Aftermaths are not for me.....

[Larrikin666]

Like most people, I got caught up in the hype surround Bareknuckle pickups over the last few years as they've grown. I remember how excited I was a few years ago when I got my first set of Warpigs. Hitting that first palm-muted B flat after installing them was unreal. The Warpig is a monstrous pickup. The ridiculous amount of bass eventually got to be something I couldn't cope with. I understand what people liked about these pickups, but I had to dial out entirely too much bass to get what I needed. As I've matured (at least I hope so) over the years, my choices in tone have become more conservative. I've grown to dislike EMGs due to the lack of dynamics. I used D-activators for a very long time since they seemed like a solid hybrid of things I liked about actives and passives. I eventually switched to the D-activator X's to better suit a tone I needed.

At this point, I'm using a Tone Zone and PAF Pro in my RGR1570. I didn't select those, they just happened to come in the guitar when I bought it from another user. I was very surprised by the Tone Zone. This isn't a pickup I'd expect someone to recommend to me when I say I'm a death metal guitarist. However, it works pretty damn well for what I'm doing. It had a bit too much bass up front, but I didn't have to pull out a ton. It's incredibly tight for fast picking and stops, but I can also make it sound very heavy if I pick harder.

So.....

I've had a set of Aftermath 7s sitting on my floor for months and months. I thought about installing them in my JPX-7 initially, but I was never sure if I was going to keep that guitar or not. I really didn't get along with the CL/LF pickups in that guitar. There were just so many things about that set that didn't fit me at all. I understand what people like about them though. I eventually sold my ESP STEF B7 and JPX-7, but I really wanted to try the Aftermaths. The hype around these pickups almost had me foaming at the mouth. I decided I was going to install them in my 1527 even thought I knew I wasn't ever going to use that guitar live. I had to go through an unreal amount of hurdles to get the damn pickups installed. This weekend....it was finally GO TIME.

I walked into practice yesterday, plugged the 1527 into my Axe-FX, selected a patch suited for my style and tuning, and I started playing. Everyone in the room looked at me in horror. I could not have been more bummed. I really understand why djent fans go for these. Everyone in my band had the same reaction. There's just something about the midrange of those pickups that rubs me (and everyone in my band) wrong. It happens....these aren't for me. I was REALLY expecting them to be the answer for me. I bought a set of calibrated 7's and a 6 bridge thinking I'd absolutely fall in love. I was dead wrong. These are absolutely not going to work for what we need. I immediately thought maybe they were wired wrong, but everything is correct.

What now? I'm running out of options.

Miracle mans? D-activator 7s? I'm really at a loss.

We're going to start tracking guitars in the very near future, and I'm not sure how to the tone I want on our sevens. Our other guitarist is pushing me to figure out how to replicate the guitar tone on Soreption's latest album (with anyone using EMGs). Suggestions?

[NovaReaper]

Did you try any other patches? By definition, installing new pickups will change the sound of your guitar. You need to adjust and EQ your settings to best fit the new vibe that the guitar puts out. It may entirely be possible that the aftermath isn't for you, however it sounds like you didn't do a good deal of preparation or soundcrafting before your practice. The aftermath is incredibly versatile, i found myself being able to use it for almost any genre, including death metal.

[djpharoah]

BKPs aren't for everyone. It's okay man - you don't have to justify it. Sometimes shit just doesn't work and the defacto standards of DMZ and SD pups just work better.

[Larrikin666]

Originally Posted by NovaReaper

Did you try any other patches? By definition, installing new pickups will change the sound of your guitar. You need to adjust and EQ your settings to best fit the new vibe that the guitar puts out. It may entirely be possible that the aftermath isn't for you, however it sounds like you didn't do a good deal of preparation or soundcrafting before your practice. The aftermath is incredibly versatile, i found myself being able to use it for almost any genre, including death metal.

I tried using a parametric EQ to pull out the part of the midrange that I didn't like. Even after that, it sounded moderately better, but the low end still wasn't quite right. I'm used to making minor adjustments when using any new piece of gear. This isn't something I hear the potential in to get the sound I need. It's the same issue I had with the Crunch Lab.....which I also learned those two pickups have quite a bit in common.

[Konfyouzd]

It happens. I've only tried on BKP and it sounded pretty good, but I feel like I've always been able to get what I wanted out of most DiMarzio sets I buy and they're cheaper.

