Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

[B00B-screamer]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

Well to my ears in my lap custom they are all about output. No finesse or rich overtones just aggression. Very disappointed. In fact I’m buying replacements. If all u do is play death metal they might suffice. Little thin in bridge too thick on neck. No depth or sparkle. Just bleh.

 

[Ben1962]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

What kind of amps do you use?

I ask because during my initial first 6 (or so) months with these pickups, I played them through pretty much every amp I could get my hands on and The Winters and The Mesa/ Boogie Stiletto HATED eachother. I mean...if that was the only amp I had, I would have sold them too. I mean...it was awful. I could only make it better with pedals and if you sound is RELIANT on pedals...that's not really a good situation to be in...especially live.

So I'm curious what kind of amp and the style of tubes you played through.

I'm hesitant to call it "an el-34 thing" because both of my EL-34 Marshalls sound pretty good with the Winters.

Any input you can add would be terrific. No pickup is perfect. No combination is perfect. If we can weed out the bad combinations, we can help even MORE of our people out.

Talk to you soon,


~LD

EVH 5153. For me, I had to lower the gain so much to make "my tone", I lost all the harmonics and all the goodies that come with higher output. Weird, because I had the Nazgul, and I kept it for a long time. I took the Naz out only because its my hobby, trying different pickups. I could get along with the neck BW, but that bridge was just too much for me. Sometimes I think its just me? But when I hear something I really dont like, I take a break from it, give it a week or 2 and try again. I did that with the Winters and within 30 seconds I knew they were coming out. I would have liked to try the neck in the bridge tho

 

[Ben1962]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

Well to my ears in my lap custom they are all about output. No finesse or rich overtones just aggression. Very disappointed. In fact I’m buying replacements. If all u do is play death metal they might suffice. Little thin in bridge too thick on neck. No depth or sparkle. Just bleh.

That nails it for me as well. Just TOO much of everything, yet none of it was great either. My 1st bad experience with a Duncan, and I cant say they were bad, just not for me.

 

[weepingminotaur]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

The BW bridge is definitely a metal pickup. The neck, though, has so much versatility and richness to my ears. But hey, everyone's experience is going to be different.

 

[Van Noord]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

No problem with getting satisfying lower gain sounds and the dynamics are very good too. And, I play through high gain amps. Key is to not have the BW bridge pickup too close to the strings. It needs to be set lower than you would normally set your bridge bucker.

 

[weepingminotaur]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

No problem with getting satisfying lower gain sounds and the dynamics are very good too. And, I play through high gain amps. Key is to not have the BW bridge pickup too close to the strings. It needs to be set lower than you would normally set your bridge bucker.

Wow, that's a big gap! How does the bridge sound aggression and power-wise? Does it still sound hot?

 

[Lucy Diamond]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

The thing about Black Winters is that they are extremely consistent throughout the taper of the volume pot. So if you want less Black Winter, you can roll the volume off halfway and they sound the same but less and morph into lower gain versions of themselves.

Now in the spirit of brotherly fairness, if the lower gain aggression thing is what you are looking for then you shouldn't HALF to snip the balls off your pickup at the volume pot and I stand in full support of anyone changing them out in that situation.

I think it is excellent news that we have a brother here who doesn't like the pairing of the 5150 III and the Winters. It is something to watch out for, especially if you only have one amp.

Does anyone else have a 5150 III and a Black Winter?

I couldn't find anyone else with a Stiletto + Black Winter setup so my previous statement about that combination remains "one man's opinion" so far. But I feel like there are more people who play EVHs than Stilettos anyway so maybe we can find out.

 

[Semetery]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

I have a 5150 III and BW's. It's rich to my ears, in the way that chocolate icing would be if you didn't eat sweets. I'm not seasoned at describing what I'm hearing in a very sophisticated way, and I haven't spent a ton of time trying to A/B (though some, with EMG's and JB/59) so forgive me, but when I move from another guitar to the one I have BW's in, I usually have to turn down the gain and bass a good bit, it feels SO thick and distorted. I personally really like it but it feels heavily saturated to me. Even aside my 81/60 combo, it feels more agressive, in a different way? I should just step aside, I'm sucking at this. Haha

It does feel, and has been for me, smooth after adjusting and I think it's a nice combination! If it were the ONLY head I owned, I'm not 1000% I'd pick BW's first thing. Only maybe.

