as hot and middy as the tremonti
Maybe the new Ragnarok might fit that sort of tone