# Aftermath vs Blackhawk hellllllllllppppp!!!!



## airr (Aug 7, 2012)

Finally jumping on the bare knuckle bandwagon, but can't decided which set to actually buy. I've heard nothing but praise for the aftermaths, but those new blackhawks look schmexy as hell. If anybody can offer and advice or give me their opinion on either set it would be much appreciated.
I'm putting them in an Ibanez RG 7321L (maple/walnut neck, basswood body)
Cheers guys!

airr music's sounds on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free


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## chopeth85 (Aug 7, 2012)

take a look at this video, in this they compare 4 bk , inc. black hawk and am

BlacKat Guitars - 7 string test - YouTube


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## airr (Aug 7, 2012)

Thanks dude! Whys that video only got 125 views! I think my favourite was the black hawks, but they all sounded pretty tasty.


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## mniel8195 (Aug 7, 2012)

from my understanding the aftermath is going to be tighter and aggressive and the blachawk is going to sound bigger more bass and more musical.


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## Purelojik (Aug 8, 2012)

sheesh that coldsweat sounded icepicky. 

but the aftermath has a focused mid and bottom. and to my ears, the blackhawks mid range isnt a spike like the aftermath but more of a broader Q you'll hear the sorta midrange Quack in that video. i love that sound.


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## purpledc (Aug 8, 2012)

which one gos "djent, djent, djent," better? 


From the video my vote definitely goes to the aftermath


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## Khoi (Aug 8, 2012)

that was a fantastic comparison of all those pickups, probably one of the best ones I've heard. You could definitely hear the character of each pickup

from what I was hearing, albeit through my crappy ear buds, was the Aftermath was a tighter and had a more focused sound compared to the Black Hawk, while the Black Hawk was slightly more "full", covering a wider spectrum (more bass).

the Dimarzio was overly bass-y and fuzzy. by far the least favorite

The Cold Sweat was definitely the most different out of the bunch, a lot tighter and middier/treble-y. The most focused of the bunch, didn't quite cover the lower spectrum

personally liked the Aftermath over the Black Hawk, it'll definitely be my next BKP


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## requiemsoup (Aug 9, 2012)

Damn the coldsweats sounded thin. 
I liked the aftermaths. The Blackhawks, to me, sounded almost the same as the aftermaths, but with a tad more beef; although I am listening through some cheap headphones.. I think with the right EQing, you could get those 'hawks to sound pretty tight. 

Speaking of tight, your soundcloud is amazing. Keep it up dude!


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## TRENCHLORD (Aug 9, 2012)

Blackhawks sounded fuller in the mids to me. 
Aftermath and crunchlabs were very close
Coldsweats sounded empty through the lower half in comparison, good high-end clarity


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## Amanita (Aug 9, 2012)

do take into account that the guitar with Aftermath was sapele/mahogany and the guitar with BlackHawk was poplar/maple if memory serves me right.

edit. 2 of my friends have Painkillers in their basswood bodied Ibanez guitars. the combo seems work very well for them, even if it's not my kind of sound


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## jbard (Aug 9, 2012)

I have to agree with the people that said the blackhawks sounded more full and the aftermaths more focused and aggressive. I need to get some aftermaths in a guitar, they seem right up my alley.


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## BlacKat Guitars (Aug 10, 2012)

Hi, 

Please notice that each guitar has different specs, as Amanita mentioned already:
1. Tiger - Sapele + mahogany neck
2. Leon proto - 2cm maple top on meranti body and mahogany neck
3. Leon white - poplar and maple neck
4. Tiger Baritone - Sapele+mahogany

For Rg7321 I'd go with Black Hawk.


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## iRaiseTheDead (Aug 10, 2012)

What kind of music do you play?  Personally I'd go for Aftermaths


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## airr (Aug 10, 2012)

iRaiseTheDead said:


> What kind of music do you play?  Personally I'd go for Aftermaths



soundcloud.com/airrmusic

Check it out man!


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## taphappy (Aug 17, 2012)

BlacKat Guitars said:


> For Rg7321 I'd go with Black Hawk.



Any reason? I'm in the same situation - 7321. Haven't had that much experience playing with different wood (eh? eh? - eh. nm ) BUT, the Black Hawk seems to be a hair more even than the Aftermath. The Aftermath seems more aggressive in the low end/mids. This is through studio monitors and headphones.

I've been skipping back and forth between the two for 30 minutes now. Gonna get this riff stuck in my head next week, and go "What the  is that ing from?"



Great vid, btw. Thanks!!


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## BlacKat Guitars (Aug 17, 2012)

I'll play some Justin Bieber next time 

What you hear in a vid is aftermath in sapele guitar with mahogany neck. Great combination. I'm not that crazy about aftermath in brighter sounding wood. Blackhawk is in poplar body (white guitar). Extremely bright wood and sounds very good like that. My intuition tells me that you will have too much "ringing" sound in rg7321 "lame basswood" body (it's cheaper guitar so basswood that they used is not the same as you find on MM JP etc). Another idea is Nailbomb.


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## taphappy (Aug 17, 2012)

Hey, now. Don't diss the Biebs. If he were born in Sweden, he'd be one of us.

Aw crap. And of course they have more options. Thinking Black Hawk ceramic bridge/alnico neck? Or would the heightened bass response of the ceramic likely bring out the ring?

Sound clips on the lower right side of the BKP Black Hawk page:

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=humbuckers&sub=contemporary&pickup=black_hawk


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## olli576 (Aug 18, 2012)

I'm on the same boat here, wanting to convert from stock actives to passive and not sure whether to go for aftermaths or black hawks, or even nailbombs.
They'd be going in an rga72tqm (mahogany bodied with quilted maple top, rosewood fretboard and maple neck)
I've heard aftermaths in person through an EVH 5150 and it sounded really nice although I thought the high end was a little harsh


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## danger5oh (Aug 21, 2012)

taphappy said:


> Hey, now. Don't diss the Biebs. If he were born in Sweden, he'd be one of us.



Sig worthy. 
I think I'm more torn than ever. Originally wanted to pick up a set of Aftermaths, but the Blackhawks are sounding more and more convincing.


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## legolas151 (Aug 24, 2012)

I own an AM 7 Set and a BH 6 set... I'd say both sound perfect in different ways.
The black hawks are fuller and even clearer than the AMs for chords and so.
The AMs are tighter and more percussive (due to the strong attack they have).

If you want a fuller sound (also for djent chugs), I'd take the black hawks.
If you like fast staccato single string riffing, I'd ONLY go for the Aftermaths


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## Whammy (Nov 2, 2012)

Just finished a comparison between the two pickups. Check it out if you want 

Aftermath vs Blackhawk


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## Khoi (Nov 3, 2012)

that mix sounds really damn good. wow. fantastic job dude

it was hard for me to choose which I liked more, but I think I'm leaning towards the Aftermaths


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## Vicious7 (Nov 3, 2012)

Mmmm. Blackhawks....


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## Djentliman (Nov 3, 2012)

if you're worried about a bright pup in a bright guitar, i would at least strive for something alnico based to even out the highs. On a side note, i have an Alnico nailbomb in my ash bodied LTD and it sounds killer. not too harsh. not too dark. it is a great all around metal pup and it has a very warm clean sound.

<---you can barely see it in my profile pic.


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## Whammy (Nov 4, 2012)

Khoi said:


> that mix sounds really damn good. wow. fantastic job dude
> 
> it was hard for me to choose which I liked more, but I think I'm leaning towards the Aftermaths



Cheers man 
I still can't decide which I prefer. If only they made a pickup halfway between these two


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## Redmetal (Nov 6, 2012)

Hello! I was recently in the same point, And finally i decided to get the Black hawk 7, And i'm pretty happy with them, I think i've made the right choice, I don't have many tests of the pickup tough, the only one that i've got uploaded i didnt put so much effort in the playing, neither in the distortion (guitar rig...) because it was a drum test but if it helps, i'ts ibanez basswood guitar 7 string here it is Prueba baterias: bateria+guitarra by Icarus91 on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free 

I vote for the Black hawk!!


