I'm a passive pickup guy now!
- Thread starter Ermz
- Start date
NothingRemains
Member
Bare Knuckle Pickups. Been using Trilogy Suites, Nailbombs, Painkillers and also the new Aftermath and they´re pretty awesome though rather pricey.
Shinozoku
Senior Memory
Make sure you have properly shielded cavities in your guitar. Even a layer of heavy duty Aluminum foil can do WONDERS for cutting noise. Copper tape is better and easier, but more expensive. I believe you can find aluminum tape at your local hardware store that works nicely as well. If you have continuity issues with overlapping tape you can take a soldering iron and poke at the overlapping areas, melting the sticky stuff and creating a more direct connection between the aluminum parts.
::XeS::
Member
Some months ago I installed a BNK Nailbomb 7 string in a guitar.
The bass are very loud but the articulation and the dynamic of this pickup is ace...You have only to turn the bass down.
I found the SD JB a little "old" sounding for modern stuff.
I would like to try some Lundgren pickup but they are freaky expensive
The bass are very loud but the articulation and the dynamic of this pickup is ace...You have only to turn the bass down.
I found the SD JB a little "old" sounding for modern stuff.
I would like to try some Lundgren pickup but they are freaky expensive
Uros
Sonic Incision
Danny Drama
Member
- Jun 30, 2010
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guitarguru777
Member
welcome to the world of DYNAMICS!
That being said the Custom 5 is my fave in the Duncan line at the moment. Little hotter then a 59' but similar in tone with the Alnico V Magnets
Not quite as hot as the JB
That being said the Custom 5 is my fave in the Duncan line at the moment. Little hotter then a 59' but similar in tone with the Alnico V Magnets
Not quite as hot as the JBI have a box with half a dozen different Duncan's in it that I try periodically, but I keep coming back to using the JB in my guitars. I've been using that pickup for about 20 years and it just has a nice warmth, clarity, punch, and moderate output that I like. I've also tried EMG's, a couple Dimarzio's, and Suhr SSH+ but they didn't really do it for me.
A close second is the Custom 5. It's a bit thicker tone than the JB.
I think I'm partial to AlNiCo 5.
A close second is the Custom 5. It's a bit thicker tone than the JB.
I think I'm partial to AlNiCo 5.
Fifth_Horseman
Watch out, it's sharp!
I've never liked actives either, passive Seymours for me all the way. More dynamics, more fun to play for me. If a guitar I wanted didn't have them already, I usually ordered a set right when buying.
Depending on the guitar I've been going for either the Distortion, JB or Custom in the bridge. The Jazz is my favourite neck pickup, followed by the Distortion (neck version) for really creamy, middy leads. The Jazz is much better for clean sounds though.
My buddy recently bought a Jackson Rhoads with a Full Shred in the bridge, that one sounded really great and balanced as well.
Definitely check out the Distortion, awesome pickup especially for mahogany guitars.
Depending on the guitar I've been going for either the Distortion, JB or Custom in the bridge. The Jazz is my favourite neck pickup, followed by the Distortion (neck version) for really creamy, middy leads. The Jazz is much better for clean sounds though.
My buddy recently bought a Jackson Rhoads with a Full Shred in the bridge, that one sounded really great and balanced as well.
Definitely check out the Distortion, awesome pickup especially for mahogany guitars.
My gripe with BKPs is that certain pickups sound REALLY good in certain guitars and the same pickups might sound like shit in another. With BKPs, it's all about finding a good pair that work well in your guitar.
I had a Blackmachine B2 with Nailbombs in it that I thought was flubby, muddy and just overall very lackluster. The guitar itself played like a dream though and I wouldn't fault the sound of the guitar with the pickups to the builder at all, it's just the combination of tone woods with that particular pickup that were not to my liking. However, I have the same pickups in my Jackson SL2H and they absolutely SLAY in that guitar. Tightest, clearest pickups I've ever heard in my life with that guitar. I also had Painkillers in an Ibanez Prestige and I thought they were just "okay," they sounded good, but nothing to write home about over a good set of Duncans, however, I swapped the pickups in that guitar with the Duncans in my Les Paul and the LP came to life. Keep in mind, both of these guitars were using the same type of woods throughout each of them, the Ibanez actually weighed more than the LP, the only difference (besides the Lo-Pro Edge on the Ibanez) was the neck in the Ibanez was maple and the neck in the LP was mahogany, the difference in sound between the two guitars was GIANT though with the same exact pickup. The BKP just mixed much better with the Les Paul than it did with the Ibanez.
