hunter":3q21fkps said:
Nice collection
How much impact did the brass block make?
How would you describe the HDs versus the AM in those axes?
thanks man
the brass block adds some beef, making everything generally louder. Acoustically you can hear a difference, and it just sounds like the guitars have more girth through my amps. Honestly, I wasn't sure I liked it when I changed the first one. It made everything louder, from lowend all the way to highend. After my ears adjusted, and I EQ'd around it, my other guitars sounded tiny in comparison, so they all got the blocks.
The HD's sound killer in the alder/maple combo. They add some low mids, so it thickens the guitar up, and they attenuate some topend, so it warms up the highs. They have a killer accentuated growl in the mid/upper mid that sounds like it came right out of the 80's. The lowend is big, but not as modern sounding as some other pups, less of the sub lows. Not as clinically tight as other pups like the PK or AM, but easily tight enough for thrash. Such a great lead pup too, the notes seem to ring out effortlessly, and it really reflects the dynamics of your playing. Probably my favorite lead pup I've tried so far. The neck pup is killer too. I'm not usually a neck player, I rarely move from the bridge. However, this is one of the first where i really like using the neck. It has a real vocal quality to it, and matches up excellent with the bridge.
The AM sounds very modern and tight. Lots of lows and sub lows, real modern crunchy snarl on the low powerchords and palm mutes. It just has that modern sound to it, where the HD to me sounds more 80's metal. It also has a pronounced growly mid, but not as "in your face" as something like the PK. I was worried about it being too thin and bright in the alder/maple combo, but I was completely wrong. I'm not sure I would like them as much in mahogany after trying this combo. The guitar sounds really big, but stays precise and tight. Great for those machine gun riffs where you want lots of clarity, with thick, tight, punchy palm mutes. They just have that modern metal sound to the lowend. The highs are a bit more subdued than the Painkiller, but more sizzle than the HD's, again making it more modern sounding. I really like it for leads too, very clear and pronounced, and doesn't get thin or brittle sounding. The neck seems to match well with the bridge, but has a bit too much of that "smear" for my tastes, more lows than I like in a lead tone, and not as "vocal" sounding as the HD IMO. I have yet to try it with any cleans though, lol.
rupe":3q21fkps said:
Nice axes...I love to see the spirit of modding/upgrading/personalizing alive and well
thanks man. Yeah, I love personalizing these guitars. For the pricepoint they are new, they are great platforms to build on.
what actually got me addicted to these things, was putting one together for a friend. We put it together out of parts. It's an American body, American neck, German OFR, BK Holydivers, mini lockers, CTS push pull, and Switchcraft switch and jack. It played and sounded crazy good, so I needed one after that.
