Pickup Decisions…HELP!

[PapaBear]

Nolly is a freakin' wizard in the studio, so yes, he has his rig dialed in to perfection. You know this exists, right?
https://neuraldsp.com/plugins/archetype-nolly
Doesn't really help you if you're playing live, or practising, but it's how he gets his tones in the studio/recording.

I missed it if you mentioned what amp you're using, but you may want to look into a Mesa/Boogie JP-2C -- I want to get one just for the cleans, they are exactly as you describe (the demo guy said that what Petrucci asked for was "clean for days" and that's what he got), but the thing is a tone monster -- the amp head equivalent of a 513 -- it has everything from clean to vintage crunch to modern fuzzed out metal and everything in between, with a ridiculous amount of tone-shaping.

The JP-2C is my Bucket List Amp! That’s wild you say that, as I’m ordering one as soon as I get my bonus from work in 3 months. When I was first looking at the Dreamcatcher/rainmaker pickups, a lot of people were talking about how they only sound good through Johns amp being they were tuned to his rig. This made me even more excited to get my hands on the Dimarzio pickups knowing I was ordering that amp down the road. Any experience or insight into those pickups?

As for Nolly, the fact he’s a Wizard is what intrigues me most about the polymaths. You know he didn’t go into it with a small wish list of criteria , and “settle” for whatever came out from Tim. He’s a very particular and analytical guy, it makes me venture to guess the Polymath pickups are a thoroughly thought out brainchild that would sound wonderful. This doesn’t make pickup decisions any easier, just makes me wish I had duplicates of my Santana to buy ALL the sets of pickups my ears love.

As for my current amp, it’s a Crate V18-112 with EL84 power tubes. One Channel, onboard spring reverb tank at the base of the cabinet. She’s gotten the job done, and I’ll never get rid of it. Even once the Mesa is standing next to it.

 

[PapaBear]

I'll second what @bodia said about the \m/s. Don't be fooled by the name - they clean up very nicely. I have them in my PS, and I've used them for a range of tones. No issues at all with how they clean up.

Thank you for the reply! I appreciate everyone’s response so far. I feel like I might have to try a few sets rather than over-analyzing and trying to pick the BEST one without actually hearing what they sound like in my particular guitar. Fortunately the few I have my eyes on all hold their resell fairly well (not that it’s very important usually, but I doubt any website will let me order 3-4 sets and return the rest once I chose the best fit in my guitar. ) I know even if I threw a dart at a list , any of the ones I’ve been looking into will sound amazing and be an upgrade to the stock ones currently installed.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

No, sorry, no experience with Dreamcatcher/Rainmaker. Also: nice on planning on getting the JP-2C. Please do share your experiences with it, it's "bucket list" for me, too.

Yes, if you can swing it, I'd get both and try both. Perhaps not in different guitars, but serially in the same guitar. Choose the one you think you'll like better second, so perhaps you don't have to swap pups more than twice. And then work out the second guitar you want the (only slightly) lesser pups in.

 

[PapaBear]

No, sorry, no experience with Dreamcatcher/Rainmaker. Also: nice on planning on getting the JP-2C. Please do share your experiences with it, it's "bucket list" for me, too.

Yes, if you can swing it, I'd get both and try both. Perhaps not in different guitars, but serially in the same guitar. Choose the one you think you'll like better second, so perhaps you don't have to swap pups more than twice. And then work out the second guitar you want the (only slightly) lesser pups in.

This is all extremely valuable advice! GreAt thinking. Purchasing multiple pick ups to try-out is the direction I am leaning towards most. As much as I’d love to hit a bullseye my first try, it’s still a slight gamble no matter how much research I do. My biggest concern is how do you know you truly picked winner if you never tried the other options considered. I’d hate to start second guessing myself after dropping $400 in pickups.

The only guitar in my arsenal I would change pick ups in aside from the PRS I’m doing now, would be my Strat with a HSS setup (all stock) that is my “C-Machine.”. It will spend its entire lifetime with me in Drop C. It’s my go to heavy chugging/riffing choice, so if one bridge pick up from my “PRS trials” was heavenly for dirty tones , but couldn’t clean up the way I want it to in the PRS, the bridge of the Strat would make for a beautiful Plan B.

I’ve also always wanted to put a Nazgul bridge in that Strat. That pickup, to my ear, has always been A total home run for heavy tones every demo I’ve heard. Surprisingly cleaned up well enough to use for some pushed Blues, slightly breaking up cleans, ambient instrumental sound stuff. This would make that Strat not just a metal monster, but have a few other tricks up it’s sleeve.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Something else to keep in mind -- this clip on tone cap values was revelatory to me -- especially the part where he says he can't pick the perfect value for both, bridge and neck:

So maybe keep that in mind as you try to dial them in.

