Leaving BareKnuckles Behind...

[Kilby]

Hey if it works with the player, guitar and amp setup then it's the right pickup for the job.

[Davey]

everything is for the player anyway .. guitars, amps, pickups, tubes, speakers...

the causal listener doesnt give a rats ass what you're playing through

[dave_mc]

i think im gonna go with steve on this one.. (kinda)...

it sounds to me (and im NO pickup/amp/speaker/tone expert AT ALL)...

but it sounds to me like the VHII had the nicer tone, but that it was a bit shrouded/quiet/indistinct/bassy or SOMETHING.... like the tone was there but wasnt quite audible.... whereas with the Duncans, it seemed almost louder/more in your face/clearer.... which was why it sounded 'better'....

maybe thats due to the different speakers.... ?


alternatively that could just mean that the Duncans were 'better' in this case... lol... dunno what im talking about...

yeah, I'd agree with that, the duncan sounded clearer. I also didn't like the duncan's tone at all, but it was clearer. EDIT: and I guess for that hot-rodded later 80's type tone the duncan might suit better.

As rob says, if it suits you, that's all that matters.

[Bird]

everything is for the player anyway .. guitars, amps, pickups, tubes, speakers...

the causal listener doesnt give a rats ass what you're playing through

Very true about the casual listener.... some people think MP3s are good quality audio.

I've noticed a fair number of amp setting in the players section are dialed in in a very mid heavy way. Bass 1 Treble 2 Mid 12. Makes for a very muddy  sound if you're trying to fit it in in a song mix. imo    

[BloodMountain]

everything is for the player anyway .. guitars, amps, pickups, tubes, speakers...

the causal listener doesnt give a rats ass what you're playing through

very true. us tone conscious guitarists listen to tone more than the casual listener.
i remember when i was just a 'casual listener' - i didn't give a cr@p what gear Metallica were using!

[JamesHealey]

The Duncan has a more cut-through sound, but doesn't have the mellow lushnses that the VhII has.

It's your choice in the end, but I'm sure you can get something better than that Duncan if you looked.

The VHII recording is a bit muffled but im sure u can hear the lack of lower mids and bass response in that recording compared to the Duncan.

Now I think the quote above was a bit unfair to Duncan's even tim will admit as far as Mass Produced pickups go Mr Duncans pickups use the best quality components unlike say DiMarzio.. and they're nowhere near as Sterile as EMG's.. I've been playing guitar nearly 15 years now and im pretty sure i've gleened an ear for tone somewhere in my travels and im telling u now this Duncan sounds better for that particular application.

It's just a shame everyone heres got caught up in the handwinding marketing, i mean yea it makes a hugely noticable difference to the harmonic content and resonant peak im not going to deny that but essentially all pickups are just wire and magnets and the name shouldnt matter on the pickup just the tone it presents to your ear.

[sambo]

^well said.

sometimes peoples reactions on here confuse me somewhat...

for example, if theres a BK clip which i think is alright... there is more often than not a bucket-load of people saying how insanely awesome it is...


secondly, if its a NON BK clip, which i sometimes think sounds good... theres more often than not a bucket-load of people saying how insanely BAD it is...

just as you said: the name on the pickup shouldn't matter, just the tone that it presents to your ear.

[Kilby]

Very true about the casual listener.... some people think MP3s are good quality audio.

Very true (I loathe MP3s but it's the easiest way to transport audio these days).

Also considering PC audio is also not what it is always cracked up to be (even with a decent pair of phones plugged in)

Damn when are the clips here going to be distributed on proper vinyl instead of this digital cr@p ?

Rob...

[noodleplugerine]

The Duncan has a more cut-through sound, but doesn't have the mellow lushnses that the VhII has.

It's your choice in the end, but I'm sure you can get something better than that Duncan if you looked.

The VHII recording is a bit muffled but im sure u can hear the lack of lower mids and bass response in that recording compared to the Duncan.

Now I think the quote above was a bit unfair to Duncan's even tim will admit as far as Mass Produced pickups go Mr Duncans pickups use the best quality components unlike say DiMarzio.. and they're nowhere near as Sterile as EMG's.. I've been playing guitar nearly 15 years now and im pretty sure i've gleened an ear for tone somewhere in my travels and im telling u now this Duncan sounds better for that particular application.