 

[Ben1962]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

I have a 5150 III and BW's. It's rich to my ears, in the way that chocolate icing would be if you didn't eat sweets. I'm not seasoned at describing what I'm hearing in a very sophisticated way, and I haven't spent a ton of time trying to A/B (though some, with EMG's and JB/59) so forgive me, but when I move from another guitar to the one I have BW's in, I usually have to turn down the gain and bass a good bit, it feels SO thick and distorted. I personally really like it but it feels heavily saturated to me. Even aside my 81/60 combo, it feels more agressive, in a different way? I should just step aside, I'm sucking at this. Haha

It does feel, and has been for me, smooth after adjusting and I think it's a nice combination! If it were the ONLY head I owned, I'm not 1000% I'd pick BW's first thing. Only maybe.

I have the 5153 and playing Gary Moore tones, I have a Super3 with more delay than usual, man what a frickin lead tone. Curious, you play on the red channel? I use channel 2 gain half way, with an OD, is that even considered a metal tone? I always thought "organic" was a BS word with pickups, but Duncans are more organic. I experiment alot and Dimarzios sound manufactured in a way, where Duncans you hear the guitar. Thats true 100%
And having to turn the gain down was my problem with the Winter. It was loud but harsh or something to me. This super3 I can crank the distortion and mids and it never really gets harsh. Just tons of chewy gain and harmonics

 

[Semetery]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

I bet, it's SO great for reaching out there and being present. The tone of the III is so unique. I have all three of the 5150's and, even the other two being modded, they just don't quite feel as vocal to me. I usually use the red channel, yeah. I don't run anything in front of it, it's so mean and I don't feel like it requires it. But I do back the gain down a lot and people say it makes it more this and that if you use a boost, I really should try.

Yeah, the BW definitely feels insane on the III! Not in a bad way, really, in a great way because you can back the gain down so much and have just a ton of room to add some back if you're not feeling assaulted enough. Now you've got me wanting to snag a super3. I've been itching to grab a distortion or Dime to see what I can match up and audibly slay with. This is not a cheap way to live. Haha. I agree, Duncan's really are doing it for me. I absolutely adore the Black Winter's, I've been playing on them constantly since putting them in and they're so rich and mean and deep but full of life and maintaining much more clarity and clean tone than I expected them to. To my ears, I should say. I may be describing them polar opposite of others.

 

[Van Noord]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

Wow, that's a big gap! How does the bridge sound aggression and power-wise? Does it still sound hot?

Yes, it is a further distance from the strings than usual. But without sacrificing any power, response or aggression.

 

[Francois]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

Hi !

A few questions about the Black Winter :

1 - It has the same output (16.6) as the Duncan Distortion and has also a ceramic magnet, so what main changes do you feel when swiching from the SH-6 to the BW ?
(I am thinking of a bridge in a SG but even a response in general would be fine).

2 - It is advertised as made for Scandinavian BM so I expected it gives a good definition when performing tremolo picking on 4 to 6 strings at the same time. Do you confirm ?
(I used to this a lot in the 80s but with Super Distortions - and we called that thrash/hardcore - thrash did not mean thrash metal yet and hardcore meant proto grind )

3 - Anyone has tried the Black Winter (bridge and neck) in a Ash body guitar (let's say the neck is maple) ?

4 - How it behave with fuzz ? Some mentioned it cleans well. This is a good sign that it may allow some expressivity / dynamics when used by a good old fuzz and the volume rolled down. What do you think ?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

1 - It has the same output (16.6) as the Duncan Distortion and has also a ceramic magnet, so what main changes do you feel when swiching from the SH-6 to the BW ?

It has the same DC resistance, not the same output. The Black Winter has a different (more powerful) magnet structure, and I believe the coating on the wire is different (at least it looks different). Technical aside, the Black Winter is hotter. It has a fiercer upper mid spike which translates into more bite but slightly less sizzle than the Distortion. It also has a more immediate, tighter (and slightly less) low-end.

