Black Winter in Mahogany

[Rex_Rocker]

My B.C. Rich Beast has a neck through mahogany neck and mahogany wings. So it might just be that particular guitar.
It took forever to find something I liked in it, should of just stuck with the Duncan Distortion, lol.
The Evo2 is what I have in there now, and it sounds mean and fairly balanced. I really like it a lot.

I've had them in a few mahogany guitars, and they were always great. I've had like 4 different BW B's, but only one BW N. Epi 1959, Epi LPC, Gibson Les Paul Tribute, Ibanez Prestige RGA121, LTD EC-401, PRS SE Paul Allender... come to think of it, it did sound kinda weak in a PRS SE Nick Catanese I had, but that guitar just didn't want to sound good with any pickup, so I sold it. But rather that sounding round and low-middy, it sounded weak and thin, but that was how that guitar sounded overall. Oh, and I also had in a basswood RG570, and it was good too.

Hsb and Aceman, you guys should definitely give the Black Winter a shot.
If you like Distortion, then think of it as more modern, cleaner sounding, tighter, and with more mid thump.

And hotter and more attacky. So more refined in some ways, but ruder in others.

 

[Overlord]

I didn't necessarily think the BW was hotter than the DD.
Fuller/warmer sounding and more refined, definitely.

 

[Demanic]

Crunch Lab too dark?
Not if you're running the gain hot and the treble even more.

 

[Securb]

I really need to try a black winter...because heaven knows I love a Distortion and the thump of a Custom.

I think it would work well for your style of music. It is a great hard rock/metal pickup. Like the Jazz I think the Black Winter was given a name that pigeonholes it in a myopic way for most guitar players.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I didn't necessarily think the BW was hotter than the DD.
Fuller/warmer sounding and more refined, definitely.

Oh it is. It's got like twice as much ceramic in there and the same DCR. How can it not, LOL.

I understand there might be more going on under the hood, but IMO, the specs made total sense for both in terms of output when I had them.

Both are really hot, though. So if you're plugging into a distorted channel, it makes sense that the difference might not have come off as huge.

Come to think of it, you do get the not so unusual inconsistent Duncan from time to time, TBH. At least the ones I've tried recently. I also had a Blackened Black Winter that I dropped in two guitars, and that one had much less output. So no idea what was going on there.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Crunch Lab too dark?
Not if you're running the gain hot and the treble even more.

I guess. If you tweak your settings every time you change guitars.

But at the time I had it, I was using Distortions and EMG 81's, so yeah. Kinda hard to jump between all of those without having to re-EQ everything completely.

Maybe dark might not have been the right word, because like you said, it did have some note separation. Maybe thuddy?

I'm not saying the Crunch Lab is bad by any means, just that it didn't work for me. But Petrucci did end up moving away from it. I think that pickup might have reflected the tone he was going for at the time with the rig that he had at the time. But it is kind of a very specific tone that's not voiced very aggressive compared to, say, the Black Winter.

 

[Masta' C]

It's got like twice as much ceramic in there

Yup! Most people don't realize the BW is actually a triple-ceramic beast!

But it holds up really well despite this. Kind of the best parts of the Distortion and the Invader, really.

 

[Hsb]

So comes the next question, do I go Black Winter or the Blackened Black Winter, how much of a difference is there really between the two.

 

[Securb]

So comes the next question, do I go Black Winter or the Blackened Black Winter, how much of a difference is there really between the two.

I have the BBW in my SG Special and the BW in a MIM Strat, so we are talking about two very different guitars here. In my experience, the BW seems t have a bit more bite, grind and gain, it also seems a bit more focused. The BBW in my SG has a bit of mid-range honk, which I like. It is not totally nasally but the mids are a bit different that the BW. I am happy with both sets.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

So comes the next question, do I go Black Winter or the Blackened Black Winter, how much of a difference is there really between the two.

Like I said, I might have gotten unlucky with my BBW, but mine wasn't as high output as the regular Black Winter.

Other than that, EQ-wise, both sounded like Black Winters.

 

[Hsb]

Got the pickup installed today, very pleased with the pickup. The guitar originally had the pickups direct mounted, didnt want to drill out the threads, so I used the provided mounting ring, just need to get more mounting ring screws.

 

[Mincer]

Got the pickup installed today, very pleased with the pickup. The guitar originally had the pickups direct mounted, didnt want to drill out the threads, so I used the provided mounting ring, just need to get more mounting ring screws.

Awesome! How does it compare to what was in there?

 

[Hsb]

It had a C5 in it previously, like the BW much better. Couldnt bond with the C5 or any of the other mag swaps in that particular guitar. This partular guitar has a bit of midrange honk that Im a fan of and think the BW works better compensating for that vs any of the Custom family.

Now for the neck, has a Jazz now, to me they dont play nicely. I have a BW neck paired with a Distortion and Ive had a Swntinent I really liked as well.

Oh and this was my first pickup swap, although pretty basic, 2 humbuckers, 1 volume, 3 way toggle, pretty simple.

 

[Mincer]

Yeah, the C5 and BW are pretty opposite EQ-wise. Sometimes I know I get stuck on a pickup I want, that I forget to consider what the guitar needs. I've done this several times.

 

[beaubrummels]

Oh and this was my first pickup swap...

First pickup swap?!?! Blasphemy!!!

 

[weepingminotaur]

Glad to hear it worked! I went through a similar journey with my mahogany EC-1000 that came with a C5/Jazz stock. Tried a Custom in the bridge, didn't vibe with it. Tried the guitar in E standard and E flat. Finally I went with Black Winters and tuned to D standard. It sounds amazing now.

I also agree with Rex that the Winters will sound great in pretty much any guitar.

 

[Hsb]

First pickup swap?!?! Blasphemy!!!

On my own, wasnt clear about that. I did the soldering, not take it somewhere to be done