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## captcoolaid (Nov 6, 2012)

I say Aftermath. From the few clips i have herd it just seems to have more clarity and individual note seperation. From a winders pov it is a homerun on all fronts.


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## MF_Kitten (Nov 9, 2012)

The thing that strikes me about almost all demos of the Aftermath, is this incredibly focused sound. You could call it narrow, but it's not in a negative way. It's just tuned to that specific tonality. It's got a very prominent midrange and a really agressive bite, and a tight low end.

This video kinda communicates that sound really well:


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## MF_Kitten (Nov 9, 2012)

I think this will be helpful too, since Misha plays with blackhawks in the first clip, and then aftermaths in the second, through the same setup and everything:




Ignoring the fact that it's 6 string VS 7 string, you notice a huge difference there.

Aftermaths seem to really go for that meshuggah-inspired "quack" in the overtones that inspired a whole bunch of "OMG HOW DO I GET DJENT TOANZ" threads a few years ago. If only this had existed then


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## CTDguitarist (Nov 10, 2012)

BlacKat Guitars said:


> Hi, Please notice that each guitar has different specs, as Amanita mentioned already: 1. Tiger - Sapele + mahogany neck 2. Leon proto - 2cm maple top on meranti body and mahogany neck 3. Leon white - poplar and maple neck 4. Tiger Baritone - Sapele+mahogany For Rg7321 I'd go with Black Hawk.


 is it a ceramic or alnico black hawk? _Posted from Sevenstring.org App for Android_


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## Rectionmaarten (Aug 20, 2013)

I've got a skervesen 6 string with black hawks and I must say I definitely like the black hawks for some riffs (like the djenty bouncy riffs on single strings), but for chugs and fast riffs they sound a bit too bassy by my opinion.
I think the aftermath sounds tighter and also a bit less bright, so more aggressive. I haven't tried them though.


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## RagtimeDandy (Aug 20, 2013)

I think full Alnico V Blackhawks would fit extremely well and be well rounded. I have Aftermaths in a basswood guitar and I find them a hair too bright and dry. Agreed that Blackhawks are too flabby for really fast riffing, but they still sound great as far as I'm concerned. I consider the Aftermaths to be the absolute perfect death metal pickups, but I much prefer the versatility and organic sound of the Blackhawks over the very compressed sound of the Aftermaths.

It really depends what you're going for. If you want extremely fast, tight riffing and awesome clarity, get the Aftermaths. If you want versatility and a more organic sound, you can't beat the Blackhawks.


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## Matt_D_ (Aug 21, 2013)

The only real solution is to buy an identical guitar and put BH's in one, and AM's in the other.

right?

I was in the same boat as you. And was originally going to go for AM's in my RGD. I swapped last minute to some BH's as I wanted a bit more all round versatility as the BH's are amazing clean. It did take me a while to dial in and get used to the bridge (ceramic) pickup, but I'm now really happy with the BH's. I'm keen to lob AM's into my beater squire tele (with p90's!) though for shits and giggles.


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## Alphanumeric (Aug 21, 2013)

1. Blackhawks
2. Crunch Lab
3. Aftermath
4. Cold Sweat

Basically the cold sweat doesn't really cut it for anything but djent, its way to high mid and present focused at the cost of being fizzy and having too-tight bass

The aftermath, after having 1, sounds as I expected, cloudy and honky as flep, tight bass, smashy highs, not really a fan.

Crunch lab is the most crushing out of all of them haha, big but not boomy bass, flat mids, and nice smooth highs for melodies/solos sounding sweeter and chords resonating how they should.

Blackhawks sound the best here, grinding, snarling mids, bass as good as the crunch lab except a little more clarity, wicked sparkly highs.


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