Dear Agony Aunt,

I recently came to the conclusion that I'm just not the "battery in guitar" type. I had upgraded the passive EMG's in my Zakk Wylde Epi to the 81/85 set, which is great for the heavy stuff, but to my mind falls very short of the mark when it comes getting sweeter tones for the more classic sounds.

My main guitar is a PRS that I bought in New Orleans in 1995, dragged it halfway across the states and brought it back with me. I love that guitar more today than when I got it, it just ticks all the boxes for me.

The ZW is my backup, but since I don't play much live these days I would like to get THAT tone from the guitar, and I wasn't getting it with the EMG's.

So I started trawling the web for some replacements. The "obvious" choice seemed to be the SD JB/Jazz set, but I must say that nothing I heard on the SD site impressed me. And I don't like the print on them. I didn't hear anything on Dimarzio's site that grabbed me either. I then came across the Gibson '57/'57+ set, listen to "Bridge Dirty" here ----> http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-USA/Les-Paul-Traditional.aspx

$210 for a set + $30 shipping + VAT

That tone is sweet, the ceramic pickups didn't do it for me.

Then I came across the Bareknuckles Black Dogs ---- > http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=humbuckers&sub=vintage_hot&pickup=black_dog

$270 for a set + $50 shipping + VAT :O

That is THE sound for me. When I listen to the BKP "Miracle Man", which are supposedly the passive replacements for the 81/85's, they just don't do it for me. What I love about the Black Dogs is how well they do both the classic and the heavy stuff. To me they sound even better in the heavy department than the MM.

Now the price is .... erm .... hectic considering the guitar I am putting them into, I then start thinking that to do them justice that I should also replace the wiring & Pots with something like this ----> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200559593246&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Another 800 bucks :/

Do the wiring / pots / plug / switch really affect the sound that much?

If I manage to get R1400 for my EMG's I'm down another R2000 going this route.

*cough*

So the question is, listening to the sample of the Black Dogs, what will get me there without having to take a second mortgage?

On the other hand, I really like this guitar, it's got a sweet natural sound and I'm not going planning of ever get rid of it, so why not, I think the Black Dogs will give me the classic Les Paul sound AND and awesome heavy sound without getting muddy. My PRS sounds like .... well .... a PRS, but it doesn't sound like a Les Paul.

Soooo .... I'm sure I'm not the first to go through this excercise, so I'd welcome some suggestions, bearing in mind the recording of the Black Dogs is the sound I'm after. Am I making too much of this, is there too much in the marketing hype and in the recordings? It's difficult to judge, since all the samples are recorded differently. I'm worried that I might set myself up for disappointment, perhaps I'd be just as well off with a set of Toneriders? http://www.tonerider.com/pickups/humbuckers.html
From the recordings the Generators and Rocksongs don't have enough of that mid range growl, the Alnico IV's sound a bit to tame to my ears ....

Please help!

Cheers,

Treb

The SD clips suck. They're very good pups. As long as you buy decent pups, it's all going to be a variation on a flavour. I'd say figure out the difference between alnico 2 and 5, and take it from there. Out of the Tonerider range, I'd stick to the A4s.

I think you're picking up far too much on the amp response than on the pickup. Being an avid user of handwounds, often I can't hear the difference, particularly when I have drive. So find out if your guitar is bright or dark and find a pickup that synergises with that, and what you're playing.

Thanks Mike!

I settled on a set of BKP Black Dogs, I'm just gonna take the plunge. I am satisfied that what I've heard is the kind of tone I'm after comparing them to the other BKP models. I would think that they use the same amp settings for the same riffs using the different pickups which should then factor out any relative colouration of the sound due to the amp.

A mate of mine is coming out on the 17th so I don't have to pay shipping.

I'll post my findings ....

Cheers,

Treb

djpauw wrote: Don't waste your money...

I have to agree fully with MikeM and as a first-hand experienced owner of the SD JB/Jazz set in my Korean LP (copy) I can with great confidence vouch for these pups. The recordings on the site don't do them justice.

Best part is they won't even cost you extra if you can sell the EMGs for 1400.... What did I pay for the SDs again Mikey? Wasn't it like 1400?

Anyhoo... I love mine and I am sure you will too. I'd hate buying something that much more expensive and the difference (if any) not being that significant....

Twas R1300 inc shipping to you ?

Ok, perhaps I need to add a few things to put my decision into perspective:

• I'm not after a high output pickup, I am looking for a more vintage tone. Any additional drive I need I can get from the rest of my setup.
• After shopping around I could only get a SD set for around R1,800.00, unless I ebay it.
• The black Dogs are 179 quid, which works out to just under R2000.00. I'll gladly pay the extra 200 bucks to get exactly what I want.
• I just don't like the look of the lettering on SD pickups
• I've searched high and low for a set of zebras. It seems there's nothing in the country except the Toneriders.
• Last but not least it comes back to what my ears tell me. I've just not heard anything (granted, online) that has convinced me otherwise (the closest was the Gibson '57 / '57+ set), and I am willing to pay a bit extra to get something that I like looks wise and is perhaps a bit more "rare". As I said my mate is bringing them over, So I don't pay shipping or VAT.

Thanks for your input, I must say if I could get my hands on a JB/Jazz set I would certainly be curious enough to try them, but I don't know of any shop that has a try-out policy like they do in the States.

Cheers,

Treb

MikeM wrote: Twas R1300 inc shipping to you ?

Wow, was that a GFSA Classified Sale or do you sell these?

Bareknuckles do seem very special. You pay for that of course. But what keeps me from abandoning the idea of getting a set is that the top pickups from SD and Gibson are not that much less. If they're the ones for you (and from the listening I've done of comparisons, I suspect they'll be the ones for me) go ahead. It's important to keep in mind that even if you flog the guitar at some point, you can put these top quality pickups into something else or have them snapped up without making much of a loss. So the price needs to be seen in context.

Gibson '57 classics are wonderful, but at just a little less than the BKs, well... the BK (mules in my case) sound more like what I want in particular. Not that I'm in the market anytime soon ?

Hey Singe,

I agree with you on this, I've just got my heart set on these, they tick all the right boxes.

Just placed my order ?

Treb

If you don't want high output pickups DO NOT get the JB/Jazz combo. The JB is as hot as passive pickups get. They're kinda love/hate. They suck for clean (too bright and twangy) but they're great for searing leads (IMO). The Bareknuckles seems awesome but expensive. There's other great PAF type pups if thats what you're after.

The Jazz is not as hot and I think its a nice pup. The '59s and Pearly Gates are great too as are the Alnico II Pro for a neck pup. (These are all Seymour Duncans).

If you can afford the Bareknuckles, they're prob your best bet and as Singemonkey says, you can keep them and put them into other guitars.

They've arrived!

I'm so stoked with the result, they have totally exceeded my expectations! I can't believe the clarity! The Orange Drops I ordered seemed to have gotten lost in our mail system, the original caps are still in the guitar, but I'm thinking of leaving them in there now.

I also scored the VAT, here's what happened: I ordered them from CODA Music to be delivered to a mate of mine who was coming to visit. The order ended up being late, so CODA shipped them for free AND reimbursed me the UK VAT, and when they got here all I paid was 30 bucks, no VAT!

So the final cost was R1700, and Mity88 bought my EMG's for R1200.

And there were some goodies in the packet, a set of Rotosound Strings and a BKP Pick.

Shweet!


By trebel at 2011-07-11