Now that BK's are $200 a pop what are people gravitating towards

[Hoss632]

I absolutely love it. Super fast neck and all the tone you need with some leftover from the Lundgrens. I have 6, 7 and 8-string guitars from Fender, to PRS and Schecter asking to be picked up and played each morning and I am grabbing the stock Schecter Tempest Blackjack first with no regrets. I play through a choice of Orange or Mesa heads (Mesa Badlander 50-watt head, Orange TH30 head, Mesa Rectoverb 25-watt head or Orange Rocker 15 head) and each one loves the Tempest. If you play any form of metal, this is the guitar you’ve been waiting for. Although I do have an order with Sweetwater when the Schecter Solo II Supreme see thru blue burst is in stock. I am guessing that one will be my new favorite. But you can’t go wrong with a Tempest. It’s uniquely beautiful and sounds amazing.

Good to know. I do like the Schecter Thin C neck on the tempest as it's the same as the one on my c-1 platinum. Glad to know the quality is still there, and that the Lungren's are worth it. I've heard demo's from cleans, to metal and even some pop punk and those pups seem to do them all quite well. I'm just trying to decide if I want a blackjack model, reaper custom, or a sun valley exotic hardtail as the upgrade to the c-1. Tough choices for sure.

 

[Wusthof XIII]

Good to know. I do like the Schecter Thin C neck on the tempest as it's the same as the one on my c-1 platinum. Glad to know the quality is still there, and that the Lungren's are worth it. I've heard demo's from cleans, to metal and even some pop punk and those pups seem to do them all quite well. I'm just trying to decide if I want a blackjack model, reaper custom, or a sun valley exotic hardtail as the upgrade to the c-1. Tough choices for sure.

You’re right, you can’t go wrong, although I love the uniqueness of the Tempest body shape. I am excited to see how the Lundgren Black Heavens sound in the Solo II Supreme.

EDIT: Found this…

 

[Emperoff]

Just scooped up a used set of 7 string Elysian Moderns (Which are equivalent to Trident I's) for 185 bucks shipped.

Congrats!

My Elysian Trident IIs sound like nothing I've ever tried before. They have a very "woody" character, if that makes any sense. The neck pickup is super creamy but never boomy at the lower strings (unlike basically any other neck pickup out there).

It's not a sound I always look for since I'm more of a strat-ish neck pickup kind of guy (and I do most of my lead work on the bridge pickup), but haven't tried anything that comes close to it for playing leads.

 

[ParanoiaEngine]

I don’t think anything beats the bareknuckle ragnarok for aggressive metal tone. Something in the response of the mids sounds really punchy and has a good bark for the palm mutes. I think actives are missing the transient frequencies for pick attack aggression so passive is my choice and ragnarok seems to be the best imo

 

[Legion]

I...done did it.
Went and ordered a set of Elysian Goliaths.
Let's see how this turns out.


God damn I've gone whole hog on Elysians.

 

[Hoss632]

Right now I'm gravitating towards a set of Duncan Black Winters. Main thing is deciding on if I'm going to keep my guitar which is loaded with EMG's and completely gut and rewire it for passives, or sell it and get something with passives and swap the pick ups that way. Probably the ladder as I'm not 100% in love with the current guitar as it is.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Right now I'm gravitating towards a set of Duncan Black Winters. Main thing is deciding on if I'm going to keep my guitar which is loaded with EMG's and completely gut and rewire it for passives, or sell it and get something with passives and swap the pick ups that way. Probably the ladder as I'm not 100% in love with the current guitar as it is.

You forgot the best option: keep your existing guitar with EMGs and buy an extra guitar to load with Black Winters.

 

[Strobe]

Why, still BKP's, peasants!

I kid, I do not currently own any BKP's. Most I have played have been excellent, however. That said, pickups are a thing where there are so many good options - the difference between which is pretty small. In a mix especially, it's really splitting hairs. It's about as much about how they feel and respond as it is about the actual EQ profile.

Some of my pickups that I really dig:

Fishman Fluence Classics, Abasis, and the strat/tele sets
Dimarzio Illuminators (favorite passives at the moment)
Dimarzio Tone Zone / Air Norton for rock (just so thick in a satisfying way)
Seymour Duncan Custom 5 / Jazz (Custom 5 is really tight and feels good for thrashy stuff)

 

[narad]

I just grabbed a black hawk bridge since it was like $115 a pop and it always stood out as one of the better sounding BKPs from the demos.

 

[Chri]

I just grabbed a black hawk bridge since it was like $115 a pop and it always stood out as one of the better sounding BKPs from the demos.

Post back with results! Those are some of the only BKPs that have had my interest in the last few years, and I've been curious myself seeing them around a similar price point.

 

[katsumura78]

Black hawks are great! The split coil tones are those are killer too. Had them in an RGA121 and it was a perfect match.

 

[narad]

The only question is whether they are alnico or ceramic, since it's mystery auction pickups. If there's an easy way to tell, please let me know. I guess I don't want to dissemble the thing though

 

[KnightBrolaire]

The only question is whether they are alnico or ceramic, since it's mystery auction pickups. If there's an easy way to tell, please let me know. I guess I don't want to dissemble the thing though

There's no easy way without taking it apart . It's totally reversible so long as you don't damage the wires during the dismantling . Just peel back the tape and warm up the wax with a hair dryer, then pop out the the magnet.

 

[syzygy]

Post back with results! Those are some of the only BKPs that have had my interest in the last few years, and I've been curious myself seeing them around a similar price point.

Well, just expect lows that are thick but not muddy, mids that are strong but not overbearing, and highs that are present but not icepicky

 

[sakeido]

Just installed a Fortitude... hotter than I expected. Way, way hotter. I really like the tonal balance, maybe a bit too bassy as is so I may drop the height a bit, but quite enjoying it so far. I would have preferred less output but ah well I'll just dial back the gain on my patches.

Next up to try is to put my Black Heaven in the USA Charvel and finally play 7 string again when my Nazgul/Sentient set shows up

 

[ArtDecade]

I use the stock pickups in my guitars.

 

[Chri]

I use the stock pickups in my guitars.

Dork. Only real guitarists obsess over nuances that no one else notices. You must hate all of your guitars. I see no other reason for such abuse.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Just installed a Fortitude... hotter than I expected. Way, way hotter. I really like the tonal balance, maybe a bit too bassy as is so I may drop the height a bit, but quite enjoying it so far. I would have preferred less output but ah well I'll just dial back the gain on my patches.

Next up to try is to put my Black Heaven in the USA Charvel and finally play 7 string again when my Nazgul/Sentient set shows up

Not surprised it seems bassy, given thats what the marketing seemed to imply. A PAF with more lows.

 

[manu80]

SP CUSTOM in France, Dominger, but they're all gearing to the same prices at the end....
Even the 2nd hand pickup have increased of around 20 euros in 2 yrs....

 

[sakeido]

Not surprised it seems bassy, given thats what the marketing seemed to imply. A PAF with more lows.

a "touch" more lows they say... and it's way more than that. I thought my PRS 57/08 was a classic PAF with basically no changes... maybe that's not the case because I wouldn't put it and the Fortitude in the same category at all. Especially with the Fortitude being so hot, it's lost a lot of the touch sensitivity I think you get from lower output pickups.