Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
I know, I know. These are not new, but I thought I'd share my thoughts in case anyone's interested.
A couple of weeks ago or so I got a set of Black Winters for my PRS SE Nick Catanese. It's basically a Les Paul-type with a thick mahogany body, a fat mahogany neck, and an ebony board that gives it a little shimmer and attack. I play mostly Melodic Death Metal and some Metalcore here and there.
At first, I must admit I was a bit underwhelmed. It replaced a WLH-B/Phat Cat N combo. I got them because I played a friend's LTD Eclipse with the Distortion Mayhem set, and I was really digging it. So I got the BW's expecting something completely different from my old vintage-style pickups. It was, and it wasn't. I could tell a difference, but the difference wasn't as humongous as I was expecting. The WLH-B itself is pretty edgy, though. It's probably the fiercest PAF-type that I've tried. The Phat Cat had a killer clean tone, and while the BW-N has a good clean tone in itself, it just doesn't have the warm vintage shimmer of the Phat Cat. The Black Winters, to me, rather than sounding like more pissed off Distortions, sounded like they were more held-back.
This was through my Randall RD1H and Orange PPC112 rig. However, as good as it sounds for a practice amp, it's still a 1W head through a 1x12. So I decided to give them a go through my Krank through my 4x12. Dayumn! Now that's what I'm talking about!
The BW-B sounds a lot more focused than the WLH-B. It has a tighter, faster bottom-end without ever going sterile or thin like some actives can be sometimes. The WLH-B has more mids than other PAF's, but the BW-B just makes it sound so scooped in comparison. The Krank has a lot of bottom and high-end, so it loves mid-focused pickups. The BW-B is right at home. It sounds like a more refined Distortion here. It has some elements that remind me of the JB a little, but it's a lot tighter and more surgical than the JB (and even a little more than the Distortion). It's definitely in that family of pickups, though. I must admit that, to me, it has more in common with the JB than with the Invader, which I wasn't expecting.
The BW-N might not have the open, vintage tone of the Phat Cat, but it has a much smoother and much more focused lead tone. It has a little more bottom-end, but it's never muddy. It has a less open top-end, but it's really fluid and articulate. It's also not nearly as chirpy or scratchy as the Phat Cat in the attack. I'm still undecided about experimenting with a different magnet in it, though.
So all in all, I'm really digging the BW's. The bridge pickup in particiular wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but I'm more than happy with what I got. They're tight, focused, and really modern-sounding with a hint of that old-school edginess that I dig. They're definitely staying.
A couple of weeks ago or so I got a set of Black Winters for my PRS SE Nick Catanese. It's basically a Les Paul-type with a thick mahogany body, a fat mahogany neck, and an ebony board that gives it a little shimmer and attack. I play mostly Melodic Death Metal and some Metalcore here and there.
At first, I must admit I was a bit underwhelmed. It replaced a WLH-B/Phat Cat N combo. I got them because I played a friend's LTD Eclipse with the Distortion Mayhem set, and I was really digging it. So I got the BW's expecting something completely different from my old vintage-style pickups. It was, and it wasn't. I could tell a difference, but the difference wasn't as humongous as I was expecting. The WLH-B itself is pretty edgy, though. It's probably the fiercest PAF-type that I've tried. The Phat Cat had a killer clean tone, and while the BW-N has a good clean tone in itself, it just doesn't have the warm vintage shimmer of the Phat Cat. The Black Winters, to me, rather than sounding like more pissed off Distortions, sounded like they were more held-back.
This was through my Randall RD1H and Orange PPC112 rig. However, as good as it sounds for a practice amp, it's still a 1W head through a 1x12. So I decided to give them a go through my Krank through my 4x12. Dayumn! Now that's what I'm talking about!
The BW-B sounds a lot more focused than the WLH-B. It has a tighter, faster bottom-end without ever going sterile or thin like some actives can be sometimes. The WLH-B has more mids than other PAF's, but the BW-B just makes it sound so scooped in comparison. The Krank has a lot of bottom and high-end, so it loves mid-focused pickups. The BW-B is right at home. It sounds like a more refined Distortion here. It has some elements that remind me of the JB a little, but it's a lot tighter and more surgical than the JB (and even a little more than the Distortion). It's definitely in that family of pickups, though. I must admit that, to me, it has more in common with the JB than with the Invader, which I wasn't expecting.
The BW-N might not have the open, vintage tone of the Phat Cat, but it has a much smoother and much more focused lead tone. It has a little more bottom-end, but it's never muddy. It has a less open top-end, but it's really fluid and articulate. It's also not nearly as chirpy or scratchy as the Phat Cat in the attack. I'm still undecided about experimenting with a different magnet in it, though.
So all in all, I'm really digging the BW's. The bridge pickup in particiular wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but I'm more than happy with what I got. They're tight, focused, and really modern-sounding with a hint of that old-school edginess that I dig. They're definitely staying.
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