Which ceramic 7-string BareKnuckle for metal?
- Thread starter JMP2203
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miracle man? warpig ceramic? or painkiller?
which is your favorite ceramic bare knuckle? and why? which are the diferences beetwen this pickups?
Like I said in my PMs, the differences depend on what kind of guitar it's going into and everything. I have no favorite, as they all get the job done in different ways in different guitars. If I had to pick a favorite it would be the Nailbomb I suppose, since it was my first and I have good memories of the first time I tried it.
The Miracle Man has a pronounced low-mid focus, with a lot of chunk, harmonics and crisp top end. It has rather smooth high-mids but a lot of treble to make up for it. The Miracle Man really excells in basswood guitars but can work in anything. The Miracle Man reminds me a bit of what an EMG 707 would sound like if it were more organic and three dimensional.
The ceramic Warpig is aggressive, with a thick yet tight low-end and brutal midrange with a big 'growl'. It has loads of pick attack and bite, but overall has a darker and more saturated quality than the other ceramic models. I love this pickup in bright to moderately warm guitars. Imagine if a Gibson 500T and a Seymour Duncan Invader spawned a superior offspring that maintained its ferocious tone but without the compression.
The Painkiller is very aggressive as well, but it has more of a high-mid focus - a snarl if you will. It's extremely tight and clear, fairly bright but still fat enough to pull-off killer lead tones. It's sort of the opposite of the Miracle Man in terms of it's eq curve, no low mids all high mids. This is a great pickup to use in darker guitars or guitars with obsenely low tunings as it is crazy tight/articulate. Sits extremely well in the mix, really sounds like it's name implies.
The Cold Sweat is another high-powered ceramic model, which you left out. This is similar to the Painkiller in terms of its supreme note definition and tightness, but it has more of a balanced, full tone to it. It doesn't have a huge aggressive midrange like the Painkiller or Warpig, just very balanced (I wouldn't say 'scooped'). This model is bright but very organic for a ceramic, it has really nice clean tones and is epic in the neck position as well. I recommend this model to 8-string players due to its affinity for basswood & mahogany and its focused attack with ultra low tunings. Chris Broderick of Megadeth/Nevermore uses this model in both positions.
There are threads all over this forum with reviews and thoughts on most of these pickups. You can also email Tim Mill @ BKP who makes these, and obvious is the most qualified person to give you advice after people like myself & fellow users. You can also head on over to the BKP forum and see what people have to say and check other review sites.
Good luck!
That's a lot of really good info there, Nick!! I haven't seen it put that completely and succinctly before. 
Would you mind giving the Holy Diver and Nailbomb the same treatment?
Would you mind giving the Holy Diver and Nailbomb the same treatment?
I think more people should consider the Cold Sweat. I'd heard every one here harping on about the Warpig and Nailbomb but when I got onto Tim he recomended that for the tone I described. I have it sitting at home now waiting for the some parts to arrive for a 7 string I'm putting together.
That's a lot of really good info there, Nick!! I haven't seen it put that completely and succinctly before.
Would you mind giving the Holy Diver and Nailbomb the same treatment?
Thanks, I'm glad to help Shannon - and yes I can do it for the Holy Diver and Nailbomb too. I answer a zillion emails/PMs a day regarding these things so I could pretty much type a BKP FAQ in my sleep haha. In fact, I plan to have something like that on my website when it goes live in a week or two.
Both the Nailbomb and the Holydiver are by default Alnico V pickups and share the best qualities of that magnet, while minimizing some of the drawbacks associated with them.
The Nailbomb is very unique sounding. It has a peculiar combination of characteristics. For one, it has a deep, thick, extremely punchy/percussive low-end which really adds fullness and balls to alder/maple guitars. At the same time, it has a very hot, open and aggressive midrange grind/crunch that sounds very british yet modern. It sounds like there are a quad of EL34's being cranked inside these things. At the same time it has very bold and relatively warm lead tones.
This pickup excells in brighter guitars, but I have a lot of customers who swear by these in basswood & mahogany too. These won't be as tight as the ceramic ones, but in my experience with the one I have installed, it stays plenty tight enough - even with my .065 7th string. The Nailbomb reminds me a little bit of the DiMarzio Tone Zone 6 only more aggressive and in-your-face.
The Holydiver has many of the same qualities as the Nailbomb except with a very different voicing. It's a little more saturated and dark than the Nailbomb, with plenty of midrange guts but smoother, not as open/bright in the high-mids. The Holydiver is actually a modified 1980's 'JB' which Tim gutted and made improvements on, so anyone who likes that pickup but wish it had tighter bass, richer mids, and sweeter/clearer highs - this is for you. Probably similar to the Woftetone JB though I've never tried one of those.
This pickup performs well in bright and dark guitars alike, though personally I prefer its ability to make bright guitars sound complex and heavy. It has excellent lead tones, heavy single notes, and good bass response for an alnico. Fast palm mutes on the lower strings have an articulate yet sort of fluid sound if that makes any sense. Surpisingly, these even work well in basswood I'm told. Tim installed these in a lot of Jon Shaeffer from Iced Earth's basswood guitars prior to the recording of their newest album (which Tim himself performed on). He loved it and used it on the album.
