SD Black Winter Worship thread

[død]

I had SSL5s matched to a BK Warpig and they worked perfectly in terms of volume as well as tone. Very round and crunchy, clear under gain and certainly hot enough. They were true singles though, not stacked or noiseless or rails if that's what you want

I’ve looked at the SSL-5s, they’re just very hard to come by in black, non-staggered versions here in Norway. Seems like a super cool pickup, and I’d ideally like to try a proper single coil. The aforementioned STK-S6 is apparently pretty close to the SSL-5, but maybe I’ll try to get a hold of the SSL-5, as they are on my short-list anyways.

 

[STRHelvete]

I've been playing around with the different neck pickups in my guitar. Dean Time Capsule, SD Distortion, SD 59, and the BW.
The BW has a Triple Shot with it and it sounds goddamn amazing. Cleans are chimey as hell and so pretty. Gain hits just right. I don't like the BW as a bridge pickup all that much but it's easily the best neck pickup I have ever heard. I kinda want it in all my guitars but since I don't use the neck all that much I figure it'll be fine in just the one. God DAMN that pickup sounds great in the neck position

 

[Marked Man]

Recently I turned a friend of mine onto the Black Winter bridge pickup, he loves it but he also plays an H/S so he was a bit perplexed as to what single coil would work best. I had suggested he try one of the rail pickups, either a Hot Rails or Cool Rails, but he said he wasn't really happy with the sound of those when he tried them in the past.
He wound up putting the STK-S6 in there and says it works great. From what I saw and heard it seemed like it held it's own well volume-wise when switching from the bridge pickup to neck position, and the STK-S6 had a nice high end that wasn't too twangy or bright. So that might be a worthy option to try?

I'm tellin' everyone, the Parallel Axis Stacks! They can still be found online and look cool with the BW also. I thought I had at least one pic, but will have to take one. I also use the onboard EMG SPC sometimes to boost the mids for the Stacks for lead.

I was just playing my old school Soloist Pro yesterday and thinking how well they matched. They have an authentic single coil edge/brightness to keep up with the bright lead tones of the BW bridge, although the BW is clearly louder and dominant as it should be.

The BW is a rather odd beast and forced me to reduce the 240 Hz slider on my graphic EQ slightly to prevent mush during heavy crunch, only pickup in my collection that needed it. But it sounds great after the tweak, especially at stage volume, and has some of the most razor sharp lead sounds I've ever heard!

 

[Korneo]

Hey, necrobump every one !

I've read every single post in this thread and finally buy a set of black winter for my Jackson Custom Shop to replace a set of EMG 57/66 which I found unimpressive for years and the magnet on the 57 is known to be too strong and affect the strings.

I already have a set of Nazgul and Sentient on a 7 strings and like it, except a weird sound during the attack. So, let's go for the Black Winter tune in C.

Thanks everyone for this thread !

 

[wannabguitarist]

I'm looking for a set of pickups to throw in PRS S2 Singlecut and the BW kinda sounds like what I'm looking for. It currently has a BKP Silo that is just "okay." Doesn't sound bad, but I feel like it's a little loose and is missing some aggression. The guitar is usually tuned to C# standard or Drop-C.

I've had a set in my Reverb cart for close to a month now

 

[TheBlackBard]

I kind of want to hear what a guitar with these sounds like through my Rockerverb.

 

[Seabeast2000]

I'm looking for a set of pickups to throw in PRS S2 Singlecut and the BW kinda sounds like what I'm looking for. It currently has a BKP Silo that is just "okay." Doesn't sound bad, but I feel like it's a little loose and is missing some aggression. The guitar is usually tuned to C# standard or Drop-C.

I've had a set in my Reverb cart for close to a month now

I'm just here to encourage you to try them. Same goes for @TheBlackBard

 

[Chri]

If your question is ever, "will the Seymour Duncan Black Winter sound good with my setup/guitar?" the answer is always, "Yes." If not, you have bad taste and should feel bad about your ears and life decisions.

 

[død]

I kind of want to hear what a guitar with these sounds like through my Rockerverb.

Played mine through a TH-30 at a local club show a couple of months ago, sounded pretty fucking sick!

 

[Boy_Narf]

Just got one of these in a custom built single pickup guitar. Fantastic thing. First pickup I've used the gets more chiney as you roll down the volume.

Fantastic pickup. Considering swapping out a few other pickups now.

Sounds massive through my Rocker 30.

 

[Seabeast2000]

BLACK, black, BLACK, black, Winter pick-uuu-uuups.

 

[Captain Shoggoth]

Soliciting advice from the frostbitten sages of Mount Winter: which neck pickup to go with the 7-string BW? Weighing up between the BW neck and the 59 but fielding other considerations too. It'll be replacing an EMG 66 which I actually really like in series mode.

I like a round, warm PAF style neck bucker tone for slow leads (ie NOT modern/mid-forward) hence the 59, but more importantly I need an glassy, articulate, funky split sound for cleans, both the neck split alone and in combo with the split bridge, hence considering the brighter BW as I'm concerned the 59 won't have enough cut or output.

In my other 7 I've split the difference with the Jazz (paired with JB ofc) but this guitar doesn't have a tone pot to warm things up. I've got a dimarzio Ionizer in one of my 8s which sounds amazing split but way too modern/vocal-sounding in full series mode.

TLDR:
-how does the BW neck sound split? Most videos only show it in full series for cleans
-does the BW neck have an overly vocal/midrange modern character or is it warmer and more even?
-has anyone tried a 59 with the BW bridge?
-warmer 59/PAF-esque neck pickups with more output that also split well? Passive equivalent to the EMG 66?

 

[STRHelvete]

Soliciting advice from the frostbitten sages of Mount Winter: which neck pickup to go with the 7-string BW? Weighing up between the BW neck and the 59 but fielding other considerations too. It'll be replacing an EMG 66 which I actually really like in series mode.

