Painkiller first impressions...

[Antag]

Got my old Charvel back from Feline last week.  As part of the work to restore this fine guitar to a playable state, he installed a Painkiller set in it :D

I can sum up the PK with one word: METAL :twisted:

& not just meat'n'potatoes British heavy metal either.  Any flavour of metal requiring power, precision, more power, definition, "cut" & yet more power.  Painkiller is LOUD - to my ears slightly higher output than the Miracle Man (that was a shock :lol:)  Death metallers will love the PK.

A few words about the neck pickup:  The thing I love about BKPs is how they will put you in mind of tones you've heard on CD - even when you're not using the same amp/FX etc.  Well the first thing that popped into my head when I heard the PK neck plugged into Feline's JCM800 was the opening phrase of the solo in the song "Painkiller" :)  If you're an adept sweep-picker (I'm not), PK neck could easily become your new best friend.  It's very high output for a neck, matching the bridge output.

The bridge is a face-ripping beast - it's not a subtle pickup.  It has a very hard, "tight" sound & seems to handle detuning very well - you can hear every note of the most intricate thrash riffs.  Played through my rectifier, PK loves staccato, machine-gun riffs (think "Destroy Erase Improve") as much as the obligatory "Living after midnight" :lol:  You can make pinches, divebombs & solos scream :twisted:

Tonally it's totally different to the MM, more mids & treble, less bass - an EMG killer but in a different way to the MM.

Of course, all this metal power comes at a price: clean sounds.  You CAN play clean with PKs, but it's a very loud "in your face" clean - not particularly warm or dynamic (this applies equally to both bridge & neck).  Soft cleans aren't really the PK's thing - for example I don't see a band like Opeth using PKs.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing - if you're metal to the core, you won't care :twisted:

[Muzzzz]

Yeah, rub it in, lucky bar-steward!

[_tom_]

hmm, Charvel with Painkiller eh? I was thinking of getting one when I have the money.. what are the specs of your Charvel? Does it pretty much do only metal or can you do more "rocky" stuff with it such as UFO, Wasp, Skid Row etc?

[Ratrod]

Interesting stuff. What are the specs of the Charvel?

I'd like to know because I have serious GAS attack for a new NJ classic  series Mockingbird (maple neck-thru, nato wings, maple vineer top). I'm hoping Painkillers will make that guitar sound like a Gibson SG with rabies.
  PDT_045

[Antag]

It's a Charvel model 5 - one of the early Japanese Charvels from around '87:  Neck-thru, maple neck/rosewood fretboard, poplar (I think) body wings, Floyd.  It's quite a heavy guitar with a thick bassy tone (which is why I think it's a poplar rather than alder body).  The neck is a fairly chunky C-shape rather than the thin U-shape we've come to associate with Jacksons.

As for styles of music, you can't not play any style with a particular pickup (if that double negative make sense :lol:) - witness the recent warpig Wishbone Ash clip.  But I reckon the MM, NB or HD (or RY or CS perhaps?  Haven't tried either in the bridge yet) would get you closer to some of the tones _tom_ mentioned than the PK.

Another word on clean sounds - the most useable clean I get from this guitar is from the coil-split neck (Feline wired an awesome variable coil split for the neck in place of the tone control) but even that is pretty pokey - like an Irish tour with a megaphone & a bad case of road rage :)

[_tom_]

Ah, my Charvel's much different to that. '88 Model 1C which has a bolt on neck, maple fingerboard, basswood body and vintage style trem, may not work that well as its allready kinda bright unplugged (well, brigher than my LP and strat copy).. I think I just want more of a metal version of the Mule now I think about it - I love the tone of my LP with Mules for most stuff but its not quite tight or aggressive enough for heavier stuff.

Anyway, glad you like the PK, I expect clips soon :P

[Twinfan]

Tom,

Your Charvel has similar specs to an Ibanez RG and I believe they work well with Nailbombs.  Might be a good choice for you?

[Antag]

...Nailbombs.  Might be a good choice for you?

+1 on the Nailbomb recommendation based on _tom_'s last post.

Very aggressive feel & response but not quite such skull-splitting output (though I guess it's a fair bit hotter than a Mule).  IMO it's better for that open, percussive, rocky kinda riffing than the PK.

[octavio_amzer]

very nice review!!!


I will buy the Painkiller bridge version

Do you think the Painkiller bridge will combine great with the Cold Sweat in the neck?


thankyou for the Painkiller review! Clips would be awesome!  8)

[Davey]

this gives me painkiller gas!



cant ... buy ... another ... bkp ... this soon ..

i dont even have a guitar for the miracle man yet >.<


argh. thanks for nothing lol

[Antag]

Do you think the Painkiller bridge will combine great with the Cold Sweat in the neck?
...Clips would be awesome!  8)

Yes, totally.  I was thinking of getting that exact combo, but changed my mind to the PK set at the last minute because I already have a CS neck in another guitar & fancied having something different.

& yes, I need to fire up the recorder & knock up some clips - not just of the PK but I also promised some rocky HD clips... :)

[Dakine]

ALL that AND a bag a chips aint' they  :twisted:

Although I have to disagree with you on the cleans.
The clean clip I did was more Bluesy but I can get it pristine clean and chimey through an amp.
Also, the split tone is an awesome almost twang to my ears.
All depends on signal chain and amp though I guess.

[dave_mc]

^ you're just too metal, nick.

 :lol:

[Dakine]

^ you're just too metal, nick.

 :lol:

not if ya heard me playing lately dave :)

NO Metal here at all for loooooooong time now :)

[dave_mc]

^ no!

 :lol: