[Zugster]

Originally Posted by zilong

Is the SG bright or dark? I'm starting to think that the Nailbomb's dangerously close to the my tolerance limit, but that may just be due to me being used to my maple Ibanez.

My Gibson SG is all mahogany. No maple cap, but a bit brighter and crisper than a Les Paul due to it being a thin body. I have no idea what you mean with the "dangerously close to my tolerant limit" remark. Huh???

[zimbloth]

The Nailbombs should work great in your SG, but it depends on what kind of sound/response you're looking for. I think what Zilong meant is, the Nailbomb (despite it's articulation & heavy aggressive tone) is very punchy/thick, it feels like it there were any more thickness it may be too much.

I have a Mesa 22+ also and the Nailbomb sounds fucking awesome with it. That said, depending on what kind of tone/response you're looking for, another model might be more to your liking. Really just fill us in on what you're looking for specifically and we can help.

[Zugster]

Originally Posted by zimbloth

The Nailbombs should work great in your SG, but it depends on what kind of sound/response you're looking for. I think what Zilong meant is, the Nailbomb despite it's heavy aggressive tone is very punchy/thick, it feels like it there were any more thickness it may be too much.

I have a Mesa 22+ also and the Nailbomb sounds fucking awesome with it. That said, depending on what kind of tone/response you're looking for, another model might be more to your liking. Really just fill us in on what you're looking for specifically and we can help.

The reason I'm asking this way, is I did something silly - and bought a set of used nailbombs on ebay. Relatively cheap. It was an impulse buy that I didn't really think through. One odd part of the deal is the pair is in double cream with no covers.

I have an SG and an LP custom. The SG has nickel hardware and the LP is black & gold. Both already have pretty good pups - 57s in the SG and burstbucker pros in the LP. I can't really bear to mess up the classic looks of the LP, but I might be able to deal with the way double cream looks in the SG. Otherwise I'd sell them off to break even.

I like punchy and thick. I'm into metal, hard rock and classic rock. I am not much of a shredder though. I like heavy rhythm tones and melodic leads.

So, should I use 'em in the SG or sell them... and upgrade some time later with something else?

Also... I just ordered a new set of pre and power tubes for the 22+ from Doug. Hope it solves the hum problem (I suspect a microphonic tube). Can't wait to hear it after that!

[zimbloth]

Originally Posted by Zugster

I like punchy and thick. I'm into metal, hard rock and classic rock. I am not much of a shredder though. I like heavy rhythm tones and melodic leads.

That's definitely the Nailbomb, give 'em a try since you have them already. If you find you like it but want something a little brighter, there are several ceramic models which I think would sound great in mahogany.

Originally Posted by Zugster

So, should I use 'em in the SG or sell them... and upgrade some time later with something else?

Personally I'd sell them and get a set with the cool nickel covers to match the rest of your guitar, but you can just try 'em out first so you can see if they're for you or not before committing

Originally Posted by Zugster

Also... I just ordered a new set of pre and power tubes for the 22+ from Doug. Hope it solves the hum problem (I suspect a microphonic tube). Can't wait to hear it after that!

Like I said I have the 22+ also and I personally never found a hum issue inherent with the amp, however I do find EL84 amps in general are somewhat feedback prone. Nothing a Noise Gate can't solve

I don't know what tubes you got, but I really like the Tung Sol 12AX7s and JJ EL84s.

[s7eve]

I agree with Nick and think the Nailbombs would be great in that guitar for your sound, but would add that the reason you should try them first is so you have a base to work from. If you try then and think, god I love these but they would be perfect if....... you can tell Tim that and he can recommend the perfect pickup for you before you spend any more money.

[Zugster]

I've had them up for sale - for what I paid. If they don't move by the time I get my amp sorted with new tubes, then I'll probably put them in the SG. The thing is I don't solder and don't have a soldering iron. I'll have to pay my local shop to do the p'up install - which I think will run me $50.

[zimbloth]

Originally Posted by Zugster

I've had them up for sale - for what I paid. If they don't move by the time I get my amp sorted with new tubes, then I'll probably put them in the SG. The thing is I don't solder and don't have a soldering iron. I'll have to pay my local shop to do the p'up install - which I think will run me $50.

$50? Soldering is REALLY easy. It took me just a few minutes to install mine once I got everything set up. Still, in my experience people will do it for $20-25. If someone is asking $50, go somewhere else. There has to be a lot of music shops in Chicago

[lobee]

+1

Go to Radio Shack or somewhere near you and pick one up. 30-40 watts should do it. Watch some videos on youtube about how to solder to get the gist of it and then practice on scrap wires. That's what I did and it really pays for itself. I've since done 3 more pickup swaps.

Once you get them in the SG you'll know if you like them or not. If anything if you don't like them you have a nice baseline to go from if you decide to get a different set of BKPs. You can describe what you didn't like about them or rather what you want differently from them and get the set for you.

I'm in a similar situation, I got a set of nailbombs from ebay and put them in my SG. The neck pickup sounded great but I the bridge had something physically wrong with it from the seller. I'm sending the set off to Tim to have a look at them for me so I can't really tell you how they're going to sound.

[jllozano]

having just installed my nailbomb in my baritone 6, and having previous experience with bk pickups, let me warn you people that these pups are REALLY sensitive to height....also if you can adjust the individual intonation screws to match your bridge's radius....you WILL notice a very positive difference as long as done correctly.....

[Zugster]

Originally Posted by jllozano

having just installed my nailbomb in my baritone 6, and having previous experience with bk pickups, let me warn you people that these pups are REALLY sensitive to height....also if you can adjust the individual intonation screws to match your bridge's radius....you WILL notice a very positive difference as long as done correctly.....

Hmmm... I guess that shouldn't be surprising. I would imagine you'd want to take care to make sure they aren't too high. Too much output and too much magnetic drag to dampen string vibration. The screws on the pickups though - those aren't intonation screws, but rather for pole piece height, right?