It's just a shame everyone heres got caught up in the handwinding marketing, i mean yea it makes a hugely noticable difference to the harmonic content and resonant peak im not going to deny that but essentially all pickups are just wire and magnets and the name shouldnt matter on the pickup just the tone it presents to your ear.

I agree with your point but I have to say that I wasn't being biased at all.

The duncan has the cutting and the BKP does have the mellowness, that's what my ears tell me :S

[Guitarzan]

The VHII recording is a bit muffled but im sure u can hear the lack of lower mids and bass response in that recording compared to the Duncan.

I hear exactly what you mean. To be honest I've noticed the same mush from my guitars through my Splawn as well (unfortunatly I lack the proper recording gear). I think I prefer the duncans overall but I like the organic tone of the VH2's. Honestly it is too close to call.

I would prefer the two clips to have been run through the same speaker. but I can clearly hear the difference. Just curious and probably you probably mentioned this but what Guitars are these through?

[JamesHealey]

same ash bodied strat, same amp settings, same cab..

only difference is the pickups and speakers..

the guitar is an American Deluxe Limited Edition Strat..

Ash Body, Maple Neck, Ebony Board.

[DeanS]

James, I'm getting a little confused here as you're now talking about how mushy the VHII is but when you first posted you were saying how bright/in yerface it was??

By the way I don't agree with the blinkered  BKP worship stuff- but I would say that at present they're the best I've tried so far- single coils in a strat any way and I'll be ordering some HB's soon.

[dave_mc]

The Duncan has a more cut-through sound, but doesn't have the mellow lushnses that the VhII has.

It's your choice in the end, but I'm sure you can get something better than that Duncan if you looked.

The VHII recording is a bit muffled but im sure u can hear the lack of lower mids and bass response in that recording compared to the Duncan.

Now I think the quote above was a bit unfair to Duncan's even tim will admit as far as Mass Produced pickups go Mr Duncans pickups use the best quality components unlike say DiMarzio.. and they're nowhere near as Sterile as EMG's.. I've been playing guitar nearly 15 years now and im pretty sure i've gleened an ear for tone somewhere in my travels and im telling u now this Duncan sounds better for that particular application.

It's just a shame everyone heres got caught up in the handwinding marketing, i mean yea it makes a hugely noticable difference to the harmonic content and resonant peak im not going to deny that but essentially all pickups are just wire and magnets and the name shouldnt matter on the pickup just the tone it presents to your ear.

what's wrong with dimarzios? I'd be interested to hear (don't quote tim if you think it'll get him into bother, just say "i hear from a source", lol).

:drink:

^well said.

sometimes peoples reactions on here confuse me somewhat...

for example, if theres a BK clip which i think is alright... there is more often than not a bucket-load of people saying how insanely awesome it is...


secondly, if its a NON BK clip, which i sometimes think sounds good... theres more often than not a bucket-load of people saying how insanely BAD it is...

just as you said: the name on the pickup shouldn't matter, just the tone that it presents to your ear.

I agree, I don't believe in blind fanboyism (that might not be a word :lol: ) either- the reason that most of us found out about BKP's was because we were sick of all the fanboyism of other brands.

For the record, I just didn't like the distortion's tone, it's not really the tone I'm after at all- I've tried the distortion, and didn't much like it. Obviously that's not slagging you off, it's just my own opinion.

:drink:

[Bainzy]

I think it's unfair to compare brands when you're talking about 2 different types of pickups. Maybe if you swapped the VHII for a Duncan with A5 magnet wound to 9.2k, but otherwise it's not a fair comparison and thus this thread is pretty pointless. "I'm leaving Alnico V 9k humbuckers behind" may have been a better thread title.

[noodleplugerine]

I think it's unfair to compare brands when you're talking about 2 different types of pickups. Maybe if you swapped the VHII for a Duncan with A5 magnet wound to 9.2k, but otherwise it's not a fair comparison and thus this thread is pretty pointless. "I'm leaving Alnico V 9k humbuckers behind" may have been a better thread title.

Ah, but it wasn't a comparison of brands, it was just a statement that he's leaving his BKP behind :P