Bare Knuckle Pickups-metalmetalmetal

[shogunate]

hello all
for those of you experienced with Bare Knuckle Pickups, specifically the Painkiller, Ceramic Warpig and Ceramic Nailbomb, im looking to pull the trigger on my first ones and was looking for which may suit my tone im looking for.

i currently use blackouts which have been fantastic over EMGs but still sound a tad too "active" and from what ive garnered, BKPs excel over regular passives and any actives out there. im looking for something tonally similar but more responsive organic and touch sensitive than blackouts. the Painkiller by itself sounds like my perfect tone match but my only hesitation why i may lean towards the C-pig is that the guitar the pickups are going in is a 27" scale maple neck through with an ebony fingerboard tuned down to drop B, into an ENGL savage. already a pretty bright setup, and ive heard the PK is very high mid oriented and im afraid it may be too bright in my guitar, but the C-pig has a lower growl that may balance in my setup better.

as a quick tonal reference, i want TIGHT but LOUD low end, not overbearing, a big, articulate midrange that cuts through faces, and as much touch sensitivity and reaction as possible. im looking for something between The Black Dahlia Murders tone on deflorate and nocturnal (amazing tones, whatever studio amps they had beat out the old mesa compressed mush), and Children of Bodom's tight fast tracking, hi-fi punchy pre-boosted sound. any advice/clinchers/tonal differences between the PK and C-Pig from the BKP users?

 

[Rocco Ruthless]

Dude, I've done so much research on this in the last month alone.. I'm about a week from pulling the trigger on my pair.

Sounds like the CPig for you.

 

[Metalus]

+1 for the C-Pig

 

[shogunate]

lol yeah thats what Nick from the axe palace was suggesting as well. if id had a mahogany neck through i think the PK would be the clear choice, but in a maple neck through... the C-pig is going to add some decisive growl. either way, if i want some more brightness, i could trade the c-pig in for a painkiller for free through nick, he has quite the reputation on here.
anyone own both of these and have their opinion on a direct tone comparison between the two?

 

[guitar4tw]

I'm getting a C-pig for my Carvin which arrives in two weeks, and I want the exact same tone as you. The painkiller is a little bit more bright and "teethy" from what I hear. So yeah, if I were you I'd go for the C-pig first and do the trade if you feel like it. I doubt you'll want to change it, though.

 

[JJ Rodriguez]

I just got my KxK 7 string and it's maple neck through mahogany wings. It has the C-Pig in it and it sounds fucking brutal. I'm pretty sure this is my new favorite combination for pickup/wood choice. It's articulate, hot (but still has nice cleans) and quiet.

 

[Zugster]

I absolutely love the PK set in my guitar - BUT it's an all mahogany Les Paul, so the natural darkness of the guitar balances really well with the bright and articulate pups. In your case c-pig is probably a much better match. As for me, I just chat with Nick and go with what he recommends. He knows his stuff!

 

[Cancer]

I'm getting a C-pig for my Carvin which arrives in two weeks, and I want the exact same tone as you. The painkiller is a little bit more bright and "teethy" from what I hear. So yeah, if I were you I'd go for the C-pig first and do the trade if you feel like it. I doubt you'll want to change it, though.

^^^^^This. I'm ordering a pair of Pigs for my Ash Carvin 727. I love the attack of this thing, just needs a bit more meat.

 

[right_to_rage]

I want a C-Pig soo bad for my Carvin dc127, but the painkiller bridge sounds really good in my Ibanez RG7421. High-Mid range is a good way to describe its voicing, its really clear sounding and cuts like crazy because of the additional mids. Its really sensitive to pick attack and subtlety which i like, and im sure would be more so on a higher end guitar. Bareknuckle makes some crazy awesome pickups im glad i bought mine.

 

[TomAwesome]

as a quick tonal reference, i want TIGHT but LOUD low end, not overbearing, a big, articulate midrange that cuts through faces, and as much touch sensitivity and reaction as possible.

Given this and the fact that you're using a pretty bright guitar and amp, I agree with the C-Pig recommendations. The C-Pig in my Agile is massive sounding, but also tighter and more articulate than anything else I've used yet. The only downside is that it's just a tad stiff for my taste.

 

[shogunate]

you guys are confirming what nick recommended, from my limited interaction with him he seems like the end all authority on tone, id probably be able to sit down in person and discuss tone for days and days with that guy, metal and otherwise. is he hiring in his store??? lol i work in an independent shop here in denver and i love it, but its mostly jazz and blues twangers, so finding peoples' tonal references are the same no matter what genre but im the lone shredder in that shop so its hard to get a reference for my own tone in person there.

anyways... nick rocks bottom line. and i do love me my high mid cut, but a maple neck and ebony board are already going to provide that quite prominently acoustically anyway. high mid cut, low mid growl, articulate and tight= Ceramic Warpig. id love me a mahogany or walnut neck through to try a Painkiller in sometime, but the C-pig should cover all my bases, clean and distorted. man im psyched now

 

[jllozano]

i've had both a c-pig and miracle man in my all maple baritone and prefer the mm.... tim from bare knuckle pickups originally suggested a painkiller but then i commented i rather have low mid punch so he said to go miracle man...

