FS: Bare Knuckle Pickups (Painkiller, Nailbomb, Warpig, etc)

[zimbloth]

Hi Nick,
Im seeking a recommendation for my #1. 1989 PRS CE24 with Alder/Maple body-Maple/Maple neck. I bought it new in 90! and have been through a few sets in the past 5 years. Most recently a Dim Transition set.
The guitar is bright. After much consideration- i think the best fit would be a Holy Diver set. I play in a prog trio, and have to cover both rhythm and lead equally well. I like the idea of a A5 in bridge.

-Any other recommendations?
-Time it takes to get a custom set? i want a grey/black zebra
-Im using a dimarzio ep1111 (Petrucci) 3 way with coil split middle. Can you order a magnet flip for use with it?

Thanks in advance for any insight and reply!
Dave

Hi Dave. First of all the Holydiver is a great way to go in this, that should sound perfect for what you're looking for. They work amazing in brighter guitars and are super versatile. Tremendous lead tones that really sing, and rhythms are chunky and aggressive. Coil splits beautifully as well.

Secondly, if you go on our website order form you'll see it asks what guitars its going in. When you specify PRS CE24, they'll know to mag flip it by default and have everything be the right fit for that specific guitar.

 

[movingpictures]

Hi Dave. First of all the Holydiver is a great way to go in this, that should sound perfect for what you're looking for. They work amazing in brighter guitars and are super versatile. Tremendous lead tones that really sing, and rhythms are chunky and aggressive. Coil splits beautifully as well.

Secondly, if you go on our website order form you'll see it asks what guitars its going in. When you specify PRS CE24, they'll know to mag flip it by default and have everything be the right fit for that specific guitar.

Thanks Nick! Just placed a order!

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Guess I got something to ask as well.

I got a new 7-string recently, and I'm not bonding with the Super Distortion 7. Not a fan of how dark and woofy it is, so I'm looking for something tighter and brighter. Need something with a very tight low end and plenty of high mid/trebly cut. Best way to describe it is combining the EMG tightness with the high end cut of the SH-5 Custom. Would you recommend the Miracle Man or Cold Sweat?

 

[zimbloth]

Guess I got something to ask as well.

I got a new 7-string recently, and I'm not bonding with the Super Distortion 7. Not a fan of how dark and woofy it is, so I'm looking for something tighter and brighter. Need something with a very tight low end and plenty of high mid/trebly cut. Best way to describe it is combining the EMG tightness with the high end cut of the SH-5 Custom. Would you recommend the Miracle Man or Cold Sweat?

The Miracle Man and Cold Sweat are certainly tight and bright, but fairly scooped in the mids. I think the ceramic Nailbomb or Painkiller are more what you are describing. If you want something thats still very tight and clear, but perhaps a bit more full and rich, I love the Rebel Yell.

Thanks Nick! Just placed a order!

Thanks man!

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

The Miracle Man and Cold Sweat are certainly tight and bright, but fairly scooped in the mids. I think the ceramic Nailbomb or Painkiller are more what you are describing. If you want something thats still very tight and clear, but perhaps a bit more full and rich, I love the Rebel Yell.



Thanks man!

The Miracle Man and Cold Sweat are certainly tight and bright, but fairly scooped in the mids. I think the ceramic Nailbomb or Painkiller are more what you are describing. If you want something thats still very tight and clear, but perhaps a bit more full and rich, I love the Rebel Yell.



Thanks man!

I was considering the painkiller. But I was kinda turned off because people seem to claim its a bit dull in the high end? It's got lots of mods but apparently not a lot of high end sparkle.

Kinda curious how you would compare the MM to the CS, and why you'd say the PK is a better fit? And where does the Lundgren M7 play into this?

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

The Miracle Man and Cold Sweat are certainly tight and bright, but fairly scooped in the mids. I think the ceramic Nailbomb or Painkiller are more what you are describing. If you want something thats still very tight and clear, but perhaps a bit more full and rich, I love the Rebel Yell.



Thanks man!

I take it back, changed my mind on the MiracleMans.

