Bareknuckle Silo vs stock Ibanez pickups: Rabea Massaad signature pickups
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- Опубликовано: 21 дек 2024
- I hope this video helps anyone who is considering upgrading their cheap guitar with expensive pickups and electronics, or those who are just curious to see if such a hardware upgrade is worth it.
All comparisons are done with the exact same settings, from guitar to pedal board to DAW. No EQ was added to any of the guitar tracks.
Gear used for demo:
Ibanez RG421 MOL
SP Compressor (cleans)
JJ Rockett Blue Note (low gain)
JJ Rockett Blue Note + Fulltone OCD v2 (high gain)
Mr Black Supermoon (reverb)
Strymon Iridium (Middle amp + Middle cab sim (Valhalla cab pack)
Cioks DC10 power supply
Track recorded in Pro Tools.
Follow me on IG: / adamjwakeling
the difference is so minimal that it is not worth paying so much. I stay with the stock ibanez pickups. Thanks for the review
Comparisons on RUclips are hard to convey, so I get your point ^. But what you do not get with the demos all the time on YT is what it sounds like in person and recording. There is also what it feels like under your fingers, and that is huge. I have personally screwed with many PUPs over many years in my guitars and there is no bigger influence in tone and response to feel. BKP makes great gear that really makes a difference over stock. This is not a paid for promotion, it is my experience, my opinion.
This is such a great demo - very methodical. I'm using AKG-K702 headphones with a bit of Sonarworks correction, and I gotta say the stock pickups are perfectly fine, infact for cleans I think I preferred them as the Silo's have more of a spike in the upper mids (makes them cut better but the stock were "warmer" which can often just sound more blended in and deeper, as they did in this case). It wasn't until the high gain parts came in that the Silo's stood out to me: tighter, more clarity, more unique character, making the Ibanez humbuckers sound a little more generic. But still it's close that it could go either way, and I think in a live band mix it would hardly matter.
Thanks for making a great unbiased video. Your effort and time spent on this is appreciated. As for difference zebra pickups look cool so definitely worth it, as for tone not a night and day difference. The quantum pickups sound great Ibanez make great guitars.
Really well put together comparison, made it really easy to directly compare the two sets. Great watch, thanks for making it!
Great vid, thanks! Agree with previous comments that you can just hear the difference with the Silos but goes to show how good the Quantums are.
It may be a "cheap" guitar, but those Mahogany 321s make a great basis for a project. Good quality flat-mount bridges aren't all that pricey, and new pickups will make all the difference in the world. As long as you start with one that has some sustain (try before you buy), you can't go wrong.
Dude I have an rg421 with abasi fishmans that I play more than my esp m2, jackson rr1, and rg550... totally agree lol Added bonus of not having anxiety taking it out and getting it beat up
There definitely seem to be more harmonics and presence in the Silo bridge pickup compared to stock.
there cannot be more harmonics. you have no idea what you're talking about, do you?
How you measured this more harmonics? 😄😄
The best demo ever
At high gain the BKP came into it's own. Much greater clarity and cut without sounding at all harsh.
I have the same guitar and I put a tusq nut and gotoh tuners and gotoh bridge and put a super distortion in the bridge pickup position . Eventually will get medium jumbo frets
One thing that can't come across is the feel and dynamics of BKP over stock pups. That can make a big difference to some players more than others.
Silo's take it fairly easy to me - more character & clarity and have a edge the stock set does not have - like the growl of the silo with distortion
I was on the verge of getting a set of the silos but after hearing this comparison. I didn’t hear $400 worth of difference in the tone or improved tone across the signal. Maybe there’s a bit to much of a the unicorn myth surrounding the BKP brand. The biggest benefit a player will ever get when it comes to quality boutique pickups is when in the studio recording or if your a solo instrumentalist like Steve Via….etc. Even then, pickups aren’t going to make someone listening think…..wow I can’t believe that’s the same person playing. His pickups make them sound like they are professional.
I’m not saying all pickups are the same because that’s simply not true. I understand the difference in construction and materials used. I’m just speaking of this example when an aftermarket set of pickups that cost nearly as much as the guitar did. Their should’ve been a definitive difference.
My two cents that’s worth a wheat penny.
