BKP's are based on what models?

[Doadman]

I'm glad Tim pointed me to the Painkiller. By just using names and basic descriptions, it was honestly the last on my list! Time to reevaluate... 8)

I had much the same experience. I wanted something that was versatile but it was vital that it could cope with loads of distortion. In fairness, Tim's first choice was the MM but I simply don't like the tone at all; it's too thin and artificial to my ear so I needed something else. I thought that perhaps he'd say Warpig, Painkiller or Holy Diver but surprisingly he suggested a Cold Sweat for the bridge. That was the last pup I expected him to say as it is the least powerful of the modern pups he does but what do you know, it's perfect. Beautifully organic and takes masses of gain. If Tim says Painkiller I'm pretty sure that is the way to go. What did he say about the neck pup? I'm curious as the Cold Sweat neck sounds perfect for what you're after there.

[ericsabbath]

one important thing is to discover what YOU like in a pickup

a friend of mine played my holy diver and loved it, and then decided to order a pair of 7-string BKPs
he asked me to choose and buy it for him
he said he was looking for Jeff Loomis sound (EMG 707/85), so the closest one would be the alnico warpig
but he didn't like the bridge pickup that much, cause he's been playing for 12+ years and never had an alnico pickup
he always had ceramic pickups with that hard attack and sharp edge, so he thought he wanted Nevermore or Arch Enemy sound (both use alnico pickups), but the truth is that he was looking for the kind of tone that he already ever had
so he asked me what would be the closest to the gibson 500t he has in other guitar... the obvious choice in this case would be painkiller
so he emailed tim and that's exactly what he answered (but i didn't know that painkiller had 3 magnets too  :? )
now i ordered a painkiller-7 to replace his warpig (but he'll keep the neck warpig pickup... or maybe put the bridge warpig on the neck :? )

so you need to know what characteristics do you like in pickups that you played with your own hand, not a pickup you've just heard
your style and your amp will make a hell of difference
my ex-rectifier sounded better with the miracle man, but when i play in tighter or rawer distortion amps, the holy diver eats the mm
so just saying you like some band's tone won't help that much

[Alex]

on there, not 3...and none were up the middle.

I just remembered that from a Petrucci interview, where he was talking that the MOP album had such a great sound. He claimed it was in part because of a third rhythm track in the middle of the mix.
But maybe something was recorded incorrectly there in the interview, who knows what he was talking about.

[The Silverwulf]

I just remembered that from a Petrucci interview, where he was talking that the MOP album had such a great sound. He claimed it was in part because of a third rhythm track in the middle of the mix.
But maybe something was recorded incorrectly there in the interview, who knows what he was talking about.

Ah, I think you've got the right idea, but wrong album. James did use a third rhythm track up the middle on the Black Album. I'm an engineering whore (dabble in some producing myself), so I'm always fascinated by how people achieved sounds in the studio and talk to producers/engineers every chance I get.

[The Silverwulf]

I had much the same experience. I wanted something that was versatile but it was vital that it could cope with loads of distortion. In fairness, Tim's first choice was the MM but I simply don't like the tone at all; it's too thin and artificial to my ear so I needed something else. I thought that perhaps he'd say Warpig, Painkiller or Holy Diver but surprisingly he suggested a Cold Sweat for the bridge. That was the last pup I expected him to say as it is the least powerful of the modern pups he does but what do you know, it's perfect. Beautifully organic and takes masses of gain. If Tim says Painkiller I'm pretty sure that is the way to go. What did he say about the neck pup? I'm curious as the Cold Sweat neck sounds perfect for what you're after there.

I associated the Painkiller with the Priest album, and assumed it had that honky Marshall mid-range quality to it. But, Tim told me that's not the case. He said that the Painkiller doesn't have a mid-spike but it does have a broad mid Q. So, that's what he recommended for heavy, tight rhythm playing ala old Metallica, Iced Earth, etc.

For the neck, he actually suggested the Nailbomb, again, which surprised me. I told him that my ideal neck pickup lead tone would be John Sykes on Whitesnake's "Is This Love" and asked if he thought the Nailbomb would be better than the Cold Sweat, and he said "yes"...then said the Miracle Man would actually be his first choice for smooth, sustaining leads. I was quite shocked by the opinions, because it was almost the opposite of everything I was thinking... :lol:

[ericsabbath]

i prefer the neck cold sweat over the neck miracle man
it sounds more open and clear
miracle man and warpig sustain better and they are very powerful and smooth, but a little nasal compared to cold sweat
probably the neck nailbomb is between cs and mm

[Ted]

I'd recommend Miracle Man set. Its awesome.

[The Silverwulf]

I think I'm either going with the Painkiller or Holy Diver. It'll likely be going in a Les Paul, and I've saw some differing opinions on how the HD sounds in a LP.

