Bareknuckle pickup decision.

[LotsOfGrease]

Hey everyone! I'm new to this, I've never done forums and I'm excited to get some knowledge dropped on me about pickups. Specifically Bareknuckle pickups. I play a Schecter banshee 7 passive model that came stock with the SD Nazgul/Sentient combo and it's been pretty solid since I've owned the guitar. I'd like to try something else though and I've heard bareknuckle pickups are of high quality for heavy music as well as other genres. The nazgul sounds great but I'd like something that is a little tighter that has a nice growl to it. I like bass for thickness but not to much or too little. I've been looking into either a ceramic warpig, ceramic nailbomb, or the painkiller. I'm open to any pickup or brand of pickup I've just heard great things about BK. I like the tones of Sworn In(deathcard album), Periphery(2nd album), Varials(In Darkness), and some lighter stuff like Belmont. I run my guitar through neural dsp plugins for my tones.

 

[Taikatatti]

Ceramic warpig is pretty much exactly what you described. If you are set on those 3 three then i would definitely go with them.

I would also throw brute forces into the mix, they’re described to be like less hot warpigs. I have a set in my alder body/maple neck ESP Horizon and absolutely love’em, they are my go-to bkp’s now.

 

[LotsOfGrease]

Thanks for the advice I'll have to check out the brute force I haven't heard them yet! My fear with the cpig is that it will be too bass heavy and make tight growly palm mutes too muddy. I've read that they are bass heavy but it's hard to hear in clips I've listened to.

 

[Taikatatti]

in my experience they're def not bass heavy. Thick and chunky yes, but not muddy. I don't think any of the pickups BKP offers would sound really bass heavy or muddy in that guitar, you should be pretty safe overall.

 

[LotsOfGrease]

It's definitely the top contender right now. I'm just not sold yet because I've heard so many great clips of the other two pickups. Tough choice

 

[TheBolivianSniper]

Yeah Cpig is definitely my favorite BKP, it sounds really really chunky and mean without being too loose. Arguably it doesn't do mid focused tones really well but it still cuts and doesn't get muddy. I don't think there's a single Bare Knuckle that doesn't do that really, my main gripe with them is they sound too thin or not compressed enough for my liking. Definitely Warpig and Nailbomb are pissed off enough for your applications, don't worry about the low end tightness.

 

[BabUShka]

Ive had Painkiller in a Dean Z and a ceramic Nailbomb in my JP6. For what your description i would recommend the nailbomb. Its very tight and muddyness is not a problem at all. Very aggressive sounding with a huge chugg to it.

Other that that, rebel yell is IMO one of the most underrated BKP for heavy applications.

The Painkiller is a very technical pickup. Its tight, compressed and thinner sounding whick makes it very clear sounding. Not my favourite but I imagine that if your into very modern "djent" and heavy tunings, thats what the pickup is intended for.

 

[LotsOfGrease]

I typically play in drop A flat. I kind of play "djent" sometimes. I guess I would like to be able to djent if I wanted but that's definitely not the main focus. I've been leaning towards the c bomb because it seems to get the best of the warpig and painkiller as far as not being to high and tight or to bassy. Would a warpig sound be similar to the tones knocked loose uses? I'm pretty sold on the c bomb but the c pig is still driving a hard bargain. By the way thanks for the responses thus far on the topic this far everyone!

 

[BabUShka]

I typically play in drop A flat. I kind of play "djent" sometimes. I guess I would like to be able to djent if I wanted but that's definitely not the main focus. I've been leaning towards the c bomb because it seems to get the best of the warpig and painkiller as far as not being to high and tight or to bassy. Would a warpig sound be similar to the tones knocked loose uses? I'm pretty sold on the c bomb but the c pig is still driving a hard bargain. By the way thanks for the responses thus far on the topic this far everyone!

I think all of the options you mentioned will be a great choise. I havent tried the warpig yet, I would love to sometime. But I really dig the Nailbomb. Just think that the Nailbomb is more hairy, like 80s inspired - but brutal as hell. While the Painkiller is a very modern and compressed pickup.

For now the Nailbomb is one of the tightest pickups ive played (i have EMGS, other BKP, Dimarzio, SD nazgul, Custom, JB, distortion in my other guitars).

 

[LotsOfGrease]

When you say hairy do you mean like fizzy?

 

[BrutalRob]

I had the ceramic warpig at some point and since you said you play in A, i think this would be too bass heavy.

