[jacksonplayer]

So, since Soloist Jr. is such loose-sounding guitar, I decided to try yet another ceramic pickup in it. Enter the Wolfetone Blisterbucker, which is Wolfe's only standard ceramic model. At 16k, it's in the neighborhood of a Duncan Distortion though not with an oversized magnet like the DD has.

Since Wolfetone generally seems to compare to Duncan (idealized versions, really), I assumed the Blisterbucker would be sort of like a better DD or SH-5 Custom. Nope. It's more like a Gibson 500T but without all the weird sonic gunk that seems to dog every modern Gibson pickup. Superchunk with a bright but clearly defined high end.

Like the 500T and the Dimarzio Super Distortion, the mids are voiced lower than on Duncan's ceramics. As a result, you get massive amounts of palm-muting chunk rather than the messier mids of the DD, and you also don't get much of nasty harsh top-end of the DD and SH-5. If anything, the chunky low mids are a little over the top, but the clearer top end rescues things.

To warm up the top end a little, I reinstalled the Schaller Floyd it came with, since the Schallers aren't as bright as OFRs. It's a good combination. I could just play around with crazy palm mutes for hours, and it absolutely screams for leads. It's not an all-arounder, but this is definitely the setup this guitar was made for. It's not a subtle beast.

 

[budda]

This thread needs clips :yesway:.

 

[Jazzhands]

I'm assuming even with the low-mid focus, this pickup still stays pretty tight? I've been trying to get into more mid-scooped pickups again, so this seems like something to look at.

This thread needs clips :yesway:.

:hesright:

 

[Mike]

Clips or Die!

I wondered about this pickup when he introduced it. Now I know.

 

[Mattayus]

Subtlety is for dad-blues. Distortion is meant to be wild and percussive, this sounds right up my street! \,,/

 

[jacksonplayer]

I'm assuming even with the low-mid focus, this pickup still stays pretty tight? I've been trying to get into more mid-scooped pickups again, so this seems like something to look at.

Hard for me to say, because Soloist Jr. is a very loose-sounding guitar with any pickup. Comparing to other pickups I've had in it, I'd say the Blisterbucker is fairly tight. There's no low-end flub in in.

This thread needs clips :yesway:.

Clips or Die!

Ask and ye shall receive:



It's a quickie clip. No mastering or other sweetening on the guitar tracks (other than delay on the lead). The lead is too low in the mix, but if I spend any more time on it this morning rather than deal with the kids, my wife will kill me. :lol:

Amps are the Neural Fortin Cali. Bass is my Spector NS2000/5 through Neural Parallax.

The rhythm sound was surprisingly easy to dial in, the lead tone less so (which surprised me).

 

[jacksonplayer]

A note on the tightness of this pickup: I didn't do any high-passing or a cut at 500hz on these rhythm tracks, so yeah, I'd say it's tight enough to sit nicely in a metal mix. With some EQ help, you could probably dial up the gain way beyond what I did here. Probably would have helped if I'd low-passed the lead, too, but I wanted to give a more neutral picture.

 

[budda]

I think that sounds pretty good :yesway:. Expected more woop woop :lol:

 

[Jazzhands]

Damn that does sound tight as fuck. Leads sound fine as well. Not really harsh like I was expecting. Definitely checking it out.

 

[jacksonplayer]

Here's another clip that needs more explanation. This is more of a classic rock rhythm sound with the Fortin Cali ch. 2 on low gain with the master very high. The first half is the Blisterbucker, and then following a "screaming lead" burst is the SL7 with the Duncan Distortion-7 I used to have in it. Both guitars are feeding the same amp sim tracks in Reaper at the same levels (and were recorded exactly the same), so it's a decent one-to-one comparison.

Different guitars, obviously, though the same string gauges. However, notice that the Blisterbucker is less compressed and definitely has the mids placed lower. The DD has more grind but less punch. Neither sounds bad, actually, though I feel like the Blisterbucker would probably compliment vocals or lead guitars better.