These are some of the best metal pickups ever made, and bravo to Seymour Duncan for making them. They remind me of the Distortions which I used for years but with a more modern EQ bump and even more output. I'd say they are somewhere in between a Distortion and Invader. Great demo, as always. Great playing and tone. That Desolation was the perfect guitar to test out these pups, as well as the ID Core amp. Yeah, we can easily imagine what they would do through a high gain tube monster like a Recto or Bogner, but the ID Core is more the kind of amp I prefer these days and I've owned the ultra-pricy luxury brands. In fact, solid state, modeling/profiler systems really are the best way to run a pickup through the gamut and a big reason for the continued popularity of high output pickups. With these systems you get more clarity and you can really open up a pickup in ways you can't even with a high gain tube monster because they are just easier to tone sculpt with.
First review I have seen where these pickups were not just used for chuggers. Now I can see the versatility of them. Those cleans are awesome! The leads were good sounding as well for regular RNR it seems. I think I just found my next pickups for my Japan made Ibanez RG550. Ill need to find a good middle single coil for them though to match.
I notice in all of your videos, that you have great string clarity, using high gain, all the way through your high E. Is it your amp settings or am I doing something wrong? Lol
It's probably the magic of UA-cam compression combined with the tiny little mic on my Samsung S9+ that I'm recording with. I doubt its anything special that I'm doing! ;)
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear I agree with Mark, your string clarity is much better than I am ever able to achieve with any of my guitars. I don't have pickups like these though, mine are much lower output and EQ'd differently. At high gain, my sound is so muddy it sounds horrible. I'd be curious, during the high gain section near the beginning of the video, with the trem picked notes and string skipping, are you using the neck or bridge pickup? Tone knob all the way up or not? What about the low, mid, and high knobs on your amp? None of my experiments with any of those settings has improved my results to something I'm happy with, so I figured I'll just ask someone who has great tone and hopefully you can give me some advice that will let me dial in a tone I actually can use! (It could be I just need to get me some of these pickups!) Thanks. Also, great video.
@@PsychedelicCheeseburgers I was on the bridge pickup, my tone knob was all the way up and my amp EQ settings are typically Bass - 6, Mid - 7 Treble - 4. A couple of things that can affect string clarity, is the pickup height (lower = cleaner, Higher = hotter) and where along the string is your pick striking? If you are picking closer to the neck pickup, the tone gets fatter (i.e. muddy) as you pick closer toward the bridge pickup, the tone should thin out a bit. Experiment with where you are physically striking the string and you will hear the differences as you move around. Once you find your sweet spot, you have to train yourself how to play in that area consistently.
Nice video, great sound. I am interrested in remove the EMG 81 on my jackson RR24 and put the Black Winter... The EMG 81 seem to lack of details and relief to my ears... I think i do'nt like active pickups.
Don't forget, if you change from active to passive, you will also need to change your volume and tone pots to 500k or 250k pots. 500k is typical for humbuckers.
@@everythingkumo1041 Thanks, i was interrested in this pegasus but i will install the black winter next week, but I will consider the pegasus for the next time to have another definition.
Hi Chris, nice video and nice playing. Lately, I've been hyping myself up with Black Winters but I cannot find them anywhere, so your video is helping a lot to clear things up about the voicing of the pickup, thanks. Which wood is your guitar made of? I'd like to swap JB in my alder Jackson SL2H but I was wondering that then the sound could be too much towards highs and could get shrill. What's your point about this?
This guitar has a mahogany body and a maple neck. The "JB" actually has a hotter high end then the Black Winter does, but the black winter has a much hotter mid range than the JB. So the tone in your guitar will get a midrange increase and the highs will round off a bit.
Awesome riffs dude!!! lml hey, i want to buy an seymour Duncan, and im between the Nazgul and the black winter. Both pickups has aweosome tones but, wich one you think has more definition using high gain?
Not sure really... once upon a time, I had a Nazgul in a Schecter 7 string guitar and I didn't like it for some reason. (years ago...) However, I really love the Black Winters. So sorry, I can't really compare the 2 for you.
Keep making more awesome guitar videos Christopher. I discovered your channel on June 26 of this year, and I am a new subscriber of yours. Are you using a black star amp in this video? If not, what kind of guitar amp are you using? The gain channel amp sounds awesome! I will keep my notifications turned on, so I’ll be able to watch new guitar videos that you release in the future.
These are some of the best metal pickups ever made, and bravo to Seymour Duncan for making them. They remind me of the Distortions which I used for years but with a more modern EQ bump and even more output. I'd say they are somewhere in between a Distortion and Invader. Great demo, as always. Great playing and tone. That Desolation was the perfect guitar to test out these pups, as well as the ID Core amp. Yeah, we can easily imagine what they would do through a high gain tube monster like a Recto or Bogner, but the ID Core is more the kind of amp I prefer these days and I've owned the ultra-pricy luxury brands. In fact, solid state, modeling/profiler systems really are the best way to run a pickup through the gamut and a big reason for the continued popularity of high output pickups. With these systems you get more clarity and you can really open up a pickup in ways you can't even with a high gain tube monster because they are just easier to tone sculpt with.
I never would have expected the cleans to sound so good in "Metal" pickup
Neither does your playing or this video suck. It's a great demo of the pickups and the potential playing dynamics of the pickups. Thank you very much!
First review I have seen where these pickups were not just used for chuggers. Now I can see the versatility of them. Those cleans are awesome! The leads were good sounding as well for regular RNR it seems. I think I just found my next pickups for my Japan made Ibanez RG550. Ill need to find a good middle single coil for them though to match.
hi there, did you drop these in your Ibanez yet? Was looking for a solid set for the Genesis too! Thanks in advance!
