Members C-Dawg Posted September 16, 2011 Members Share Posted September 16, 2011 I have a Motor City Pickups Afwayu pickup in the bridge of my '68 Reissue Les Paul Custom. I play hard rock and some metal (think Alter Bridge, Killswith Engage, Trivium type tones...) The Afwayu that I have in there now seems harsh in the high end. It gets a little tiresome after a while, it kinda starts grating at my ears. I've had this pickup in the guitar for a few years now and never seemed to have gelled with it. I didn't really like the original pickup that was in there either, which I think was a '57 classic. Anyways, so I have been thinking about getting a new pickup for a while now. I have a duncan custom with an alnico 8 magnet in it that is in my epiphone les paul and I really like it. It sounds clear in the highs with strong base but not flubby at all. I don't want to just put the same pickup in this guitar though, I want something different, just to have two different types of tones. I really want to get a pickup that sounds very throaty and growly. I guess that would mean I want something with a lot of grinding mids. This has led me to consider the Bareknuckles Pickups Painkiller. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this pickup in a les paul custom? I've heard a lot of people say that it is a middy pickup, and that is the description it gets on their website. I don't necessarily find my les paul to be a middy guitar. I guess it is on the bright side. I'd like to have very tight but very present base along with strong mids; my guitar will take care of the treble so I don't necessarily need a pickup with a lot of highs. Does anyone here think this would be a good pickup for my application? I'm tired of my $500 epiphone les paul sounding better to my ears than my $3000 les paul custom. Also, what configuration should I go for? I have a gold cover on my Afwayu so it would look stock. I was wondering if an open coil pickup would look better and whether black coils or zebra coils would look best. Look at my guitar and tell me what you think: Give me suggestions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pepi Posted September 16, 2011 Members Share Posted September 16, 2011 Get an vintage one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ZeroCool7 Posted September 16, 2011 Members Share Posted September 16, 2011 Duncan 59s' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members '63-Strat Posted September 16, 2011 Members Share Posted September 16, 2011 I love 57 Classics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C-Dawg Posted September 16, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 16, 2011 I dunno if the 59's have enough output. I have one in the neck position of my epiphone and I do love it as a neck pickup tho! I felt like the 57 classic had the same type of harshness in the highs (just not as severe) as my afwayu. Thats why I think it is perpetuated by my guitar, hence maybe finding an aggressive pickup only with less high end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members '63-Strat Posted September 16, 2011 Members Share Posted September 16, 2011 I dunno if the 59's have enough output. I have one in the neck position of my epiphone and I do love it as a neck pickup tho! I felt like the 57 classic had the same type of harshness in the highs (just not as severe) as my afwayu. Thats why I think it is perpetuated by my guitar, hence maybe finding an aggressive pickup only with less high end. Weird, I think the 57 classics are anything but harsh in the highs, they're much smoother than burstbuckers etc. Though I haven't heard them with an ebony board which could be what's going on. I've heard good things about duncan antiquities too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundgardener75 Posted September 16, 2011 Members Share Posted September 16, 2011 Look into the P-Rails Hot. It uses A8 magnets instead of A5. Then just have a push-pull pot so you can use the P-90 mode and bring the rawk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ENdtime Posted September 16, 2011 Members Share Posted September 16, 2011 I have a painkiller that I would sell ya. Its tight and definitely has a hi mid that sort of accentuates the tightness, while adding a lot of attack. Clean settings, they sound really big and warm. Under distortion they sound like I described. Loud, tight and a lot of attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Skunx Posted September 16, 2011 Members Share Posted September 16, 2011 I would go black open coil with that guitar. Email Bareknuckle and tell him what you want and get his recommendations, though the Painkiller seems like it would be a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crunchtime Posted September 17, 2011 Members Share Posted September 17, 2011 I dunno if the 59's have enough output. . Mark Morton from Lamb of God uses the 59. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lord ToneKing Posted September 17, 2011 Members Share Posted September 17, 2011 Rio Grande BBQ would sound good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members colejustesen Posted September 17, 2011 Members Share Posted September 17, 2011 Rio Grande BBQ would sound good I was thinking the Rio Grande Crunchbox myself.... It is an awesome pickup!!! EDIT: This clip was using a Rio Grande Crunchbox and Marshall DSL 100... The guitar was an LTD MH-1000, which was all mahogany except the rosewood fret board.http://netmusicians.org/files/13-The_End_of_Heartache.mp3 Cole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C-Dawg Posted September 19, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 19, 2011 Wow, thanks for all the suggestions. I'll have to check these pickups out. I used to be interested in the rio grande BBQ pickup until I read a description that said it had a loose low end, and I definitely don't want that. I'll email bareknuckle today and see what they suggest. I guess I could also just put the '57 custom back into the guitar and give it another go. I just figured that if I was gonna go through the trouble of changing out the pickups, I should at least put a new pickup in there . Those painkillers have always intrigued me, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted September 19, 2011 Members Share Posted September 19, 2011 I would go for a 500T or Dirty Fingers. It will do what you want just fine, it's a Gibson pickup (to keep things somewhat stock) and it won't cost you an arm and a leg. Some lesson to be learned there: I'm tired of my $500 epiphone les paul sounding better to my ears than my $3000 les paul custom. I still haven't found any "boutique" pickup that justifies the increased cost over the tried-and-true SD, DM, Gibson etc. But YMMV. Also, open coils would look absolutely killer on this guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundgardener75 Posted September 19, 2011 Members Share Posted September 19, 2011 I still haven't found any "boutique" pickup that justifies the increased cost over the tried-and-true SD, DM, Gibson etc. But YMMV. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ShaneV2 Posted September 19, 2011 Members Share Posted September 19, 2011 I would go for a 500T or Dirty Fingers. It will do what you want just fine, it's a Gibson pickup (to keep things somewhat stock) and it won't cost you an arm and a leg. Some lesson to be learned there:I still haven't found any "boutique" pickup that justifies the increased cost over the tried-and-true SD, DM, Gibson etc. But YMMV. Troof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members "sasquatch" Posted September 19, 2011 Members Share Posted September 19, 2011 seymour duncan alnico 2 pro in the bridge and neck or in the neck with a custom 5 in the bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C-Dawg Posted September 19, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 19, 2011 I would go for a 500T or Dirty Fingers. It will do what you want just fine, it's a Gibson pickup (to keep things somewhat stock) and it won't cost you an arm and a leg. Some lesson to be learned there:I still haven't found any "boutique" pickup that justifies the increased cost over the tried-and-true SD, DM, Gibson etc. But YMMV.Also, open coils would look absolutely killer on this guitar. While I 100% agree with you on this (I self admittedly love my alnico 8 modified duncan SH-5), I don't really think that bare knuckle and motor city pickups cost that much over the gibson that you recommended. To buy new (which I know I wouldn't have to with so many 500Ts available used), I would only save about $10 over a bare knuckle sent to my house from across the pond in the UK. I don't think $10 is too much to sacrifice to try something different. If I was looking for something like a PAF type of pickup, I would have no problem staying with tried and true brands like SD, DM, or Gibson. But since I am looking into trying something different, thats why I was asking for some advice on the painkiller. I know it is a love-it-or-hate-it pickup so I wanted to get peoples opinions on both sides about it. I may just say screw it and get another SH-5 and an alnico 8 magnet and put it in my LPC, I still haven't decided. Thanks for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C-Dawg Posted September 19, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 19, 2011 seymour duncan alnico 2 pro in the bridge and neck or in the neck with a custom 5 in the bridge. I'm starting to wonder if I just don't like alnico 5 magnets. I love the alnico 8 in my SH-5 though (same pickup as the custom 5 only with a different magnet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted September 19, 2011 Members Share Posted September 19, 2011 While I 100% agree with you on this (I self admittedly love my alnico 8 modified duncan SH-5), I don't really think that bare knuckle and motor city pickups cost that much over the gibson that you recommended. To buy new (which I know I wouldn't have to with so many 500Ts available used), I would only save about $10 over a bare knuckle sent to my house from across the pond in the UK. I don't think $10 is too much to sacrifice to try something different. If I was looking for something like a PAF type of pickup, I would have no problem staying with tried and true brands like SD, DM, or Gibson. But since I am looking into trying something different, thats why I was asking for some advice on the painkiller. I know it is a love-it-or-hate-it pickup so I wanted to get peoples opinions on both sides about it. I may just say screw it and get another SH-5 and an alnico 8 magnet and put it in my LPC, I still haven't decided.Thanks for the advice! It's true, but the used market is full of Gibson pickups for cheap. I recommend buying used if you don't know exactly what you want and you're just trying out different flavors. You can re-sell it and break even if it's not for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members "sasquatch" Posted September 19, 2011 Members Share Posted September 19, 2011 I'm starting to wonder if I just don't like alnico 5 magnets. I love the alnico 8 in my SH-5 though (same pickup as the custom 5 only with a different magnet). well, 5 and ceramic both have tight attack. the alnico 2 pro has a bit more smooth attack, but has incredible harmonics. probably not the best for a bridge pup if you are playing tight, aggressive music but they sing in the neck like no other. don't know nuthin' bout no 8s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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