But if you must have a set of BKPs, I noticed you said you have a 1527. A friend of mine had a calibrated set of Cold Sweats in his 7620 and they sounded BADASS. He's a shredder and not a djent head at all. In my opinion the Cold Sweat and the Emerald are the best sounding ones I've personally heard in basswood.

People will suggest others, I'm sure, but I know nothing about the other ones, so I can't really speak on them.

Also, I have quite a few guitars and some of them just require that I do one of the following:

-Change the EQ (sometimes drastically) to fit my target tone in the current set up. I've found that when doing this, getting the neck and bridge pups to "balance" seems to be the biggest thing. I had a Blaze Bridge and a Liquifire 7 that I couldn't get to balance together to save my soul. If the Liquifire sounded good, the Blaze sounded bad and vice versa.

-Adjust my technique slightly to mesh with the tonal qualities of a guitar and/or pickup set.

-Simply play the guitar for a while and get used to its tone. I've had plenty of guitars where I'll set my tone with my main axe and if I'm absolutely determined to use the same patch sometimes after playing others for a while on that patch they actually start to sound okay to me and it just comes to be the tone I expect from that guitar. I've also found that playing several different guitars on the same patch can be useful in recording. For instance, I tend to only use one patch despite the fact that my guitars all sound pretty different. But I've noticed that on that patch Guitar A sounds way better than guitar B for rhythms and so on so I tend to use them that way as well.

I'd say if you're a death metal player give the DiMarzio Blaze Custom and/or Evo7 a try. The X2N7 is also a cool one. I personally like it's voicing for a wide range of sounds.

[blackrobedone]

I understand your dilemma. You can't come out and say the pickups suck when they really do. "It's BKP - the most expensive pickups in the world!" Kinda like my history with the VHT Pittbull UL (and BKPs) which I got accused of being a troll, a douche, a liar, and more, because I didn't like it. With the exception of Krank amps, on this site you gotta ride the fence and express your dislike in a reasoned, well-mannered tone.

Now I know no one will have the balls to accuse you of having the incorrect pickup height or a bad ear or being a bad player for this one. Thank God I won't have to read another one of those, "BKPs put out what you put in: if you can play, you will have an eargasm - hell, I just posted an audience member at my gig having a screaming, gaping ear creampie; if you suck, you won't like them because they will expose you for the worthless piece of crap player you are."

[Konfyouzd]

Whoa, what?

Isn't it usually a good idea to express your dislikes in a well-mannered tone when in mixed company?

Also, I wouldn't say they suck per se, just that they didn't work for this particular person. Plenty of folks on here seem to love them.

And how come no one gets upset when they say they don't like the Tone Zone 7? Stefan Forte rocks it like a boss...

[blackrobedone]

Oh, that was not directed at anyone in this thread, homey. Just me blowing steam from some of my posts. I'm always happy to find some like-minded guys here too.

[Konfyouzd]

Oh I know... I was just throwin' that out there for quick clarification before someone else jumped on you with something more abrasive.

[blackrobedone]

Yeah, it's best to express things in a well-mannered tone, but then you can't set up a joke about a gaping ear creampie.

Have you ever tried a Duncan Invader 7? It's the only pickup for me in a 7, I've discovered after at least 15 different tries with all brands, passive and active. I need something that crunches the low B, and with anything else the low B sounds like a bass guitar.

[cyril v]

*cough,cough* dontruleoutemgxseries*cough,cough*

[Konfyouzd]

Originally Posted by blackrobedone

Yeah, it's best to express things in a well-mannered tone, but then you can't set up a joke about a gaping ear creampie.

Have you ever tried a Duncan Invader 7? It's the only pickup for me in a 7, I've discovered after at least 15 different tries with all brands, passive and active. I need something that crunches the low B, and with anything else the low B sounds like a bass guitar.

This is the internet. Gaping ear creampies aren't a joke. That's real life, son!

[Larrikin666]

Originally Posted by cyril v

*cough,cough* dontruleoutemgxseries*cough,cough*

I've been curious about the X series. I modded all of my EMG equipped guitars to run on 18 volts in the past. That seemed to help added some dynamics and increase the headroom. The only issue with that was finding room for two 9 volt batteries. I'm mainly going to stick with passives at this point to avoid worrying about making room for a battery cavity. If I end up with another guitar down the line that has enough space to add a 9-volt, then I'd certainly be willing to give the EMG X7s or Blackouts 7s a shot.