But the Rebel Yells seem like a great contender. They have tight lows, a decent high-mid cut, and a good high end, from what I can tell. Does that sound about right? How does it compare to the likes of the Cold Sweat and Painkiller?
I also had a friend who tried the Painkiller and he said he hated it. Was muddy compared to his Cold Sweat-loaded Ibanez RG.

Basically this 7-string is trying to sound like early Dino Cazares. SOANM-Demanufacture era Fear Factory.

 

[Wolfos]

Hey Zimbloth,

I have a new build starting with Skervesen right now and one question was what Bare Knuckle pickups do I want.

I want really sure of the best set to put in there and thought maybe you could help. The guitar has a mahogany body and carved maple top, neck is Ovengkol, wenge, maple. Anyway, I play a lot of Intervals, Plini, David Maxim Micic, Sithu Aye. Program rock stuff so I need a set that has a nice tight distortion and a silky smooth bluesy clean.

Any thoughts? Sorry it's for 2 humbukers too, thanks!

 

[zimbloth]

Hey Zimbloth,

I have a new build starting with Skervesen right now and one question was what Bare Knuckle pickups do I want.

I want really sure of the best set to put in there and thought maybe you could help. The guitar has a mahogany body and carved maple top, neck is Ovengkol, wenge, maple. Anyway, I play a lot of Intervals, Plini, David Maxim Micic, Sithu Aye. Program rock stuff so I need a set that has a nice tight distortion and a silky smooth bluesy clean.

Any thoughts? Sorry it's for 2 humbukers too, thanks!

Hey Wolfos. I would suggest the Rebel Yell set, as its very tight and aggressive yet versatile and cleans up great. The neck has a nice bluesy sound to it, while the bridge has a nice snarl and crunch. Another good option would be the True Grit set.

 

[zimbloth]

I take it back, changed my mind on the MiracleMans.

But the Rebel Yells seem like a great contender. They have tight lows, a decent high-mid cut, and a good high end, from what I can tell. Does that sound about right? How does it compare to the likes of the Cold Sweat and Painkiller?
I also had a friend who tried the Painkiller and he said he hated it. Was muddy compared to his Cold Sweat-loaded Ibanez RG.

Basically this 7-string is trying to sound like early Dino Cazares. SOANM-Demanufacture era Fear Factory.

The Painkiller is the opposite of muddy, so the issue must have been the guitar it was in. Its extremely tight and bright. Regarding the Rebel Yell, its got a lot of the upper mid bite of the Painkiller, but a bit hotter and tighter. Its also not as full-bodied. Painkillers only belong in very specific types of guitars.

If you're going for an early Fear Factory sound, I think you'd get along well with the Painkiller, Aftermath, or even something like the Fishman Fluence Modern.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

The Painkiller is the opposite of muddy, so the issue must have been the guitar it was in. Its extremely tight and bright. Regarding the Rebel Yell, its got a lot of the upper mid bite of the Painkiller, but a bit hotter and tighter. Its also not as full-bodied. Painkillers only belong in very specific types of guitars.

If you're going for an early Fear Factory sound, I think you'd get along well with the Painkiller, Aftermath, or even something like the Fishman Fluence Modern.

Speaking of Fishman....

Ended up getting the Keith Merrow set. The Fluence Modern would have been the #1 choice, but I didn't want to route the guitar.

 

[zimbloth]

Speaking of Fishman....

Ended up getting the Keith Merrow set. The Fluence Modern would have been the #1 choice, but I didn't want to route the guitar.

hah, nice, enjoy!

 

[cardinal]

Hey Nick @zimbloth !

I have a question for you too.

I need an 8-string soapbar pickup and don’t really want to bother with coil taps, but I’d like something with a Stratty vibe: chime and that kinda hollow cluck.

Could the Stormy Monday do that? Or not really?

 

[zimbloth]

Hey Nick @zimbloth !

I have a question for you too.

I need an 8-string soapbar pickup and don’t really want to bother with coil taps, but I’d like something with a Stratty vibe: chime and that kinda hollow cluck.

Could the Stormy Monday do that? Or not really?

Stormy Monday sounds great yeah, or the Mule is also good for both clean and distortion.

