Which bridge pickup for my 68 Les Paul Custom?

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battery198

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Which pickup would you guys recommend for this guitar? Its a Mahogany body with a Maple cap.

I'm looking for a pickup that excels at heavier stuff, but still has some versatility.

I like the tone of my 500T in my flying V, how would a 500T sound in this custom?

I'm also looking at the Bareknuckle line, especially the Nailbomb and Painkiller.

Any recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks.
 
I have a set of painkillers in my '87 Les Paul Custom and a nailbomb in my '06 LP Standard. I prefer the Nailbomb, but I think the Painkiller would probably sound closer to the 500T. The Nailbomb has decent output, but not too much. It's open, pretty balanced and fairly aggressive. The Painkiller is more aggressive, has more highs and high mids, and it feels like it has more output. The Painkillers sounded really good when I tuned down to B and played some Carcass riffs, but I prefer the nailbomb overall. It's a great pickup and it's pretty versatile.
 
I have a WCR Icebucker in my 68 & it does what you ask in spades.
 
battery198":p3yslnp4 said:
Which pickup would you guys recommend for this guitar? Its a Mahogany body with a Maple cap.

I'm looking for a pickup that excels at heavier stuff, but still has some versatility.

I like the tone of my 500T in my flying V, how would a 500T sound in this custom?

I'm also looking at the Bareknuckle line, especially the Nailbomb and Painkiller.

Any recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks.
Hey dude, I sent you some PMs about your classified adds. Waitin for your reply
 
droptrd, I'll reply shortly, just got back into town.

The nailbomb sounds more appealing.

Not really looking for a straight up aggressive sound with all highs and high mids, the balance of the nailbomb sounds cool.
 
How about motor city pickups? Id recommend the Afwayu or the Solution.
 
Anyone have any sound clips of the Nailbomb in a Les Paul?
 
Haven't tried the Nailbombs. But I must say all bare knuckles I've seen in Les Pauls absolutely rock!

They are incredible pickups... Id go BKP... You should send Tim an email, he is the guy you want to be asking for recommendations....

I have 1 BKP LP right now with Mules, that absolutely rock for the classic tones....
 
Mules are great, as are Rio Grande bbq's.

I didn't like the Afwayu so much in a LP; too trebly

Giga
 
This is an Afwayu in the bridge of my 04 standard,sorry for the crappy clip but I just got the Q3 at the time and had stage fright :lol: :LOL:
 
sebby123":2nehm6rq said:
Coldsweats would sound amazing ala john syke!

Absolutely! The Cold Sweats are thick and tight, but still leave a little breathing room in the output for some versatility. The ceramic magnet makes it really chug and thump, but it isn't just a "metal" pickup at all, almost like a cross between a ceramic high output pickup, but with vintage flavor. Sounds great in Les Pauls, check out James Lugos pickup shootout and his tunes...a lot of his songs are a Les Paul with Cold Sweats.
 
battery198":37nlll1n said:
Which pickup would you guys recommend for this guitar? Its a Mahogany body with a Maple cap.

I'm looking for a pickup that excels at heavier stuff, but still has some versatility.

I like the tone of my 500T in my flying V, how would a 500T sound in this custom?

I'm also looking at the Bareknuckle line, especially the Nailbomb and Painkiller.

Any recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks.

Depends on the amp too, m'man... I'd go with BKP's - maybe the Emerald or Riff Raff for a hot traditional sound. Go with the Steve Stevens "Rebel Yell" signature series for real hot. And if you wanna go ballistic, get into ceramic Cold Sweats - but careful - ceramics are 'different'. I find alnico's fit Lesters time and time again... Just sayin'...

Best advice is to email Tim Mills at BKP with EVERYTHING you are looking for - as well as the amp, the guitar, etc. - and he'll NAIL the model on the head - period.

V.
 
the nailbomb isn't really middy
it's more like a metal PAF with a lot of output, punchy low mids and sharp top, but with that PAF type hollowness in the mids
like a duncan custom V, but punchier and clearer

if you want something between the nailbomb voicing and output and the painkiller ultra tight and mid heavy tone, then the cold sweat is your guy
it's tighter than the nailbomb, not as tight as the painkiller, has a bit less low mids than the nailbomb and painkiller, but a ton of crunchy upper mids
the cold sweat is actually a 10% underwound nailbomb with a thick ceramic magnet

I had the 500t, painkiller, nailbomb, afwayu, miracle man and some other BKPs, duncans, gibsons, EMGs
mostly in les pauls
my afwayu is actually replacing a nailbomb
it has similar output and picking response, but a lot more mid heavy and less smooth on the mids

my favorite pickup is actually a Riff Raff with thicker magnet
it's like a nailbomb without all the compression
VERY punchy and clearer than all the high output models
it sounds great, but Tim doesn't like changing his pickups specs, so he'll probably refuse to do that again, although he's the one who suggested the thicker magnet when I asked for more output
I wanted something thick and percussive like a Godwood or Icebucker, but without spending $200
and this Riff Raff really excels at this (it was one of Jon Schaffer's favorite pickups too)
I can play anything from Angus to Dimebag Darrell with it, even without a boost
:rock:

but I think you'd be very happy with the cold sweat (which I still have in another les paul) :D
 
luxxtone":3gety0by said:
sebby123":3gety0by said:
Coldsweats would sound amazing ala john syke!

Absolutely! The Cold Sweats are thick and tight, but still leave a little breathing room in the output for some versatility. The ceramic magnet makes it really chug and thump, but it isn't just a "metal" pickup at all, almost like a cross between a ceramic high output pickup, but with vintage flavor. Sounds great in Les Pauls, check out James Lugos pickup shootout and his tunes...a lot of his songs are a Les Paul with Cold Sweats.

I was going to expand why but this it perfectly! And this man know his pickups!
 
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