Bareknuckle Nailbombs compared to Suhr Aldrich or Anderson?

Genghis

Genghis

Power User
Hi All, I know this is kind of a focused question, but I'm looking to get some pickups for a Les Paul type guitar and I'm looking for opinions. I'm considering some Bareknuckle Nailbombs. I like a modern rock and metal tone, but also like some versatility for cleans and lightly overdriven sounds. I'm a child of the late 70s and 80s, but I like good full modern tone more than vintage in most cases. Also, I'll probably stick to standard tuning. Love to listen to a lot of drop-tuned stuff, but it's just not what I like to play.

The reason I mention the comparison with the Aldrich and Anderson is that I have a couple of guitars with the Anderson H3 and one guitar with the Aldrich in the bridge. I like both of those pickups for the bridge pickups and I'm looking for something that will be similar in output but with a little different voicing than either of the pickups I have. So, for any of you pickup experts, do you think the Bareknuckle Nailbombs, Alnico V version will be a good choice?

I'm open to other suggestions as well, but I've never liked the standard Duncan JB that so many people seem to like. Might be the guitars that I have tried them in, but the JB always sounded kinda flat.
 
I would get in touch with Nick at the Axe Palace. He knows TONS about BK pickups, but I can almost assure you that he will tell you to check out either the Abraxas or Emerald. He almost sent me that direction myself, until he learned I'm playing in a flat on a seven string, and that I use a 70 gauge string for my 7th string... he sent me to the ceramic warpig... yeehaw! But if you give Nick a call he'll talk to you about what is what. Cheers!
 
I've not tried the nailbombs, but i have used all the other pickups you mention in my les Paul custom. I've tried the JB's, they were flat and a bit too weak for my taste, the best Duncan in a les Paul is the sh4, which I used for quite some time (I did the pickup satisfaction swap with Duncan, and that's what they guided me too). I've also had the Doug Aldrich pickups in there twice. First time I was using them with my Mesa mark v without a drive pedal or anything, and while I loved the tone of the da's, how the clean up nice, and articulate they were, they didn't feel hot enough on that amp. Now you might say I could have dialed up the gain, which I could have, but it was a small combo amp and I couldn't really get the tone I wanted out if that amp with a 1x12. If I dialed up the gain it was two crispy and sizzley

Fast forward to the axe fx, and after a purchase of a suhr modern with da's. I LOVE the tone from that guitar, and the axe fx with all the amp and cab combos, plus drive pedal options for lead tone. I put the DA's back in the les Paul, they are great in there now. Probably not the best choice for big drop modern metal tones, but Eb tuning or drop D tuning they are fine. Glad I kept them around.
 
No experience with Aldrichs or Andersons. I have a modern with bare knuckles. I think it sounds balanced, clear and overall probably the best Guitar own (and have too many). Great cleans and low gain too.
 
Thanks guys. Axe Palace looks like a great suggestion. After more searching, listening to demos and reading I think the Nailbombs are probably what I'm after, but talking to someone who really knows their pickups would help. I saw a demo of someone doing the Nailbombs with the Axe-FX II and that was definitely in the ballpark of what I'm after. (It's so hard to really tell without playing something with your own hands though.)

I said I'm a child of the late 70s and 80s, BUT my tone preference is generally something with more of a full range modern sound. I was using Anderson pickups almost exclusively from the late 80s until I had the Aldrich put in my SG, and the Anderson pickups are something people love or hate because they are more hi-fi than most pickups.
 
Not to sound like a broken record, but I had a screwup where I ordered the completely wrong pickups for my Mayo 7 string, and after calling and talking to Nick for a good 45 minutes or so, he steered me toward a totally different direction than we hard originally thought. I originally was going to look at Holy Divers or Nailbombs, but after talking about what I was looking for I totally ended up getting a set of calibrated ceramic Warpigs. I know that the Abraxas and Emerald sounds on the BKP webpage show classic rock sounds and bluesy stuff, but if you wander over to sevenstring.org and look at the people who are buying Emeralds or Abraxas sets, they're getting all the contemporary tone they want out of 'em. Is your guitar relatively warm? Because if so, the Nailbombs will help create better articulation in the mids and highs. But if it's a bright guitar, the nailbombs are going to get pretty shrill. I was considering them as well, but my Mayo is really bright and attacky, and it was recommended that I definitely don't use them because it would make the guitar really hot.

The only reason I didn't go with Emeralds or The Abraxas is because I'm using a damn low tuning (drop a flat) and pretty heavy strings. Like I said - give Nick a call and ask him some questions. You should find what you're looking for! :D
 
Thanks man. I emailed him this morning told him what guitar it is and the type of sounds I'm looking for. I didn't actually expect to hear back so quick on a Sunday, but he emailed me back within a very short time. He said he'd recommend the Emeralds, Painkillers, or Nailbombs and said the Abraxas is also excellent. Been listening to various clips since then, and they all do sound like they'd work... haven't really decided yet.
 
Well, I've got a set of Painkillers in my Bernie Rico Jr Jekyll 727, and I've got to say when it comes to gain sounds, I'm absolutely floored. I've heard lots of great Nailbomb sounds as well, and they probably clean up better... but then again here's a sample of the Painkillers in middle position...

 
After reading up on a few forums and listening to as many clips as I could (which doesn't always help), I just placed my order. For my purposes, it was really between the Abraxas and the Nailbombs, and I think either would be a great choice for me. I think the Emeralds would be a little thin for what I'm looking for, and the Painkillers are nice and probably have the right gain characteristics. But I ended up circling back and going with the Nailbombs in the end.

Nice clip with the Painkiller cleans. Almost enough to make me reconsider, but I think I'll be stoked when I get the Nailbombs.

I'm actually checking out some of your other stuff on Soundcloud as well and it sounds pretty good. Nice heavy sounds on some of it, and overall pretty tasty stuff. Kinda makes me want a 7-string again at some point. I had a Carvin DC-727 that I never really bonded with, partly because the neck was pretty fat and partly because it just had kind of an annoying midrange honk without the tight bass and sizzling highs that I like out of a guitar.
 
Thanks for the compliments, man! I haven't even uploaded some of the more recent stuff I've been recording. I've been super busy. But it's starting to sound even better - FW 13.02 FTW!

You're going to be happy with the Nailbombs, I'm sure. It's tough to choose because almost every BKP sounds just great! It's just one guy's opinion, but I feel like they just clean the floor with every pickup I've ever tried - and I've tried quite a few in my day.

Yeah I know exactly what you mean about the "Carvin sound". I have been tempted on so many occasions, but then I hear recordings of them and they just... they just sound funny. I wish they'd make their set-neck CT-7 27" scale, because Francesco Filigoi has a youtube clip out there that just sounds amazing! But alas... it'll probably never happen (and my wife might kill me if I buy yet another guitar. :D ). I think if I end up getting another guitar, it'll either be another Mayones Regiius, or I'm going to have a local luthier build me a baritone 7 string Tele... chomp chomp chomp!
 
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