And really -- yes, I come from the attitude that the only way to know is to try it out for yourself, in the guitar, in your chain, and dialed in (everything -- pickup height, amp/guitar -- everything). And the thing is -- if they're as close as they seem, you may not know after you try them both, because enough time will have passed that your audio memory isn't so good.

I am a strong believer in the placebo effect as a good thing -- I.E., if I can convince myself that one set of pickups are better -- and I'm not completely delusional about it -- then they are better, because I'm happy, and it will come out in my playing.

In other words, don't sweat the results. I'm sure you'll be happy either way, as long as you take the appropriate dosage of G.A.S.-ex.

 

[karolkozak]

Hi man... I actually have both - the silo and a the new polymath.
My set up is: PRS Custom 22 in drop B. (64-12 gauge strings). I wired up the polymath 3 days ago...so I'd have to give it a bit more time. I chose a gold cover with the polymath etching and burnt chrome screws which looks tits.

Quick comparison from my end:

Silo - I would prefer this one in standard tuning a bit more. It has more lows and low-end. Compared to the polymath the silo is a lot smoother, has a bit more output and feels 'bigger'.. like.. a girl with a bigger butt.
Reminds me a bit of a rewound A5 warpig but with less bottom end. My only issue with it was that in drop B if you set it closer to your strings to get some more juice, it almost has too much bass in a mahogany bodied instrument.

Polymath - based on Tim's recommendation I set it up as close to my strings as possible. (unoriented A5 magnet has weaker magnetic pull). Soundwise - where the silo felt bigger in bottom end, this thing sounds a lot wider and broader. More overtones, more colourful and it is a much much tighter pickup. A lot crunchier with a great bite. It sounds brighter than the silo to me but not to a point where it feels brash. When you set the height to the same level as you did with the silo you feel much less output and its a bit more drier. But the moment you set it close to your string it almost feels like an active pickup. Notes jump out very quickly and It has this super fast squishy attack and I have to say hats off to Nolly because his video that he posted although it was heavily mixed and processed it did capture the character well enough! the neck pickup is one of the best sounds i've had in this guitar to this date.

 

[LunarRock]

I'm not 100% remembering, but think you can exchange a set of pickups to BK if the first attempt didn't quite get you there, in the UK anyway if bought direct from them, so there is less risk, although their email advice is spot on

 

[vchizzle]

I wish I had some bare knuckle experience but an awesome but not always thought of combo is a \m/ bridge with a 57/08 neck is killer. My personal favorite. Metal bridge is a super dynamic pickup that’s very versatile. Especially if you ride the volume knob on the guitar. It sounds great in the in between positions also. For people that have a guitar with 2 volume knobs, it’s out of this world being able to blend different volumes in the middle position.

 

[karolkozak]

october3 yes you can exchange it with ease but it also means an additional wait time for at least 6-8 weeks. (time to return, time to manufacture a new pickup set etc.)
For someone who's based outside of UK this may get super difficult because you are dealing with the manufacturer directly. Also because you already paid customs and VAT.

With the email advice I agree, they are amazing to respond but you should take it with a pinch of salt.
See, no 2 guitars sound exactly the same, the rig you play through is different, the player is different etc. We've had a similar experience with a friend of mine where we both have a custom 22 artist in the same drop B tuning. In mine the ceramic nailbomb sounded really bad with too much bass but when we put it in his guitar it was one of the best sounds.
Also the amp you play through and the speaker makes a huge difference and BKP can only guess what the final result would sound like. I've had a 50% success rate with the email advice which is pretty good since I must have tried approximately 9-10 pickups from their range (black dog, emerald, painkiller, silo, polymath, warpig A, warpig C, true grit, holydiver) in both 6 and 7 string formats.

 

[PapaBear]

Something else to keep in mind -- this clip on tone cap values was revelatory to me -- especially the part where he says he can't pick the perfect value for both, bridge and neck:

So maybe keep that in mind as you try to dial them in.

And really -- yes, I come from the attitude that the only way to know is to try it out for yourself, in the guitar, in your chain, and dialed in (everything -- pickup height, amp/guitar -- everything). And the thing is -- if they're as close as they seem, you may not know after you try them both, because enough time will have passed that your audio memory isn't so good.

