Rig-Talk

Straight foreword question,

For versatility I usually use an ‘01 PRS swamp ash with stock McCarty pickups.
Been my #1 for many years.
Clean to mean it covers a lot of ground.
This guitar + whichever Diezel, does almost everything well, except super high gain chunk.
The bridge pickup is a bit too woolly for that.

For all out crushing crunch, a 70’s Greco LP with a JB in the bridge.
The JB adds some beautiful high mids to the Diezel sound.
Sounds like Tool in a box.

What do you guys use?

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NB

Well, I only have a Herbert and I've only had that for about 5 months, but so far, I've been liking my BKP A-Bomb and Holydiver the best. The BKP Crawler and SD Distortion sound pretty good, too. Personally, I've never been a big fan of the SD JB, but I've got one laying around. Based on your comments, sounds like I should give it a try.

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Lundgren M7
No doubt

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AMPS:Mesa Recto F,Mesa Mark V,Mesa TC 50,Diezel Herbert MK II,EVH 5150 III,KSR/Rhodes Colossus 100,Friedman BE100,Soldano Slo100,Fractal Audio AXE FX II
Guitar:Suhr Custom 24,Suhr Custom Classic T,Suhr Custom Set neck 24,Suhr 80 Shred MK II,Suhr S2,PRS Modern Eagle 1,Gibson 1959R,Gibson 1957 Custom,Jackson Misha Mansoor HT7,Strandberg Sweden Made Custom 7,Fender Lenny NO.1,Knaggs T1,Chapman Guitar T ML3
Pedals:Frotin 33,Forin Grind,Fortin Zuul,Keeley Mod TS9DX

The Painkiller I have in my supersrat sounded nasty good with the Herbert I owned.

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"Give me liberty, or give me Death" Patrick Henry



Good transactions with: JerEvil>>apophis>>DragonCrestPC>>hammered>>Hardvalve>>lowmantotempole>>FLYINRYAN11>>bwgintegra

Stock PRS Custom 24s into a VH4S. I know a lot of folks change out the pups but I don't hear hear the need. YMMV

Martin

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BC Rich and PRS Guitars
Diezel Bogner Marshall PRS and Mesa Boogie Amps
Diezel Mesa Boogie Marshall and Genz Benz Cabs
Lexicon Rocktron MXR Malekko Wampler Dunlop and Boss Effects

Good Deals with: renholder lespaul3013 EyesOfTheSouth BigSwerve

All mahogany Gutierrez custom guitar with an 81 into either my herbert or dmoll.

Herbert is king.

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A candle looses nothing by lighting another candle.

Proud to be a Texan. Even more proud to be American.

Les Pauls with high output humbuckers.

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Fender...Gibson...Diezel...Mesa...Gretsch


Good Deals with: mhenson42, Hacksaw, barnesjd, jet66, cyndicate, themarkmiller, MOOSEHEADS, Mklane, guitarsignals, losyboy23...

Can't comment on the Diezel, but I have many high gainers. Since you have a PRS, original PRS T&B pickups are the best IMO, cut, clarity, nice tight lows. I put a 1985 PRS reissue treble in my 2015 Custom 24, it's the best. Been through several PRS pups.

SD Jazz/Distortion
Suhr Aldrich Set
BK CS/Miracle Man

... anything Alnico V or Ceramic in the 16-17K Ohm range.

PAF-type pups can work too... but depending on the voicing, they can lack the kick, and umpf on the front-end I like from a higher output pickup. If you play more rock-modern rock... PAF-type pups may work great for you. A bridge in the 8.5-9.0K range is a good place to start. Not a fan of actives... they sound cool for the first 5 minutes, but quickly loose the luster and little pick changes/nuances I hear with passives.

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Excellent transactions with: sjk (S: Soldano SLO 100), glip22 (S: Gibson Historic LP R7), MrPlexi (S: Suhr PT100), Metalhead (S: PRS SC-250 AP), killertone (S: Diezel Herbert), tlingen (S: Engl SE EL34), fuzzyguitars (S: PRS Tremonti Trem & Gibson Historic LP R8), xzyryabx (S: Engl Savage 120), Devilinside (S: Randall Satan), DarkCide: (S: ESP M-II), Mizati20 (S: PV 6505+), bartmcartman (S: Bogner XTC 101B), thaifoo (S: Engl Savage 120), lester (S: Bogner UberKab 4X12), adrenalinejunky (S: Fryette UltraLead), gbsmusic (S: Fender EVH Wolfgang), savant421 (S: Bogner UberKab 4X12 cab), ams2ek (S: Mills Acoustics 4X12 cab), blastcap (S: Gibson Explorer), braciola (S: PV EVH Wolfgang USA), splawner (S: Wampler Plextortion), mhenson42 (S: Celestion V30 speakers), Gsxrbusa (S: Jackson SL2H), El Mariachi (S: Suhr Koko Boost), braintheory (S: Engl SE EL34), and many more.

