Painkiller in a Strat?

[dead calm]

wonder how the Painkiller would sound in the bridge of a Strat?  it's got a maple fingerboard and a Kahler 2315 flatmount trem.  also, no tone controls, just a 500k volume.

wasn't the Painkiller designed for mahogany (i.e. Flying V)?  would it sound too bright like an icepick in a Strat?

I play old-school metal (not hair metal).  if the Painkiller isn't a good idea, which Bare Knuckle should I check out?

thanks

[WraithChild]

Is your strat an Alder or Ash bodied? Ash tends to be a lot brighter than Alder so i'd find that out first. Also remember that different Amplifiers have their own unique characteristics, so what amp do you have? I might be able to help you out. Given i've never played a BK pickup in my life (thats about to change soon) but I do know a lot about Amp EQ's and different woods used on guitars and so on and so forth (not to sound c--ky).

FYI also, i've got an Ash bodied strat with an all Maple neck/fretboard. It's a very bright guitar and I installed a Dimarzio Tone Zone into it a few weeks ago. I can't tell you how pleased I am with how well it worked with my amp. Some people wouldn't really think so just by telling them what kind of guitar it is, but my amp has a very Dark and scooped characteristic to it, so I use brighter tone'd woods to balance it out. You just have to know what you need more of as far as your EQ and guitar woods.

One thing that helped me out a lot is playing through different amps, I sat down one day with a Marshall DSL combo and didn't like it cause no matter what I adjusted the EQ too. It was too brittle for my taste, that was when I realized that Amps themselves have their own unique personality just like guitars do. Not saying that one Marshall amp is gonna sound the same as another but it helps you close in on what you're looking for.

Cheers.

[dead calm]

it's an alder body

my "amp" is a Demonizer tube preamp pedal into a mixer and active monitors.  I live in a tiny flat  :oops:

[WraithChild]

it's an alder body

my "amp" is a Demonizer tube preamp pedal into a mixer and active monitors.  I live in a tiny flat  :oops:

Well i'm not very familiar with that sort of thing, hmmm best thing I can say is just try and figure out what you're trying to get out of your EQ. Alder isn't really bright but it's defiently brighter then Mahogany.

[TwilightOdyssey]

wonder how the Painkiller would sound in the bridge of a Strat?  it's got a maple fingerboard and a Kahler 2315 flatmount trem.  also, no tone controls, just a 500k volume.

wasn't the Painkiller designed for mahogany (i.e. Flying V)?  would it sound too bright like an icepick in a Strat?

I don't think the Painkiller will be too bright in an alder super strat. Worst case, you can put in a passive HF rolloff into the guitar, which is what I did to attenuate the very top end of the frequency range in a zingy VH-II/strat combo.

I play old-school metal (not hair metal).  

Me, too.

if the Painkiller isn't a good idea, which Bare Knuckle should I check out?

Cold Sweat.

thanks

'welcome. :)

[dead calm]

I don't think the Painkiller will be too bright in an alder super strat. Worst case, you can put in a passive HF rolloff into the guitar, which is what I did to attenuate the very top end of the frequency range in a zingy VH-II/strat combo.

tell me more about that.  are we talking about adding a tone control (which I really don't wanna do) or is it something else?

thanks

[TwilightOdyssey]

Not, it's not a tone control. I don't use tone controls, either. Sometimes you have to fine-tune the balance between the pickup and guitar.

Simpy put: You put a tone pot on the pickup and roll it back until you have the high freqs the way you like them. Measure the pot, and put a cap and resistor(s) in line that matches it.

Once again: You would only do this IF the guitar is too bright after the pickup is installed! I only had to do it on one guitar so far. (I have a LP that has a weird variable HF rolloff, but that's for a different purpose alltogether)