SD Black Winter Worship thread

[Shask]

can we have a review etc once they are fitted?. Im after chunk myself and have the same combo of woods for a guitar Im searching for a certain sound in. These were on the list along with SH5's, dimebuckers and some Bareknuckle

I finally got these installed a week or so ago, and got some time to play it.

I am really liking them compared to the Kiesel Lithiums so far. They kind of remind me of a mix of the Invader and Distortion. They have the lows and mid spike of the Invader, and the aggressive high end of the Distortion. However, they don't have the extreme low end of the Invader, and the harsh high end of the Distortion. They are like the mix of both, without the annoying extremes of either. When compared with my other guitar with a Distortion, the Distortion sounds so fuzzy, and harsh next to the Black Winter. It is like the BW is the clearer, refined, dialed-in version.

The BW neck kind of reminds me more of a Dimarzio neck sound. More compressed and mid boosted. Usually Duncan neck pickups are more mid scooped. I typically like Dimarzio neck pickups for when I want to be a wannabe shredder, so I am liking this. Nice contrast to the Sentient in my other guitar.

So far, I really like them. The guitar does not have massive Les Paul type chunk, but it definitely has a more solid low end than before. It is great single note definition due to the mid spike, and the highs are present, but not harsh. They are not as bright as the Lithiums were. It almost sounds "bland" in a way.... nothing major really sticks out.... but at the same time, that also means not much to complain about. Just a solid Duncan sound.

I would assume based on other guitars that the Custom SH-5 would be chunkier, but it also has a lot of presence, so I was worried it would be too bright in this guitar. I had to take it out of a Charvel Superstrat because the high end presence grated on my nerves. It is the chunkiest pickup I know (Even moreso than the Invader in some ways), but it has to be paired correctly because of the high end. I have not had a Dimebucker in many years, but I don't really do rail pickups any more. They usually have so much treble/presence that they sound fuzzy, like a bad fuzz pedal is always on.

I definitely think the newer Duncan designs are clearer sounding, and tighter than the older designs. The BW and Nazgul both sound clearer, and more focused than the Distortion, JB, etc....

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

I finally got these installed a week or so ago, and got some time to play it.

I am really liking them compared to the Kiesel Lithiums so far. They kind of remind me of a mix of the Invader and Distortion. They have the lows and mid spike of the Invader, and the aggressive high end of the Distortion. However, they don't have the extreme low end of the Invader, and the harsh high end of the Distortion. They are like the mix of both, without the annoying extremes of either. When compared with my other guitar with a Distortion, the Distortion sounds so fuzzy, and harsh next to the Black Winter. It is like the BW is the clearer, refined, dialed-in version.

The BW neck kind of reminds me more of a Dimarzio neck sound. More compressed and mid boosted. Usually Duncan neck pickups are more mid scooped. I typically like Dimarzio neck pickups for when I want to be a wannabe shredder, so I am liking this. Nice contrast to the Sentient in my other guitar.

So far, I really like them. The guitar does not have massive Les Paul type chunk, but it definitely has a more solid low end than before. It is great single note definition due to the mid spike, and the highs are present, but not harsh. They are not as bright as the Lithiums were. It almost sounds "bland" in a way.... nothing major really sticks out.... but at the same time, that also means not much to complain about. Just a solid Duncan sound.

I would assume based on other guitars that the Custom SH-5 would be chunkier, but it also has a lot of presence, so I was worried it would be too bright in this guitar. I had to take it out of a Charvel Superstrat because the high end presence grated on my nerves. It is the chunkiest pickup I know (Even moreso than the Invader in some ways), but it has to be paired correctly because of the high end. I have not had a Dimebucker in many years, but I don't really do rail pickups any more. They usually have so much treble/presence that they sound fuzzy, like a bad fuzz pedal is always on.

I definitely think the newer Duncan designs are clearer sounding, and tighter than the older designs. The BW and Nazgul both sound clearer, and more focused than the Distortion, JB, etc....

great review!

 

[takotakumi]

Was feeling that the stock Sentient/Pegasus Pups were seriously underwhelming my 080 and was able to snag a pair of Black Winters for real cheap last week.

Got them installed yesterday...FAAAAAAAKK
I will never ever relate the pegasus/nazgul/sentient to these beasts
Its like the 7 and 8 strings leveled up/came back to life
Tight and massive low end and LOVE that growl that these pups breathe, perfectly what I was looking for

The neck pup is better as well, does not have that blandness/dullness that the sentient has. I feel it a bit more creamier/sings better, in a way reminds me of a cross between a liquidfire I used to have and the Air Norton on my 1527...