I am a strong believer in the placebo effect as a good thing -- I.E., if I can convince myself that one set of pickups are better -- and I'm not completely delusional about it -- then they are better, because I'm happy, and it will come out in my playing.

In other words, don't sweat the results. I'm sure you'll be happy either way, as long as you take the appropriate dosage of G.A.S.-ex.

Hi man... I actually have both - the silo and a the new polymath.
My set up is: PRS Custom 22 in drop B. (64-12 gauge strings). I wired up the polymath 3 days ago...so I'd have to give it a bit more time. I chose a gold cover with the polymath etching and burnt chrome screws which looks tits.

Quick comparison from my end:

Silo - I would prefer this one in standard tuning a bit more. It has more lows and low-end. Compared to the polymath the silo is a lot smoother, has a bit more output and feels 'bigger'.. like.. a girl with a bigger butt.
Reminds me a bit of a rewound A5 warpig but with less bottom end. My only issue with it was that in drop B if you set it closer to your strings to get some more juice, it almost has too much bass in a mahogany bodied instrument.

Polymath - based on Tim's recommendation I set it up as close to my strings as possible. (unoriented A5 magnet has weaker magnetic pull). Soundwise - where the silo felt bigger in bottom end, this thing sounds a lot wider and broader. More overtones, more colourful and it is a much much tighter pickup. A lot crunchier with a great bite. It sounds brighter than the silo to me but not to a point where it feels brash. When you set the height to the same level as you did with the silo you feel much less output and its a bit more drier. But the moment you set it close to your string it almost feels like an active pickup. Notes jump out very quickly and It has this super fast squishy attack and I have to say hats off to Nolly because his video that he posted although it was heavily mixed and processed it did capture the character well enough! the neck pickup is one of the best sounds i've had in this guitar to this date.

Dude… don’t take this the wrong way, but you are my guardian angel! This is such a perfect answer that I understand clearly. Bare Knuckle should pay you to write the descriptions from here on out! Your using them in a very similar guitar to mine which is music to my ears. (22 fret Mahogany PRS) Glad I’m not the only one who was stuck choosing between the two!

I seriously had it narrowed down to the Silo vs Polymath for the past few days, and have been leaning towards the Silo as the “more versatile/flexible” option for my guitar in standard tuning/DropD. I honestly love both the Polymath & the Silo and wish I could own both! To date these are some of my favorite sounding pickups, and with each having characteristics i wanted in a pickup.

It reminds me of trying to decide between the REV G3 and a REV G4. (Take this with a grain of salt.) I loved both sounds, and they’re my two favorite types of distortion sound. But they both cover different ends of that spectrum.

I can’t thank you enough for the insight man. I needed this comment in a bad way, and I’m glad I came to the right place for someone to find my question and help out.

I am going to try the Silos, as I feel like they can nail more of the sounds I’m chasing. I do really want to try the Polymath, and down the road can absolutely justify ordering one to try after I get some time under my belt with the Silo. Not that the Polymath can’t nail the sounds I’m chasing, I just feel the Silo can nail MORE of them.

I also loved Nollys custom etching pattern, and was planning to order the exact same setup! Loved the look of Gold covered pickups with the deep red of my Santana.

as I’m based in Minnesota, I probably won’t return them. BUT! It’s a relief to know if the Silo doesn’t quite satisfy all my needs after spending some time with it and putting it through the paces, I can swap out for my other favorite option.

a big plus for me on the silo set, was surfing through the comments on Rabeas video demo on YouTube, and saw a question he answered about the Silo neck pickup. He stated it was loosely based on the SD 59 neck pickup, but he had Tim “warm it up” a bit and “take away the harsh ice picky highs” which was also music to my ears. I loved the SD 59 neck pickup, but those were the traits I would change about it if I could. This makes definitely gives another point to the Silos over the Polymath.

did you purchase the recommended pots/caps from Bare Knuckle for your PRS?

 

[PapaBear]

I wish I had some bare knuckle experience but an awesome but not always thought of combo is a \m/ bridge with a 57/08 neck is killer. My personal favorite. Metal bridge is a super dynamic pickup that’s very versatile. Especially if you ride the volume knob on the guitar. It sounds great in the in between positions also. For people that have a guitar with 2 volume knobs, it’s out of this world being able to blend different volumes in the middle position.

I only have One volume, and one tone knob on my Santana. I read one of your comments (actually many In different threads) which helped me shed a lot of light on the PRS pickups. I do love these still! But the Silos / Polymath achieved more of the sounds I was looking for, in a way that didn’t sound like any other pickup I’ve heard before. At some point in my life, I still plan to acquire more PRS guitars to ultimately have each one setup with all of my favorite pickups.