2 - It is advertised as made for Scandinavian BM so I expected it gives a good definition when performing tremolo picking on 4 to 6 strings at the same time. Do you confirm ?

I guess? It has lots of definition and an emphatic attack. Tremolo picking sounds great on it.

3 - Anyone has tried the Black Winter (bridge and neck) in a Ash body guitar (let's say the neck is maple) ?

Can't say I have. I have tried it in bright, tight, attacky guitars, though, and it does fine if you don't mind a bit of clank in your tone. I like it, personally.

4 - How it behave with fuzz ? Some mentioned it cleans well. This is a good sign that it may allow some expressivity / dynamics when used by a good old fuzz and the volume rolled down. What do you think ?

Can't say I use fuzz, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I will tell you, though, it is great with an HM-2-style distortion.

 

[Ben1962]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

I bet, it's SO great for reaching out there and being present. The tone of the III is so unique. I have all three of the 5150's and, even the other two being modded, they just don't quite feel as vocal to me. I usually use the red channel, yeah. I don't run anything in front of it, it's so mean and I don't feel like it requires it. But I do back the gain down a lot and people say it makes it more this and that if you use a boost, I really should try.

Yeah, the BW definitely feels insane on the III! Not in a bad way, really, in a great way because you can back the gain down so much and have just a ton of room to add some back if you're not feeling assaulted enough. Now you've got me wanting to snag a super3. I've been itching to grab a distortion or Dime to see what I can match up and audibly slay with. This is not a cheap way to live. Haha. I agree, Duncan's really are doing it for me. I absolutely adore the Black Winter's, I've been playing on them constantly since putting them in and they're so rich and mean and deep but full of life and maintaining much more clarity and clean tone than I expected them to. To my ears, I should say. I may be describing them polar opposite of others.

I do want to be clear on one thing, the Black Winter wasnt a fit for me, but I still love my Duncans. I have the Alt8/Demon, the Pegasus/Sentient and the PATB set.I love em, it was just the Winter bridge for whatever reason.

 

[Semetery]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

I've never tried the Alt8 or Demon though I initially wanted the Full Shred most I think. Lately sort of feeling like the Nazgul could work for me, but I'm a little curious about the Pegasus/Sentient set. In the demos, for whatever they're worth I guess, they sound less angry. What do you prefer about them?

My favorite so far has been the Winter neck, though I've only had 4 SD pickups so far. I'm hoping the BW neck sounds good aside the SH5 I got today, I can't wait to try the combo out.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

I had done a lot of internet searching on the Black Winters, but for some reason never came across this thread until a few days ago. Lots of good info here! I initially picked up a Black Winter bridge, to replace the Nazgul in a Schecter KM-6 Mk II. Not sure i'm gonna keep that guitar though, so i'll probably leave the stock pickups in it. So i have a couple of choices where to install the Black Winter, and maybe you guys can advise?

The other choices are, a Schecter Banshee Elite-6 (ash body, maple/walnut neck-through with ebony fretboard), and a Schecter SLS Blackjack (mahogany body, maple set-neck with ebony fretboard). Yea, i like Schecters! ;D
The Banshee currently has a 59-A4 neck/ Custom-8 bridge, while the Blackjack has a Jazz neck/Full Shred bridge. I play anything from classic rock, (Rush, Dokken, Nugent), to alternative and metal, bands like Incubus, Seether, Alice In Chains, Mudvayne, Tool, etc. I'm playing through a Marshall DSL-40cr.

So, i might have to do some pickup-swapping, but which guitar do you think would benefit most from the Black Winter Bridge? Also, which neck pickup (Jazz, 59, and possibly another Sentient) would be a good match for the Black Winter?