Thanks for commenting. I for sure agree the stock pickups really surprised me with how well they held up!
Call me crazy, but i think the stock pickups sat better in your mix, however in isolation the opposite is true. Neither was bad, but the Quantums in the mix had more clarity (at the expense of output) that suited the music better imo. You probably could get the Silos to sit right just by backing off the gain or swapping some low mid for treble with an EQ before your gain stages, but I honestly don't think, for this song's style, that the choice of Silos was a positive change
AWESOME TRACK
Same guitar updated with Seymour Duncan 59 on neck and 59 hybrid on Bridge : wooow
Great info, thanks
I prefer the Silo pickups to the stock ones, but the bridge pickup seems a bit bright for me. I'm sure it can be dialed in with the tone control or amp settings.
Thanks for the video. I was wondering if changing pickups would vastly improve my tone with this guitar. But now, I'll keep my guitar stock. People or bandmates won't hear the difference anyway
So the BNK had better / hotter tone for the mid to high gain dist. settings. More articulate. Beyond that the stock seemed no different, or even better on all other settings. It’s like upgrading your car, a lot of the time the OEM stuff is better.
Quantum pickups for price.
And one advice. Try the quantums with the bkp capacitor and pots. Cheers.
The Silos are definitely superior, but a £300 upgrade? I'm not sure. This video actually demonstrates how good the Quantums already are, I'd be more than happy with that tone!
Superb playing as well!!
Thanks for the comments!
Hope you enjoyed this comparison video - do you think the hardware upgrade was worth it?
I wanted to keep it as unbiased as possible and the most accurate A-B testing (click Read More for timestamps) after the hardware upgrades of pickups, pots and wiring. All settings were kept exactly the same on each comparison with no EQ added. Gear used is shown in the description.
Timestamps:
00:19 new hardware install montage
00:45 Full track comparison
02:18 Full track comparison (guitars only)
CLEAN A-B Tests
03:51 Position 1 Stock
03:59 Position 1 BKP Silo
04:06 Position 2 Stock
04:13 Position 2 BKP Silo
04:21 Position 3 Stock
04:29 Position 3 BKP Silo
04:36 Position 4 Stock
04:43 Position 4 BKP Silo
04:51 Position 5 Stock
04:58 Position 5 BKP Silo
LOW-GAIN A-B Tests
05:05 Position 1 Stock
05:13 Position 1 BKP Silo
05:20 Position 2 Stock
05:28 Position 2 BKP Silo
05:35 Position 3 Stock
05:42 Position 3 BKP Silo
05:50 Position 4 Stock
05:57 Position 4 BKP Silo
06:04 Position 5 Stock
06:12 Position 5 BKP Silo
HIGH-GAIN A-B Tests
06:19 Position 1 Stock
06:27 Position 1 BKP Silo
06:34 Position 2 Stock
06:41 Position 2 BKP Silo
06:49 Position 3 Stock
06:56 Position 3 BKP Silo
07:04 Position 4 Stock
07:11 Position 4 BKP Silo
07:18 Position 5 Stock
07:26 Position 5 BKP Silo
I actually prefer the stock pickups. Appreciate the vid. Helped save me a bunch of money.
Nicely done!
Thank you! Cheers!
i dont like silos in guitars personally, due to the overly aggressive harmonics esp in the bridge position, but they are fkg PERFECTTTT as a baritone pickup I have found, for thr exact reason theyre too much in a guitar lol
Is this your original music?
It is just me ?! Bur I can’t hear any difference except a slight volume increase with the BKP.
The stock neck pickup is more bassy
There is no difference. For all people being stuck in rabbit hole. Get your basics solid, practice daily on simplest stuff, learn fretboard. Master the pentatonic, then add some variations to it, and most importantly - FEEL IT, feel the music you play. Then you don't need 400$ pickup to give you that 3% of magic, which your brain creates to lie to you. Believe me, once you start progressing, you stop paying attention to distractors. Believe me, I've been there.
The Silos definitely have a more pronounced upper midrange, and are clearer. But the difference is minimal.
Best comment ever
Okay I understand the “ Not much different ” comments but the Silo's are way musical and you can't put a price on that. The song feels way more alive and dramatic when he plays the Silos.