 

[PapaBear]

october3 yes you can exchange it with ease but it also means an additional wait time for at least 6-8 weeks. (time to return, time to manufacture a new pickup set etc.)
For someone who's based outside of UK this may get super difficult because you are dealing with the manufacturer directly. Also because you already paid customs and VAT.

With the email advice I agree, they are amazing to respond but you should take it with a pinch of salt.
See, no 2 guitars sound exactly the same, the rig you play through is different, the player is different etc. We've had a similar experience with a friend of mine where we both have a custom 22 artist in the same drop B tuning. In mine the ceramic nailbomb sounded really bad with too much bass but when we put it in his guitar it was one of the best sounds.
Also the amp you play through and the speaker makes a huge difference and BKP can only guess what the final result would sound like. I've had a 50% success rate with the email advice which is pretty good since I must have tried approximately 9-10 pickups from their range (black dog, emerald, painkiller, silo, polymath, warpig A, warpig C, true grit, holydiver) in both 6 and 7 string formats.

Talk about an expensive journey for tone!! That makes you a valuable person for advice. As I know my current amp is not my last amp, it would be tough to get advice when I’m still deciding between the JP-2C by Mesa, and an Orange Rockerverb.

 

[PapaBear]

Hi man... I actually have both - the silo and a the new polymath.
My set up is: PRS Custom 22 in drop B. (64-12 gauge strings). I wired up the polymath 3 days ago...so I'd have to give it a bit more time. I chose a gold cover with the polymath etching and burnt chrome screws which looks tits.

Quick comparison from my end:

Silo - I would prefer this one in standard tuning a bit more. It has more lows and low-end. Compared to the polymath the silo is a lot smoother, has a bit more output and feels 'bigger'.. like.. a girl with a bigger butt.
Reminds me a bit of a rewound A5 warpig but with less bottom end. My only issue with it was that in drop B if you set it closer to your strings to get some more juice, it almost has too much bass in a mahogany bodied instrument.

Polymath - based on Tim's recommendation I set it up as close to my strings as possible. (unoriented A5 magnet has weaker magnetic pull). Soundwise - where the silo felt bigger in bottom end, this thing sounds a lot wider and broader. More overtones, more colourful and it is a much much tighter pickup. A lot crunchier with a great bite. It sounds brighter than the silo to me but not to a point where it feels brash. When you set the height to the same level as you did with the silo you feel much less output and its a bit more drier. But the moment you set it close to your string it almost feels like an active pickup. Notes jump out very quickly and It has this super fast squishy attack and I have to say hats off to Nolly because his video that he posted although it was heavily mixed and processed it did capture the character well enough! the neck pickup is one of the best sounds i've had in this guitar to this date.

Definitely give me an update on the Polymath after you get some more time using it! Would love to know what else you find out about the pickup with prior experience on the Silos.

 

[PapaBear]

october3 yes you can exchange it with ease but it also means an additional wait time for at least 6-8 weeks. (time to return, time to manufacture a new pickup set etc.)
For someone who's based outside of UK this may get super difficult because you are dealing with the manufacturer directly. Also because you already paid customs and VAT.

With the email advice I agree, they are amazing to respond but you should take it with a pinch of salt.
See, no 2 guitars sound exactly the same, the rig you play through is different, the player is different etc. We've had a similar experience with a friend of mine where we both have a custom 22 artist in the same drop B tuning. In mine the ceramic nailbomb sounded really bad with too much bass but when we put it in his guitar it was one of the best sounds.
Also the amp you play through and the speaker makes a huge difference and BKP can only guess what the final result would sound like. I've had a 50% success rate with the email advice which is pretty good since I must have tried approximately 9-10 pickups from their range (black dog, emerald, painkiller, silo, polymath, warpig A, warpig C, true grit, holydiver) in both 6 and 7 string formats.

What kind of amp do you play through? And what were some of your favorite pups of the ones you tried ?

 

[AZGiant]

I out Doug Aldrich pups in my Tremonti SE and man that damn thing SCREAMS

 

[PapaBear]

Nice! I’ve heard a lot of great things about those pickups, especially in PRS guitars. Have you tried any other pickups in your Tremonti to compare the Aldrich’s too? Pros/cons?

 

[AZGiant]

No just the Aldrich. His tone and style are amazing and that pup (IMO) would only work in a LP style guitar as it needs the wood's resonance. My signature Tremonti I kept just the way it is and that thing is amazing as well.

It really does scream