I had a Blackmachine B2 with Nailbombs in it that I thought was flubby, muddy and just overall very lackluster. The guitar itself played like a dream though and I wouldn't fault the sound of the guitar with the pickups to the builder at all, it's just the combination of tone woods with that particular pickup that were not to my liking. However, I have the same pickups in my Jackson SL2H and they absolutely SLAY in that guitar. Tightest, clearest pickups I've ever heard in my life with that guitar. I also had Painkillers in an Ibanez Prestige and I thought they were just "okay," they sounded good, but nothing to write home about over a good set of Duncans, however, I swapped the pickups in that guitar with the Duncans in my Les Paul and the LP came to life. Keep in mind, both of these guitars were using the same type of woods throughout each of them, the Ibanez actually weighed more than the LP, the only difference (besides the Lo-Pro Edge on the Ibanez) was the neck in the Ibanez was maple and the neck in the LP was mahogany, the difference in sound between the two guitars was GIANT though with the same exact pickup. The BKP just mixed much better with the Les Paul than it did with the Ibanez.
Maybe you guys are jaded with active pickups. I never used them, and then I got a guitar with an EMG 85 - and I still didn't really use it for a couple years until just recently. I've had quite the change of heart. The 85 is more tamed and has a sweet midrange bump, it's also not harsh and fizzy like I find my guitars with SD's and Dimarzios. But when I want to get a snarly, dirty, and gritty tone, the passives are definitely the go-to. (This could also be that the EMG equipped guitar is nearly 3x the price of the passives though!)
::XeS::
Member
APC's excel in this category, particularly the persuader lead in the bridge paired with either the felony x or syrinx. Great for just about any style really.
egan.
daylightdies.com
+1. The JB has been a noisy beast for me in a guitar where the single coils are dead silent.
What I like about EMG's is the predictability, but difference is fun and there are a lot of great choices worth investigating. I will say though that some of the things people are blaming EMG's for have to do with the cheap, non-resonant guitars they're constantly thrown into. Ironically this is the same phenomenon that got the JB a bad rap when it was the pup in every guitar on the wall.
ze kink
THE BLACK WIZARDS
I have the Lundgren M7 in my custom 7-string baritone (SD Jazz 7 in the neck position) and a pair of M8's in my custom fanned fret 8-string. Definitely the best pickups I've ever had in any of my guitars.
Never been an actives guy really, though I've only owned three guitars with them IIRC. An LTD SC607B, an EC-1000 and a Fernandes Vortex. They all had 81's in the bridge position (81-7 on the SC607B) and although they've got "that" tone that especially fits complex palm muted stuff, I was never into the lead tones and clean tones they had. And at the time, I was mainly playing shoegazey post-rock, so the guitars got sold and I moved on.
Never been an actives guy really, though I've only owned three guitars with them IIRC. An LTD SC607B, an EC-1000 and a Fernandes Vortex. They all had 81's in the bridge position (81-7 on the SC607B) and although they've got "that" tone that especially fits complex palm muted stuff, I was never into the lead tones and clean tones they had. And at the time, I was mainly playing shoegazey post-rock, so the guitars got sold and I moved on.
cyril_v
âª-â«-âª
- Feb 28, 2010
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Nice to see some duncan love for once, everyones usually yammering about BKP's, and I've tried quite a few of them and honestly only found one that I liked (though I don't have that guitar anymore).
Actives certainly have their place, but for the most part passives are my go-to's... I've got two guitars with crunchlab/liquifire, one with fullshreds, another with a lundgren m6 & fullshred neck, another with dimarzio blazes and the one with actives I switch between blackouts and 81-7x/60-7x. I definitely favor the lundgren and fullshreds and I'll probably switch at least one of the cl/lf guitars to fullshreds as well.
...that one.
Actives certainly have their place, but for the most part passives are my go-to's... I've got two guitars with crunchlab/liquifire, one with fullshreds, another with a lundgren m6 & fullshred neck, another with dimarzio blazes and the one with actives I switch between blackouts and 81-7x/60-7x. I definitely favor the lundgren and fullshreds and I'll probably switch at least one of the cl/lf guitars to fullshreds as well.
...that one.