Super impressed with these pups, I now understand why they are revered so much haha Glad to join the group

Some quick snaps:

 

[SnowfaLL]

Just snagged a used one from here today, hoping I dig it when it arrives. I've tried so many bridge pickups, almost all the Dimarzio's, a few BKP (only liked the HolyDiver but wasnt perfect) and Lithium bridge is kinda bland. I recall the JB being pretty solid back when I was 18, so maybe the BW can give a bit of that back with a modern twist.

It'll be going in my Carvin ST300T which has an odd wood combo that makes pickups hard to find - 5pc mahogany neck with alder body sides, maple top. Probably the reason why most pickups fail in this guitar. Hope it works!

 

[Blytheryn]

Just snagged a used one from here today, hoping I dig it when it arrives. I've tried so many bridge pickups, almost all the Dimarzio's, a few BKP (only liked the HolyDiver but wasnt perfect) and Lithium bridge is kinda bland. I recall the JB being pretty solid back when I was 18, so maybe the BW can give a bit of that back with a modern twist.

It'll be going in my Carvin ST300T which has an odd wood combo that makes pickups hard to find - 5pc mahogany neck with alder body sides, maple top. Probably the reason why most pickups fail in this guitar. Hope it works!

Definitely let us know what you think!

 

[Blytheryn]

Technical stuff with BW's. Definitely worth a watch!

 

[KailM]

Here's a new demo I did for my new amp. It's a medley -- first partial song is my own, and uses Black Winters. Second partial song is a Blut Aus Nord cover; again, same guitar with BWs.

In the last partial song (Entombed cover), I used my Schecter V which has Blackouts. Question: What pedal did I use on that one?

Enjoy:

https://soundcloud.com/kailm-1/6505a

 

[chopeth]

^Those BW sound great! Love BAN too, one of these days I want to make a cover of Discipline's Libration

 

[Mraz]

I should probably just get this set for my upcoming custom build, since apparently they sound better than anything.. Wanted to go for the Pegasus/Sentient combo until I stumbled upon this thread and read that the PUs are apparently muddy, which is a no-go!

 

[elkoki]

So how do they sound in mahogany ?

 

[PunkBillCarson]

So how do they sound in mahogany ?

Like your guitar is trying to show the world how much it hates it. I put them in my Epiphone Goldtop which had the stock pickups in it, and the change was instant. Death... Just plain ....ing death, with the ability to be quite charming when it needs to be. You wouldn't believe that a pickup with so much aggression could be so nice, but it does and it does it quite nicely.

 

[Mathemagician]

Thinking about dropping a set in an incoming JP7. Anyone use these in basswood? I mostly play metal-core/melodeath.

 

[JD27]

Thinking about dropping a set in an incoming JP7. Anyone use these in basswood? I mostly play metal-core/melodeath.

They sounded great in this.

 

[chopeth]

So how do they sound in mahogany ?

They sound amazing in my ibanez s520ex, but that's the 6 string version.

 

[ofu]

I have a question. fellow blackwinterians, since there are few of you that use both the BWs and 6505. I recently bought a new 6505 head and paired it with 4x12 V30s cab and at first the sound was really mushy and not really defined, and I don't mean just bassy, more like too saturated and with too much gain. I can straighten the sound only with the tone correction knobs below 5, in order to tame the amp. Tried with several other guitars with Distortions and EMGs in them and they don't seem to have the same response. It's like the BWs push too much across the whole spectrum, not just lows or mids, or highs.

So, do you have any tips for pairing them with the 6505 and the V30s? What are your amp settings? My guitar is 6 strings, all mahogany, 25.5 scale, ebony fretboard, 1 vol and 1 tone, 500 kOhm. I have similar results with the same cab and and my Marshall Valvestate 8100 and a Randall RG1503, but not through an OD pedal and JCM800. I'll probably get a TS or Maxon OD and EQ and fiddle a bit more with the sound. Needless to say, when I nail the settings, the sound is crushing. Just thought maybe I can get a bit of advice on how to set the amp properly.