Let me clear something up. I don't think they pickups are BAD. They don't suck. I stated very clearly that I absolutely understand what people like about them. I like Bareknuckle as a company. I think the construction of the pickup as a whole is excellent. It sounds like maybe some people are assuming I did this to bash the Aftermaths or Bareknuckle. That's absolutely not the case.

Two minutes after I posted this....I ordered two calibrated sets of Miracle Man pickups from Nick, so I still like the equipment....just not the Aftermaths.

Other suggestions are certainly welcome. I've long considered getting a Cold Sweat to use as a neck pickup. I play a few solos here and there, but the other guitarist handles the vast majority of that territory. I'm mostly the the guy playing 16th note riffs behind his shredding insanity.

[Quitty]

Taking into account your D-activator fondness and Aftermath attraction - have you tried Rebel Yells, or Emeralds?

RYs are not as modern as any of the pups you've stated, but they're as tight as the Aftermaths - and with a rock-ish midrange. Furthermore, they're essentially lower output pups, or at least act as such - meaning they've got a deeper sounding bass with less volume - sort of a hi-fi lower-end with less volume than you'd expect.

As for Emeralds, i've heard them compared with RYs often but i don't have any first-hand experience so i'll abstain.

Sorry to lead you back the path-of-many-pennies, but i do think BKPs are worth it. To me they've always sounded like the perfect blend between Dimarzios (accurate but processed-sounding) and Duncans (very raw-sounding).

[Konfyouzd]

I played the Emerald. I don't know how it stacks up to the Rebel Yell, but I can tell you that it is VERY clear and articulate and the tone is more versatile than its classification on the BKP website would suggest.

But I'd say it's definitely voiced well for several subgenres of metal.

[ZOMB13]

I was that way with DiMarzio Evolution pickups, the hype about them from Jemsite was what made me get them (I had barely 6 months of guitar playing) and I did love the neck model, bridge did not go well with me...

I don't know if your the same way, but I don't like to re-Eq my patch to accommodate a new set of pickups, all my guitars have different pickups and I don't find it logical to change the patch every time I switch guitars, I want the pickups to work with what I have and not have everything revolve around whatever bridge pickup I get, that's why I've gone through EMGs, Seymour Duncan, DiMarzios and just recently had good luck with BKPs.

[technomancer]

I really didn't like the Painkillers, not all pickups are for everybody. The guitar I've been playing most recently has a set of Mules in it and my only six string has a set of Suhr Aldrich pups

I'm realizing I just don't like super-hot pickups for the most part.

[Triple-J]

Try an SD Full Shred 7 string they're articulate incredibly versatile and sound great when coil tapped but the best thing is that they're very well balanced eq wise which means adding more bass/mids/treble is left entirely up to you.

[anne]

I like my 808X, but dynamic it is not. Fun pup, but don't be oversold by the hype on EMG-X either.

[Konfyouzd]

I mean it's still an active pup...

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you want a passive that acts like an active or an active that acts like a passive you're probably in the closet about your pickup preference...

[Adam Of Angels]

It could be the fact that you have them in Basswood - Aftermaths + Basswood is a really really weird combo.. Basswood is already insanely mid-rangey, and already has a strange low end. Most pickups act strangely in basswood

[Larrikin666]

Originally Posted by Adam Of Angels

It could be the fact that you have them in Basswood - Aftermaths + Basswood is a really really weird combo.. Basswood is already insanely mid-rangey, and already has a strange low end. Most pickups act strangely in basswood

I was thinking the same thing. I'll probably hang on to them and try installing the set in my mahogany/maple Hesperian 727 one day. Basswood drives me nuts. LOL. It's a weird tone wood.

[Konfyouzd]

It's not that weird. I feel like most DiMarzios sound stellar in basswood. I take this to be because Ibanez tends to put a lot of them in their higher end axes and Ibanez uses a shit load of basswood.

I may have read too far into it, but it's cohesive at the very least.

Although individual pickups from a particular brand may favor one tonewood or another it seems that DiMarzios overall seem inherently predisposed to a life in a basswood guitar.

Perhaps BKP goes another route....?

[Adam Of Angels]

I will always admit to loving Basswood, but I will always admit that I feel it to be a moody, picky wood as well.

[USMarine75]

IMO Tone Zone / Air Norton is one of the best and most versatile pickup combos out there. They aren't perfect for any one style (except maybe 80's shred) but they sound really good in any style. If you were upgrading over IBZs maybe you would have been more impressed...