My recommendation for a thick pickup that still has managable bass would be the Elysian Hellfire.

 

[BabUShka]

Yes

When you say hairy do you mean like fizzy?

A little bit, at least compared to pickups that are compressed and more smooth sounding. But kinda in a good way. Not metal zone land. It adds a lot of aggression to the pickup, together with a tight bass and overall tight palm mutings it good balanced.

 

[DoctorStoner]

Ceramic Warpig is AMAZING. It's been in my Loomis C7 pretty much since I bought it (in 2008). Sounds great in A or Drop G. Plenty tight but also super smooth, very predictable output and not over the top as you might expect with that DCR.

Been wanting to compare to a Brute Force Boot Camp but haven't ever grabbed one because the C-Pig is just so good.

 

[LotsOfGrease]

After talking with someone at bareknuckle I've narrowed it down between their recommendation, the aftermath or the cpig. Does anyone have any thoughts on the aftermath? Thanks again for everyone's replies it has been very helpful!

 

[Atefred]

After talking with someone at bareknuckle I've narrowed it down between their recommendation, the aftermath or the cpig. Does anyone have any thoughts on the aftermath? Thanks again for everyone's replies it has been very helpful!

I love aftermaths, to the point where I have them in 3 different guitars now (a duvell, an hype gtr and a solar). It seems to be a generally unpopular opinion around here, but they are kind of bonkers in a great way for downtuned stuff (2 are in f#, the other only in D, where it also works). For the ceramic bridge, low end is really tight, mids are really pushed and highs are cutting. They feel both tight and crazy aggressive / less controlled than juggernauts for example. Really responsive and very "dry", if that makes sense. Great for tracking.
The neck pickup is somewhere halfway in between a round air Norton type sound and a cutting sentient sound.
Highly recommended, though definitely not a neutral sound, so you have to like a bit of quack.
Hope it helps.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

After talking with someone at bareknuckle I've narrowed it down between their recommendation, the aftermath or the cpig. Does anyone have any thoughts on the aftermath? Thanks again for everyone's replies it has been very helpful!

Really depends what you want:

aftermath-tight, dry, mid heavy/ and kind of metallic/clanky ime. One trick pony for downtuned modern/djenty stuff imo.

c-pig =big chunky low end, tons of output, more balanced midrange, cleans up better, can do more than just modern stuff. My only complaint is that in lower tunings (eg below B) it gets a bit dark/muddy on the low end due to the low heavy voicing, though it can vary with the amp/guitar used.

 

[lurè]

After talking with someone at bareknuckle I've narrowed it down between their recommendation, the aftermath or the cpig. Does anyone have any thoughts on the aftermath? Thanks again for everyone's replies it has been very helpful!

I've always had the impression that bkp are prone to suggest the same 2/3 pickups. Modern=aftermath ; neck=cold sweat ...

The aftermath is very tight and dry, perfect for modern staccato stuff but a bit weak on palm mutes and big chords.

Personally I didnt like it at all, has a voicing that gets tiring really fast just like the Juggernaut.

 

[Lemonbaby]

After talking with someone at bareknuckle I've narrowed it down between their recommendation, the aftermath or the cpig. Does anyone have any thoughts on the aftermath? Thanks again for everyone's replies it has been very helpful!

I love the Aftermath, but it's not very bassy. IMHO it sounds like a refined Seymour Distortion.

 

[Emperoff]

I've always had the impression that bkp are prone to suggest the same 2/3 pickups. Modern=aftermath ; neck=cold sweat ...

The aftermath is very tight and dry, perfect for modern staccato stuff but a bit weak on palm mutes and big chords.

Personally I didnt like it at all, has a voicing that gets tiring really fast just like the Juggernaut.

Yup. I hated the Aftermath from day one. It's all of the bad of the EMG81 with none of the good.

The Juggernaut is apparently based on the Aftermath, but with A5 magnet and ceramic flankers which give it more body in the low end. I prefer the Juggs to the Aftermath but as mentioned, they retain that "spikey" nature and I got tired of them pretty fast too.

 

[LotsOfGrease]

I was worried about the spikey nature of the aftermath. I see how it's perfect for djent or really fast alternate picking riff kind of stuff. I incorporate some of that in my playing but maybe not enough to have a pickup that specializes in that. I'm still holding onto the thought of the cpig I'm just concerned there will be too much bass. Is there a pick up from BK that is similar to the aftermath that's a touch smoother/ not as dry with a little more bass?