 

[KailM]

@ Ofu:

I run a 6505 too. I don't know if you've listened to my clips which are sprinkled throughout this thread, but I'll post a couple below to give you a reference. I pretty much use the same settings all the time for my standard 6505 death metal/black metal tone unless I'm fiddling with my HM-2 which requires some alternate adjustments.

Anyway, in the clips I'm going to share, I'm using a mahogany LTD Explorer copy with the BW set. I have a 412 cab loaded with Eminence Governors (real similar to V30s) and Swamp Thangs. Most often in my recordings, I just mic one of the Governors.

First off, with the regular 6505 especially (not as much with the 6505+), you need to boost it with an OD pedal. Pretty much any OD will do -- just set the level to max and the gain all the way off. Tone somewhere in the middle. I run an MXR Custom Modified Badass OD, with the 100hz knob set to cut just a hair MORE bass in front of the amp when using my Black Winter guitar.

Amp settings are as follows: Bass 6.5-7, Mids 6, Highs 5.5-6 Resonance 6.5, Presence 5. Preamp gain: IMPORTANT: 3 to 3.2 out of 10. Lead channel; don't know if I mentioned that. You don't need any more than the "low 3s" on gain when you're boosting it. The tone becomes fully-saturated at that point, and pushing the gain beyond that just over-saturates the tone and makes it muddy. And I like a very saturated tone, so that's saying something.

But also, my sound is also heavily dependent on my MXR 10-band EQ in the effects loop. Firstly, I set the 16khz slider to -6db, which takes care of all of the fizz. Next, I boost the 2khz slider a bit because that brings out the grind of the amp a bit more and helps cut through the mix. I run my 1khz slider slightly boosted but not quite as much as 2khz as well. I cut the 500hz slider by -6db. IMO, the amp has a bit too much in that region and it doesn't really help the sound in any way. Too much in that area just gives the tone this "vowelly" cocked-wah sound. Going further down, I set the 250hz slider to "0" -- neither cut nor boosted. At 125 hz, I boost between 3db and 6db. That may sound like a lot, but I already cut quite a bit of bass going into the preamp with my OD pedal. Adding it back in with the EQ pedal brings out a massive "thump" without it being muddy whatsoever. The sliders below that are in the sub-bass range and as long as they're at 0 or below you're good.

Anyhow, those settings provide a massive, yet focused tone that responds well to a lot of different playing styles. It is not really a modern metal tone per se -- it has a healthy amount of bass but is still tight enough for very fast palm-muted riffing and pretty much any old-school death metal, black metal, and thrash. My favorite album tones come from the mid-90s through the early 2000s. I'm not a real fan of this new approach to metal tone where the guitar is made to sound like a duck with tourette syndrome.

Anyway, here's some recordings of the tones I'm getting:

https://soundcloud.com/kailm-1/6505a
https://soundcloud.com/kailm-1/the-gathering-of-hostsfist-of-the-heavens

 

[chassless]

Ofu, have you tried fiddling with the pickup height?

 

[ofu]

^ Changing the pickup height was the first thing I did, lowered them both a tad. Strange is, when using some VSTs at home, I've never really experienced such difficulties with finding the right tone, both PUs sound really heavy and articulated.

^^ Thanks, KailM. I checked your samples earlier, great tunes there, nailed the Entombed tone, and really thank you for being helpful. Seems like fairly ordinary settings for the 6505, will try boosting it with an old EHX OD until I can get a Maxon 808X and an EQ. I am just coming from a band practice and we tried some recording mic positions etc. and using the preamp signal with some IRs directly into the DAW delivers the beef.

Sorry for derailing the topic into amp settings territory, guys.

 

[PunkBillCarson]

KailM is pretty much the BW/6505 authority. I listened to him about a few things and now I have some of the best tone I've ever had. Black Winters through the 6505/6505+'s is IMO one of the greatest metal tones, period.

 

[feraledge]

My current rack is this (all sixers in Drop C):
Alder body, bolt on maple neck: Nazgul bridge
Alder body, maple neck thru: SD Custom bridge (based on Nazgul with BW influences and a little of the JB low end)
Mahogany body, maple top, bolt on maple neck: Full Shred bridge
Ash body, bolt on maple neck: BW bridge
I use a 5153 50 watt which is in the same lineage and the only thing I adjust between them is the presence, typically no more than 20% between all four guitars. They sound different, but I barely touch my EQ knobs otherwise (1 low, 11 mids, 1 highs, gain around noon). I'm more likely to adjust pickup height than anything TBH.