This right here.

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Excellent transactions with: sjk (S: Soldano SLO 100), glip22 (S: Gibson Historic LP R7), MrPlexi (S: Suhr PT100), Metalhead (S: PRS SC-250 AP), killertone (S: Diezel Herbert), tlingen (S: Engl SE EL34), fuzzyguitars (S: PRS Tremonti Trem & Gibson Historic LP R8), xzyryabx (S: Engl Savage 120), Devilinside (S: Randall Satan), DarkCide: (S: ESP M-II), Mizati20 (S: PV 6505+), bartmcartman (S: Bogner XTC 101B), thaifoo (S: Engl Savage 120), lester (S: Bogner UberKab 4X12), adrenalinejunky (S: Fryette UltraLead), gbsmusic (S: Fender EVH Wolfgang), savant421 (S: Bogner UberKab 4X12 cab), ams2ek (S: Mills Acoustics 4X12 cab), blastcap (S: Gibson Explorer), braciola (S: PV EVH Wolfgang USA), splawner (S: Wampler Plextortion), mhenson42 (S: Celestion V30 speakers), Gsxrbusa (S: Jackson SL2H), El Mariachi (S: Suhr Koko Boost), braintheory (S: Engl SE EL34), and many more.

I use Dimarzo PAFs, but I cannot say that other pickups may not be as good or better...

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Diezel VH4 KT77
Peavey 6505
Diezel Lil Fokker
Diezel 412 FL V30
Diezel 212 FL V30
ESP Horizon NT II
ESP Horizon NT II
USACG Strat Kinmans

Really liking my esp with het set emg’s. BRUTAL
My superstrat with a jb sounds badass also

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- Heavy Metal Lefty -
AMPS: Friedman Butterslax+ / Diezel Herbert MKII
CABS: Friedman 412:15 / Diezel 412-FL-V30 / Avatar 412-FL-K100 custom
Lefty Axes: Mayones / ESP / Bunkman / Ibanez / Fender / Ovation

+1 here - the Diezel seemed a little more sensitive to the "active vs passive" thing than a lot of other amps we tried that day, and sounded particularly brutal with the ESP that had EMG's in it.

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Fun fact: My name is Dave. Dan Burton was the name on my fake ID in college.
Guitars: PRS (x7), Gibson (x10), Fender (x7), Ibanez (x3), Charvel (x2), EBMM (x2), Dean, Parker & Martin.
Amps: Friedman (x3), Soldano (x3), Diezel (x2), Mesa (x3), Wizard, Splawn, Marshall (x3), Voodoo (x3), Fender (x2), Bogner, KSR & Ceriatone.

Japanese made esp horizon string through with afwahu in the bridge.. Sings like no tomorrow!

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Great deals with: AlienRocker, bwgintegra, code001, bognerluv, metalhead, mhenson42, tonemonster, Mizati20, blessedadversary777, jkdsteve, EMG77, Garey77, Rockstarnick, King Guitar, Detroit ABA, Warhead78, Engage757,

Bare Knuckle Rebel Yell pickups are what I have in all eight of my Les Pauls through a VH4. You will not be disappointed.

+1 on the BKP Rebel Yells. Sounds good through everything, not just my Diezel Herbert. Just a great, great pup!

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Never tried BKP’s but want to in my too warm sounding McCarty with 57/08 ..
How does the Rebel Yell compare with the Holy Diver through Herbert?

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NB

Well, the Rebel Yell is a slightly lower output pup. It's more vintage sounding, but not so much that anyone could mistake it for anything other than high-output. It's got a great upper-midrange bite to it that's never harsh. It's a little tighter and cuts a little easier (I've never had any difficulties getting the Herbert to cut, though).

The Holy Diver is a darker sounding pup. Basically, BKP's take on an "original" spec JB. Not sure how accurate that description is, I don't have any old JBs or the new Antiquity JBs with which to compare. Anyway, it's definitely a high-output pup, singing mids, and the perfect amount of lower-mid It's a little looser, but not so much that the Herbert can't still sound as tight as... (pick your euphemism here).

If I was going to compare these to stereotypical amp sounds, I'd say the Rebel Yell is to a Marshall what a Holy Diver is to a Boogie. They're both great, they just have their own unique sounds. My favorite is the Holy Diver at the moment, but that could change tomorrow. Personally, I don't think you could go wrong with either, just my opinion. As they say, YMMV.

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Used to have the Rebel Yell's myself. But now I use the Seymour Duncan Distortion SH6 and I prefer it.