@@52goldtop Not yet. I ended up spending $400 on a TONEX pedal I seen.
@@DreidMusicalX hehe right on, I got one too, loving it for sure man! Let me know if you *make the leap, this set sounds fantastic :))
That tone is delicious!
Oscuro,Aggressivo,Estremo e BRUTALE!!!
Cool video, Chris. The Black Winters rule. I'm really happy with the sets I have in my baritones.
ohhhh, amazing sound, thanks for sharing man
That middle position sounds pretty damn good though
I notice in all of your videos, that you have great string clarity, using high gain, all the way through your high E. Is it your amp settings or am I doing something wrong? Lol
It's probably the magic of UA-cam compression combined with the tiny little mic on my Samsung S9+ that I'm recording with. I doubt its anything special that I'm doing! ;)
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear I agree with Mark, your string clarity is much better than I am ever able to achieve with any of my guitars. I don't have pickups like these though, mine are much lower output and EQ'd differently. At high gain, my sound is so muddy it sounds horrible. I'd be curious, during the high gain section near the beginning of the video, with the trem picked notes and string skipping, are you using the neck or bridge pickup? Tone knob all the way up or not? What about the low, mid, and high knobs on your amp? None of my experiments with any of those settings has improved my results to something I'm happy with, so I figured I'll just ask someone who has great tone and hopefully you can give me some advice that will let me dial in a tone I actually can use! (It could be I just need to get me some of these pickups!) Thanks. Also, great video.
@@PsychedelicCheeseburgers I was on the bridge pickup, my tone knob was all the way up and my amp EQ settings are typically Bass - 6, Mid - 7 Treble - 4. A couple of things that can affect string clarity, is the pickup height (lower = cleaner, Higher = hotter) and where along the string is your pick striking? If you are picking closer to the neck pickup, the tone gets fatter (i.e. muddy) as you pick closer toward the bridge pickup, the tone should thin out a bit. Experiment with where you are physically striking the string and you will hear the differences as you move around. Once you find your sweet spot, you have to train yourself how to play in that area consistently.
maybe not to use too much gain but playing dynamic and sober and controlled. i could answer you questions about it. cheers
Pickups, picking technique, picking location, amp, strings, style of bridge can all
Have an effect on the clarity.
nice review , I'm awaiting mine to arrive
Nice clean playing
Am I weird for putting Black Winters in my tele?
Not at all it opens up the doors when you put them in your guitars.
Nice video, great sound. I am interrested in remove the EMG 81 on my jackson RR24 and put the Black Winter... The EMG 81 seem to lack of details and relief to my ears... I think i do'nt like active pickups.
Don't forget, if you change from active to passive, you will also need to change your volume and tone pots to 500k or 250k pots. 500k is typical for humbuckers.
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear thank you !
Replaced my emg 81 with the pegasus before, it's got all the details you need! Nobody talks about it but it's awesome
@@everythingkumo1041 Thanks, i was interrested in this pegasus but i will install the black winter next week, but I will consider the pegasus for the next time to have another definition.
Got an old RG basswood or poplar I'm thinking of a sentient in neck and black winter in bridge.
My setup is exactly the same only difference im using a jackson warrior. Nice video and thanks for sharing.
Middle clean position sounds really good! Would this set works on a basswood guitar (IbanezRG370DX)? Thanks for sharing!
Yes, it would, IMO.
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear Thanks bro!
Basswood sucks ass
I think the cleans sound better than the high gain.
@Chris Tompkins, do those work with a guitar that has coil tap/split 3 way selector ?
Yes. They are 4 conductor pickups.
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear thanks for responding.
Hi, do you think the neck pickup too harsh for blues or jazz ?thanks
do u think the bridge pickup only will do? just wanna put 1 pick up in the guitar...
Sure!
Will these fit on my jackson king v?
Is it okay to put Black Winter on both neck and bridge pickups?
There is black winter designed for bridge position, and black winter for neck, its different pickups.
Hi Chris, nice video and nice playing. Lately, I've been hyping myself up with Black Winters but I cannot find them anywhere, so your video is helping a lot to clear things up about the voicing of the pickup, thanks. Which wood is your guitar made of? I'd like to swap JB in my alder Jackson SL2H but I was wondering that then the sound could be too much towards highs and could get shrill. What's your point about this?
This guitar has a mahogany body and a maple neck. The "JB" actually has a hotter high end then the Black Winter does, but the black winter has a much hotter mid range than the JB. So the tone in your guitar will get a midrange increase and the highs will round off a bit.
Hey Chris can u pls tell me what strings you are using and what tone u have it on?also are u using a metal muff pedal at all?
Awesome riffs dude!!! lml hey, i want to buy an seymour Duncan, and im between the Nazgul and the black winter. Both pickups has aweosome tones but, wich one you think has more definition using high gain?
Not sure really... once upon a time, I had a Nazgul in a Schecter 7 string guitar and I didn't like it for some reason. (years ago...) However, I really love the Black Winters. So sorry, I can't really compare the 2 for you.
Black Winter for sure. Nazgul is good for chugs, but is a one trick pony
excellent
Very nice
Keep making more awesome guitar videos Christopher. I discovered your channel on June 26 of this year, and I am a new subscriber of yours. Are you using a black star amp in this video? If not, what kind of guitar amp are you using? The gain channel amp sounds awesome! I will keep my notifications turned on, so I’ll be able to watch new guitar videos that you release in the future.
Thank you!!
Yes this is played through my Blackstar ID Core 10. It's a killer little practice amp!
What tuning did you play in for this video?
This is in "E flat, Standard" tuning.
La cago 🤘
Duuuuuuuuuuude!!!