Excellent video, thanks! The solos are a teeny bit crisper to me, but barely. I’d guess it’s more a thing you feel- the clarity. What did you think?
Yes, the audible differences, particularly in the mix, are subtle. Although I would say on good quality speakers there is an extra clarity, particularly noticeable when playing cleans. Also 'chugging' has a bit more throaty sound compared to stock. Just a different flavour...
Great demo! Thank you for putting this together. What tuning are you in? Would you recommend the Silo’s for standard E?
Thanks! I believe this was e flat with a drop c sharp. I think they sound good in standard too but maybe shine in drop tunings as they Keep things tight as you drop down
is upgrading the electronics worth it?
I just bought silo bridge and aftermath neck. what do you think of that potato salad?
I believe so. For me the taper of the pots is smoother, and I used 550k pots instead of 500k for added brightness and clarity. Better pots are also more consistent so closer to the actual value they say they are and will be more reliable over time.
Also silo bridge and aftermath neck is a great combo. I am sure you will love them!
@@adamwakeling Thanks a lot man! much appreciate the reply!
Not enough difference to warrant the cost imo. Neck pickup was virtually identical on all gain stages. Bridge pickup is where you could hear the difference but only under higher gain. (Likely the result of having slightly higher output) Generally speaking I find swapping pickups to largely be a waste of time and money. Find the right guitar.
mix settings are the same??
Yep, exact same amp and pedal settings with 0 EQ added or removed from any of the guitar tracks.
@@adamwakeling interesting. I am very much looking at getting a Silo in the bridge. Some positions in your test sound similar to the stock pubs, some have significantly more mids and the difference literally pops out. What's your opinion, how happy are you with the change? (personally, I find that expecially in the lower priced Ibanez the pubs are usually better than you'd expect)
@@planetsab yep agree with all. The bridge in particular I like, it has a bark which is great, something that you really here first hand outside of recording and compression. It has nice bass but everything has clarity, and it definitely has a tighter sound than the stock pickup when drop tuned. The stock pickup sometimes blends string sounds together where the Silo shines through individual string definition.
To my ears, it also sounds less clinical, has more harmonic frequencies that come through and finally something that does not come through in the video is that they feel great to play.
@@adamwakeling thanks!
Wow, compared to the Silo pickups the stock Ibanez pickups sound super flat and lifeless. Sounds like it is should be way easier to play with the Bare Knuckle pickups.
The sound the same 99% the same. The illusion that your brain creates, that paying 400$ for a pickup is worth it, it's because it is lazy to learn how to play the guitar.
@@graycolors2879 if you can't hear the clear difference, listen on some better speakers
Gigs Fuq, I’ve listen with Ultimate Ears in ear monitors triple driver set, Beats, HiFi, studio monitors. In none of those comparisons did I hear anything that caused me to think ….now here is a good example of boutique pickups versus stock pickups. For a set of pick ups that are on the higher end of the price spectrum in the boutique pickup market. There should have been a much larger gap between the stock versus the bare knuckles. There should be a distinct difference one that made a lasting impression for the price they put on their pickups. I was right on the verge of buying a set of these before seeing this review. This review reversed my decision without hesitation.
We need close our wallets, shits our eyes and open our ears. Let that be our definitive guide for tone and our hand our guide for playability.
Not the name on the headstock, or anything else as far as that goes. The hard working men and women of this world are being robbed of their hard earned money every way they turn.
Thank you for saving me $400!!!
The difference is so minimal that it doesn't make sense to pay the absurd cost of this BKP. I bet a Seymour Duncan Custom 5 will sounds better than both and costs half the price of the BKP.
I think i can live with the quantum. Unlike the infinity 4 and 3 before that were complete trash.
I hear zero difference because I'm purposefully not paying attention to which lick up you're playing. But if I pay attention to it, I can hear a difference. So what does that tell you? The audience won't give a damn. That's what it means.
O
Bad mixing + expensive pickups + bad playing = bad
Dodgy username + opinions on a very niche corner of the internet = My kinda guy. How are you doing today, bud?
@@chrisshort87 am I wrong?
@@jdjdjdjjc6535 As a general rule of thumb: No.
As regards this video’s structuring, meticulous attention to consistency, and the playing exhibited: Yes, absolutely.