pickups

[kim]

was going to wait with this post but i just got home and i'm bored,

i think i might beef up the mustang a bit this spring or summer and i want some pickup tips, the ones in my cij mustang sound alright but i miss power, they sound a bit 'boxed up', especially with heavy distortions or fuzzes, like there's a pillow in front of the pickups... so i want something a bit hotter.

here's a few of the PU's that got my attention because of the descriptions:


-KINMAN HX 85 STRAT PICKUP
Kinman Hx 85 Strat Pickup, designed especially for the bridge position for those who like a hotter bridge pickup. fat, thick tone with the most output of all Kinman Strat replacement pickups. performance that is almost equalling that of a P-90 without the Hum. 9.5 K-ohms; Resonance 2.7KHz; Inductance 4.4 H; Very high output 

-Fender Lace Sensor Red Single Coil Pickup Red/White 

-KINMAN AVN 56 STRAT PICKUP
Kinman AVn 56, Strat Pickup, Classic Authentic unaged Vintage sound with no noise & low string pull. twangy mids, sweet trebles , commanding presence, detailed twangy low mids and very dynamic response. ideal for Virtuoso, Rock, Blues, Surf, Instrumental and Country playing. The AVn-56 captures the essence and beauty of classic vintage Strat* sound in its entirety, including the full bass response of vintage pickups. The special low string-pull Alnico-5 magnets result in more sustain, less fret rattle & clutter and negligible 3rd & 6th string warble (Strat-itis) (Un-aged tone) Sweet, twangy & ultra responsive, Resistance: 5.6 K-ohms, Resonance 3.4KHz, Inductance 2.19 H; Surprisingly strong output 

-KINMAN AVN 48N TELE PICKUP
Kinman AVn 48n Tele Pickup, designed to retain the stock appearance with the traditional Nickeled cover but to sound like an original Tele neck pickup with the metal cover removed. With this pickup you get more snap and sparkle, increased presence, bright twang and increased dynamic range and output than a regular Tele neck pickup with a cover on. It 6 Alnico rod magnets that yield a delightfully captivating midrange character. This complexity of tone sets Alnico pickups apart from alternate magnet designs, which sound a little on the empty/bland side by comparison. The string outputs are balanced, no more dull D strings. (neck pickup with special magnetically invisible Nickeled cover) 7.8 K-ohms, Resonance 3.5KHz; Inductance 2.2 H; 


-Rio grande dirty Harry

single coil pickup with p90-ish sound

-Rio Grande dirty harry jr.

lower output version of the dirty harry



what i'm looking for is a pair of pickups that work well together (if you've tried combinations of any of these pickups plz poast your opinion)

soundwise they need twang, clarity, punch, you know, not too dull sounding, especially for the cleans.
but i also need pickups that can sound real mean and almost droning like a humbucker with a heavy distortion or fuzz (hence the P90 like sounding singles).
So i gotta be able to get everything from twangy surf sounds to doom and everything inbetween link post punk/garage/noise.
..So not too sterile/nice/smooth sounding.

i've no idea wether it'd be a good idea to combine different pickups from different makers and different characteristics like combine one of those dirty harries with a kinman or something..

[euan]

I know Lamp likes the Bare Knuckles he put in one of his guitars. I'm thinking of using one of their P90s in my Tele project because the clips I've heard are awesome.

[kim]

i've heard good things about them also, kinda forgot about them.. didn't see them at thomann or MP though, are they US made or Uk ?

will check them out

[euan]

UK made and you can buy them direct from the website http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/

I remember hearing a set of Irish tours and wanting to put them in my Mustang.

[euan]

Amazing. You can get a chrome cover for their P90s. That might look cool in a Tele neck position. I was going to do black but the chrome might be a cool homage to the lipstick. It's that or black I think.

Daphne blue+rosewood board and a white pickguard. I can't see cream or white working.

[kim]

you're gonna paint your tele daphne blue euan ?


i saw rio grande do pearloid/glitter pickup covers, funny

also.. a tele looks handicapped when it doesn't have a pickup with a chrome cover in the neck


i checked the website, right now there's not really one of them that sticks out to me but i'm gonna check the soundsamples at their forum

[euan]

My double bound RobertOG Tele is getting painted Daphne Blue. I've decided since I've given up on girls and I'm not so keen on boys sexing Teles is the best way to go.