 

[TommyG]

Hey Nick, I have a set of Black Dogs that I am thinking of putting into an Basswood RG3570z.
I know they are not the first choice for Basswood, but what do you think ? Too bright ? Thanks,

 

[zimbloth]

Hey Nick, I have a set of Black Dogs that I am thinking of putting into an Basswood RG3570z.
I know they are not the first choice for Basswood, but what do you think ? Too bright ? Thanks,

They actually can work well in basswood. I like them best in Mahogany but they're pretty tight and nice midrange so they can work in basswood also. If you already have Black Dogs kicking around, can't hurt to try. For future reference all BKPs we sell come with a 30-day trial period, where if you aren't satisfied we can exchange for any other model.

 

[Migueloud]

Hello Nick!!

I would need some help! I have recently purchased a 6 strings Ibanez Prestige with ash body, a 25,5" maple/walnut neck and rosewood fretboard and fixed bridge equipped with Dimarzio Fusion Edge pickups which don't sound clear and have a very "ugly" bassy sound to my ears and no clarity.

I play Death metal (B standard tuning) and I'm looking for a powerful sound with enough mids (because I want clarity) and not too trebly because ash body tends to be bright. What would you recommend me? I'm almost convinced that Ceramic Warpig would be the best for this guitar but I don't know if with a 25,5 scale in B tuning the sound will have enough clarity. What do you think? Any other pickup recommendation?

Thanks in advance Nick!

 

[cardinal]

Nick!!!! The Mules are sick man. Thanks so much!

 

[soldierkahn]

hello Nick, long time no speak my friend lol. I am looking for a pickup suggestion because Ive searched far and wide and still cant get enough info to really help me make an informed decision. I have always been asking how to achieve the tone of mahogany+Sh-4 JB with a basswood guitar, but what Ive really shouldve been asking is this particular songhas the particular tone im looking for, and i have a X-wood guitar, which pup is the right choice for me. So i wanted to run something by you:

The sound/tone Im looking for can be heard on the the Breaking Benjamin songs "Evil Angel" and "Close To Heaven".
Ben runs PRS Cu24 baritones, that are mahogany back/maple top, most likely stock PRS pups for the customs.I havent seen any articles where he's said that he swapped his PRS pups out for other ones. He does run ESP baritone customs now, but they are very similar in setup with the pickups being Duncan SH-4 JB and SH-1 '59. tonewooods are the same.

What I would like to know is how to achieve this tone/sound with my current RG2770Z (mahog body/maple top) but with a better quality pickup than the JB. I was hoping there would be a Bareknuckle bridge pup that would have the right voice in the guitar because while the JB hits the frequences i like, its very noisy and loose. i currently have a JB in it, but since im using a bolt on maple neck instead of a set mahogany neck like him, ive got too much highs and it makes your ears feel like theyre gonna bleed any second.

My secondary question would be, is there a way to achieve the above desired tone in a Basswood bodied guitar? I know there are a lot of amazing Bareknuckles, and Ive seen a few recommendations for basswood and BKP, but none of those suggestions spoke to a specific desired sound. If I could achieve my desired tone from a basswood RG then I could save myself lots of money and heartache trying to get a perfectly spec'd mahogany RG.

 

[Chr0nicConsumer]

Hi Nick,

I've ordered a Skervesen Raptor 7 a few months ago, so it's nowhere near finished yet, but was wondering if you could give me some input on pickup selection.
I've gone for a swampash body, burl poplar top, ebony fretboard, wenge/bubinga neck (neck through body construction), and a 25.5" - 27" scale length. Jarek from Skervesen suggested going for Juggernauts, and based on what I've read and heard online, that seems to be a cool choice.. but I have never heard them through a guitar with my (approximate) specs.

Any thoughts suggestions? I am going for a modern sound with lots of clarity and dynamics - nothing super high gain, doesn't have to sound like a Les Paul, I designed this beast to be a shredder / modern prog metal axe. Considering they're still working on the neck, I don't think they've put in the pickups yet, so I figured there's still time to go for a different pickup.

 

[chopeth]

Maybe time to close this thead?