Author Topic: Not happy with my BKP (choice problem) (Read 5717 times)

badgermark · « **on:** October 17, 2007, 05:57:30 PM »

I'm not happy with my Piledriver set. I bought and installed them about 3 weeks ago, and was initially happy. However, after getting my guitar set up and finally finding time to play it properly I think I'm regretting my purchase.

The neck pickup seems dull and lifeless, and the bridge is as hot as expected, but pretty trebley and not what I was wanting really. And there is a huge leap in tone from the neck pickup to the bridge, not subtle and is pretty jarring on the ears.

Tried 250k pots, everything went to mush and lost a lot of definition, then up to 500k pots, far too shrill and unusable. With 500k pots the neck pickup had a lot of bite to it, sounding nothing like a neck pickup should. Right now the pickups are wired from the switch straight to the output jack, which has made an improvement, but still not too happy.

So I think a hot set is not my cup of tea, and since I'm outwith the 14 day return period I'm stuck with them. I'll keep soldiering on, tweaking the heights and stuff, but still regret my purchase.

samoth2 · « **Reply #1 on:** October 17, 2007, 06:27:58 PM »

That's the disadvantage of not trying them first, but I'm sure you'll find a set that will suit your needs better.

indysmith · « **Reply #2 on:** October 17, 2007, 07:50:58 PM »

here seems to be a growing number of unsatisfied customers recently... could quality be going downhill? :? :(

ailean · « **Reply #3 on:** October 17, 2007, 08:07:01 PM »

You always take a gamble when buying something like a pickup, until you've lived with it you just don't know. My wife just put a piledriver in her HSH Ibanez and it works really well in there.

I'm sorry it's not worked out for you badger, have you mailed Tim?

badgermark · « **Reply #4 on:** October 17, 2007, 08:22:34 PM »

I can't fault the build quality nor tone really, just not for me. I shall keep messing about then get back to Tim.

Still not liking the imbalance between the neck and bridge though. I also can't seem to lower the neck pickup, slackening the screws just makes the mounting screw raise up, pickup isn't moving at all. Can raise though. Very odd.

Philly Q · « **Reply #5 on:** October 17, 2007, 11:25:32 PM »

Quote from: badgermark

I also can't seem to lower the neck pickup, slackening the screws just makes the mounting screw raise up, pickup isn't moving at all. Can raise though. Very odd.

Sounds like the pickup may be touching the bottom of the cavity - so the only way for the screws to go is up. Is the PD neck quite a tall pickup?

Sorry to hear the PD set didn't work out for you. Maybe they're just too high-output, and a more traditional Tele set would have been better?

Quote from: indysmith

here seems to be a growing number of unsatisfied customers recently... could quality be going downhill?

I hope not. I think it's more likely that people have just picked the wrong pickup, as ailean says you can never be sure until you've lived with it in your own guitar for a while. And I think sometimes people don't realise that a pickup which sounds great in a basswood Ibanez with a Floyd isn't necessarily going to suit a Les Paul or SG.

I'm not 100% happy with the Black Dog I put in my V, but it was my choice, I didn't consult Tim or anything. I'm certain there's nothing wrong with the pickup. I'll just try it in another guitar.

38thBeatle · « **Reply #6 on:** October 17, 2007, 11:41:36 PM »

I have a bunch of mates with BKPs and never once has the quality been questioned. In only once case was one of them unhappy but that was nothing to do with quality or any fault of BKP-my mate ignored the advice he was given and chose wrong and sold them on ( to me on behalf of another mate) and promptly bought another set that he was delighted with. Some of my mates are pro players too. It is always a gamble basing a purchase on opinions but that is part of the fun and occasionally it will go wrong but hey, no-one died. The latest convert is my brother who has just got his Precision bass BKP'd and is like a dog with two tails-Tims advice being, as ever, spot on.

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #7 on:** October 18, 2007, 12:34:09 AM »

I'm with Philly Q on this one, I think there are people making the wrong choices. I would always advise people to call Tim, describe their rig and the tone they want - Tim will point you in the right direction (he's rarely wrong).

For a bright Tele pickup you can dial out much of the treble & fatten it up with a decent tone control. I use 47nF caps in my Tele and I can get it nice 'n fat just by rolling the tone down to 7.

You could also try lowering the pickup a little, especially on the treble side.

:twisted:

kevincurtis · « **Reply #8 on:** October 18, 2007, 08:45:38 AM »

+1 for speaking to Tim, I described what guitar and pickup I had, what eq adjustments I was making in the mix and he recommended the crawler = 1 happy guitarist. Not much consolation if you have bought something you aren't happy with - that said, live with it for a bit and see how you feel, it may be a slow burner...

Twinfan · « **Reply #9 on:** October 18, 2007, 09:01:56 AM »

I agree with all the comments above. If I'm totally honest, I'm not 100% happy with the Mississippi Queen in my SG Junior. I thought I would like it, but my ears aren't keen on a hot wind Alnico V pickup. My choice, trial and error and all that.