Really you can sum up both the Nailbomb and the Holydiver as full, harmonically rich, clear and bold, with aggressive mids and loads of complex overtones. Not as tight or 'djenty' as the ceramic models, but definitely can excel in any genre of metal or rock that doesn't require processed or compressed tone. Like, I wouldn't recommend these to the guitarist for Chimaira or Pat O'Brien of Cannibal Corpse, but I definitey would to John Petrucci, Arch Enemy, Opeth, Amon Amarth, In Flames, Randy Rhoads, Paul Gilbert, TTOTD, Soilwork, Michael Romeo, etc.
winterlover
Banned
how bout in an RG1527 for black metal? say the world funeral era marduk sound, tuned ADGCFAD
Miracle Man or Cold Sweat.
hairychris
Hairy Old Bloke
Miracle Man would almost be a better fit for BM... sounds a bit more dry & sharp IMO, and fine if you aren't too interested in cleans from the bridge.
The CS, on the other hand, is fuller and will take anything that you throw at it. It's insanely versatile!
The CS, on the other hand, is fuller and will take anything that you throw at it. It's insanely versatile!
Agreed. However, he IS using an ENGL which already is pretty dry. I think the Cold Sweat might give his tone a little more complexity than the Miracle Man
I haven't but I hear good things. I may try one someday if I get the right guitar for it
hairychris
Hairy Old Bloke
Agreed. However, he IS using an ENGL which already is pretty dry. I think the Cold Sweat might give his tone a little more complexity than the Miracle Man
OK, fair enough.
The only Engl I've experienced for any length of time is the Invader 150 and that is far from a dry amp. Certainly the MM tightened my Dual Recto up nicely!
OK, fair enough.
Let's just say the Invader is very different than the Powerball and the rest
Yup, the Miracle Man is a great match for Rectos 
stux
Well-Known Member
Agreed. However, he IS using an ENGL which already is pretty dry. I think the Cold Sweat might give his tone a little more complexity than the Miracle Man
Im going to possibly be getting a BKP for my rg1527 (still trying to decide between BKP and Lundgren). I have a Powerball going through an Orange 2x12 with V30s and play stuff like Blub, Meshuggah etc, I'd picked out the Painkiller (with the MM as a slight possibility) as the best BKP for me, and when I emailed Tim with my rig he also said the Painkiller with no doubt, but what do you think would be best? I'm pretty much trying to get a nice, tight, articulate high gain sound.
Just trying to get as many opinions as possible from people in the know before I buy
edit: I think I might go with BKPs just for the fact if I dont like the one I go with, Tim is in the next county over and BKP have an exchange policy
Im going to possibly be getting a BKP for my rg1527 (still trying to decide between BKP and Lundgren). I have a Powerball going through an Orange 2x12 with V30s and play stuff like Blub, Meshuggah etc, I'd picked out the Painkiller (with the MM as a slight possibility) as the best BKP for me, and when I emailed Tim with my rig he also said the Painkiller with no doubt, but what do you think would be best? I'm pretty much trying to get a nice, tight, articulate high gain sound.
Just trying to get as many opinions as possible from people in the know before I buy
edit: I think I might go with BKPs just for the fact if I dont like the one I go with, Tim is in the next county over and BKP have an exchange policy
Oh yeah man, the Painkiller sounds right up your alley. It is absolutely perfect for the Bulb/Meshuggah kind of thing. It's obscenely tight, clear, with a high-midrange snarl/quack and gobs of 'djent'. I like it for my style because my VHT has the thick low-mids to counteract it. I know Bulb has been using a ceramic Warpig I sold him lately, which actually does the opposite (infuses low-mid brutality to his high-middy/djenty ENGL).
Yeah dude, by all means get it from Tim directly. Super convenient since you live so close
Did you hear -Nolly-'s clips of his Blackmachine with the Painkiller? Killer stuff. I also recorded a midtempo song for my band with the PK too that you can hear in the recording section if you're curious (the mid section really shows off the pickups characteristics I think you're after).
Best of luck, let me know how it goes
stux
Well-Known Member
Oh yeah man, the Painkiller sounds right up your alley. It is absolutely perfect for the Bulb/Meshuggah kind of thing. It's obscenely tight, clear, with a high-midrange snarl/quack and gobs of 'djent'. I like it for my style because my VHT has the thick low-mids to counteract it. I know Bulb has been using a ceramic Warpig I sold him lately, which actually does the opposite (infuses low-mid brutality to his high-middy/djenty ENGL).
Yeah dude, by all means get it from Tim directly. Super convenient since you live so close
Did you hear -Nolly-'s clips of his Blackmachine with the Painkiller? Killer stuff. I also recorded a midtempo song for my band with the PK too that you can hear in the recording section if you're curious (the mid section really shows off the pickups characteristics I think you're after).
Best of luck, let me know how it goes
Yeah I had heard Nollys before (sounds fucking unreal btw nolly god damn), and I just listened to your recording and yeah, that middle bit is the kind of thing I like. Cheers for the help, I'll be sure to post clips or something when I have everything and can get it recorded!
Hopefully I can order it at the same time as my cab so the poor Powerball doesn't have to put up with the muddy ass Ibby pickups!
My 7620 sounds amazing now that it's got the MM in the bridge.
My Carvin 7 is starting to see a lot more case time these days
It really works well in basswood and thru a Recto.
Now my Carvin (with the Nailbomb and the ColdSweat) thru my JSX
is on awhole different level.
Incredible range and versatility with those pickups thru that amp
The Nailbomb is probably the best sounding lead pickup I've ever played thru.