I like a round, warm PAF style neck bucker tone for slow leads (ie NOT modern/mid-forward) hence the 59, but more importantly I need an glassy, articulate, funky split sound for cleans, both the neck split alone and in combo with the split bridge, hence considering the brighter BW as I'm concerned the 59 won't have enough cut or output.

In my other 7 I've split the difference with the Jazz (paired with JB ofc) but this guitar doesn't have a tone pot to warm things up. I've got a dimarzio Ionizer in one of my 8s which sounds amazing split but way too modern/vocal-sounding in full series mode.

TLDR:
-how does the BW neck sound split? Most videos only show it in full series for cleans
-does the BW neck have an overly vocal/midrange modern character or is it warmer and more even?
-has anyone tried a 59 with the BW bridge?
-warmer 59/PAF-esque neck pickups with more output that also split well? Passive equivalent to the EMG 66?

I had a BW set in a guitar with the Triple Shot system..then I changed it to a BW in the bridge and a 59 in the neck..I now have a BW in the neck so I can give my experience. I'll start out by saying I didn't end up keeping the BW in the bridge as I didn't like it. It was very metallic sounding and I didn't get along with it. In the neck the BW sounds great. It has a good midrange but is warm and not overbearing. It's my second favorite neck pickup. A split BW in the neck is lovely.
Right now my favorite neck pickup is the Alnico Pro II but I do sometimes wish it had just a hair more output. My favorite bridge pickup is the Custom. I gave my BW set to my guitar tech.

 

[Whoman Bean]

If your question is ever, "will the Seymour Duncan Black Winter sound good with my setup/guitar?" the answer is always, "Yes." If not, you have bad taste and should feel bad about your ears and life decisions.

That's me, guilty all charges.
Before I got set of BW, I did read everything available online and I really wanted to love that pickup. But I just didn't and still don't. Neck is quite nice though, but bridge is so very average, nothing extraordinary for metal. E standard is quite ok, but below that it's a meh. Yeah, I know, wrong amp, wrong guitar with wrong wood and so on.
Nothing beats BKP Warpig ceramic

 

[Chri]

That's me, guilty all charges.
Before I got set of BW, I did read everything available online and I really wanted to love that pickup. But I just didn't and still don't. Neck is quite nice though, but bridge is so very average, nothing extraordinary for metal. E standard is quite ok, but below that it's a meh. Yeah, I know, wrong amp, wrong guitar with wrong wood and so on.
Nothing beats BKP Warpig ceramic

Oddly enough, I find the ceramic WP to be very similar to the BW

Also, I’ve used the BW all the way down to drop F and love it.

 

[Captain Shoggoth]

I had a BW set in a guitar with the Triple Shot system..then I changed it to a BW in the bridge and a 59 in the neck..I now have a BW in the neck so I can give my experience. I'll start out by saying I didn't end up keeping the BW in the bridge as I didn't like it. It was very metallic sounding and I didn't get along with it. In the neck the BW sounds great. It has a good midrange but is warm and not overbearing. It's my second favorite neck pickup. A split BW in the neck is lovely.
Right now my favorite neck pickup is the Alnico Pro II but I do sometimes wish it had just a hair more output. My favorite bridge pickup is the Custom. I gave my BW set to my guitar tech.

Thanks for the input, much appreciated. I think we have different tastes. I have a Custom in one guitar and while the tone is a cool option to have in my arsenal it has way too little output for my taste (especially when split), & I don't feel the mids are strident enough, especially for downtuning a 7.

Out of the classic bridges I love the JB, went with the BW as all impressions point to it being broadly similar (even moreso compared to the Distortion) just a bit tighter and meaner. Ended up going 59 in the neck. Alnico Pro II looks incredibly compelling but for a 7-string version I'd have to shell out Custom Shop cash. Might earmark that one for a build I have coming up though!

 

[STRHelvete]

Thanks for the input, much appreciated. I think we have different tastes. I have a Custom in one guitar and while the tone is a cool option to have in my arsenal it has way too little output for my taste (especially when split), & I don't feel the mids are strident enough, especially for downtuning a 7.

Out of the classic bridges I love the JB, went with the BW as all impressions point to it being broadly similar (even moreso compared to the Distortion) just a bit tighter and meaner. Ended up going 59 in the neck. Alnico Pro II looks incredibly compelling but for a 7-string version I'd have to shell out Custom Shop cash. Might earmark that one for a build I have coming up though!

I often forget what kinda forum this is lol. Yeah I have no 7 string experience, and the music generally associated with 7 strings here isn't what I do ao definitely your mileage may vary.

 

[Captain Shoggoth]

I often forget what kinda forum this is lol. Yeah I have no 7 string experience, and the music generally associated with 7 strings here isn't what I do ao definitely your mileage may vary.

You make cool queer Blade II vampire rave/Queen of the Damned-core and have a rad arsenal of MLs, both of which are way cooler than most of said 7-string music. I'd say what I do is halfway between you and that

 

[Kovah]

Oddly enough, I find the ceramic WP to be very similar to the BW

Also, I’ve used the BW all the way down to drop F and love it.

Never tried the ceramic WP. However judging by the video below I agree.

 

[FloridaRolf]

anyone got an idea why my BWs sound like ass?
I installed them on a Solar baritone V and they have just 0 treble and attack and just extreme amounts of flubby bass. I have to crank my overdrives a lot to get a barely usable tone. Using a brand new set of .14-68 Daddario strings tuned to G# and I can't get this shit to sound acceptable in any way.
Could it be shitty potentiometers? My below average soldering skills? Just mind that the previous Duncan designed pups sounded like crap too but that didn't make me wonder that much.