BC Rich Pickups

[MikeS]

This weekend I pulled the trigger on a BC Rich NJ Classic Mockingbird. I usually wait awhile before exploring pickup options, but I am a tad curious about the stock pups. It came with 2 BSDM pickups. Here's all the info I can find.

Neck: AWG 44 wire, 7500 turns, 16.9k resistance, ferrite 8 magnet
Bridge: AWG 44 wire, 7500 turns, 17.8k resistance, ferrite 8 magnet

I'm not schooled enough to be able to know what all that means, other than knowing that these pickups are HOT. (BTW, what the heck is a ferrite 8 magnet, and how does that generally compare to ceramic or alnico2 or 5?)

The guitar is a maple neck-thru design with nato sides (nato, from what I understand is an asian mahogany that is closer to alder than mahogany in terms of tone). It also has an ebony fretboard. That equates to a very bright axe with amazing sustain. I love the brightness of the guitar. It has a much nicer natural resonance than I would have thought simply by reading my description of it.

Outside of the JB, I have no experience with a duncan humbucker hotter than the demon. Can any of you high distortion guys make any recommendations on some high output pickups that will work well in a very bright axe? I'm not going to change right away, so there's no rush. I'm not opposed to options outside Seymour Duncan, either (even though I would prefer Duncans). The axe came with double creams, which look awsome, so as much as I hate to say it, Dimarzios are a legitimate option as well.

Anyway, sorry for the novel. It seems I'm type happy today.

 

[Loserchief]

Re: BC Rich Pickups

Hey,get rid of the B.C Rich Stock BDSM pups a soon as possible. In all the import Riches i own they sucked.They don't stay focused under gain and are muddy as hell(if you just wanna have a wall of noise they might be useable).Yes,they are hot but just not suited to play real metal tho i gotta admit that they don't sound bad with a little less gain.But that's just not what the average B.C Rich should be used for.
I'd say try a custom,custom 5 or even an invader for the bridge since the jb and the dd or the dime would sound a bit shrill in this guitar ithink. I have no real idea what to get for the neck,sorry.

 

[MikeS]

Re: BC Rich Pickups

Cool... I was thinking maybe something along the lines of the CC, but tone chart leads me to believe it might lack a little bottom end. I actually think the stock neck pickup is usable. It's fairly defined and doesn't seem too harsh. The bridge pickup is not a pretty tone. Very harsh, very noisy, but not exactly what I'd call muddy, but it's not exactly the articulator that the Screamin Demon is.

 

[H8Red442]

Re: BC Rich Pickups

The pickups in those classic series guitars are probably the best Rich stock pickups i've ever heard. If you're gonna replace them I would go with Duncan Custom in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck. I've tried a few (by far not all) different combos in all my BC Richs and I LOVE the Custom, in case anyone couldn't tell by my postings with in the last week. I'm very pleased with the Custom and I've always liked the Jazz. The Custom for me emulates the classic thrash sound. Everything from Kill 'Em All to Puppets and Peace Sells to Cryptic Writings. Just a very solid, tone drenched sound with plenty of definition. The JB always seemed to drowned in bass for me. The Custom doesn't have that problem at all. Not to my ears anyway.

BTW I play through a Mesa Single Rectifier with 4x12 cab and no effects. I also use Monster Studio Pro cable.