As far as which guitar to put the BW in.. Are you displeased with the Banshee's tone? I ask because you are currently running one of my FAV combos in that axe.. Now, I know that just cuz it floats my boat, doesnt mean it's for everyone. The real reason I ask, is that if you are pleased with the way that guitar sounds, try it in the other guitar first. Just a thought

 

[Francois]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

I have checked some demo video with the BW and loved it, especially the beautiful the harmonic content it enhanced.
In one interesting demo video there were comparing 15 SD humbuckers, Nazgul (brilliant as well), JB, Custom... There was no pickup I disliked.

And now I am wondering if anyone has tried the Pegasus (with its particular fat response) on the neck together with a Black Winter on the bridge ?

And Nazgul neck + BW bridge ?

Personally I would like to use the Black Winter in a ash guitar, but my only ash guitar is set up to High strung tuning (à la Pink Floyd Hey You) and it is one which never change pickups.
Need another one... So next year...

 

[Ben1962]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

I've never tried the Alt8 or Demon though I initially wanted the Full Shred most I think. Lately sort of feeling like the Nazgul could work for me, but I'm a little curious about the Pegasus/Sentient set. In the demos, for whatever they're worth I guess, they sound less angry. What do you prefer about them?

My favorite so far has been the Winter neck, though I've only had 4 SD pickups so far. I'm hoping the BW neck sounds good aside the SH5 I got today, I can't wait to try the combo out.

The Pegasus is more polite than the Naz or Winter. Very versatile, not tons of output, in fact, I wonder why it was marketed as a metal pickup? But I like that, I dont have to back off my settings for it. BTW, I use the Demon in the neck as some of the guys here recommended. I love that guitar, ALT8/Demon, frickin HUGE but not harsh. But I dont play modern metal downtuned to drop FF either. I think the Winter and Naz were designed to sound good downtuned to the depths of hell LOL

 

[Sun King]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

Hey there Bloodrose, thanks for chiming in. Well, there are some "issues" i'm experiencing currently that prevent me from really working out this Black Winter dilemma. I'm currently going through a contentious divorce, and all my musical gear is in safekeeping with family, over an hour and a half drive away. So i've barely had a chance to play at all. It sucks.

I've had that Banshee long enough to have used it with the Blackstar HT5 that i had before, and the 59A4/Custom-8 sounded great. I had that same combo in an LTD H-1001 before, and liked that one a lot, too, although that was very different than the Banshee: set neck, mahogany w/maple cap, maple neck/rosewood fingerboard. FWIW, that Blackjack i just got is much more similar to the LTD, (heck both made in the same Korean factory so why not?), other than the Blackjack's ebony board. So i was really thinking of throwing the 59A4/Custom-8 in the Blackjack. However, i recently got to spend a (very) short time playing all three guitars through the Marshall DSL-40CR, and out of all three, the Blackjack with it's stock Jazz/Full Shred sounded EXCELLENT, right out of the box. So i hesitate to change anything about that guitar.

The BlackWinter is currently in the bridge of the KM-6 II, and when i tried that, it WAY overpowers the Sentient. I didn't have time to fiddle with pickup height, but i saw Van Noord's post about lowering the Black Winter way down. I'll have to try that. The Banshee Elite-6 and KM-6 II are reeaaally similar in construction, so if i can get the BW to sound good where it's at, i can probably be confident that it would also sound good in the Banshee. But as it is, both the Banshee AND the KM sounded like crap through the Marshall. So, the jury's still out regarding the 59A4/Custom-8 combo, and even the Black Winter. But i'm absolutely SURE i just need to spend some time adjusting pickup heights and the amp's EQ settings.

(FWIW, i was even toying with changing out the Custom-8 for an SH-6 Distortion, which was a combo- 59/Distortion- i really loved in the departed Jackson Soloist. But i digress, this is the BLACK WINTER thread, LOL!)

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Black Winter owner.... Feedback so far????

FWIW, I don't recommend the '59/Distortion combo, lol. I have it in my Ibanez, and I think the Distortion way overpowers the puny '59 (even with the stock A5). Maybe a '59B in the neck would be a better match for the Distortion.

As far as the Nazgul in the neck with the BW in the bridge... why not? I have always had the theory that the Nazgul is somewhat of a tweaked Seymourizer (Distortion Neck), and the Black Winter neck is also just that.