Black Dog -- With a little more power?

[CLund]

So after trying out 5 different Bridge HBs from Bare Knuckle, 4 different HB from Suhr.  I'm still not completely there.   So simple ask from the Bare Knuckle experts out there.   What pickup would be closest to a Black Dog with a bit more power?   I really like the low/mid growl of the Black Dog, but wish it could push a little harder.   Don't want too much power though, I think my Suhr SSH+ and the Charvel GG MF Custom humbuckers are just a bit too strong.   Something in the sweet spot say 12-14k range.    Would that be a Crawler?  Abraxas?

Thanks for any advice!

- Corey

[RobAbrams84]

Have you tried the Holydiver?  It's not quite as hot as a Suhr SSH+ in my opinion.

[CLund]

Have not tried the HD yet.   The description sounds like a beefed up Black Dog for sure.  Thanks for the suggestion. 

[ericsabbath]

true grit (punchier and a little more balanced) or holy diver (more compressed)

both are are quite beefy and have a lot of the black dog dense midrange texture

[Alfi27]

Which guitar is this for? I would never put the Holydiver in a Les Paul (again), tried it briefly when my Black Dog was at BK for wax potting and it was a horrible muddy mess... And my LP is a fairly bright one as well. If you need to have the mid range character of the Black Dog I honestly don't think any other pickup will do it, certainly not without altering other things. But if you can get by with a more balanced mid range the Emerald is a little hotter and sounds fantastic, the 'Dog used to my all time fave Bare Knuckle but after getting the Emerald I'm not quite sure.

[Dave Sloven]

I would have thought that the alnico Nailbomb is closer to the Black Dog than the Holy Diver would be

[RobAbrams84]

I would have thought that the alnico Nailbomb is closer to the Black Dog than the Holy Diver would be

You might be right, I think it depends on what qualities of the Black Dog someone is after in a way.  I think that the Holydiver has a more similar EQ, but the Nailbomb is more open and aggressive and raspy. 
 True Grit might be the best, depending on how much compression is wanted (it's only mildly compressed to me).

[ericsabbath]

I would have thought that the alnico Nailbomb is closer to the Black Dog than the Holy Diver would be

having replaced all the three of them directly, I gotta disagree
to my ears, there's this midrange texture in common between the dog and diver (and true grit) that feels different from the nailbomb more crackling glass aggressiveness
the dog sounded relatively raw, but had this dominating center mids that's a lot like the holy diver, but without the compression
I think the true grit is a great alternative as a middle ground between raw mids and juicy compression

I'd compare the alnico nailbomb to the vhII, as I tend to relate the rebel yell as "a riff raff with built-in a tube screamer"

[CLund]

Greatly appreciate all the pertinent details on these pickups.    I am tempted to just order them all and keep trying them out.    Holy Diver is definitely on that list, True Grit as well and even the Emerald.   

[RobAbrams84]

Greatly appreciate all the pertinent details on these pickups.    I am tempted to just order them all and keep trying them out.    Holy Diver is definitely on that list, True Grit as well and even the Emerald.

I sent you a PM, just fyi.

[CLund]

Greatly appreciate all the pertinent details on these pickups.    I am tempted to just order them all and keep trying them out.    Holy Diver is definitely on that list, True Grit as well and even the Emerald.

I sent you a PM, just fyi.

Thanks Rob....   I messaged you back.   

So I did a random order, kind of a Grab Bag!    Found a guy selling a BKP bridge, contacted him and he has NO idea what pickup it is...   Told him I will take it anyway if he comes down on the price.   He did - so I bought it.      Reads 16.2k DC - so my guess is maybe a HD, but not sure.    Going to put it in something and see how it sounds!

https://reverb.com/item/35538256-bare-knuckle-53-mm-humbucker-carbon-fiber-tattoo-cover-bridge-humbucker

[Dave Sloven]

Is it 53mm?  If so it is definitely a bridge pickup.  It might have the tag 'bridge' on it still.

If it is 50mm it could possibly be a Ragnarok neck.  They were a thing with the carbon fibre covers

[CLund]

He told me it's 53mm - and it does have the bridge tag on the wires.   So what is a 53mm/16.2k bridge?

[Dave Sloven]

There are none that exact measurement on the site, but then measurements can vary slightly due to weather and all kinds of stuff.  The following are in the ballpark (out of those that have a single row o screws):

Crawler (15.4 kΩ)

Painkiller (15.6 kΩ)

Nailbomb (15.7 kΩ)

Holy Diver (15.9 kΩ)

Miracle Man (17.5 kΩ)

Out of these the closest (and most likely) is the Holy Diver, but it might also be a Nailbomb or Painkiller.  I could pick those three apart by ear though.  The Holy Diver is smoother sounding than the other two.

[RobAbrams84]

Just FYI, but my 53mm Holydiver bridge pickup reads 15.25 kOhms (I just measured it, not currently installed in a guitar).  Obviously there will be some variation from pickup to pickup, but I don't think that DC resistance is a great way to identify the pickup, especially when so many are listed as so close to one another.  I understand that there's not much else to go by sometimes, though.  It's too bad that they don't have a sticker on the back, at least!