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TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE DISASTER
"Part doom, part sludge, part stoner, part post-rock, Exegesis is all win. It’s a marriage of inspired songwriting, highly skilled performance, and close-to-perfect production engineering.”
http://www.nocleansinging.com

I used to have either SD Distortions or Custom Customs in just about all my guitars. The BKP Rebel Yell, to my ears, is probably closer to the SD Custom than it is to the SD Distortion. I think the BKP Nailbomb is closer to the SD Distortion. For now, I'm using just about the entire range of BKPs in almost all of my guitars, but I do still have an SD Distortion and a Custom Custom around in two of them.

So much has to do with the guitar itself, and so much of it is just personal preference. Definitely, both SD and BKP make some great pickups!

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Funnily enough I had the Nailbomb in a bunch of guitars too! Think I just prefer the Distortions tighter low-end.

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TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE DISASTER
"Part doom, part sludge, part stoner, part post-rock, Exegesis is all win. It’s a marriage of inspired songwriting, highly skilled performance, and close-to-perfect production engineering.”
http://www.nocleansinging.com

Yeah, I typically prefer alnico more than ceramic. In my case, the rounder highs and warmer mids are worth it. The Herbert doesn't have a problem keeping the low end more than tight enough for me.

Have you ever tried the ceramic Nailbomb? Just curious. I've got one that I'm getting ready to install in a Charvel. It's certainly tighter than the alnico Nailbomb and a little more cutting. Could just be me, but I think the Distortion still has more mids than the C-Bomb. It's been awhile since I had my C-Bomb installed, though, so I can't be sure.

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Just checked my email receipts and it looks like I had the alnico, so not really sure on the ceramic Nailbomb. Maybe that's why I prefer the SH6 then! Be interested in trying to a ceramic Nailbomb as a comparison, but their prices have gone through the roof in recent years!

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TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE DISASTER
"Part doom, part sludge, part stoner, part post-rock, Exegesis is all win. It’s a marriage of inspired songwriting, highly skilled performance, and close-to-perfect production engineering.”
http://www.nocleansinging.com

IDK, maybe... I think the Distortion has more mids inherently than the Nailbomb. I once tried putting an A5 in a Distortion. It was too mid-dy for me and lost some of its definition in both the highs and the lows. The standard ceramic sounded best to me in the Distortion. The A-Bomb is the pickup I'd hoped the A5-equipped Distortion would be. So, I'm thinking that it has slightly less mids by default. If I remember correctly, that's why I liked the A-Bomb better than the C-Bomb, but that was years ago and in a very different guitar.

Once I get my C-Bomb installed again, I'll let you know what I think, if you'd like. Should be in a couple of weeks.

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Gibson Les Paul with Seymour Duncan - Saturday Night Specials. Best pickups I've ever tried and I've tried TONS of pickups during my +30 years as a session guitarist playing all styles from Smooth Jazz to Metal.

Mahogany body/neck - Dual humbucker route - BKP BlackHawks (Alnico) ... Going strong for several years dont think I will ever change them as long as I have the VH4
Alder body/Maple neck - 3 single coils route - Bardens with chunky bridge wind ... Had these pickups for about a month... So far liking the change from custom shop 69s

Duncan JB in my PRS Singlecut

My Ibanez RG with a BKP painkiller set sound absolutely beautiful. 3D mids, and a sort of mystical quality to it.

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Diezel for days

Playing my Diezel Herbert with my Gibson Les Paul with Seymour Duncan Saturday Night Specials sounds the best to my ears. Best pickups I've ever had in my +37 years as a session guitarist.
Its awesome for Cleans, blues, hardrock and even metal. Very warm and open sounding and extremly articulate.
Don't care much for the Suhr SSV+ and SSV. Will change them for something else. Don't know which one's yet though.

I havent played them but i have heard clips and till now the EVH pickups where the best sounding i heard recorded. I also dig the suhr pickups with the Herbert.

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My Free Backing Tracks:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Shadowsrig/videos

What is is that you don’t like about the SSV pickups ?
I haven’t had the pleasure myself, but I hear good things and clips.
Was thinking of trying an SSV+ in the bridge of one of my McCartys.

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NB

The ceramic nailbomb is amazing! I just got a mayones Regius custom that has a BKP c-bomb bridge and VHII neck. Those pickups in that guitar sound brutal and beautiful with my Herbert mkII. Def one of my faves now!

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- Heavy Metal Lefty -
AMPS: Friedman Butterslax+ / Diezel Herbert MKII
CABS: Friedman 412:15 / Diezel 412-FL-V30 / Avatar 412-FL-K100 custom
Lefty Axes: Mayones / ESP / Bunkman / Ibanez / Fender / Ovation