Ceramic Monsters: Miricle Man, Painkiller, Cold Sweat, CWP

[ericsabbath]

did you get close to the tone you want with another pickups in the same guitar, in your equipment?
cause if you don't, how could you blame any pickups?

[opprobrium_9]

did you get close to the tone you want with another pickups in the same guitar, in your equipment?
cause if you don't, how could you blame any pickups?

Wow, you certainly haven't picked up the point here.  It has absolutely nothing to do with an issue of blame, it has to do with wanting a tone.  My BKPs do their job fine, but for my tastes i am sure there is one in this line that will fulfill my needs and wants, in terms of tone, far better than the VHII.

[Philly Q]

Since the Chinese pickups you liked were (I presume) high-output ceramics, I would guess the BKPs which come closest would be Painkillers.

[Kilby]

Err not wishing to sound silly, but I am very lazy, I also prefer to spend the least amount of effort (and money) possible.

For what it's worth, you could try this :

Buy a set of the cleap pickups and install them in your favoured guitar.
Use them for a couple of weeks, and decide their good (or not so good) points

Once you have done this, pull them out of the guitar and ship them to Tim with relevant info

Guitar construction, favoured music style, bands etc

What you do like about them (example the smooth tone of the neck pickup, complex tone of bridge pickup, upper mids etc)

What you don't like about them (boomy low end, too much top end, etc)

From there you have a damn good good chance of getting exactly what you want.

It's gotta be considerably cheaper than possibly buying the wrong thing based on 3rd party advice (us lot), and it will also be a hell of a lot less stressful too

However it may also be possible that after living with those cheap pickups for a couple of weeks it will become one of those "I liked it at the time" experiences or it sounds great at low volume but once cranked .......

At worst you will be out the price of some 'cheap' pickups and at best you have a real winner

Who knows it may even become a new BKP model ;)

Rob...

[opprobrium_9]

Err not wishing to sound silly, but I am very lazy, I also prefer to spend the least amount of effort (and money) possible.

For what it's worth, you could try this :

Buy a set of the cleap pickups and install them in your favoured guitar.
Use them for a couple of weeks, and decide their good (or not so good) points

Once you have done this, pull them out of the guitar and ship them to Tim with relevant info

Guitar construction, favoured music style, bands etc

What you do like about them (example the smooth tone of the neck pickup, complex tone of bridge pickup, upper mids etc)

What you don't like about them (boomy low end, too much top end, etc)

From there you have a damn good good chance of getting exactly what you want.

It's gotta be considerably cheaper than possibly buying the wrong thing based on 3rd party advice (us lot), and it will also be a hell of a lot less stressful too

However it may also be possible that after living with those cheap pickups for a couple of weeks it will become one of those "I liked it at the time" experiences or it sounds great at low volume but once cranked .......

At worst you will be out the price of some 'cheap' pickups and at best you have a real winner

Who knows it may even become a new BKP model ;)

Rob...

Thank you for that Kilby, i really never thought of that.  A little extra hassle to reach perfection is really no hassle at all.  Very comprehensive advice, i appreciate it.  I will have to find time to do such a thing, but it can wait.  Good stuff.

[ericsabbath]

did you get close to the tone you want with another pickups in the same guitar, in your equipment?
cause if you don't, how could you blame any pickups?

Wow, you certainly haven't picked up the point here.  It has absolutely nothing to do with an issue of blame, it has to do with wanting a tone.  My BKPs do their job fine, but for my tastes i am sure there is one in this line that will fulfill my needs and wants, in terms of tone, far better than the VHII.

i know you didn't mean that the pickups aren't good enough, but if you never had anything close to what you're looking for, maybe your problem is not in the pickups
the right amp, speakers, settings and experimentation will help more than any pickup in the world could do, and no pickup will make it for you by itself

[Kilby]

A little extra hassle to reach perfection is really no hassle at all.

Just glad my lazyness came in useful to somebody as it never seems to work for me

[opprobrium_9]

no pickup will make it for you by itself

O i know that quite well, the combinations do matter.  However, if a pickup can attain the tone i want right off the bat on a shitety little amp through a wet signal, then there is something to be said for that... it could only be magnified in greatness from there.

[CJ]

no pickup will make it for you by itself

O i know that quite well, the combinations do matter.  However, if a pickup can attain the tone i want right off the bat on a shitety little amp through a wet signal, then there is something to be said for that... it could only be magnified in greatness from there.

if its through a shitety little amp than that doesn't really mean anything. the majority of the tone comes from the amp, not the pickup.

[ericsabbath]

but the shitety amp and the cheap guitar weren't yours

[izy]

dude, take your guitar down there, run it through the shitety amp and do a comparison, also ask for the wood type of the other guitar that has these pickups, that way you'll probs have somthing far more solid to go on!

[izy]

or even better take your amp down there and check if the tone from the other cheaper guitar still generates the tones you like in your amp.

[opprobrium_9]

dude, take your guitar down there, run it through the shitety amp and do a comparison

Done, that.  Been, there.

That is what this whole issue is about, man.

[Dane]

Well why is suggest a mule is because it is a low output pups that is very versatile. It can scream shout spit or growl and it can also clean up very well. Let the pedals do all the mean stuff for you. As a low output pups reveals a "truer" tone of your guitar and you hear your wood in action more. Dynamics can never be challenged from a low output pups.

And one thing that is for certain the amp is the final say. Use a cr@ppy ass guitar on a Good amp you would still get good. But Shove a PRS or Don Grosh or Suhr with BKP into a shitety amp can never sound as good.

[Dane]

Well why is suggest a mule is because it is a low output pups that is very versatile. It can scream shout spit or growl and it can also clean up very well. Let the pedals do all the mean stuff for you. As a low output pups reveals a "truer" tone of your guitar and you hear your wood in action more. Dynamics can never be challenged from a low output pups.

And one thing that is for certain the amp is the final say. Use a cr@ppy ass guitar on a Good amp you would still get good. But Shove a PRS or Don Grosh or Suhr with BKP into a shitety amp can never sound as good.