grunge782
New member
I wrote this up for a different post, but I figured this would be valuable to some people.
Options from BKP (all ceramic) that I have personally tried/owned/tested on different hi gain amps (Titan, Dual Rectifier, Sig X, Roadster, Invader, Savage, Powerball, Fireball, Herbert, E530, Blackstar). Like you, I fucking HATE the vagueness from descriptions.
Painkiller- 15 K High Saturation
A lot of people claim it to be "super" heavy. It's not THAT saturated on its own, but it does a great job taming the muddiness of some amps. It is very well defined, brutish and thick in the mids department. It has a great percussiveness to it with just the right amount of bite. The low end is very tight and everything feels in unison with your picking. When you play it plays, when you stop it stops. A "different" pickup with british flavor. This is why a lot of people love it with hi gain amplifiers. A lot of people like it for "thrash" and Tim thought it paired well in Mahogany for SYL tones.
Miracle Man- 17.5 K Very High Saturation
Out of the true heavy pickups that BKP offers, this is one of them. When I say heavy, I mean it makes your EMG's sound thin. Yes, thin. It is known for its low end, particularly its low mids. It is very heavy, but in the "open" kind of way not in the super mid aggressive part. The kicker is how it responds to fast licks with a bit less gain on the higher strings. It has a top end bite but still is very clear. It has a great metal character to it, smooth but with balls to it. Almost a "divine" metal quality to it . And yeah, itll shake your room with the chugga chugga like no other. I like it in Basswood. Mahogany might make it too low middy.
Warpig- 22K Very High Saturation
I'm sure you have heard a lot about this pickup already. It's the most aggressive pickup offered from BKP. The low end is very present, the mids get aggressive and the high end hits you quite nicely. It doesn't have that "smooth" quality to it like the Miracle Man and remains a bit tighter. The leads aren't "super" impressive on the higher strings but it still sounds great in the "modern metal" sense. The main combination here is aggressive power with clarity. The Painkiller has this somewhat rounded off percussive quality to it where it follows every note where as this remains percussive in a more "bitey" and crunchy way. If you play on a perfectly clean channel and hit the strings hard, you will get breakup. Basically, if you want the heaviest and meanest, this is the BKP that will fit that bill. Not too sure about woodtype, seemed to work well in Alder and Mahogany.
Nailbomb- 16k High Saturation
I didn't get much time with this pickup, but it is the versatile high gain pickup. It is pretty strange in that it is so flat in its eq range. Pretty much its a clean boost. It is organic sounding but some people don't like its lack of "identity". Good in a lot of different types of wood.
Take my opinions for what they are worth, but after listening to a lot of people's opinions on these pickups I became somewhat upset by parts of their representation.
If you can get your hands on a used pickup, go for it so that if you don't like it you can swap em without any real loss in cash.
If other people have different opinions, let me know what you think I got wrong.
Options from BKP (all ceramic) that I have personally tried/owned/tested on different hi gain amps (Titan, Dual Rectifier, Sig X, Roadster, Invader, Savage, Powerball, Fireball, Herbert, E530, Blackstar). Like you, I fucking HATE the vagueness from descriptions.
Painkiller- 15 K High Saturation
A lot of people claim it to be "super" heavy. It's not THAT saturated on its own, but it does a great job taming the muddiness of some amps. It is very well defined, brutish and thick in the mids department. It has a great percussiveness to it with just the right amount of bite. The low end is very tight and everything feels in unison with your picking. When you play it plays, when you stop it stops. A "different" pickup with british flavor. This is why a lot of people love it with hi gain amplifiers. A lot of people like it for "thrash" and Tim thought it paired well in Mahogany for SYL tones.
Miracle Man- 17.5 K Very High Saturation
Out of the true heavy pickups that BKP offers, this is one of them. When I say heavy, I mean it makes your EMG's sound thin. Yes, thin. It is known for its low end, particularly its low mids. It is very heavy, but in the "open" kind of way not in the super mid aggressive part. The kicker is how it responds to fast licks with a bit less gain on the higher strings. It has a top end bite but still is very clear. It has a great metal character to it, smooth but with balls to it. Almost a "divine" metal quality to it . And yeah, itll shake your room with the chugga chugga like no other. I like it in Basswood. Mahogany might make it too low middy.
Warpig- 22K Very High Saturation
I'm sure you have heard a lot about this pickup already. It's the most aggressive pickup offered from BKP. The low end is very present, the mids get aggressive and the high end hits you quite nicely. It doesn't have that "smooth" quality to it like the Miracle Man and remains a bit tighter. The leads aren't "super" impressive on the higher strings but it still sounds great in the "modern metal" sense. The main combination here is aggressive power with clarity. The Painkiller has this somewhat rounded off percussive quality to it where it follows every note where as this remains percussive in a more "bitey" and crunchy way. If you play on a perfectly clean channel and hit the strings hard, you will get breakup. Basically, if you want the heaviest and meanest, this is the BKP that will fit that bill. Not too sure about woodtype, seemed to work well in Alder and Mahogany.
Nailbomb- 16k High Saturation
I didn't get much time with this pickup, but it is the versatile high gain pickup. It is pretty strange in that it is so flat in its eq range. Pretty much its a clean boost. It is organic sounding but some people don't like its lack of "identity". Good in a lot of different types of wood.
Take my opinions for what they are worth, but after listening to a lot of people's opinions on these pickups I became somewhat upset by parts of their representation.
If you can get your hands on a used pickup, go for it so that if you don't like it you can swap em without any real loss in cash.
If other people have different opinions, let me know what you think I got wrong.