 

[zimbloth]

you guys are confirming what nick recommended, from my limited interaction with him he seems like the end all authority on tone, id probably be able to sit down in person and discuss tone for days and days with that guy, metal and otherwise. is he hiring in his store??? lol i work in an independent shop here in denver and i love it, but its mostly jazz and blues twangers, so finding peoples' tonal references are the same no matter what genre but im the lone shredder in that shop so its hard to get a reference for my own tone in person there.

anyways... nick rocks bottom line. and i do love me my high mid cut, but a maple neck and ebony board are already going to provide that quite prominently acoustically anyway. high mid cut, low mid growl, articulate and tight= Ceramic Warpig. id love me a mahogany or walnut neck through to try a Painkiller in sometime, but the C-pig should cover all my bases, clean and distorted. man im psyched now

Thanks for the kind words dude. I assure you I'm not the 'end all authority on tone' haha but thanks. I just am very experienced with pickups and like to help out when I can

If you want to discuss things further feel free to hit me up again!

 

[phatfil]

...I assure you I'm not the 'end all authority on tone' haha but thanks...

ok, maybe not THE authority. but after the clip you posted with the Rebel Yell 7, i'm positive you are at least on the council!

that is, HANDS DOWN, one the BEST tones i have ever heard!

 

[zimbloth]

ok, maybe not THE authority. but after the clip you posted with the Rebel Yell 7, i'm positive you are at least on the council!

that is, HANDS DOWN, one the BEST tones i have ever heard!

Haha thanks man. The council it is

 

[shogunate]

hahaha i will. or if im in the market for amps or cabs or anything else you offer ill be sure to hit you up and get some good info, most clips and reviews on the internet arent completely... well lets say i dont put a whole lot of stake in 99.9% of them. anyway, im sold on the C-pig, if it sounds too "stiff" or i crave some more qualities of the Painkiller i know im covered. by the way, what covers can you get with the BKPs, i definitely like covered pickups better, the camo and distressed finishes look amazing but not for my tastes on my guitar, can you get the plain black covers or the Bare Knuckle Pickups engraved ones? those look sexy lol

 

[zimbloth]

hahaha i will. or if im in the market for amps or cabs or anything else you offer ill be sure to hit you up and get some good info, most clips and reviews on the internet arent completely... well lets say i dont put a whole lot of stake in 99.9% of them. anyway, im sold on the C-pig, if it sounds too "stiff" or i crave some more qualities of the Painkiller i know im covered. by the way, what covers can you get with the BKPs, i definitely like covered pickups better, the camo and distressed finishes look amazing but not for my tastes on my guitar, can you get the plain black covers or the Bare Knuckle Pickups engraved ones? those look sexy lol

For 6-strings? You can get a wide assortment of colors/covers. Colors available are black, white, creme, blue, green, yellow, red, and any combination of these. For covers: gold, chrome, nickel, black, brushed nickel, aged nickel, distressed, black distressed, burnt chrome, camo, etc.

For 7-strings, they're only available in black but there will be cover options soon.

 

[yellowv]

If you want huge lows and mids go C-Pig. The Pk is awesome but is more upper mids oriented. The MM is a great pickup as well, but while it has a big low end it is very scooped in the mids. I have tried the PK in both mahogany and walnut, both with maple bolt on necks and the mahogany with ebony and the walnut with a maple board. It worked awesomely in either guitar. IMO the C-Pig is the perfect match for a bright guitar. I have tried the C-Pig in an alder/maple neckthrough and it was AMAZING. Nick can tell you that. Alder/maple is the perfect combo for the Pig. I also use a MM set in a mahogany bodied/maple necked and boarded Agile LP and they sound downright nasty, but they are scooped in the mids. Hope my rambling helped a bit

 

[jsousa]

i dont recommend the cpig for tones like the bands u mentioned. it works yes, but even in maple neck-thru, its tonally not quite what id say the right fit for those tones.

 

[zimbloth]

i dont recommend the cpig for tones like the bands u mentioned. it works yes, but even in maple neck-thru, its tonally not quite what id say the right fit for those tones.

It's just fine for that stuff Joe, especially with alder sides and maple fingerboard. If the amp is tight and clear it will do that stuff great. I nail Black Dahlia Murder tones easily with my Warpig guitar, it just has to be through the right amp/settings.

That said, if you're using darker/fuzzier amps like the Peaveys BDM uses, then probably brighter pickups would help but within reason. If you start putting bright pickups in an alder/maple guitar, it's probably not going to sound pleasant. Something like the Miracle Man would be a good go-between if you find the Warpig a bit too dark. Or Seymour Duncan custom.