[mickie08]

Amazing. You can get a chrome cover for their P90s. That might look cool in a Tele neck position. I was going to do black but the chrome might be a cool homage to the lipstick. It's that or black I think.

Daphne blue+rosewood board and a white pickguard. I can't see cream or white working.

THey look cool with a chrome p90 in the neck, I had one.

[analogsystem]

Kinmans are the absolute best strat-style pickups I've ever used. Wire your mustang in series to beef it up! For reals.

[kim]

not gonna replace them myself, don't know crap about it, i'm just gonna get the PU's and have them installed by a dude at a guitarshop here

[analogsystem]

guitar shop dude should be able to wire the mustang for a series setting.....for reals it will make your guitar sound killer for "tougher" sounds. I wired mine up that way and I just use neck only for cleans and series for dirties. The other sounds (parallel and bridge only) never get used.

[filtercap]

Be aware that a Tele neck pickup is smaller than a Mustang pickup and may look a little undersized in a Mustang pickguard hole.

[kim]

PU's in series, i'll talk about it with him, thanks for the tip man !


the tele pickup.. i wonder if it will really add that extra snap and twang to my sound, i'm really interested in the P90-like singles because the main reason i'm thinking about changing the PU's is the distorted sound, i want it to sound more upfront instead of boxed up and have some humbucker characteristics but without the mud

[Mike]

My double bound RobertOG Tele is getting painted Daphne Blue. I've decided since I've given up on girls and I'm not so keen on boys sexing Teles is the best way to go.

ROLF

We need to hook you up next week. If we don't meet girls you can take Doog home.

[filtercap]

the tele pickup.. i wonder if it will really add that extra snap and twang to my sound, i'm really interested in the P90-like singles because the main reason i'm thinking about changing the PU's is the distorted sound, i want it to sound more upfront instead of boxed up and have some humbucker characteristics but without the mud

I think of Snap-n-Twang as the domain of the "underwound" single-coil. Maybe not exactly underwound, but at least not overwound the way a lot of hot-output pickups are advertised to be. Pickups are often made more powerful by increasing the number of wire windings in the coil, but the coil acts like a fixed Tone control and filters out the high frequencies where the Oh Snap lives. The more windings in the coil, the more highs the pickup filters out of your sound. With the highs filtered out, the sound is described as fatter/warmer/etc. which is exactly what some people want, and it's louder too.

The pickup's resistance rating (in K-ohms) is directly related to how many windings it has. So the more power, the less twang, and the other way around.... until you start messing with the strength of the magnets and the size of the coil. Which I guess is where the P90 comes in.

Check out this article for info on how different pickup designs (coil shape, magnet strength, one vs. two coils, etc.) result in different sounds. At the end, the author says he likes moderately-wound pickups (not overwound), but with larger magnets. He may be describing your sound... or something like it?

http://www.guitartechcraig.com/techpckp/pickups.htm

[kim]

yeah, it's the sound a schizophrenic would be after eh ? lots of contradictions, and i can only replace two pickups on the stang so i don't know how one will react to the other


thanks for the info, i'm learning , checking out the link, there's some very interesting information there !

[filtercap]

yeah, it's the sound a schizophrenic would be after eh ?

Yeah, but normal people make boring music.

I wish there were a way to slap various pickups on a guitar and see how they sound without first committing to buying the pickup and then tearing the guitar halfway apart.

[Thom]

I know Lamp likes the Bare Knuckles he put in one of his guitars. I'm thinking of using one of their P90s in my Tele project because the clips I've heard are awesome.

Absolutely - these are amazing pickups. And the guy, Tim, is really helpful, if you mail him and describe what you're looking for he'll suggest which of his pickups would be best suited. He is also happy to tweat his pups to your needs - you can ask for hotter versions, different magnets etc. He did me lefty staggered pups for my Strat.
I've got BKP92's in my Jaguar and Trilogy Suite in my Strat. Both guitars are so responsive and have amazing clarity.
There are lots of sound clips on the BKP forum - check them out.

[kim]

ya. bookmarked their website so i can send them a mail later on