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Post by stratznhatz on Feb 18, 2011 14:21:21 GMT -5
Ordered a new pickup yesterday for my Stormshadow axe as I'm not totally happy with the tone of the Bare knuckles 'cold sweat' (all £100 worth of it!) that's currently fitted.
It's replacement will be a 'cheap' tonerider rocksong (lousy name!). I've heard lots of good things about tonerider pups, and at only £25 shipped I thought it was well worth a try. It uses vintage style alnico II magnets and has 12k DC resistance, and is billed as a supercharged PAF, whereas the cold sweat has ceramic magnets and 14k DC res.
I'm hoping it will sound more like my 80's Kramer Pacer which uses Schaller golden 50's (I think), which are PAF clones, and it has the best tone of any guitar I've ever owned so far, real fat and smooth and despite being fairly low output (around 8k) really make my amp sing. Just before I bought the Pacer I remember Jim saying how the old Pacers were 'tone monsters' and he was absolutely right!!!!
I'll give you an update of how it sounds after I get it installed. ;D
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Post by nickwellings on Feb 19, 2011 7:26:32 GMT -5
The late great Shawn Lane always said lwoer output 8-10k is best. I agree. Notes are more articulate and so on.
I tried Toneriders. They do the job very very well. A very well substantiated rumour has it that they are OEM on Squier Classic Vibes. And Classic Vibes sold a shed load.
I had a set of Alnico 4 pickups (humbuckers). Swapped em into a Squier strat, (the stadnard squier) and the neck was outrageously beautiful. Hands down the most gorgeous warmest yet (due to maple neck and scale) articulate neck sound I ever heard. Made me just pla and pla it. Bridge, not so good in that one.
Toneriders rule, IMO!
Please let us know how you find the Rocksong.
For the record, rhythm guitar dude in my band uses Irongear stuff. Also cheap, also sounds fine.
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Post by stratznhatz on Feb 19, 2011 7:57:52 GMT -5
Thanks for that info Nick, I did look at the Irongear stuff as well but plumped for the Tonerider because there were so many good reviews. Good to know that there are some decent cheap alternatives to the Seymour/Dimarzio onslaught. And the price of Bare knuckles pups is double even their prices! Should get it next week and will let you know how it sounds as soon as I get it installed. I'm just hoping that 12k output won't sacrifice the tone any. If it does I'll try an alnico IV or the alnico II classic which are both around 8.5k. That's the beauty of the low price, you can afford to experiment a bit! You can buy three of these for the cost of a JB or something, including delivery! I seem to prefer lower output pups, and use an overdrive to boost as I need it, Maybe it's just my playing style or something (something about the way I play seems to bring out the highs) but whenever I've played anything too 'hot' I always find it a bit thin and nasal sounding. It's just each to their own I guess. I'll keep you posted...  |
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Post by heem6 on Feb 20, 2011 14:43:39 GMT -5
I had a Tonerider Generator high-output bridge pickup in a Jackson I ended up selling. It reminded me of a very nice JB. I still plan to put that pickup in another guitar someday, I liked it.
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Post by stratznhatz on Feb 20, 2011 15:19:40 GMT -5
That's good to know Jim, I haven't really heard many bad things about them, but it's nice to hear people whose opinions I can trust say the same!  I shall post my honest review once it's installed. By the way, it's in Zebra! ;D |
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Post by nickwellings on Feb 20, 2011 18:55:24 GMT -5
Zebra pickups confuse me...! Seriously. Like, why not have just one colour? THEY LOOK ODD!
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Post by heem6 on Feb 21, 2011 1:05:43 GMT -5
Au contraire, mon frere! ;D
Will be interested to know what you think of that pickup, SNH. 
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Post by stratznhatz on Feb 21, 2011 2:56:45 GMT -5
Yep, looks awesome Jim!  Ha Ha Nick! I guess it's just down to personal taste again. I just love zebra pups, and, so it seems does Jim! One mans meat is another mans poison! ;D |
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Post by stratznhatz on Feb 23, 2011 16:30:41 GMT -5
Well, pickup arrived Monday and I installed it that night. First impressions playing through my practice amp were that it sounded like a slightly weaker version of the BK cold sweat, still sounds a bit nasal to my ears, nowhere near as fat as the Kramer. I checked the wiring and found I had the ground lead hooked up with the wrong lead (Bare knuckles and Toneriders have the same colour wires but configured differently) but even when I put that right the sound hasn't really floated my boat. I'm beginning to wonder if there's something wrong with the actual guitar as it's only in recent weeks I've really started to dislike the tone so much..  Strumming it acoustically it does appear to have a strange resonance, especially on the top two or three strings, can't quite figure out why, it's kind of like a slight fret buzz but jacking up the action doesn't seem to help any (I like it fairly high anyway). I'm going to try it out 'properly' at rehearsal tomorrow night to see if it sounds any better in a band situation but my hopes aren't high...  Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated guys! |
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Post by stratznhatz on Feb 24, 2011 19:17:29 GMT -5
Well, tried it at rehearsal tonight. It did sound a lot better through a cranked amp, definately noticed the output drop from the BK pup even though it's only 2k lower. It does seem a bit warmer at band volume and the tone is generally more to my liking. Still prefer my old Kramer though, I think it has more to do with the guitar itself. The Kramer sounds sweeter and fuller acoustically with more natural sustain, and the pickup can only amplify what it 'hears' so it actually seems more powerful than it is.
The Stormshadow is a nice guitar and just beats the Kramer on playability but the Kramer has the sound that to me is near perfect. It was only half the price too!
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Post by stratznhatz on Mar 3, 2011 19:14:35 GMT -5
Well guys, after a bit of research I traced the problem with my Stormshadow to a dodgy locking nut. It seems the strings weren't sitting properly in the vee and this causes this sitar type zoing sound, more noticeable on open strings. It can happen at the saddle end too and just makes the guitar sound dead. Apparently it's a fairly common problem with modern Floyds, they just don't build em like they used to.  Got a new nut off ebay (a good quality copy) and it's worked a treat. Guitar sounds great now, it's just come alive. Trouble is I may have to put the old pickup back in to compare now I know it wasn't the real problem!  |
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Post by heem6 on Mar 3, 2011 23:21:35 GMT -5
So many things affect a guitars tone. Always interesting to hear about other people's tone quest. Thanks for sharing!
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Post by stratznhatz on Mar 4, 2011 18:34:04 GMT -5
No probs Jim, hope it helps someone out. |
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Post by stratznhatz on Mar 19, 2011 5:56:21 GMT -5
Just an update on this, having put this pup through it's paces over the last couple of weeks I have to say it sounds fantastic! More than enough power (for me at least) with great tone, lead lines sing and is great for that metal 'chunk' rythym. Would highly recommend these to anyone, I'll definately buy another if the need arises. |
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Post by nickwellings on Mar 28, 2011 10:48:13 GMT -5
Ain't that crazy...a £20 pickup sounds better a fancy-pants boutique Bareknuckle! Just goes to show, eh?
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