@ Eric, I think you mentioned before that the HD was your favorite overall. What do you like about it in comparison to the others? I saw the HD clip on youtube through a Splawn, and it was very tight and articulate, but a little thin sounding. Could just be the clip. Anyone else experience this?

For the neck, I'm leaning towards the Cold Sweat or Nailbomb. I know Tim recommended a Nailbomb there...we'll see I guess.

[ericsabbath]

I think I'm either going with the Painkiller or Holy Diver. It'll likely be going in a Les Paul, and I've saw some differing opinions on how the HD sounds in a LP.

@ Eric, I think you mentioned before that the HD was your favorite overall. What do you like about it in comparison to the others? I saw the HD clip on youtube through a Splawn, and it was very tight and articulate, but a little thin sounding. Could just be the clip. Anyone else experience this?

For the neck, I'm leaning towards the Cold Sweat or Nailbomb. I know Tim recommended a Nailbomb there...we'll see I guess.

i have 2 les pauls
my favorite one is loaded with the HD and CS
i've tried a miracle man set on it too, then moved it to the other les paul

probably you saw twilightodyssey video (strat + splawn?)
i don't know if his holy diver is the same as mine, cause the first version was in dimarzio super distortion ballpark (13k ceramic), and i think that the second version (14k alnico) became the rebel yell model
mine is the last 16k alnico version, which is in dunca  JB ballpark
mine sounds anything but thin
it's very balanced and has full spectrum frequencies
fat, strong and incredibly clear and dynamic
in the rectifier it sounded like Tool tones, but in this amp the miracle man sounded better cause it helps to focuse the excessive bass of the amp

[The Silverwulf]

probably you saw twilightodyssey video (strat + splawn?)i don't know if his holy diver is the same as mine, cause the first version was in dimarzio super distortion ballpark (13k ceramic), and i think that the second version (14k alnico) became the rebel yell model
mine is the last 16k alnico version, which is in dunca  JB ballpark
mine sounds anything but thin
it's very balanced and has full spectrum frequencies
fat, strong and incredibly clear and dynamic
in the rectifier it sounded like Tool tones, but in this amp the miracle man sounded better cause it helps to focuse the excessive bass of the amp

Yeah, I think that was the clip I saw. It was tight, don't get me wrong...but it sounded very thin to me. I didn't realize there was a few different versions/revisions of the HD. Would you consider this latest revision close to the Duncan JB in terms of sound?

I've never has any bass issues with my Recto. Of course, I also have a '94 "Blackface" Dual (early Revision G) and use very moderate bass settings. I actually have a Splawn Quickrod too, so I'll need something that will sound nice in both since I usually just grab whichever amp strikes me at athe time for gigs.

[ericsabbath]

probably it's thin cause of his settings, and it's in a strat style guitar
HD is in jb ballpark, but the major difference is that Tim fixed the overbrightness of jb
HD sounds full on bass and center mids and doesn't have the excessive upper mids
jb bottom end sounds loose and boomy, where HD is punchy and heavy
it has more articulation too and the clean sounds are wonderful
it's really fat, so if you're planning to put it in a gibson style guitar, you don't need to fear problems with it
you just need to know what kind of attack and midrange do you prefer
if you want a tighter attack and crunchier mids you should go with miracle man or painkiller

[The Silverwulf]

you just need to know what kind of attack and midrange do you preferif you want a tighter attack and crunchier mids you should go with miracle man or painkiller

Yeah...the reason I started inquiring about the Holy Diver as another option was because if it gets me in that ballpark and is tight sounding, I assumed the cleans would be better on it being an Alnico V as opposed to the MM and PK both being Ceramic. That was my only hesitation there, otherwise it would be a Painkiller all the way for me. Even though I play metal, we do have some lengthy clean sections at time, so decent clean sounds are important to me. I even finger pick the intro to one song ala "Last in Line"...haha

I start looking at the order forms here...I see the prices of each and shipping...what about any types of mark-ups or customs for shipping them here to the US I wonder? Any US users here that could shed some light on costs to get them here? I checked some of the US dealers, and no one seems to have a good selection in stock.

[38thBeatle]

I don't know about customs into the USA but you can deduct "VAT" as that only applies to EU residents. VAT is 17.5%. At the moment the rates of exchnage between the $ and £ are punitive to you which is a bit of a pain for you guys.

[The Silverwulf]

I don't know about customs into the USA but you can deduct "VAT" as that only applies to EU residents. VAT is 17.5%. At the moment the rates of exchnage between the $ and £ are punitive to you which is a bit of a pain for you guys.

Yeah, the exchange rate is a pain at the moment, but it prob won't push them costing much further than some other pickups. I think the Burstbuckers I was looking at were roughly $129 (USD) anyway.

[ericsabbath]

here in brazil the import tax is 60% over any product above US$50
i usually ask the international sellers to declare low prices and mark the gift blank on customs declaration or i'd be seriously screwed up