On the other hand, I love the AII P-90s in my Les Paul Junior Lite. Sweet, sweet tone that rocks out when it needs too. It's one of my favourite sounding guitars.

Sometimes things don't quite work out how you planned. Sell them on and try another set after talking through with Tim what you're looking for :D

Ted · « **Reply #10 on:** October 18, 2007, 09:54:12 AM »

The only set of BKP's I did not like was the VHII's. I bought them even though Tim recommended Stormy Mondays. Do'h! PDT_038

Got rid of them pretty quickly.

Good news is BKPs hold their value quite well.

Ratrod · « **Reply #11 on:** October 18, 2007, 10:34:31 AM »

Sometimes you just need to get used to a pickup. Initially I was happy with the Crawlers in my Yamaha, great hard rockers. Later I had some doubts. I didn't find them flexible enough and I didn't think they sounded right on low gain. Later I changed the EQ on my Fender HRDLX from a modern to a more vintage style setting and voila.

Try some different amp EQ settings.

Antag · « **Reply #12 on:** October 18, 2007, 12:17:07 PM »

Quote from: HEAVIER THAN HELL

I think there are people making the wrong choices.

I've been happy with all the BKPs I've bought.

There are a few that I wouldn't buy again for those particular guitars/uses, but that's more down to me making making a poor choice rather than a comment on the quality.

There's only one BKP purchase I really regret: My first - Miracle Man/Sultans' HSS set. There's a good reason why the stock MM HSS set has Trilogies :lol: There's a HUGE volume jump between neck/mid Sultans' & bridge MM - the MM is almost unuseable for cleans that were dialled in for the Sultans. Both pickups have nice sounds & are really high quality - they just don't work at all well together in the same guitar. For my second strat I bought the HD/Irish Tour set which is a million times better balanced :)

PhilKing · « **Reply #13 on:** October 18, 2007, 01:13:50 PM »

I have the Piledriver in the bridge of my tele, with a Slowhand strat in the neck and it gets a great sound. I am not a real fan of Tele neck pickups (in all the tele's I've ever had [about 7 or 8], I only kept the tele neck in 2 - and one of those is the Black Guard flatpole set).

I think that many people don't realise that you have to know the acoustic characteristics of the guitar before you can tell how it will react to different pickups. Tim is really the expert on getting a sound from BK's. I know many people ask for advice here but unless you really know what you want, my advice and all the others won't match what Tim tells you. I can say that the pickups sound this way in my guitars, but I had a hell of a time finding a guitar that I was happy with the Abraxas set in (I knew that they sounded good from hearing them in a guitar at LGS), but they were not working in my LP's. Once I put them in the Hamer they came alive and worked great.

I have had the Piledriver in 2 tele's and it seems to be sounding better in the lighter gutiar that it is in now.

I know a lot of people also seem to want to get the pickup with the most gain, but that will reduce the tonal range usually. If you then play it through high gain amps you get the 'PRS Nickelback' tone - compressed to hell with no definition or dynamics. I find that the better tone comes from the lower output pickups and the way you play gives the drive.
Then again I am a blues and rock player, and all the classic stuff comes from 7/8K humbuckers or 6/7K single coils, so this might colour my judgement.

As to quality, I have probably have more BK's than most people on the forum and got my first ones in 2004. My latest are coming soon, but the last ones I got were 2 sets of Mules, and the quality is better now than back then. Not because of the workmanship, which has always been frist class, but because Tim has managed to source better components and get the pickups more accurate.

As more pickups are sold, there will be more people who think that they are not worth the money becuase they didn't turn into their hero once they changed pickups. In fact BK's actually show up more of the problems in your playing, but that is because they have TONE. In the end the biggest thing that makes a difference is your fingers. Pickups can only help you get a tone if you can play it in the first place.

badgermark · « **Reply #14 on:** October 18, 2007, 01:56:31 PM »

So I got in this afternoon with a determined look in my eye and set about my tele. Off came the strings, the pickguard flew off and out came the neck pickups. After having a fanny about, and swapping the rubber tubing supplied by Tim for some I had lying around I put the neck p/up back in. REEEEEEALLY low in the pickguard this time. Strings got put back on, and I'm now an expert at putting used strings back into tuners. Shweet.

And after a retune and stuff, the neck pickup regained the clarity and warmth I expected, so a quick nudge up the way, and lowering the bridge pickup to very, very low levels I finally have a sound I am happy with.

The irony is that I have the loudest, most powerful tele pickups BKP produce sitting snuggly close to the guitar. Oh well, it works.

I plan to do up the electronics soon, possibly with a 4-way switch (a PM to the 38th Beatle is in order methinks)

So I am happy, for now. Still wish I got a lower powered set, but suppose when my strat is kitted out with Mother's Milks I'll be happy I have a lean, mean telecaster to back it up with.