TwilightOdyssey
Darkness on the edge of Tone
Last night was TO rehearsal, and I brought the VHII-equipped s00per strat along for the ride.
We were stuck in one of the smaller rooms, and the room really sounded awful! I opted for a 50W JCM900 head instead of the Diesel VH-4, which doesn't like pedals in front of it too much. I set pretty much every control that matters (Gain, M Volume, Bass, Mid, Treble) for 8 and the Presence at 12:30.
There was just a touch of gain, but with no volume control I wasn't able to get the amp totally clean. This was fine, since I just picked very softly for the clean stuff and it worked fine for rehearsal.
I ran the guitar into the HomeBrew Big D overdrive pedal to push the Marshall into distortion.
Upon plugging in and warming up at a low volume, the other guitarist just stopped short and said, "Dude -- your guitar sounds AWESOME". The tone was somewhere between vintage Yngwie meets EVH ... serious sustain, feedback on demand, and serious balls to the 4th -6th strings! Strings 1-3 exhibited the clarity and articulation I've come to love and hate with BK ... love because you can hear everything, hate because you can hear all my mistakes!!!
Now that I've played the pickup at concert volumes, I can give you all an honest sonic assessment: THIS PICKUP IS BADASS!! It is the ultimate pickup for someone that wants a pickup that will clean up with tons of lower midrange warmth, and distorts with a rawness that rips your face off!!!!
Fast-picking passages had lots of articulation and I was getting pinch harmonics effortlessly!!
I still hold to my initial impression that the Miracle Man distorts more smoothly and with more "power", as well as more individuality IMO.
Once again I'm totally awed by the class of the BK pickups ... coming next: ALL OUT WAR! SCREAMIN' DEMON vs. VHII!! :evil:
We were stuck in one of the smaller rooms, and the room really sounded awful! I opted for a 50W JCM900 head instead of the Diesel VH-4, which doesn't like pedals in front of it too much. I set pretty much every control that matters (Gain, M Volume, Bass, Mid, Treble) for 8 and the Presence at 12:30.
There was just a touch of gain, but with no volume control I wasn't able to get the amp totally clean. This was fine, since I just picked very softly for the clean stuff and it worked fine for rehearsal.
I ran the guitar into the HomeBrew Big D overdrive pedal to push the Marshall into distortion.
Upon plugging in and warming up at a low volume, the other guitarist just stopped short and said, "Dude -- your guitar sounds AWESOME". The tone was somewhere between vintage Yngwie meets EVH ... serious sustain, feedback on demand, and serious balls to the 4th -6th strings! Strings 1-3 exhibited the clarity and articulation I've come to love and hate with BK ... love because you can hear everything, hate because you can hear all my mistakes!!!
Now that I've played the pickup at concert volumes, I can give you all an honest sonic assessment: THIS PICKUP IS BADASS!! It is the ultimate pickup for someone that wants a pickup that will clean up with tons of lower midrange warmth, and distorts with a rawness that rips your face off!!!!
Fast-picking passages had lots of articulation and I was getting pinch harmonics effortlessly!!
I still hold to my initial impression that the Miracle Man distorts more smoothly and with more "power", as well as more individuality IMO.
Once again I'm totally awed by the class of the BK pickups ... coming next: ALL OUT WAR! SCREAMIN' DEMON vs. VHII!! :evil:
